Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: WWT Raceway

WWT Raceway
Sunday, Sept. 13
1.25-Mile Oval
3 p.m. ET
Location: Madison, Illinois
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (Race 28 of 36)
RADIO: SiriusXM

5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 34 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Last Race: 5th (Darlington)
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 7th

No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet  

• Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet team opened their 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase title defense by leading a race-high 99 laps and scoring a fifth-place finish in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. It marked Larson’s 10th top-five result of the season.
• In the 2025 race at WWT Raceway, Larson started second, finished second in stage one, fourth in stage two, led 52 laps and recorded a 12th-place finish.
• Kyle Larson and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron are two of just nine drivers to finish on the lead lap in all four races at WWTR.
• The defending Cup Series champion is tied for third among all active drivers and Chase competitors in average finish (9.5) at the 1.25-mile oval.  

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 30 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Last Race: 14th (Darlington)
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 8th

No. 9 LLumar Chevrolet  

• Chase Elliott enters the second race of The Chase tied for eighth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings. He’s 72 points behind the leader.
• Of the nine remaining tracks this season, Elliott has won on four of them a total of eight times.
• This weekend marks the fifth time the Cup Series will visit WWT Raceway. Elliott’s third-place finish last season is his best at the 1.25-mile facility. He led four laps and earned points in each stage.
• Elliott is just one top-10 finish away from 200 in his Cup Series career.  

24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 28 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Last Race: 37th (Darlington)
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 16th

 No. 24 Phorm Energy Chevrolet  

• After the first race of The Chase, William Byron is now 16th in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings, 114 points behind the leader heading to WWT Raceway.
• Currently in 2026, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native’s No. 24 pit crew ranks third according to Racing Insights.
• Byron has four Cup Series starts at WWT Raceway with a track-best finish of eighth coming in 2023.
• Byron and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson are two of only nine drivers to finish on the lead lap in all four Cup Series races at WWTR.  

48 ALEX BOWMAN
Age: 33 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Last Race: 12th (Darlington)
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 29th

 No. 48 Ally Chevrolet  

• Last weekend at Darlington Raceway, Alex Bowman finished 12th in the NASCAR Cup Series race, earning his fourth consecutive top-15 finish.
• Bowman’s best finish at WWT Raceway was secured in 2022, when he finished 13th after starting 25th.  

17 COREY DAY
Age: 20 (November 28, 2005)
Hometown: Clovis, California
Last Race: 2nd (Darlington)
Crew Chief: Adam Wall
Standings: 5th

•  Corey Day opened the NASCAR O’Reilly Series Chase at Darlington Raceway by qualifying 14th and charging to a runner-up finish.
• The 20-year-old driver moved from seventh to fifth in the NOAPS driver standings, putting him just 46 points behind the leader with eight races remaining.
• In his only prior NOAPS start at WWT Raceway, Day qualified 16th and finished ninth.  

Hendrick Motorsports  

*Most
**Tied for most

• The NASCAR Cup Series returns to WWT Raceway this weekend for the second race of The Chase.
• Among the 10 tracks in The Chase, Hendrick Motorsports has piled up 135 victories including 20 in the Next Gen era. The organization leads the field in postseason wins (62) and has won at least one race in The Chase/Playoffs in 22 of 23 seasons. That includes multiple victories in each of the last six years.
• The Hendrick Motorsports engine department enters the weekend with 579 victories across all three national NASCAR touring series, including 20 of 25 events in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series this season.
• Hendrick Motorsports remains the Cup Series’ all-time standard bearer in wins (322), poles (259), top-five finishes (1,345), top 10s (2,300), laps led (86,619) and championships (15).  

QUOTABLE
 
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, on opening The Chase strong, heading back to WWT Raceway: “[Finishing fifth in the Southern 500] was a good start to our Chase. I think it went better than I anticipated based on the last two Darlington [Raceway] races for us, so I was happy with it. It was the first really legitimate shot at a race win we’ve had in a while based on car speed and execution, so I was extremely encouraged. I thought our team did a really good job.”

“Last year when we were [at WWT Raceway], I thought we had one of, if not the best car in the field. We were really strong in terms of car speed and grip. I’m encouraged to go back there and hopeful that we can have a day similar to last year, give ourselves an opportunity to score a lot of points and contend for a win.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, on building some momentum in The Chase: “I think for us, it’s just, we’ve all been doing it long enough. We understand, you know, kind of the ups and downs of the sport, and this thing definitely goes in waves and goes in cycles. Hopefully, we can just get some base hits; get some base hits somewhere and start building some good momentum.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on returning to WWT Raceway: “I’m optimistic about this weekend at [WWT Raceway], though. We’ve really been working on our package for there and I think we made good progress last year and at similar places this year. We’re going to unload and execute and score the most points that we can. That’s all we can do.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on riding momentum into WWT Raceway: “It’s been nice to be pointed back in the right direction here lately. I feel like I finally have my feet under me this season with all the highs and lows we have had with our Ally 48 team. We were pretty strong last year at [WWT Raceway] until a pit road penalty impacted our day. Our goal is the same each week, so we’re focused on putting together another solid weekend.”

Corey Day, driver of the No. 17 Chevrolet, on a good start to The Chase, returning to WWT Raceway: “Darlington [Raceway] was a great way to start The Chase. I was really happy with the runner-up finish, and our No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM team brought me a really good car. We had a lot of speed and built some good momentum throughout the weekend, and I want to carry that into these next eight races. I’ve only raced at [WWT Raceway] once, but we had a decent finish there. Now that I’ve got a full season of experience under my belt, I’m looking to take what I learned from that race and apply it this weekend to try to put together another strong finish.”