Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Dover

EVERY OTHER IN APRIL: Kyle Larson has won every other NASCAR Cup Series race over the last four races this season. He won at Richmond Raceway on April 2, and then again on April 16 at Martinsville Speedway. The driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy has had an every other race run like this before when he was victorious at Kansas Speedway in the Round of 8 of the 2021 playoffs and then two weeks later won the championship race at Phoenix Raceway. Two races later, (in the 2022 season) he went to victory lane at Auto Club Speedway. 

FRONT OF THE FIELD: Larson has led the most laps (468) in the 2023 season after 10 races. He also ranks first for the most laps run in the top five in 2023 (1,207), sits second for most laps run in the top 10 (1,796), is tied for second in top-five finishes (four) and holds the third-best average running position (10.41). The 30-year-old driver is one of three competitors, including Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron, with two wins in the season.

MONSTER MILE MATH: The 2021 Cup Series champion will make his 15th start at Dover Motor Speedway this weekend. Through his previous 14 starts, Larson has one win (October 2019), seven top-five finishes, 11 top-10s, 899 laps led and he has completed 99.9% of his laps at the Delaware track. His top-five finishes and top-10s are tied for his most at any one track (with Phoenix) and his laps led are the most at any track he has competed at on the circuit. On four occasions, he has led at least 130 laps at Dover. 

DOVER DOWNLOW: The Elk Grove, California, native holds the best average finish (6.93) among drivers with more than two starts at the 1-mile track. That mark is also his best at any track that Cup Series visits. Over the last two races at Dover, he has led the most laps (282). In that same span of time, Larson has run the second-most laps in the top five (505 of 800 laps) and the top 10 (694 of 800 laps) to teammate Chase Elliott.

SETTING THE STAGE: With 44 stage wins in his career, Larson has the third-highest total in the stage racing era (since 2017). With two stage wins so far in 2023, he is tied for third in that category. Larson is tied with three other drivers for the second-most stage top 10s this season (12) and he is second to Byron (92) with 85 stage points. 

X2 CHAMPION IN THE MAKING: Larson’s stats thus far in the 2023 season are comparable to those of his championship winning year in 2021. In this year’s first 10 races, he has two wins, two poles, four top-five finishes, four top-10s and 12 playoff points while leading 468 laps across six races. At this point in the 2021 season, Larson had one win, four top-five finishes, six top-10s, eight playoff points and 379 laps led in five different races. 

PIT CREW POWER: The No. 5 HendrickCars.com pit crew has the third-best average four-tire stop time through 10 races at 11.506 seconds. Their four-tire stop at Martinsville on lap 293 ranks as the sixth-fastest of the season at 9.677 seconds. The team’s five-man pit crew consists of Blaine Anderson (front-tire changer), R.J. Barnette (tire carrier), Brandon Harder (fueler), Brandon Johnson (jackman) and Calvin Teague (rear-tire changer).

EXTRACURRICULARS: In accompany to Larson’s full-time Cup Series schedule, he still races late models and sprint cars most weeks. On April 25, he finished third in the High Limit Sprint Car Series race at 34 Raceway in Iowa. The series, which is co-founded by Larson and his brother-in-law Brad Sweet, features an 11-race schedule where many of the nation’s top Sprint Car drivers compete at 11 different racetracks throughout the United States. Check out the full schedule at highlimitracing.com.

FIND YOUR CAR TODAY: This weekend, Larson will drive the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, but you can pick your own keys from any one of Hendrick Automotive Group’s 95 dealerships nationwide. Customers can also shop from the convenience of their home selecting the category, make, model and vehicle packages that are important to them from the nearly 30,000 new, high-quality pre-owned and certified cars, trucks and SUVs available at HendrickCars.com.

HENDRICK IS HIRING: Join 10,000+ others nationwide in working at Hendrick Automotive Group. Hendrick is hiring technicians and other positions at its dealerships throughout the country. Positions are open for all skill levels and offer tuition and training reimbursement. Individuals who are interested can apply at HendrickCars.com.

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media at the Dover Motor Speedway media center on Saturday, April 29, at 9:30 a.m. ET.  

CAPTURING THE STAGE: Last weekend, Chase Elliott earned his first stage win of 2023, capturing stage one at Talladega Superspeedway. He went on to finish the second stage in the runner-up position and took the checkered flag in 12th after a caution came out on the final lap in the second overtime. Elliott led 18 laps and earned the most points (44) in the race. The stage win was his 35th, putting him in seventh on the list of most stage victories all-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. 

CONQUERED THE MONSTER: Dover Motor Speedway was the site of Elliott and the No. 9 team’s first of a series-leading five victories in 2022. The 27-year-old driver led three different times for a total of 73 laps – including the final 53 – to nab his second Cup Series win at the 1-mile track and the 14th of his Cup Series career.  

