Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Indianapolis

No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

FIVER: Kyle Larson is second in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with five races to go in the regular season, just three points behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott. Larson is tied for the most wins (three) and top-five finishes (eight) this season while he tops the series in laps led (755), average running position (9.29) and pole positions (five). In fact, this is the second-most laps led for Larson through 21 races in his career, only trailing his championship season of 2021 when he paced the field for 1,441 circuits in the first 21 events.

INDY RETURN: This weekend, the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will sport Fan Appreciation livery with a touch of papaya color. It is the same paint scheme Larson was scheduled to race at Charlotte Motor Speedway earlier this year as part of the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 double dubbed the #H1100. At Indianapolis, Larson posted the fastest-ever qualifying speed for a rookie in the historic event. He then finished 18th following a pit-road speeding penalty during the rain-delayed 200-lap race. The Elk Grove, California, native was voted rookie of the year for the annual Memorial Day weekend event. Images of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro can be viewed here.

BACK TO THE OVAL: In six Cup starts on the 2.5-mile oval layout at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Larson has three top-10 finishes with a best result of fifth in 2016. Sunday’s event will mark his first Brickyard 400 driving for Hendrick Motorsports.

BIRTHDAY BREAK: On July 31, during the two-week break in the Cup Series season, Larson will celebrate his 32nd birthday.

STAGE LEFT: Larson has earned 218 stage points this season, 25 more than second place. The 2021 Cup Series champion has run the most laps in the top five (2,891) while his 13.65 average finish ranks sixth. Since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, the driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet has 40 stage wins – 12 more than any competitor.

CHASING LEGENDS: In just his fourth year driving for Hendrick Motorsports, Larson has 20 wins for the 14-time Cup Series champions. The 2014 rookie of the year trails only team vice chairman Jeff Gordon (93) and Jimmie Johnson (83) in victories for the organization. Gordon has a record five Cup wins at the famed Indianapolis oval, while Johnson has four.

AWAY BUT ALWAYS AVAILABLE: In 2024, the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team recognizes “home” events by wearing white firesuits and “away” with blue. Its home races come at tracks with nearby Hendrick Automotive Group car dealerships. This weekend, the No. 5 team races “away” in the Indianapolis market. However, its easy to pick up a new set of keys from any one of Hendrick Automotive Group’s 94 dealerships nationwide. Customers can also shop from the convenience of home by selecting the category, make, model and vehicle packages important to them from the nearly 30,000 new, high-quality pre-owned and certified cars, trucks and SUVs available at HendrickCars.com.

HENDRICK AUTOMOTIVE GROUP IS HIRING: Join the more than 10,000 people nationwide who work at Hendrick Automotive Group. The company 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.

No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

POCO-YES: After securing a third-place finish in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race, William Byron lined up on the front row for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway. After running up front for the majority of the event and scoring crucial stage points in stage one and stage two, Byron went on to pick up his seventh top-five finish of the season, crossing the line in the fourth position.

24 IN ‘24: Byron’s 2024 season started off hot with three wins (tied for the most) including the DAYTONA 500. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native has seven top-five finishes (tied for the fourth-most) and 12 top-10s (tied for the second-most). He has the second-best average starting position (9.67) and the third-best average finish (12.81). In fact, in the last five races, Byron has scored 151 points – tied for the fourth-most. After 21 races, he has moved up to fifth in the 2024 Cup Series regular season standings with 16 playoff points.

BACK AT THE BRICKYARD: With three Cup Series starts in the illustrious Brickyard 400, this weekend’s return to the oval has been circled on Byron’s calendar for a while. His best finish came in 2019 when he powered his way to a top-five result, taking the checkered flag in fourth. NASCAR has not run the oval layout since 2020.

HISTORY MAKER: In 2017, Byron made his first trip to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. While battling for a championship, he became the youngest driver to win a major race at the historic track at 19 years, 7 months and 23 days. Byron is not only the youngest driver to win a NASCAR race at the 2.5-mile oval but is the third-youngest winner in any series, behind two INDYCAR Light Series drivers.

WHAT’S IN A NUMBER?: Byron would love to kiss the bricks again this weekend, and if he does, he will add to the already lengthy legacy the No. 24 team has at Indianapolis. The No. 24 car number ranks first overall with Brickyard 400 wins at the historic track with five, all coming with Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon dating back to the inaugural race in 1994. If Byron were to capture the win this weekend, he would extend the lead the No. 24 has over the second-ranked No. 48, which has four Indy oval wins.

PIT ROAD PROWESS: After 21 races in 2024, the No. 24 pit crew continues to find success. The five-person crew ranks sixth for the fastest average four-tire pit stop (10.984 seconds). 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).

