CONCORD, N.C. – This Sunday, road-course racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway makes its debut in the NASCAR Cup Series and the Hendrick Motorsports drivers are ready to turn left and right for the second weekend in a row.
In NASCAR Cup Series road races since 2018, the 13-time championship winning organization has gone to victory lane in nine of 13 events, including eight of the last nine. The team has won 10 of 24 stages (the most) and led more than anyone else with 502 of 1,140 laps (44%). It has posted four 1-2 finishes during the stretch, all coming in the last eight races.
Take a look at some of the hottest stats as the four drivers get ready to make their way to the Indy road course for Sunday’s race.
- Although Hendrick Motorsports has never raced on the venue’s road course, it has posted a record 10 NASCAR Cup Series wins competing on the storied Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval – twice the total of any other team. The organization holds the track records for Cup Series top-five finishes (27), top-10s (42) and laps led (1,030). Its five Cup pole positions on the Indy oval are tied for the most.
- After 23 of 36 points-paying races in 2021, the four-car Hendrick Motorsports stable has won 11 times, which is its most ever at this point in the season. Its 16 stage wins are the most in history by any organization going into the 24th points race. Hendrick Motorsports has its most top-five finishes (36) and posted its fourth-most laps led (2,083) at the 23-event mark. The team’s 56 top-10s in 2021 represent the second-most by anyone ever at this point in a season.
- Through 23 of 36 Cup Series races, Kyle Larson leads the series in wins (career-best five), stage wins (12), playoff points (37), and laps led (career-best 1,468). He is tied for most second-place finishes (five), most top-five finishes (12), most top-10s (16) and most pole positions (one). Larson has also paced the field a series-high 88 times on road courses.
- At 13.69 seconds, the No. 5 pit crew owns the quickest average time for four-tire pit stops in 2021. The over-the-wall crew is comprised of gasman Brandon Harder, jackman Brandon Johnson, tire carrier R.J. Barnette and tire changers Donnie Tasser (front) and Calvin Teague (rear).
- The NASCAR Cup Series season will take on the Indianapolis road course for the first time this weekend and Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, is no stranger to bringing home a win at new tracks on the circuit. The 25-year-old driver has won at the DAYTONA Road Course and Circuit of The Americas in their inaugural Cup Series debuts.
- Elliott’s seven road course wins are the most of all active drivers and the third-most all-time road course wins behind only Jeff Gordon (nine) and Tony Stewart (eight). The Dawsonville, Georgia, native also leads the way for the most wins on different road courses in the series (five).
- After 23 races in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, William Byron is having his best season yet at the highest level of competition in the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. So far, Byron has collected one win (Homestead-Miami Speedway), one pole (Road America), eight top-five finishes and 15 top-10s (tied for the fourth-most by a driver this season) all while leading 245 laps and collecting three stage wins. His eight top-five finishes and 15 top-10s are the most the 23-year-old driver has earned in a season at the Cup level.
- Despite limited road course racing in his background, Byron has stepped up his road course skills throughout his time in the Cup Series, finishing in the top 10 in four of the last eight races. In five of the last 10 road course events, Byron has led laps, including leading the most during last year’s race at the Charlotte ROVAL. Byron has also led the fifth-most laps on road courses during the 2021 season (20). Two of Byron’s total Cup Series stage wins have come during road course races.
- In the NASCAR Cup Series, Alex Bowman has 17 starts at road courses with two top-five finishes and seven top-10s. He has finished inside the top 15 in 11 of 13 road course starts while behind the wheel for Hendrick Motorsports and has an average finish of 11.2 while driving for the organization. The No. 48 team has placed inside the top 10 in five of the last eight road course events in the series.
- Crew chief Greg Ives has called 19 Cup Series races on road courses at Hendrick Motorsports. The Bark River, Michigan, native’s drivers have captured two top-five results and nine top-10s at Circuit of The Americas, the Charlotte ROVAL, Road America, the DAYTONA Road Course, Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International. This weekend’s event will mark the inaugural NCS event on the IMS road course and Ives’ first time calling the shots on this circuit. On the famed Indy oval, Ives has six starts in the series with his best finish of 13th coming in 2016 with Jeff Gordon behind the wheel.
Be sure to tune in this Sunday, Aug. 15 at 1 p.m. ET on NBC to see the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers take on 14-turn road course event in Indianapolis.