CONCORD, N.C. – Hendrick Motorsports heads to Fontana, California this weekend, the home state of El Cajon native Jimmie Johnson.
With the West Coast swing of the Cup Series schedule coming to a close, Hendrick Motorsports owns the most wins on "West Coast" tracks of all organizations.
Additionally, if either Alex Bowman or William Byron were to win on Sunday, it would be their first career Cup win and the first win of the season for the organization.
Below is a closer look at the organization's history at Fontana, along with what to look out for this weekend.
- At Auto Club Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports has 10 wins, five pole positions, 32 top-five finishes and 51 top-10s. The organization won the inaugural race at the track with Jeff Gordon in June 1997. Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers in wins, top-fives, top-10s and laps led at the venue. The organization owns the most all-time records at Fontana, including wins (10), poles (tied for most with five), runner-up finishes (11), top-five finishes (32), laps led (2,002) and average finish (14.2). Its 51 top-10s are the second-most all-time, one behind Roush Fenway Racing. The organization's 10 wins in Fontana, California, are spread among three drivers, with Johnson accounting for six. Gordon claimed three victories at the track and Kyle Busch recorded one.
- To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 12 championships, 252 race victories, 216 pole positions, 1,045 top-five finishes and 1,790 top-10 finishes in points-paying NASCAR Cup Series competition. Its teams have led 67,805 laps since 1984.
- This weekend, Chase Elliott is set to make his fourth NASCAR Cup Series start at Auto Club Speedway (ACS) and his 10th Cup start at a two-mile track (ACS and Michigan International Speedway). In his nine previous Cup Series starts on two-mile tracks, Elliott has garnered three top-five finishes – all runner-up results – and eight top-10 finishes. He also averages a starting position of 12.9 and finishing position of 7.1 at two-mile tracks
- This Sunday, William Byron will climb behind the wheel of his No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to make just his second NASCAR Cup Series start at Auto Club Speedway (ACS) in Fontana, California. Last spring, Byron had an overall solid day at the two-mile, D-shaped oval, qualifying 29th and racing his way to a 15th-place finish, leading a lap in the process. The 21-year-old driver also has one NASCAR Xfinity Series start under his belt at ACS – in 2017 he started sixth and crossed the finish line in fifth.
- Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, leads drivers in almost every category at Auto Club Speedway (ACS). In 24 starts at the track, Johnson is the all-time leader in wins (six), runner-up results (five), top-five finishes (13), top-10s (17) and laps led (980). His average finish at the track of 7.2 is also the best all-time and his best at any track in his career.
- No. 48 team crew chief Kevin Meendering will celebrate his birthday on top of the pit box as he turns 38 on Sunday, March 17.
- Bowman, a Tucson, Arizona, native, has three starts in the NASCAR Cup Series at Auto Club Speedway. His best finish of 13th came in the 2018 event when the No. 88 team started 28th. The driver has completed 99.7 percent of the total laps during those three events. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has one start at the Fontana, California, venue in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In 2013, he qualified in the sixth position and finished 12th in the spring event.
- Two familiar faces will adorn the No. 88 Nationwide Camaro ZL1 paint scheme this weekend in Fontana, California. Bowman’s dogs, Finn and Roscoe, can be seen on the quarter panels of the No. 88 Chevy during Sunday’s race.