CONCORD, N.C. – With two of the three Hendrick Motorsports wins coming at 1.5-mile tracks this season, the organization’s drivers are ready to race for another victory at Kansas Speedway this Sunday.
In three of the last four NASCAR Cup Series races held at Kansas, Hendrick Motorsports has placed three cars inside the top 10. In fact, the organization has had at least three cars in the top 10 there on 14 different occasions. No other team has done it more than six times.
Take a look at the best Hendrick Motorsports stats at Kansas as the drivers get ready to head to the track this Sunday.
- Entering Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports owns the track records for wins (seven), runner-up finishes (six), top-fives (36) and top-10s (66). Its average finish of 13.14 is the best of all teams
- Thirteen different Hendrick Motorsports drivers have recorded at least one Cup Series victory on a 1.5-mile track. The list is led by seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson with 28 and four-time champ Jeff Gordon with 17. They are joined by Darrell Waltrip (three wins), Chase Elliott (two), Kasey Kahne (two), Terry Labonte (two), Ken Schrader (two), Alex Bowman, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Mark Martin, Casey Mears and Jerry Nadeau.
- Larson led a race-high 103 laps en route to his victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier this season. Prior to the win, he had scored nine runner-up finishes – the most all-time without a NASCAR Cup Series victory – in 71 career starts on 1.5-mile tracks. One of his second-place finishes came at Kansas Speedway in 2014.
- On intermediate tracks in 2021, Larson leads the series in average finish (2.33), stage wins (three) and laps led (377), which represent 44% of all laps run on 1.5-mile tracks this season. The driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE is tied for the most wins (one), second-place finishes (one) and top-10s (three) in those three events.
- On Sunday, Elliott is set to make his 11th Kansas Speedway start at the NASCAR Cup Series level. In his previous 10 races at the track, he garnered one win, four top-five finishes, six top-10s and led 145 laps. He has finished inside the top 10 in four of the last five races at the 1.5-mile venue. Elliott also holds the third-best average finish (11.0) at Kansas, behind only Kevin Harvick (9.3) and Cole Custer (10.5).
- In the last five events at Kansas, Elliott is tied for the most top-10 finishes (four) and averages the best finishing position of all drivers (5.0).
- So far in the 2021 Cup Series season, Byron and the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team have been a model of consistency. After 10 races, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native has spent 2,186 laps running inside the top 10 – the second-most in the field behind only points leader Denny Hamlin (2,407). Of those top-10 laps, 879 have been inside the top five, which is the sixth-most of all drivers. Currently, Byron has led 150 laps across five races, also good for sixth in the Cup Series. He has the fourth-best average running position of 8.99 so far in 2021.
- Bowman will make his 12th start at Kansas Speedway on Sunday afternoon. Last season, the Tucson, Arizona, native brought home an eighth-place result in the spring race and a third-place finish during the fall playoff race at the venue. The driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE is tied for first with five drivers for the most top-10 finishes (four) at Kansas in the last five events and was the highest-finishing Hendrick Motorsports driver in three of the last four races there. Bowman has two top-five finishes, five top-10s and has led 76 laps at the 1.5-mile track.
- When the field takes the green flag on Sunday, Bowman will be making his 200th career NASCAR Cup Series start. Since his first race in 2014, the 28-year-old driver has three wins, 18 top-five results and 45 top-10s. Bowman has captured three pole positions, including two for the DAYTONA 500, with Hendrick Motorsports since 2016 and has led 925 laps total. Only four drivers have claimed a victory in their 200th start, with the most recent winner being Kevin Harvick in 2006.
Be sure to tune in this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on FS1 to see the Hendrick Motorsports drivers race for a win at Kansas Speedway.