Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Texas – Speedway Digest

5 KYLE LARSON
 

Age: 32 (July 31, 1992)
 

Hometown: Elk Grove, California
 

Last Week: 2nd (Talladega)
 

Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
 

Standings: 2nd
 
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No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet
 

2025

Cup Career

Texas

Races

10

376

17

Wins

2

31

1

Poles

0

21

1

Top 5

6

125

4

Top 10

7

189

6

Laps Led

506

9,762

525

Stage Wins

5

67

5

Average Finish

11.3

14.0

18.8

Kyle Larson registered his fourth top-five finish in the last five NASCAR Cup Series events at drafting tracks on Sunday, finishing second at Talladega Superspeedway.
By virtue of winning stage one, Larson moved out of a tie with Martin Truex Jr. to become the all-time leader in Cup Series stage wins with 67.
This week, the Cup Series will venture to Texas Motor Speedway where Larson has won at least one stage in each of the last four events. His five stage wins at Texas are tied for the most and since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, he's led 37% of the laps there (451 of 1,211). Larson has a victory at Texas (fall 2021), won the 2021 All-Star race at the 1.5-mile track and sat on the pole last year. 
Through 10 races this season, Larson ranks second in laps run in the top five (1,254) and top 10 (1,935). He leads the Cup Series (503) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (408) in laps led. 
So far, Larson has notched six top-five finishes and seven top 10s, both career highs through the first 10 events of a season. 
Larson will pull double duty at Texas this weekend, filling in for Connor Zilisch in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet in Saturday's Xfinity Series race. 

 
9 CHASE ELLIOTT
 

Age: 29 (Nov. 28, 1995)
 

Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
 

Last week: 5th (Talladega)
 

Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
 

Standings: 4th
 
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No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts 100th Anniversary Chevrolet
 

2025

Cup Career

Texas

Races

10

332

14

Wins

0

19

1

Poles

0

12

0

Top 5

3

107

3

Top 10

6

177

7

Laps Led

45

5,571

128

Stage Wins

0

38

0

Average Finish

10.9

12.8

12.2

Chase Elliott heads to Texas Motor Speedway as the defending winner of the NASCAR Cup Series race. The 29-year-old driver emerged victorious after a double-overtime restart, earning his first Next Gen car win at a 1.5-mile track last spring. He led 39 laps.
The 2020 Cup Series champion has spent the third-most laps in the top 10 (568) at Texas among active drivers.
After 10 races, Elliott is fourth in the points standings, 72 markers behind leader and teammate, William Byron.
Elliott is the only Cup Series driver this season to finish all 10 races in the top 20. His average finish of 10.9 ranks third.
This Sunday marks the 100th anniversary for Elliott’s longtime primary partner, NAPA Auto Parts. To celebrate, the No. 9 Chevrolet will sport a special gold paint scheme with Elliott donning a commemorative firesuit and helmet.  

 
24 WILLIAM BYRON
 

Age: 27 (Nov. 29, 1997)
 

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
 

Last Week: 3rd (Talladega)
 

Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
 

Standings: 1st
 
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No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet
 

2025

Cup Career

Texas

Races

10

262

10

Wins

1

14

1

Poles

2

15

0

Top 5

5

59

3

Top 10

7

111

6

Laps Led

364

3,342

127

Stage Wins

3

26

2

Average Finish

8.5

14.9

11.2

William Byron picked up where he left off before the break in the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, scoring a third-place result at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, his fifth consecutive top 10 at the track and his third straight top-10 finish this season.
So far in 2025, Byron leads the NASCAR Cup Series field in average starting position (10.3) and average finish (8.5). His average finish through the first 10 races is the best for a Hendrick Motorsports driver since Jimmie Johnson averaged a seventh-place run through the first 10 events of 2013.
In addition, Byron has run 1,217 laps in the top five (third most), 2,095 laps in the top 10 (most) and led 364 laps in 2025 (second most).
Since the start of 2023, Byron has 10 top-five finishes, 13 top 10s and an average finish of 6.25 at 1.5-mile tracks, all best in the series.
In the Next Gen era, Byron has run 602 laps in the top 10 (second most) at Texas Motor Speedway. He has also earned 126 points, most of any driver.

