CONCORD, N.C. -- It's been two years since the NASCAR Cup Series has been to Watkins Glen, but the excitement is palpable as the Hendrick Motorsports drivers prepare to return to racing after a two-week summer break.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cup Series schedule from 2020 was altered and Watkins Glen was dropped from it's usual August weekend. However, the Hendrick Motorsports drivers are ready to get back to road course racing with just four races left in the regular season schedule.
The organization has won a record eight times at the Glen, with two of those wins coming from the Cup Series' most recent outings in 2018 and 2019. Chase Elliott dominated both those races, beginning his current reign as the road course king.
Take a look below for more notable stats heading into Watkins Glen, and tune in on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN to catch all the action.
- With eight trips to victory lane at Watkins Glen International, Hendrick Motorsports is the venue’s all-time leader in NASCAR Cup Series wins. The team also holds the track records for pole positions (seven) and laps led (632).
- Hendrick Motorsports holds the NASCAR Cup Series record for all-time road-course victories with 23, which is 10 more than next-best Joe Gibbs Racing. The organization has won on road courses with a series-high seven different drivers: Jeff Gordon (nine wins), Elliott (seven), Tim Richmond (three), Kyle Larson, Jimmie Johnson, Ricky Rudd and Geoff Bodine. Hendrick Motorsports also has the most road-course stage wins of any team with 11.
- In NASCAR Cup Series road races since 2018, Hendrick Motorsports has gone to victory lane in eight of 12 events, won 10 of 24 stages, led 475 of 1,050 laps (45%), and posted three 1-2 finishes.
- In six Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen International, Larson has one top-five finish and three top-10s. In six NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 2.45-mile New York road course, the 29-year-old driver has one top-five result – a third-place finish in 2016.
- Elliott’s wins account for seven of the last 11 road course victories. He holds the second-best all-time win percentage on road courses (43.75%) and remains the youngest road course winner at 22 years, 8 months, 8 days. Elliott has led laps in the last nine road course races, the Cup Series’ longest active streak and sixth longest all-time. The driver of the No. 9 also holds the best average finish (8.25) of active drivers and the third-best all-time average of drivers with at least five starts. Elliott has garnered the most stage wins (six) of all time at road courses, as well.
- Sunday’s race will mark William Byron’s third Cup Series start at Watkins Glen International and his fifth overall NASCAR national series start at the road course. In the Cup Series, Byron has a track-best qualifying effort of second (2019) and a best finish of eighth (2018) at the 2.45-mile course. He has finished in the top 10 in three of the last seven races and in five of the last nine road course events, Byron has led the field at one point, including leading the most laps during last year’s race at the Charlotte ROVAL.
- In the Cup Series, Alex Bowman has 16 starts at road courses with two top-five finishes and seven top-10s. He finished inside the top 15 in 11 of 12 road course starts while behind the wheel for Hendrick Motorsports and has an average finish of 10.5, which is the fifth-best among active drivers since the start of 2018. The No. 48 team has placed inside the top 10 in three of the four road course events so far this season and has finished inside the top 10 in five of the last seven road course races.
- Over the last 10 NASCAR Cup Series points races, Hendrick Motorsports has won seven times (the most), finished 1-2 on four occasions (most), won 10 of 21 stages (most), and led 1,308 of 2,131 laps raced (61%). With 40 total entries across the most recent 10 events, the team has scored 19 top-five finishes (most) and 26 top-10s (most).
- After 22 of 36 points-paying races in 2021, Hendrick Motorsports has won 10 times to tie its most ever at this time of the year. Its 16 stage wins are the most in history by any organization going into the 23rd points race. Hendrick Motorsports has tied its most top-five finishes (34) and posted its fourth-most laps led (2,056) at the 22-event mark. The four-car stable has recorded 53 top-10s in 2021, which represent the second-most ever by any team at this point in a season.