TALLADEGA, Ala. – Kyle Larson will lead the Hendrick Motorsports quartet to the green flag in Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. The No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was the fastest of any Chevrolet in the field on Saturday afternoon.
Larson’s lap of 53.302 seconds in the second round of qualifying earned him the ninth starting spot. While he has yet to break through with a win at a drafting track, the Elk Grove, California, native enters the Alabama facility with quite a bit of momentum on his side from a victory at Martinsville Speedway last weekend. He'll look to Sunday afternoon as another chance to break through at Talladega and earn his first career victory on the historic oval.
RELATED: Fast facts for pack racing in Talladega
William Byron will roll off in the 18th position at Talladega as he aims to earn his first victory at the track. With a win on Sunday, the driver of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet would complete the sweep of victories on drafting tracks. He has previously earned one victory each at Daytona International Speedway and at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Alex Bowman will take the green flag in the 27th position in the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott will line up in the 29th spot in the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Both drivers enter the 2.66-mile oval in search of their first win of the 2023 season.
Denny Hamlin earned the pole position for Sunday’s race.
RELATED: Elliott selected to NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers list
Larson’s victory last weekend at Martinsville was his second of 2023. The driver of the No. 5 entry currently sits fourth in the points standings, 17 markers behind championship leader Christopher Bell. Last spring at Talladega, his fourth-place finish marked his best result on a drafting track in the Cup Series.
For Byron, 2023 has gotten off to an incredibly fast start. With two victories early in the season, he has proven he can win races on a consistent basis. As spring slowly turns into summer, he'll need to keep up the positive momentum and continue to push towards a career-high third victory in a single season. His best finish at Talladega was a runner-up in 2021's spring event.
While Bowman and Elliott will have to work their way up through the pack, both drivers have had success at the Alabama facility during their careers. The driver of the No. 48 Ally Racing Chevrolet has netted four top-10 results at Talladega in his career with all of these finishes coming in the spring event. As for Elliott, he will lean on his past success and two previous victories on the 2.66-mile oval to move towards the front of the field. Elliott also enters this weekend as the most recent driver to win at Talladega in the Cup Series.
In total, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 14 victories at the famed track, which are the most among all teams. Vice chairman Jeff Gordon holds the record for most wins in organizational history with six. Two others have earned double-digit tallies with Jimmie Johnson and Elliott each owning two victories. Ken Schrader, Terry Labonte, Brian Vickers, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. each won a single race at Talladega in their time with Rick Hendrick’s team.
RELATED: Gustafson to make 650th start as a crew chief this weekend
Catch the 188-lap main event at 3 p.m. ET this Sunday on FOX, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
