JULIET, Ill. – This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to the “Windy City” to compete at Chicagoland Speedway. Hendrick Motorsports will look to add to its resume at the Illinois venue when cars hit the track for the June 30 race.
- At Chicagoland Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports has two wins, four pole positions, 22 top-five finishes and 34 top-10s. Mark Martin most recently visited Victory Lane for the organization at the track in 2009. Hendrick Motorsports has led laps in 17 of the 18 races run at Chicagoland and had at least one car finish in the top 10 in all but two of the 18 races.
- This weekend, Chase Elliott will make his fourth NASCAR Cup Series start at Chicagoland Speedway. In his previous three starts, he has garnered two top-five finishes and averaged a starting position of 8.3 and finishing position of 8.0. The driver has led a total of 117 laps at the venue, ranking him third to teammate Jimmie Johnson (695 laps) for most laps led without a win at the track. Chicagoland is one of seven venues on the Cup circuit where the Dawsonville, Georgia, native has led at least 100 laps. The driver of the No. 9 Chevy currently holds the longest active streak in the Cup Series by leading laps in seven straight races. He has collected top-five finishes (Talladega – first; Dover – fifth; Kansas – fourth; Charlotte – fourth; Pocono – fourth) in five of the seven events.
- William Byron will make his second career Cup Series start at Chicagoland Speedway this weekend. The sophomore driver has made one start at the 1.5-mile oval in each of NASCAR’s top three national series. In all three races, Byron has shown speed, qualifying in the top 10 each time, with his best effort of eighth coming in the Cup and Xfinity Series.
- Byron’s front-row qualifying effort last weekend at Sonoma Raceway added to his impressive sophomore season run. The driver is tied for the most poles in 2019 with three but now leads all drivers this season with seven front-row starts. In fact, he has started within the top three positions in five of the last six races. He has led laps in the last six races, as well, which ranks him second to teammate Elliott, who holds the longest active streak with seven.
- The 695 laps Jimmie Johnson has the led around Chicagoland Speedway are the most all-time of any driver in NASCAR Cup Series history at the venue. Johnson has also won two pole positions, the most of any driver at the track, but has yet to find Victory Lane. Three of his seven top-five finishes at Chicagoland have been runner-up results – the closest was July 12, 2008, when he was edged out by competitor Kyle Busch in a wild finish where the margin of victory was a mere 0.159 seconds. His most recent runner-up finish at the track came in 2012 when he started from the pole position and led 172 laps. Johnson’s three straight top-10 finishes at 1.5-mile tracks is the longest active streak in the Cup Series.
- Alex Bowman is set to make his fifth start at Chicagoland Speedway this Sunday. The Tucson, Arizona, native has two top-10 finishes at the 1.5-mile track. In 2016, he piloted the No. 88 machine to six laps led after qualifying 17th. In his last appearance at the track, the driver had a qualifying position of 15th and took the checkered flag in 10th to earn his second top-10 finish at the Illinois venue.
Be sure to catch all the action Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.