VALVOLINE RETURNS: Last month, Valvoline Global, a worldwide leader in automotive and industrial solutions creating future-ready products and best-in-class services for partners around the globe, announced that it has expanded and extended its strategic partnership with 14-time NASCAR Cup Series champions Hendrick Motorsports through 2029. The brand will increase its presence on Byron’s No. 24 from its traditional two races to eight races in 2024 and six in 2025 through 2029. This weekend’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be Valvoline’s fourth appearance as the primary sponsor of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in 2024. Established in 1866, the company’s heritage spans more than 150 years, during which time it has developed powerful brand recognition across multiple product and service channels. Valvoline ranks as the No. 3 passenger car motor oil brand in the DIY market by volume.

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

PLAYING BACK POCONO: Coming off his eighth career win in the NASCAR Cup Series at the Chicago Street Race, Alex Bowman carried strong momentum to Pocono Raceway. Bowman led all Chevrolet drivers to score a third-place finish at the “Tricky Triangle.” On Saturday, the Ally Racing driver advanced to the second round of qualifying and scored a sixth-place starting position for the 400-mile race. Bowman ranked sixth in the first stage and seventh in the second stage, earning valuable stage points in both. In the final stage, he restarted 14th then advanced 11 positions by the checkered flag to earn his sixth top-five finish of the season.

PUSHING TO THE PLAYOFFS: Following the 21st points-paying race of 2024, Bowman joined Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott (first), Kyle Larson (second) and William Byron (fifth) inside the top 10 of the regular season standings. The 31-year-old driver currently sits 10th, 107 markers behind Elliott. With his victory from the Windy City, Bowman is all but locked in for the 2024 postseason.

BUILDING MOMENTUM: Only five races remain until the start of the 2024 playoffs, and the No. 48 Ally Racing team is building momentum. In the last five races, Bowman is in a three-way tie for the fourth-most points earned (151). He has ranked as the best-finishing Hendrick Motorsports driver in four races this season, including each of the last two. He also claims the fifth-best average finish (13.29) of 2024, his best through 21 races in any season. Bowman has one win, one runner-up finish and 17 lead-lap finishes. He is tied with Byron for the second-most top-10s (12) this year.

BACK TO THE BRICKYARD: After three seasons, NASCAR returns to the 2.5-mile oval at historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400. Bowman will make his sixth start in the Cup Series at the Indiana track Sunday, looking to kiss the bricks for the first time.

KOKER’S GARAGE: Koker’s garage is back! Ally Racing fans have the opportunity to design the real No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 that will compete Sept. 29 at Kansas Speedway. How? Visit kokersgarage.com to design and submit up to five paint schemes. The contest period will end on July 24 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Then Bowman and Danny Koker will review the submissions and choose two finalists. A public vote will be hosted by Ally on X, and the winning design will see action in the 2024 playoff race at the “Sunflower State” venue.

ADOPT LIKE ALEX: Last Friday, Bowman made a special trip to the New York SoHo Best Friends Life Saving Center to celebrate his and primary sponsor Ally’s fourth year of supporting Best Friends. The visit celebrated the more than $650,000 the pair has donated and Best Friends’ new “Bring Love Home” campaign. Not to mention, Bowman recently rescued a golden retriever mix puppy named Huck. Every race weekend, Ally and Bowman donate a total of $4,800 to help homeless pets at a local shelter. This weekend, the charitable donation will go to Lucci’s House Bully Rescue. If you’re in town for the race, check out their animals available for adoption at the shelter located less than a 30-minute drive just 15 miles southeast of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

FOUR TIRES AND FUEL: The Ally Racing pit crew ranks ninth on pit road for the best average four-tire stop this year (11.047). The No. 48 crew is composed of jackman Allen Holman, tire carrier Brandon Grier, front-tire changer Donnie Tasser, rear-tire changer Andrew Bridgeforth and gasman Jacob Conley. Holman, Grier and Bridgeforth earned their first win in the Cup Series following the team’s victory in Chicago. Learn more about Bridgeforth’s NASCAR journey and “home race” last weekend in Pennsylvania here.

WIN YOUR WHEELS: To celebrate Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary, Ally and HendrickCars.com are giving away a special edition Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE to one lucky fan! Only 40 of these Chevrolets will be manufactured and the other 39 will be sold exclusively through select Hendrick Automotive Group Chevrolet dealerships. Enter to win at Ally.com/sweepstakes/nascar. The promotion ends Sept. 20, 2024.

INDIANA PACER: Behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick will serve as the honorary pace car driver for Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Hendrick’s organization has won a record 10 NASCAR Cup Series races on the 2.5-mile oval, which is double the next-best team.

JUST THE FACTS: In addition to its all-time best 10 Brickyard 400 wins, Hendrick Motorsports holds the Indianapolis oval records with 27 top-five finishes, 42 top-10s and 1,071 laps led in Cup Series competition. It also has five pole positions, which is tied for the most with Joe Gibbs Racing.