 
48 ALEX BOWMAN
 

Age: 31 (April 25, 1993)
 

Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
 

Last Week: 7th (Talladega)
 

Crew Chief: Blake Harris
 

Standings: 9th
 
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No. 48 Ally Chevrolet
 

2025

Cup Career

Texas

Races

10

335

15

Wins

0

8

0

Poles

2

7

0

Top 5

1

41

2

Top 10

6

102

2

Laps Led

107

1,475

58

Stage Wins

0

7

0

Average Finish

16.3

19.3

24.8

Alex Bowman drove the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet to a seventh-place finish in this past weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. It was Bowman’s sixth top-10 finish of 2025, equaling his career best through a season's first 10 races. He moved up one spot in the points standings to ninth, 115 points behind leader and teammate, William Byron.
Bowman won the pole at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the most recent race on a 1.5-mile track. Two of his career wins have come on such circuits (Chicagoland Speedway in 2019 and Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2022).
The Tucson, Arizona, native has earned two top fives at Texas, both of which came in fifth-place runs (2019 and 2020).
Sunday's race at Texas will be a home race for crew chief Blake Harris, a native of Maypearl, Texas, about an hour from the track.
For the Best Friends Animal Society programming, Ally and Bowman will partner with The Underground Dog located in Pecos, Texas, as their selected shelter for this weekend.
Ally and HendrickCars.com are teaming up again to give fans the chance to win prizes with this year’s “Open Road Sweepstakes.” Fans can win VIP experiences at various races throughout the season and one lucky winner will hit the open road in a Chevy Silverado LT Trail Boss with an Airstream camper. Fans can stop by the Ally Fan Zone to enter the sweepstakes in-person and check out the camper. Fans can also enter at ally.com/sweepstakes/nascar. 

 
HENDRICK
MOTORSPORTS /
Hendrick Motorsports
 

2025

All-Time

Texas

Races

10

1,391

44

Wins

3

315*

12*

Poles

4*

257*

8*

Top 5

15*

1,294*

45*

Top 10

26*

2,214*

80*

Laps Led

1,022*

83,334*

3,150*

Stage Wins

8*

123

4

 
*Most all time
**Tied for most all time

Hendrick Motorsports is the all-time leader in NASCAR Cup Series events at Texas Motor Speedway in wins (12), poles (eight), top fives (45), top 10s (80) and laps led (3,150).
For the third time this season, all four Hendrick Motorsports entries finished in the top 10, led by Kyle Larson's second-place run at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday. The company's 26 top 10s are the most for the organization through 10 races and are the second most ever. 
Hendrick Motorsports is the only organization with at least one top-five finisher in all 10 races this season. No other team has had a car finish in the top 10 in every race this year. Dating back to 2024, the team has had a car in the top five in 18 straight events, the third-longest such streak in Hendrick Motorsports history. 
Chase Elliott (2024), William Byron (2023) and Larson (2021) have combined to win three of the last four Cup Series races at Texas. In all, the team has combined to win six of the last 12 events on 1.5-mile tracks.
A Hendrick Motorsports driver has won the pole in four of the last seven races and the four have combined to win five of the last six stages. 

 
QUOTABLE /
 

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, on Texas Motor Speedway: “We’ve always had a good mile-and-a-half program I feel like and we’ve just always improved on it. Plus we’ve won Texas before. I think this weekend has potential to be another strong weekend for the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, the 100th anniversary of NAPA: “This weekend is 100 years of NAPA. They’ve been a huge piece of my career, a vital piece of the puzzle to, truthfully, my career even becoming a career. I really can’t say enough about them and what they’ve done for me and my family and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports as well. I think we’ve all kind of become a part of one another’s families over the years. And it’s been a really nice and natural fit. It’s a pretty cool thing, when you have that type of relationship with the partner and the people within the company, too. I can’t say enough about them. I appreciate them and they always treat me like they appreciate me.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on Texas Motor Speedway: “I think this weekend should be a good one for us. We’ve always run pretty well at Texas, and I feel like we’re really showing the strength we have on the No. 24 team right now. We just want to keep executing to the best of our abilities every weekend.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on Texas Motor Speedway: “Texas Motor Speedway is always a tough place. It’s fast and challenging, and it can really test you as a driver. But I’m feeling confident coming in here with my team. My Ally 48 crew has put in a ton of work preparing for this race – we’ve done our homework, and I know they’ve given me a fast Chevy to work with. We understand the challenges this track brings, and we’ve got a plan for it. I’m determined to go out there, execute that plan, and show what this team is capable of.”

Hendrick Motorsports PR