CHASE’S PLACE: Elliott is set to make his 13th Dover Cup Series start this weekend. The driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has two victories on the concrete oval (October 2018 and May 2022) and nine top-five finishes, his most on any Cup track. Dover is one of four tracks at which the Dawsonville, Georgia, native has multiple wins. The Delaware venue is where he has led his fourth-most laps (394) at any one circuit. Across the last two Cup races on the “Monster Mile,” he has spent the most time of any driver inside the top five (586 of 800 laps) and top 10 (750 of 800 laps). On the all-time list of best average finishes at the track for drivers with more than two starts, Elliott is ranked fifth (9.75). 

MAKING HISTORY: Elliott’s name is tied to two different historical moments at Dover. Not only is he the youngest Cup Series winner at the track – visiting victory lane in 2018 at the age of 22 years, 10 months and 9 days – he was also part of a memorable finish in 2021 that saw Hendrick Motorsports sweep the first four positions, with the No. 9 team finishing third. 

WAIT, THERE’S MORE: Elliott is currently riding an active streak of two consecutive top-five finishes at the Delaware track, second to only teammate Alex Bowman. In fact, he trails only Bowman on the list for the most top-five finishes at Dover since the start of 2019 with four. Since his first Cup race at the track in 2016, Elliott’s nine top-five finishes lead the series. 

HEATING UP: While Elliott has made only four starts this season (due to being out for six races while recovering from a leg injury), he’s made the most of them, averaging 30.00 points per race. Sitting 31st in the standings, he has some work to do to make it into the playoffs this season, but if history is any indication, he can get it done. Elliott has averaged 32.60 points per race in the stage era, which wouldn’t make it impossible for him to reach the postseason on points. If it comes down to a win, he’s had a lot of success on the 16 tracks coming up on the schedule before the playoffs kick off at Darlington Raceway in September. Half of his 18 career Cup Series wins have come at tracks left in the regular season.

AG IN DE: No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson will call his 35th Dover Cup Series race from atop the pit box on Sunday afternoon. He’s collected three wins with two different drivers on the 1-mile track, the first with NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon in September 2014 and the remainder with Elliott in 2018 and 2022. Along with Gustafson’s three wins, he’s collected 18 top-five finishes, 20 top-10s and led 665 laps. 

GET UP AND GO: NAPA Auto Parts is back on board the No. 9 Chevrolet this weekend at Dover. This will mark the 10th time that the Atlanta-based company has been the primary partner of Elliott at the Monster Mile in the Cup Series. NAPA’s colors were on the No. 9 for both of Elliott’s victories at the track. Check out the paint scheme that will be on track here. 

24 POWER: William Byron and the No. 24 team continue to be one of the front runners during the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. Byron is tied with two other drivers, including Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson, for the most wins in the series with two. He ranks second to Larson in laps led (386) and laps run in the top five (1,149). In addition, the 25-year-old driver is third in laps run in the top 10 (1,484). The Charlotte, North Carolina, native holds the second-best average running position this season (9.79). 

STAGE WINNER: This season, Byron has five stage wins – the most of any driver. In fact, his five stage wins are tied for the most stage wins all-time in the first 10 races of a season with four other drivers, including Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott (who accomplished this in 2020). This also marks the most stage wins for Byron in a season – surpassing his four stage wins in 2021 and 2022. Byron also has 13 top-10 finishes in stages this year and collected 92 stage points – both are the most of any driver. 

DOVER DIGEST: With eight Cup Series starts under his belt at Dover Motor Speedway, Byron has a track-best starting position of second that came in May 2019 when Elliott edged him out for the pole. Byron has two top-five finishes in the last three races at Dover – tied for the second-most with Elliott in the same span. In his last two Cup Series starts at the “Monster Mile,” the driver of the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevy has run the fourth-most laps in the top five (349 of 800 laps) and in the top 10 (561 of 800 laps). 

MONSTER MILE MINUTES: This Sunday’s race will be crew chief Rudy Fugle’s third at the Cup Series level at Dover. His best showing came with the No. 24 team in 2021 with a third-place qualifying effort and a fourth-place finish. However, the Livonia, New York, native has 11 other national series starts at the Delaware track already under his belt. In eight NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races, Fugle has accumulated one win, two top-five finishes and two top-10s. One of those previous starts was with Byron, in 2016, where the duo started on the pole and raced to an 11th-place result.

