CONCORD, N.C. – The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Talladega Superspeedway for the second playoff race in the Round of 12 and the Hendrick Motorsports teams are ready to tally as many playoff points as possible to better their chances of transferring to the Round of 8.
Going into Sunday’s race, Hendrick Motorsports owns more superspeedway wins than any team in Cup Series history. At the big tracks of Daytona and Talladega, it has posted a record 28 victories with 11 different drivers.
Check out the impressive stats Hendrick Motorsports has at Talladega and tune in this Sunday, Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC to see the teams in action and try to add to Hendrick Motorsports’ record year.
- Hendrick Motorsports holds the NASCAR Cup Series record for the most Talladega Superspeedway wins by a single organization with 13. It has sent seven different drivers to victory lane there: Jeff Gordon (six wins), Jimmie Johnson (two), Chase Elliott, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brian Vickers, Terry Labonte and Ken Schrader.
- In 13 starts at Talladega Superspeedway, Kyle Larson has two top-10 finishes. He posted a ninth-place result in his first race at the Alabama track in 2014 while his best finish of sixth occurred in October 2016.
- Larson is one of only three Hendrick Motorsports drivers to lead 2,000 or more laps during a season. Jeff Gordon accomplished this feat three times (1995, 1996 and 2001) while Jimmie Johnson paced the field for more than 2,000 laps once (2009). Except for Gordon’s 1996 season, those drivers won the Cup championship that year.
- On Sunday, Elliott is set to make his 12th Talladega start in the Cup Series. His win at the track in April 2019 was his first superspeedway win at the Cup level. In his previous 11 starts at the venue, the 25-year-old driver has earned the pole position twice – his first start in May 2016 and in October 2019. Elliott has garnered four top-five finishes and led 173 laps in his NCS career at the Alabama track.
- In the last five superspeedway races, Elliott leads all drivers with two runner-up finishes, four top-10s and an 8.2-average finish. He also is tied for the most top-fives (three) in those five events with Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron.
- Sunday’s race at Talladega will be Byron’s 16th superspeedway start in the Cup Series. In his previous 15 starts, Byron has scored one win (Daytona, August 2020), four top-five finishes and four top-10s with 148 laps led. In the last five superspeedway races, Byron is one of three drivers (Elliott and Denny Hamlin) who have scored top-five finishes in three races – the most in the series.
- Byron will be making his eighth Cup Series start at the 2.66-mile oval when the No. 24 team hits the track Sunday. In his previous seven starts, Byron has a track-best finish of second coming in his last appearance at the Alabama-based venue (April 2021). In fact, Byron’s last two appearances at Talladega have been his best, with his runner-up result earlier this season and a fourth-place result in October 2020. He is the only driver to have finished in the top-five in the last two Talladega races.
- Alex Bowman has 12 starts at Talladega Superspeedway in the Cup Series. The driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE has one runner-up finish (2019), three top-10s and has led 45 laps total at the track. Bowman’s three top-10 finishes at the 2.66-mile venue are tied for the sixth-most since the start of 2018. Earlier this year at Talladega, the Ally Chevy was involved in an on-track incident on lap 123, concluding the team’s day after starting fifth.
- No. 48 team crew chief Greg Ives will call the shots for the 14th time at Talladega on Sunday. The Bark River, Michigan, native has one win there with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2015 after leading 67 laps, along with three top-five finishes and six top-10 results. His drivers have an average start of 6.2 at the 2.66-mile facility. In total, Ives’ drivers have led 180 laps in 13 Cup events.