CONCORD, N.C. - With the hoard of statistical data available for the NASCAR Cup Series these days, tabbing a driver's best race track wouldn't seem too difficult.
But what the numbers say and how a driver feels don't necessarily always coincide.
That certainly rings true for the Hendrick Motorsports stable as well. Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron and Alex Bowman all have accumulated wins and success at several different stops on NASCAR's premier circuit. A compelling case could be made for multiple venues as far as each driver's best track is concerned.
But all four discussed their feelings on the matter in recent interviews with HendrickMotorsports.com. Do those opinions line up with what the numbers say?
We took a look as the 2025-opening DAYTONA 500 lingers just over a month away. Here's what we found and what each driver had to say:
Alex Bowman
- Best track by average finish (more than five): Charlotte ROVAL (11.7 in six events)
- Most wins: Won once each at eight tracks (Richmond Raceway, Chicago Street Course, Chicagoland Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Dover Motor Speedway)
- Most top-five finishes: Dover, five
- Most top-10 finishes: Kansas Speedway, 10
- Most top-20 finishes: Kansas, 20
- Most laps led: Charlotte Motor Speedway (228)
- Bowman's choice - Dover and Circuit of the Americas (COTA): "I think Dover being teammates with Jimmie (Johnson) as long as I was, I think that that's the biggest thing there. Just learned a lot from him. COTA, we've just been good there since the first year, so, hopefully we'll get a win there soon."
Chase Elliott
- Best track by average finish (minimum five starts): Charlotte ROVAL (7.7 in seven events)
- Most wins: Won twice each at four tracks (Talladega Superspeedway, Watkins Glen International, Dover, Charlotte ROVAL)
- Most top-five finishes: Dover, 10
- Most top-10 finishes: Kansas and Martinsville, 12 each
- Most top-20 finishes: Richmond and Martinsville, 16 each
- Most laps led: Martinsville, 1,233
- Elliott's choice - Dover: "I don't really know why that place has been good for me, but it has for sure and I'm thankful for it. I've enjoyed going up there. It's a challenging track. I think it just kind of suits some of the things that I want behind the wheel. You see that with guys across the board. You just go to certain tracks and for whatever reason that place just suits how somebody wants to drive. I think it really suited the old car and how I wanted to drive it there, not quite as much in the new one, but certainly more than other tracks do."
Kyle Larson
- Best track by average finish (minimum five starts): Chicagoland (6.2 in six events)
- Most wins: Won three times each at two tracks (Michigan International Speedway and Las Vegas)
- Most top-five finishes: Phoenix Raceway, nine
- Most top-10 finishes: Phoenix, 13
- Most top-20 finishes: Richmond, 19
- Most laps led: Bristol Motor Speedway, 1,351
- Larson's choice - Bristol: "To me, it's the closest style to a dirt sprint car race, although it's a lot longer. Just the intensity, the aggression, the fast-paced style of that race I'm comfortable with. I just love that track. I look forward to going there. I love having two races again on the concrete. So yeah, Bristol has been a place where I've led tons of laps at before and won a lot of stages but have kind of fallen off at the ends of the races. But since joining Hendrick (Motorsports), we've been good all race long and that was fun to dominate that race this year."
William Byron
- Best track by average finish (minimum five starts): Pocono Raceway (9.4 in 11 events)
- Most wins: Won twice each at three tracks (Daytona International Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Martinsville)
- Most top-five finishes: Martinsville, five
- Most top-10 finishes: Martinsville, Kansas and Phoenix, eight each
- Most top-20 finishes: Phoenix, 13
- Most laps led: Martinsville, 360
- Byron's choice - Darlington: "I would say that's probably my favorite racetrack. Yeah, I would go with that one. But there's quite a few on the schedule now I feel like are really good for us, so that's a good thing."