CONCORD, N.C. – The 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season officially gets underway this Sunday with the 60th annual running of the Daytona 500.
As “The Great American Race” quickly approaches, a handful of stats stand out for Hendrick Motorsports, including some history that will be made this Sunday.
- When the green flag drops on Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports will become the first team in NASCAR history to start three drivers under the age of 25 in the Daytona 500: Alex Bowman (24), Chase Elliott (22) and William Byron (20). At 20 years, 2 months and 20 days old, Byron will be the youngest driver to start the Daytona 500 since Trevor Bayne in 2011. Bayne went on to win the race.
- Meanwhile, with two victories, Jimmie Johnson is the only multi-time Daytona 500 winner expected to compete in this year’s event. The last time there was just one multi-time winner in the Daytona 500 field was 1993 (Bill Elliott).
- A Hendrick Motorsports driver sits on the pole for the fourth consecutive Daytona 500 – and the seventh of the last 11 Daytona 500s.
- Hendrick Motorsports has earned eight Daytona 500 wins with five different drivers, including three by Jeff Gordon and two by Johnson. The organization's first Daytona 500 victory came with driver Geoff Bodine in 1986, with Darrell Waltrip (1989) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2014) also posting wins for Hendrick Motorsports. A victory for the organization Sunday would tie Petty Enterprises for the most Daytona 500 wins all-time with nine overall.
- The next points-paying win by a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet will be the organization’s milestone 250th in NASCAR Cup Series competition. With 268 Cup victories, only Petty Enterprises has more.
- Sixteen different drivers have contributed to Hendrick Motorsports’ total of 249 points-paying Cup wins. Only the Wood Brothers team, which has sent 19 different drivers to Victory Lane, has more.
- If Elliott, Byron or Bowman wins the 2018 Daytona 500, it will mark the ninth time a driver has recorded his first career Cup Series win while driving for Hendrick Motorsports. Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing share the all-time record, having each sent eight first-time winners to Victory Lane in Cup Series competition.
- Sunday will mark the official NASCAR Cup Series debut of the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The last time Chevy debuted a new race car in the Daytona 500, it was Johnson who took it to Victory Lane. The seven-time Cup Series champion has won the Daytona 500 on Feb. 6, 2006, and Feb. 24, 2013, the latter being the first race for the Chevrolet SS.