CONCORD, N.C. – Since the NASCAR Cup Series first came to Kansas Speedway in 2001, Hendrick Motorsports has amassed six wins, five pole positions, 30 top-five finishes and 53 top-10s at the track, all of which lead NASCAR Cup Series teams all-time.
With three wins, Jimmie Johnson is tied for the most wins all-time at Kansas. Johnson also leads all drivers in top-10 finishes (17) and active drivers in top-five finishes (nine) at the venue, most recently winning for the organization at the track in 2015.
The venue is also one of 11 tracks where Hendrick Motorsports leads all teams in Cup Series wins.
As the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs head to the track this weekend, check out some of the key facts, figures and moments from Hendrick Motorsports’ history at Kansas Speedway.
- Hendrick Motorsports has a NASCAR Cup Series record 57 total wins on 1.5-mile tracks, 12 more than the next closest team, Joe Gibbs Racing. Hendrick Motorsports has earned at least one win on a 1.5-mile track in a record 24 consecutive seasons. With three more races on 1.5-mile tracks this year, including this weekend, a win would extend that streak to 25.
- The 2018 season marks the 13th consecutive season in which Hendrick Motorsports has sent at least two drivers into the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the most of all organizations. Hendrick Motorsports has placed at least three drivers in the playoffs in 11 different seasons, also the most of all teams. The organization has accumulated 42 wins during the playoffs, the most all-time. A Hendrick Motorsports driver has made the Championship 4 in two of the four seasons in the current format, and won the championship in seven of the 14 seasons with a playoff system.
- Chase Elliott is set to make his 32nd 1.5-mile track start this weekend at Kansas Speedway. In the third-year driver’s previous 31 starts on the track length, he has led 245 laps and averaged a starting position of 13.8 and finishing position of 14.6. Elliott has collected nine top-five finishes – two of which were runner-up results – and 16 top-10s.
- The No. 9 team continues its strong showing in the last 12 races, winning twice, leading 246 laps and finishing inside the top 10 nine times. Elliott is currently tied with Kevin Harvick for the most top-five finishes (six) in the last 12 races of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season.
- In the spring race at Kansas Speedway, William Byron had his No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 inside the top 10 near the end of the 400-mile NASCAR Cup Series race, but he was involved in a multi-car incident that ended his night with 14 laps to go, relegating him to a 33rd-place finish. In his first two NASCAR national series starts at Kansas Speedway – one in the Xfinity Series and one in the Camping World Truck Series – Byron never finished outside of the top five. He won his first NCWTS race at the 1.5-mile oval in 2016 in just his fifth start in the series. Byron started second and led 34 laps before ending up in Victory Lane to jump start what would be the most successful season for a rookie in NCWTS history.
- There has never been a first-time winner in the Cup Series at Kansas, a stat Byron hopes to change this weekend. Two of his teammates – Johnson and Elliott – finished in the top 10 at Kansas Speedway as rookies, and two drivers – Ryan Newman and Kyle Larson – have come close to capturing the checkered flag at the 1.5-mile oval, finishing in the runner-up position in their respective rookie seasons.
- Johnson is the NASCAR Cup Series’ all-time wins leader on 1.5-mile tracks with 28. Second all-time is Johnson’s former teammate Jeff Gordon with 17 victories, followed by Tony Stewart (15), Dale Earnhardt (14) and Richard Petty (13). He also leads the series all-time with 5,756 laps led on 1.5-mile tracks, 785 laps more than second place. His 73 top-five finishes and 111 top-10s on 1.5-mile tracks are both second all-time only to Gordon.
- Johnson's three wins at Kansas are tied for the most all-time at the venue, and his 17 top-10s are the most all-time. His three pole positions at the track are tied for the second-most all time and his nine top-five finishes are second only to Gordon. His 601 laps led at Kansas are the fourth-most all time, and his average finish of 10.04 at the track is the third-best among drivers with more than five starts.
- A three-time winner at Kansas, Johnson’s last win at the 1.5-mile track came on May 9, 2015, when he passed Harvick with 10 laps to go and took the checkered flag for his third win at the track.
- The No. 88 team is in a must-win situation this weekend in Kansas, as Alex Bowman sits 68 markers from the cut-off position to make the Round of 8. Two of the last three races of the 2018 season were won by drivers getting their first win of the season – and two of the last 14 were won by a driver earning his first career Cup Series win – so there is a chance that Bowman captures the win this weekend to advance. Six races in the elimination-style playoffs were won by drivers in must-win positions. Nine drivers got their first win driving for Hendrick Motorsports, which is a positive note for Bowman going into this weekend’s event.
- So far in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff races, Bowman has finished inside the top 10 in seven out of 10 stages. At Las Vegas last month, the driver finished Stage 1 in the third position and Stage 2 in ninth. Bowman’s four top-10 stage finishes at Richmond and Charlotte led to 12th and fourth-place finishes, respectively. Last weekend at Talladega, the driver finished the first stage in the ninth position but made an early pit stop in Stage 2, forcing the team to a 14th-place finish in the second segment.
- Bowman has six previous starts at Kansas Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series. Earlier this season, the 25-year-old driver finished 18th after starting 19th. Bowman was behind the wheel of the No. 88 machine in 2016 while subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and finished seventh at Kansas after qualifying fifth. The seventh-place finish was Bowman’s second career top-10 finish in the series at the time.
- With Elliott earning his first two Cup Series wins at Watkins Glen and Dover, Hendrick Motorsports now holds the record for the most first-time Cup Series winners with nine. If Byron or Bowman wins at Kansas, it will extend the record to the 10th time a driver has recorded his first career Cup Series win while driving for Hendrick Motorsports.