CONCORD, N.C. -- Kentucky Speedway has been the one that's gotten away for Hendrick Motorsports, but all that can change this weekend.
The organization has yet to win a race at the 1.5-mile track, which marks the only venue on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit where Hendrick Motorsports has yet to win.
Check out more key numbers and stats as Hendrick Motorsports heads to Kentucky Speedway.
- Hendrick Motorsports founder and owner Rick Hendrick's 71st birthday happens is July 12, which happens to be the same day as the race at Kentucky. It will mark just the third time the circuit has ever competed on July 12. Jimmie Johnson scored a runner-up finish at Chicagoland Speedway in 2008, representing Hendrick Motorsports’ best-ever result on the date. Born July 12, 1949, in Warrenton, North Carolina, Hendrick was raised on a tobacco farm in Palmer Springs, Virginia. Today, he is the owner of 12-time Cup Series champions Hendrick Motorsports and the chairman and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group, the largest privately held operator of car dealerships in the United States. Hendrick holds nearly every major statistical record for a NASCAR team owner and was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2017.
- Kentucky Speedway is the only active NASCAR Cup Series track where Hendrick Motorsports has not won. Since the 1.5-mile venue began hosting Cup races in 2011, the team has finished in every position from second through 15th at least once.
- In 2020, no one has led more laps on 1.5-mile tracks than Hendrick Motorsports. The team has led 421 laps on 1.5-milers this season, which is 57 more than second-place Stewart-Haas Racing.
- Chase Elliott is set to make his fifth Cup Series start at Kentucky Speedway on Sunday. In 2017, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native earned a personal-best finish of third at the track.
- Sunday’s race will mark William Byron’s third Cup Series start at Kentucky Speedway. With a best finish of 18th, Byron’s results don’t accurately depict the speed he has displayed at the 1.5-mile track. Last year, the driver was running within the top five for the first half of the race. However, during a restart in the final stage, Byron was called for a penalty, forcing him down pit road and off the lead lap before crossing the finish line in 18th.
- In nine starts at Kentucky, Jimmie Johnson has one pole position (2012), one top-five finish and five top-10s. The El Cajon, California, native has led 206 laps at the 1.5-mile track, including 182 in 2013 when he started third and finished ninth.
- Alex Bowman is set to make his fifth NASCAR Cup Series start at Kentucky Speedway. Last season, the Tucson, Arizona, native finished inside the top 20 after crossing the line 17th.