IN THREES: Hendrick Motorsports has won three of the last nine Brickyard 400s with three different drivers: Jimmie Johnson in 2012, Jeff Gordon in 2014 and Kasey Kahne in 2017. The Cup Series then competed on the oval for three years – 2018, 2019 and most recently 2020 – before running the facility’s road course three times from 2021-2023. Hendrick Motorsports has never gone more than three Brickyard 400 races without a victory.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARIES: While Hendrick Motorsports celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2024, this weekend Indianapolis Motor Speedway will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Brickyard 400. The inaugural race was won by Hendrick Motorsports driver Gordon on Aug. 6, 1994, marking the first of a record five for the NASCAR Hall of Famer. Gordon still ranks as the youngest Brickyard 400 winner at 23 years and 2 days old.

STAND UP: With five races remaining in the regular season, Hendrick Motorsports has all four of its teams among the top 10 in the Cup standings. Chase Elliott goes into the Brickyard 400 leading the series by three points over teammate Kyle Larson. William Byron ranks fifth and Alex Bowman 10th. Each has recorded at least one victory this season, all but locking the entire Hendrick Motorsports stable into the 2024 Cup Series playoffs.

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the No. 5 paint scheme for Brickyard 400: “Fans were really excited for this design to run back in May (at Charlotte Motor Speedway), and I was, too. Justin (Allgaier) did a great job driving the car (filling in for Larson), but with all the build-up and merch and everything around it, I asked HendrickCars.com if we could run it this weekend at Indianapolis and give the fans a chance to see me drive it. I’m grateful they agreed. Excited to get to run the scheme to say thanks to the fans for all the support.”

Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on returning to the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway: “It’s going to be a lot of fun. We loved the road course, but there is nothing more historic and special in all of racing than the Indianapolis (Motor Speedway) oval. To go back there with Kyle after his experience there this year will be fun and just cool to hear his feedback about the differences with the INDYCAR compared to the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. Of course, he’s been around the oval before in a Cup car, but it will be nice to have the 50-minute practice on Friday and try to execute a great race on Sunday.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the crown jewel he’d most like to win: “That’s so tough because they are all a big deal. The one that is more meaningful to me is the Brickyard, just because I was old enough when my dad won to just very vaguely remember a few little things about it, and then to be in the photos and whatnot I thought was really cool. That one really hits closest to home for me, personally.”

Elliott on returning to the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway: “I totally understand why we left racing on the oval, and I think it was great to try the road course. I feel that a lot of people just felt like it didn’t have the same meaning or the same feeling as racing on the oval up there. So I’m totally good either way. I think to be able to kiss the bricks and to say you won a Brickyard event would be really cool, whether it was on the road course or on the big track.”

Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on returning to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval this weekend: “I’m super happy to be back on the oval. It’s a place that I love to go race. I love the history. I love the track, the facility — everything about it is just top notch. So I’m looking forward to it, looking forward to the challenge, and getting up there and racing. I think that there are a lot of unknowns and a lot of things that we’re all going to have to work out, but certainly feel like we’re in a position to do really well. All the guys and gals at Hendrick Motorsports are working hard and team collaboration is at a super high level. We’re going to bring four great cars and teams to the track and compete at our best. And if we do that, then yeah, I think we have a good shot.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his feelings of returning to the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway: “I’m really happy that we’re returning to the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I think it’s too iconic not to run. I liked the road course, but I think the oval is the way to go and many drivers agree. I’ve had some success there, winning my first time seeing the track in the (NASCAR) Xfinity Series. It was a bit of an adjustment when I got to the Cup level but I really think we were hitting our stride before it was taken off the schedule. Things will be a bit different now racing there with the Next Gen car, but I like the challenge.”

Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on what he expects with running the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway: “I actually haven’t crew chief’d a race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the oval configuration, just the road course. I’ve been at the oval testing a long time ago but that’s it. So I don’t know a ton about all of it. I think a lot of Pocono (Raceway), like the stage lengths, the fuel mileage and the length of the track, will all be similar. The thing about Indy, though, is that the tire wear is usually higher. So we’ll have to see what that is like Friday. We’ll have a game plan for that 50-minute practice to get our car dialed in and then move forward. We’ve been studying the notes from the past few tests there to steer us in the right direction.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway: “It’s going to be cool to be back at Indy. That’s going to be a really difficult race passing-wise, so track position is going to be super key. Race strategy can play a huge role in any of that, so I’m excited for the challenge and to get back there (the oval).”

Blake Harris, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on calling the shots for the No. 48 team at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with five races to go until the playoffs: “I think this weekend at Indy will be like how Pocono (Raceway) was for us last weekend. Now that we have the win, we can take some more chances on strategy to put us in position to win. We’re also going to continue to focus on picking up stage points and continue to creep up in the regular season standings and carry a few more bonus points with us (to the playoffs).”

Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Indianapolis

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