CONCORD, N.C. – Hendrick Motorsports will close out the regular season at Daytona International Speedway this Saturday night and the odds are in the favor of the four teammates to make the most of it.
The race in Daytona provides a chance for Jimmie Johnson and William Byron to secure their spots in the playoffs. With both drivers on the bubble, the superspeedway will close out the 2020 season in spectacular fashion.
Take a look at some of the more notable stats of Hendrick Motorsports as the drivers head down to Daytona Beach.
- Through the first 25 races of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, Chase Elliott has recorded some noteworthy stats and career highs. His win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May secured his spot in the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year, and he has collected two wins, one pole award, nine top-five finishes, 14 top-10s and 530 laps led in 25 races. Elliott is currently projected to be fourth in the playoff standings as the series heads into Saturday night’s regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.
- Elliott and the No. 9 team have thrived during night races this season. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native has garnered one win (Charlotte), two runner-up finishes and four top-fives in the last five night races. Elliott was also victorious under the lights in the 2020 NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway in July.
- While superspeedway racing can be unpredictable, William Byron has had success when it comes to the high-banked oval of Daytona International Speedway. With five previous Cup Series starts at the 2.5-mile venue, Byron has one pole award – the 2019 DAYTONA 500 – and a runner-up finish coming in July last season, which ties his career-best finish in the Cup Series. Earlier this year, Byron raced his way to a win at Daytona in the second Duel non-points qualifying race leading into the DAYTONA 500. Aside from his five Cup Series appearances, Byron has two Xfinity Series starts, where he captured the win in the July 2017 race, becoming the youngest Xfinity Series driver to win at Daytona at 19 years, 7 months and 1 day. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native also has one Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series start and one ARCA Series start at DIS.
- The last time Jimmie Johnson went to victory lane in a NASCAR Cup Series event was in 2019 when he won the Clash at DAYTONA event to open the season. It was the debut of partner Ally on the No. 48 Chevrolet and the last time Johnson hoisted a trophy in victory lane.
- The No. 48 Ally Chevrolet team is no stranger to success at Daytona International Speedway. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Johnson heads to the “World Center of Racing” for possibly the final time in his career as a two-time DAYTONA 500 winner (2006 and 2013) and a one-time 400-mile event winner (July 2013).
- Alex Bowman has finished inside the top 10 in two of the last three night races this season. The driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE has finished sixth at Martinsville Speedway on June 10 and eighth at Kansas Speedway on July 23.
- Hendrick Motorsports is the NASCAR Cup Series’ winningest team on superspeedways. The organization holds the all-time record of 27 combined points victories at the high-banked, high-speed tracks of Daytona and Talladega. Wood Brothers Racing is second with 20 total superspeedway wins.
- A Hendrick Motorsports first-place finish Saturday night would tie the team with Wood Brothers Racing for the most points wins (15) on the Daytona oval. Hendrick Motorsports holds the track records for pole positions (20), runner-up finishes (14), top-fives (56), top-10s (98) and laps led (2,134). The organization has finished in at least one of the top-two positions in 28 Daytona oval races (38%), including five 1-2 sweeps.