CONCORD, N.C. -- Hendrick Motorsports will be in its own backyard this weekend when the four race teams head to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 600-mile race, just 1 mile away from campus.
Hendrick Motorsports is coming off two historic wins in a row after its 1-2-3-4 finish at Dover International Speedway and Chase Elliott's NASCAR Cup Series all-time record-tying win at Circuit of The Americas last weekend.
Rick Hendrick's drivers have had success at Charlotte Motor Speedway over the years, winning 11 times during the Memorial Day weekend event. Take a look at the best stats from the team's success at the track as the drives prepare to race under the lights. The event will begin Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on FOX.
- Aside from Hendrick Motorsports record 11 wins at Charlotte during Memorial Day weekend, it has recorded wins during the special race with five different drivers. Hendrick Motorsports also has the most total points-paying Cup victories on the CMS oval with 20, which have come via a track record eight different drivers. Its 20 combined points wins there are 12 more than any other team. In addition, the organization holds a record eight NASCAR All-Star Race wins at Charlotte and a record two victories on the venue’s ROVAL road-course layout.
- With 62, Hendrick Motorsports is the all-time leader in points-paying NASCAR Cup Series wins on 1.5-mile racetracks. The team’s total is eight more than next-best Joe Gibbs Racing, 21 more than Roush Fenway Racing and 31 more than Team Penske. At 1.5-mile venues in 2021, Hendrick Motorsports has the most race wins (two), stage wins (five), top-five finishes (six; tied) and laps led (664).
- Following its next trip to victory lane, Hendrick Motorsports will stand alone as the all-time leader in NASCAR Cup Series team wins – a distinction that has been held solely by Petty Enterprises for more than 60 years. Hendrick Motorsports also owns the NASCAR Cup Series records for championships (13), pole positions, runner-up finishes, top-five finishes, top-10 finishes and laps led.
- In 11 points-paying starts at the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway oval, Kyle Larson has one top-five finish (October 2016) and four top-10s. In 2019 when the annual NASCAR All-Star Race was held at Charlotte, the Elk Grove, California, native won the Open to gain entry into the All-Star Race, then led the final 13 laps to capture the victory in the exhibition event. Larson also won the Open in 2016.
- Elliott is set to make his 10th NASCAR Cup Series start at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. In his previous nine races at the 1.5-mile track, the 25-year-old driver has garnered four top-five finishes, five top-10s and led 224 laps. During the most recent visit to the oval configuration last season on May 28, Elliott and the No. 9 team led the final 28 laps of the Thursday night event to earn their first win of the year.
- In his Cup Series career, William Byron has four starts at Charlotte, with three of them being the 600-mile event on Memorial Day weekend. In fact, in just his second start at Charlotte in 2019, Byron became the youngest pole sitter for the 600 at the age of 21 years, 5 months, and 24 days. That 2019 race was his best showing at the 1.5-mile oval, leading 31 laps before crossing the finish line ninth.
- Alex Bowman has nine previous starts at Charlotte in the Cup Series. He has two top-10 finishes in the last three 600-mile events at the 1.5-mile venue and has led 223 laps. In 2020, Bowman led 164 during the 400-lap event en route to a 19th-place finish at the end of the day. In the last six Charlotte 600s, Bowman led 172 laps total, which ranks fourth on the list of active drivers who have led during those events.