LOUDON, N.H. – William Byron earned the best starting spot among the quartet of Hendrick Motorsports drivers on Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Byron’s No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 qualified seventh with a fast lap of 123.896 mph in the final round of qualifying. This is his 12th top-10 starting spot of the 2023 season. The 25-year-old driver and NASCAR Cup Series points leader will be making his 200th premier series start when the green flag waves at New Hampshire.
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Kyle Larson will start 15th in the No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The 30-year-old driver’s three runner-up finishes at the 1.058-mile track are the most all-time in the Cup Series without a win. He was also the fastest Hendrick Motorsports driver in practice.
Chase Elliott is set to roll off from 18th in the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy. In last year’s race, he was the runner-up finisher as part of a streak of five straight races with top-two results during the summer. The 27-year-old driver has three top 10s in his last five New Hampshire starts.
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Alex Bowman will take the grid from the 25th spot in the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The 30-year-old driver’s best result at the Loudon, New Hampshire, venue came in 2021, when he finished ninth.
Christopher Bell scored the pole position for the 301-lap race.
In its history, Hendrick Motorsports has nine wins at New Hampshire, with five drivers visiting victory lane in The Granite State. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson each won three times at the 1.058-mile facility. Kyle Busch, Mark Martin and Kasey Kahne have one victory apiece. Kahne earned the last team win at the Loudon, New Hampshire, track in July 2012.
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On the 2023 season, Hendrick Motorsports has had a driver finish in the top five in each of the past nine points-paying races (dating back to Dover Motor Speedway in May). This matches the longest such streak by a team since Hendrick Motorsports had nine straight (from Atlanta in March to Kansas Speedway in May) in 2022.
Catch the action from "The Magic Mile" on Monday, July 17, at noon ET on USA Network, NBC Sports App, PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).