SONOMA, Calif. – Chase Elliott led the way for Hendrick Motorsports in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Sonoma Raceway.
Elliott will line up 10th (78.460 seconds/91.308 mph) in the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 after getting a little sideways in turn four during his final round lap. The 27-year-old driver has the most wins on road courses among active drivers (seven) and the third-most wins on road course of all drivers (trailing only NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, who had nine and eight road course wins, respectively). Elliott, who is the 2020 Cup Series champion, has also won at a series-best five different road courses.
"It was really good to get into the second round (of qualifying)," Elliott said. "I feel like the first lap of our session was solid. I missed a couple of areas. That was going to be the big thing – was if you were going to be able to get it done on the first lap and not have to run again. I made a pretty big mistake on my second run and I was honestly surprised we got through, so that was encouraging."
In six starts at Sonoma, Elliott has two top-five finishes and four top-10s. He has now started inside the top 10 in the last six races at the California venue. In practice, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native was seventh at 79.016 seconds (90.665 mph) and fourth in the five consecutive lap average category.
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Alex Bowman is going to take to the grid from the 14th position in the No. 48 Ally Pride Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. In six starts at Sonoma, the 30-year-old driver has two top-10 finishes. Entering this weekend, Bowman is just six points outside of the playoffs with 11 races left in the regular season. He missed three points-paying races with a fractured vertebra.
Kyle Larson will line up 16th in the No. 5 Valvoline Chevy. The Elk Grove, California, native grew up approximately 100 miles from the 1.99-mile road course and had earned the pole position for the last four races where qualifying was held at the Northern California track. He won this race in 2021 during his championship-winning season and he has also led the most laps (83) in the last two races here. In practice, Larson topped the board at 78.099 seconds (91.730 mph) and placed first in both the five and 10 consecutive lap averages.
"I made a lot of mistakes on my first lap," Larson told FOX Sports’ Jamie Little. "In the second (lap), I just thought if I put a smooth lap together I can make it in and not abuse my tires a ton while doing. I just didn’t go fast enough. Kicking myself for all that. If I just don’t mess up the first run, we are probably not having to run a second (time) and then we are in the next round. My car feels a lot better than it does in practice, just didn’t put the best laps together."
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William Byron will start 26th in the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The 25-year-old driver enters this weekend with a streak of six straight top-10 finishes and he has led laps in all of those races. He has one top-10 finish in four starts at Sonoma.
Denny Hamlin will lead the field to green for the 110-lap race on Sunday afternoon.
Wine country has been the site of much success over the years for the 14-time Cup Series champions. The team leads the way in wins (seven), poles (10), runner-up finishes (seven), top-fives (33), top-10s (59) and laps led (801) at the California facility. Gordon’s five wins at Sonoma are the most at the track, while Jimmie Johnson and Larson each have one win here for the Concord, North Carolina-based organization.
PHOTOS: See every road course win for Hendrick Motorsports
With 26 wins, Hendrick Motorsports has the most all-time triumphs on road courses in Cup Series history. The two closest teams in this statistic have combined for only 22 wins. Since its inaugural season in 1984, the organization has won 28.26% of road course events (26 wins in 92 races). The team also tops the board among Cup Series teams on road courses in poles (25), top-five finishes (82), top-10s (140), laps led (2,200) and stage wins (14). Seven different drivers (most by a Cup Series team on road courses) have accounted for the 26 road course wins: Gordon (nine wins), Elliott (seven wins), Larson (four wins), Tim Richmond (three wins), Johnson (one win), Geoff Bodine (one win) and Ricky Rudd (one win).
Tune in to watch the 16th race of the Cup Series season on Sunday, June 11, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).