CONCORD, N.C. – After an off-weekend to celebrate the Easter holiday, the NASCAR Cup Series is back and headed to the Lone Star State.
Texas Motor Speedway has been a venue filled with success for the organization and the Hendrick Motorsports teammates will look to add to those accomplishments at the 1.5-mile track this weekend.
Here’s a look at how Hendrick Motorsports has performed at Texas Motor Speedway throughout the years.
- The organization's nine wins at Texas have come courtesy of three different drivers -- Jimmie Johnson (seven), Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte -- and are the most of all organizations.
- Hendrick Motorsports has a NASCAR Cup Series record 57 total wins on 1.5-mile tracks, 15 more than the next closest team, Joe Gibbs Racing.
- In seven of the last 11 years, Hendrick Motorsports has won at least one race at the venue. The team has had at least one car finish in the top-10 in each of the last 23 races there and has also had at least one driver lead in each of the last 23 races at Texas. In two of the last six races, all four Hendrick Motorsports cars finished inside the top 10. Twice, the organization has swept the top-two finishing positions.
- Chase Elliott has proven to be a consistent contender at Texas Motor Speedway. The driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has finished inside the top 10 in all four of his Cup Series starts at the venue. In 2016, he finished inside the top five in both Texas races, becoming the only rookie to finish in the top five in both rookie season starts at the track. His 6.5 average finish is the highest at Texas all-time.
- In April 2014, Elliott became the second-youngest driver ever to win a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the venue. In five Xfinity starts, he took home three top-five results and finished inside the top 10 each time. With a win Sunday, Elliott could become just the fifth driver ever to win their first Xfinity and Cup Series race at the same track.
- William Byron has also had success at Texas Motor Speedway in his young career. He finished inside the top 10 in both of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts and in June 2016 became the youngest driver to win at Texas Motor Speedway in the Truck Series.
- In two Xfinity Series starts at the track, the driver of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 finished inside the top-10 in both races, had an 8.0 average finish and led 34 laps.
- Throughout 29 career starts at the venue, Johnson has built a resume of success at Texas Motor Speedway that is unparalleled. His seven wins, five runner-up finishes, 15 top-fives, 21 top-10s and 1,041 laps led at Texas are each all-time records. His 8.76 average finish is second best all-time, behind his teammate Elliott.
- In his last 11 starts at Texas Motor Speedway, Johnson has recorded six wins, seven top-five finishes, eight top-10s and led 766 laps. During that run, he won three races in a row at the venue between November 2014 and December 2015, the longest streak ever by a driver at the track.
- The driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 also leads all drivers with 28 victories on 1.5-mile tracks. Jeff Gordon is second on the list with 17 1.5-mile track wins.
- After recording one top-10 finish in the first six races of 2017, Johnson and the No. 48 team went back-to-back, scoring wins in the seventh race of the season at Texas Motor Speedway and the eighth race of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway. Johnson has one top-10 through six races in 2018 with Texas and Bristol next on the schedule.
- Alex Bowman has two starts at the 1.5-mile speedway in the Xfinity Series, where he captured the pole in both events. His first career laps led in the Xfinity Series also came at the track.
- In November 2016, Alex Bowman captured a 13th-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway while subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Currently, the driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has finished inside the top-13 for three consecutive races, which is tied for the third longest active streak of top-13 finishes in the Cup Series this year.