CONCORD, N.C. – Night racing returns once again this week as the four Hendrick Motorsports teams travel to Kentucky Speedway.
It is the only speedway where the organization has yet to bring home a victory, but its teams have logged five top-five finishes and 14 top-10s in the five races since the track began hosting NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events.
Hendrick Motorsports drivers have also won two pole positions (2012 -2013) and have led a combined total of 213 laps led.
Before the lights go on in Kentucky, however, take a look back at three special moments from the organization’s history at the 1.5-mile track.
July 9, 2011: Jimmie Johnson has contributed five top-10s to the organization’s resume at Kentucky Speedway. His career best finish at the 1.5-mile track, however, came at his very first race there. After taking the green flag in fifth, Johnson battled through six cautions over the course of 267 laps to take the checkered flag in third.
2011 – 2015: Along with his teammate, Johnson, Jeff Gordon also finished in the top 10 in each of his five starts at the track. Finishing 10th in the inaugural race at Kentucky Speedway, Gordon returned the following year and finished fifth, his career best at the track. In 2013, the driver logged another top-10, finishing in eighth, and followed it up in 2014 with a sixth-place finish. Last year, Gordon brought home a seventh-place result.
June 28, 2014: The Hendrick Motorsports teams arrived at Kentucky in 2014 on a mission. When the checkered flag waved, all four drivers crossed the finish line inside the top 10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the way, leading an impressive charge from his 29th starting position to a fifth-place finish. Right behind him in sixth was third-starting Gordon. Kasey Kahne finished in eighth after taking the green flag in 20th, and rounding out the organization’s effort was 20th-starting Johnson, who finished in 10th.
