CONCORD, N.C. – Hendrick Motorsports is set to take on Richmond Raceway this Sunday, marking the ninth stop on the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. All four drivers are focused on taking home another checkered flag.
No active NASCAR Cup Series team has more short-track victories than Hendrick Motorsports. Going into Richmond, the organization has 51 short-track wins – nine more than next-best Joe Gibbs Racing. Ten different drivers have won on a short track for car owner Rick Hendrick, which is one shy of the all-time record of 11 held by Junior Johnson and Associates.
Take a look at more impressive stats as Hendrick Motorsports gets ready to race at the .75-mile track in Virginia.
- Hendrick Motorsports has placed at least two of its Chevrolets inside the top 10 in seven of the eight points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races held in 2021 – the most of any team. The organization has 19 top-10 finishes this season.
- Hendrick Motorsports has won a combined 64 races at the next five tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule: Richmond (10), Talladega (13), Kansas (seven), Darlington (14) and Dover (20).
- In 12 starts at Richmond Raceway, Kyle Larson has one win (2017), two top-five finishes and five top-10s. The driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE has finished seventh or better in five of his last seven starts at the Virginia venue.
- In September 2017 at the .75-mile track, Larson held off Martin Truex Jr. and others in overtime to earn his lone short-track victory in NASCAR’s premier series. The native of Elk Grove, California, led 53 laps in the event that was extended by four laps due to a late-race caution.
- On Sunday at Richmond Raceway, Chase Elliott will make his 34th short-track start in the Cup Series. In those previous 33 races, he has garnered 11 top-five finishes, 17 top-10s and led 775 laps. Elliott currently has six consecutive top-10 finishes on short tracks – the longest active streak of all Cup Series drivers.
- On Sunday, No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson is set to call his 31st Richmond race in the NASCAR Cup Series race. In his previous 30 starts at the track with five different drivers (Kyle Busch, Casey Mears, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon and Elliott), Gustafson has accumulated 13 top-five finishes including five runner-up results, 17 top-10s and 566 laps led. His five second-place finishes are tied with Kirk Shelmerdine. The only crew chief with more at the .75-mile oval is NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Inman, who has 10.
- With two short-track races completed so far in 2021, William Byron is one of five drivers who have finished in the top 10 for both. He secured a sixth-place effort during the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt event and a fourth-place finish Sunday at Martinsville. In fact, Byron’s two consecutive top-10 finishes have him tied for the third-longest active top-10 streak on short tracks.
- Dating back to his win at Homestead- Miami Speedway on Feb. 28, Byron has been on a hot streak of top-10 finishes. Prior to this current streak, Byron’s Cup Series best was three consecutive finishes in the top 10, which he accomplished twice. The 23-year-old driver has now doubled that amount after his fourth-place finish Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, extending his consecutive top-10 finishes to six races – the longest active streak in the Cup Series. Byron’s six total top-10s are the second-most by a driver this year behind only points leader Denny Hamlin (seven).
- Alex Bowman has nine previous Richmond Raceway starts in the NASCAR Cup Series. His best finish came last fall when he finished ninth after 400 laps. Bowman also has three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the Virginia track where he qualified a career-best second and finished ninth in 2016 for JR Motorsports. In 2011, the 27-year-old driver made one start at the track in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, qualifying fourth and finishing fifth after 100 laps.
- The No. 48 team has run 500 laps inside the top five and 996 laps inside the top 10 this NASCAR Cup Series season, which both rank ninth among active drivers. Bowman has the 11th-best average running position (14.22) and finishing position (19.13) after eight events in 2021. The Tucson, Arizona, native has captured one top-five finish, three top-10s and one pole award (the DAYTONA 500) this season.
Be sure to tune in this Sunday, April 18 at 3 p.m. ET on FOX to watch the Hendrick Motorsports drivers take on Richmond.