Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Martinsville

Martinsville Speedway
Sunday, Nov. 1
0.526-Mile Oval
2 p.m. ET
Location: Ridgeway, Virginia
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (Race 35 of 36)
RADIO: SiriusXM

5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 34 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Last Race: 1st (Talladega)
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 1st

No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet  

• Last week at Talladega Superspeedway, Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team started from 10th and led four times for a total of 23 laps. Larson led the field at the white flag but was shuffled back to 11th as the pack reached the backstretch. A strong push coming to the checkered flag propelled him across the finish line, securing his third win of the season.
• With the victory, Larson added 68 points to his championship-leading total, extending to a 73-point advantage heading into Martinsville Speedway.
• The Elk Grove, California, native leads all drivers in 2026 with 1,238 laps led, including 579 during The Chase.
• With 19 wins, Larson has the most victories of any driver in the Next Gen car.
• According to Racing Insights, the No. 5 HendrickCars.com pit crew ranks second among all 35 full-time teams during The Chase.  

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 30 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Last Race: 36th (Talladega)
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 12th

No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet  

• Chase Elliott is currently 12th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with two races left this season.
• Last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, Elliott turned the fastest single-lap average ever recorded in the Next Gen car with a speed of 201.405 mph.
• The 30-year-old driver heads to Martinsville Speedway this weekend as the most recent winner at the track. He led 84 laps en route to victory in March.
• Elliott has finished top five in the last five Martinsville races, the longest active streak at the track and his longest such streak at any facility. His worst finish since the spring of 2024 on the paperclip-shaped oval is fourth.
• His 1,359 laps led in the Cup Series at Martinsville are his most at any track.
• In the last seven short track races, Elliott has three top-five finishes.  

24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 28 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Last Race: 2nd (Talladega)
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 11th

No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet  

• William Byron’s season-best finish of second at Talladega Superspeedway propelled him up three positions to 11th in NASCAR Cup Series points with two races remaining.
• According to Racing Insights, the No. 24 pit crew ranks as the third fastest so far during The Chase.
• In his Cup Series career at Martinsville Speedway, Byron has three wins, one pole, seven top-fives, 10 top 10s across 17 starts.
• The Charlotte, North Carolina, native’s 670 laps led and seven top-five finishes at Martinsville are a personal best at any track.
• Byron is the defending winner of last year’s fall race at the Virginia-based track. In fact, he has won three of the nine races at Martinsville in the Next Gen era.  

48 ALEX BOWMAN
Age: 33 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Last Race: 9th (Talladega)
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 27th

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet  

• Last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, Alex Bowman qualified seventh and finished ninth, securing his eighth top 10 of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
• Bowman won the fall Martinsville Speedway race in 2021, leading nine laps on his way to victory lane.
• On short tracks this season, Bowman has earned a top-10 finish [Richmond Raceway] and a top-10 qualifying effort [fall Bristol Motor Speedway].  

17 COREY DAY
Age: 20 (November 28, 2005)
Hometown: Clovis, California
Last Race: 6th (Talladega)
Crew Chief: Adam Wall
Standings: 3rd

• Corey Day finished sixth at Talladega Superspeedway after a water leak forced an engine change, placing him at the rear of the field to start.
• Day gained 10 points on the leader at Talladega, remaining third in Chase points heading into this weekend’s race at Martinsville Speedway.
• The Clovis, California, native returns to Martinsville Speedway for his fourth start on the 0.526-mile oval. In the spring race, he led 37 laps before finishing runner up.
• The 20-year-old driver has an average short track starting position of 15.1 in his pavement career, and has recorded two top-five finishes in eight starts.
• Day made his NASCAR O’Reilly Series debut at Martinsville Speedway in March 2025, finishing 21st. Since then, he has earned four NOAPS wins, two poles, 12 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes while leading 398 laps.  

Hendrick Motorsports  

2026
All-Time
Martinsville
Races

 
*Most
**Tied for most

• The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Martinsville Speedway this weekend for the ninth race of The Chase. Hendrick Motorsports is the all-time leader in wins (32), poles (21), top fives (102), top 10s (161) and laps led (11,545) at the 0.526-mile oval.
• Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won 13 of the 22 Martinsville Chase races, including three of the last six.
• All four current active Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won at Martinsville in the last 10 races, winning seven of the last 12.
• The Hendrick Motorsports engine department enters the weekend with 586 victories across all three national NASCAR touring series including 24 of 31 events in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series this season.
• Hendrick Motorsports remains the Cup Series’ all-time standard bearer in wins (325), poles (259), top-five finishes (1,354), top 10s (2,316), laps led (87,101) and championships (15).  

QUOTABLE
 
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, on the title chase: “I still feel a lot of pressure. It’s so easy for the points to swing, and you’ve seen that throughout The Chase. A team or driver can have a great day and score maximum points, and we could have a day like we had at Phoenix [Raceway], and boom, they’re right back in it. So, I do feel a lot of pressure.

“Ultimately, I’d love to go to Martinsville [Speedway] and gain the points I need to lock it up, but if we can’t do that, I still want to have a solid day and give ourselves as much of a cushion as possible into Homestead [Miami Speedway]. We’ve done a super good job of staying focused over the past couple of months of The Chase, and we can’t let those things creep into our minds. My goal is to stay locked in and stay on offense.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, on his team’s Chase effort thus far: “I’m proud of our team for the fight they have given throughout The Chase. We had some races that unfortunately didn’t go our way and ultimately took us out of contention [for the championship], but we’ve also had some really good days and that gives us some things to build on as we look ahead to next year. We still have two races left at tracks that I think could be really strong for us. Getting another win before the end of the season would be huge.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on Martinsville Speedway: “As much as I wanted the win last week, that was exactly the momentum we needed. We’re now headed to Martinsville [Speedway] where we know how to get it done. We’ve had success there and we pulled out the win last fall. Even in the spring this year, and the unknowns of the new Chevy body, we still finished fifth. I think this weekend gives us a chance to finally get a win.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on heading to Martinsville Speedway: “We typically have a fast Ally 48 in Martinsville. After missing the race in the spring, we’ll lean heavy on our sim time and notes from our teammates that ran well earlier this year. We’re continuing to put work in every week with our 48 team and looking to carry momentum from Talladega.”

Corey Day, driver of the No. 17 Chevrolet, on heading to Martinsville Speedway: “We’ve got two races left in The Chase, so we need to make the most of every opportunity. We had a good run at Martinsville in the spring and finished second, which gives us some confidence going back. It’s a technical track, and with where were at in the standings, we need to put together a clean race and run up front. I know my No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet will be fast, and it’s on me to execute and get the best finish we can. Hopefully, we can pick up some points and give ourselves a little more breathing room heading into Homestead [Miami Speedway].”