TWO-FOUR HISTORY: With Byron’s two wins in 2023, he has extended the legacy of the No. 24 in the Cup Series. Currently, the No. 24 has five wins at Dover – all coming with team vice chairman Jeff Gordon. If Byron visits victory lane on Sunday, it will break a three-way tie and propel the No. 24 to a tie with the No. 9 for the fourth-most wins by a car number at the “Monster Mile.” Another win will also see the historic car number reach 100 Cup Series wins overall. 

PIT ROAD PROWESS: The No. 24 pit crew has been one of the best on pit road this year with an average four-tire pit stop time of 11.473 seconds – the second-fastest average in the field. The No. 24 pit crew consists of Spencer Bishop (jackman), Jeff Cordero (front-tire changer), Orane Ossowski (rear-tire changer), Ryan Patton (tire carrier) and Landon Walker (fueler). The five-man crew also had the fastest four-tire pit stop in the season-opening DAYTONA 500 at 11.278 seconds.

RAPTOR® TOUGH:  For this Sunday’s race at Dover, Byron will climb behind the wheel of the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. RAPTOR® is a durable protective coating that is designed to tolerate the toughest climatic conditions and can be applied to a wide range of items, including truck beds, lawnmowers, outdoor furniture and more. With 16 pre-mixed colors available, it’s easy to personalize anything you want to protect. RAPTOR® is available at local paint distributors, auto parts stores, and online retailers. For a better look at Byron’s No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, click here.

BERRY’S BACK: Josh Berry will drive the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this Sunday at Dover Motor Speedway with Alex Bowman sidelined due to a fractured vertebra. Berry has two starts at the “Monster Mile” in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, notching one win (in 2022) and a runner-up finish (in 2021) in those races. His average finish of 1.5 in those two starts is his best at any track in the Xfinity Series. Berry led a combined 103 laps in those appearances and started fourth and sixth, respectively. 

BERRY GOOD: Through nine Xfinity Series races this season, Berry has four top-five finishes, seven top-10s, and an average finishing position of 10.7. Since the start of his Xfinity career, the Hendersonville, Tennessee, native has 71 starts, five victories, 21 top-five results, 41 top-10s, and has led 684 laps. The 2022 season marked his first full-time Xfinity season with Hendrick Motorsports affiliate JR Motorsports. He earned three wins and advanced to the Championship 4, ultimately placing fourth in the series standings. 

NOT HIS FIRST CALL UP: This is not the first time Berry has filled in with Hendrick Motorsports this season. Earlier in the year, the 32-year-old driver made five starts while Chase Elliott was out due to injury. In those five races, Berry earned a career-best runner-up finish at Richmond Raceway, a top-10 at Phoenix Raceway and notched 10 laps led. He also became the 26th different driver to score a top-five finish with Hendrick Motorsports and the 13th driver to record at least two top-10s through four starts with the team. 

48 HAS HISTORY: The No. 48 team has a deep history of success at Dover. Having two drivers behind the wheel for Hendrick Motorsports (Bowman and Jimmie Johnson), the No. 48 entry has a combined 40 starts with a series-best 12 wins, 20 top-five finishes, 29 top-10s, 3,213 laps led and an average finish of 9.33. In fact, the No. 48 has finished inside the top 10 in the last five races at Dover with both drivers. In the last 11 starts, the No. 48 has finished in the top-10 in nine of them, including two wins. 
 
PIT POWER: The No. 48 Ally Racing pit crew holds the tenth-fastest pit stop of the 2023 season. On lap 185 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the five-man crew made a four-tire pit stop of 9.776 seconds, which was the fastest four-tire stop of that race. The over-the-wall crew is made up of rear-tire changer Andrew Bridgeforth (rear-tire changer), Jacob Conley (fueler), Allen Holman (jackman), Scott Riddle (tire carrier) and Donnie Tasser (front-tire changer).     
 
SAVE THEM ALL: Primary partner Ally and Bowman are teaming up this year to bring back the Best Friends Animal Society donation effort. Even though Bowman will be away from the track this weekend, the duo will make charitable contributions to the Faithful Friends Animal Society, which serves the local community in Delaware. Bowman and Ally will donate $4,800 to Best Friends and the Faithful Friends Animal Society. Ally will increase its donation to $10,000 if the No. 48 team wins on Sunday.      
   
DAY ‘N’ NITE: The No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will adorn two versions of its primary scheme during the 2023 Cup Series season. The No. 48 Ally Chevy “day” scheme will host a white base with bright plum, grapefruit, and seafoam stripes down the side. This version of the primary scheme will appear at races that take place during the day. When the lights come on over the racetrack, the black-based No. 48 Ally Chevy “night” scheme will sport a similar design to its daytime counterpart. This weekend, the No. 48 machine will have the white-based “day” scheme. Check out all the angles of the new look here. 

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