DAYTONA, Fla. – Drivers are gearing up to race under the lights this Fourth of July weekend at Daytona International Speedway, where Hendrick Motorsports has a history of success.
- The organization owns the second-most wins all-time at Daytona International Speedway with 14, behind Wood Brothers Racing's 15. Hendrick Motorsports has also accumulated 54 top-five finishes, 96 top 10s and 2,102 laps led at the track.
- At Daytona, Hendrick Motorsports has a track record of five straight poles. Chase Elliott began the streak by grabbing the top starting spot in the 2017 Daytona 500, which was followed by pole wins from Dale Earnhardt Jr., Alex Bowman, Elliott again and most recently William Byron, who captured the pole earlier this season at the Daytona 500.
- Following Bowman's victory last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports tied Wood Brothers Racing for the record for most drivers to win for a team with 18. This weekend, the organization could become the single all-time record holder if Byron were to win the race.
- Elliott owns the second-most points earned in the last eight races, having collected top-five finishes in five of those eight. At superspeedways (Daytona and Talldega), he has started on the front row six times, four from the pole position. He averages a starting position of 6.2 in his 14 superspeedway starts and has led 168 laps.
- Elliott’s crew chief, Alan Gustafson, is no stranger to Daytona. Not only did he grow up less than 10 miles away, but also claims two runner-up finishes at the 2.5-mile oval with Kyle Busch in 2006 and 2007. The 2007 result with Busch ahead of Jamie McMurray was the closest margin of victory ever in the July race at Daytona (0.005 seconds). Gustafson has also won the pole award at Daytona five times with three drivers (Elliott – three, Jeff Gordon – one, Mark Martin – one).
- Byron is currently the leader in the entire Cup Series with an active streak of laps led in seven consecutive races, which ties his longest streak of laps led dating back to his standout Truck Series campaign in 2016. He has a Daytona win on his racing resume – during his 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship campaign, he qualified third and went on to capture the win.
- Jimmie Johnson owns three wins at Daytona in addition to two pole positions, 11 top-five finishes and 15 top-10s and is one lap shy of 300 laps led at the track. Since his last wins at the track – a sweep in 2013 – Johnson’s best, most recent finish was July 5, 2015, when he started 12th, led 35 laps and finished second behind former teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Last weekend, Bowman and the No. 88 team led 88 laps en route to a victory at Chicagoland Speedway. The last time a driver captured his first two series wins back-to-back was in 1964 when Billy Wade won at Old Bridge and Bridgehampton in consecutive weekends. Bowman finished second in the last superspeedway race at Talladega back in April and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Chase Elliott, took home the win. No. 88 team crew chief Greg Ives owns a win at Daytona, which came in 2015 with Earnhardt.
Be sure to catch all the action on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.