Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Watkins Glen

NEXT RACE / Watkins Glen International / Hendrick Motorsports

Sunday, Aug. 10
2.45-Mile Road Course
2 PM ET
Location: Watkins Glen, New York
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (Race 24 of 36)
RADIO: SiriusXM

5 KYLE LARSON

Age: 33 (July 31, 1992)

Hometown: Elk Grove, California

Last Week: 28th (Iowa)

Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels

Standings: 3rd

No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet

2025

Cup Career

Watkins Glen

Races

389

Wins

Poles

Top 5

130

Top 10

196

Laps Led

873

10,129

Stage Wins

Average Finish

13.5

14.1

12.2

Through 23 races in the 2025 season, Kyle Larson leads the NASCAR Cup Series in top-five finishes (11) and top 10s (14).
Larson is second in the playoff standings, just one point out of first place. He sits third in the points standings, behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron, trailing by 45 points with three races remaining in the regular season.
The Elk Grove, California, native is one road course win shy of tying Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott for the most wins on serpentine circuits among active drivers with seven. Larson is also tied for second in most road course wins in the Next Gen car with three, one win behind first place.
Larson has a pair of victories at Watkins Glen International, claiming back-to-back events in 2021 and 2022. He leads all active drivers in average starting position at the track at 7.4 in 10 races.

9 CHASE ELLIOTT

Age: 29 (Nov. 28, 1995)

Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia

Last week: 14th (Iowa)

Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson

Standings: 2nd

No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet

2025

Cup Career

Watkins Glen

Races

345

Wins

Poles

Top 5

111

Top 10

183

Laps Led

385

5,911

170

Stage Wins

Average Finish

10.3

12.7

10.6

With three races left in the regular season, Chase Elliott is second in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings, just 18 markers behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron.
Elliott’s average finish of 10.3 leads all drivers and is his second best this far into a season. He is the only driver to finish in the top 20 in all 23 races. Only two other drivers have reached 23 top-20 finishes through 23 events in a season (Bill Elliott in 1988 and Ricky Rudd in 1991).
This is the second straight year that Elliott has completed all but one lap entering the 24th race.
This weekend, the series heads to Watkins Glen International, a course where Elliott earned back-to-back wins including his first career Cup Series victory in 2018.
The 2020 Cup Series champion leads active drivers in road course victories with seven. He’s third on the all-time wins list behind NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon (nine) and Tony Stewart (eight).
Elliott leads all drivers with 11 top-five finishes on road courses in the Next Gen era. He has the third-most top 10s (13) and laps led (147) along with the second-most points scored (645). His 9.8 average finish ranks third.

24 WILLIAM BYRON

Age: 27 (Nov. 29, 1997)

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Last Week: 1st (Iowa)

Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle

Standings: 1st

No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet

2025

Cup Career

Watkins Glen

Races

275

Wins

Poles

Top 5

Top 10

116

Laps Led

910

3,888

Stage Wins

Average Finish

14.2

15.1

15.3

William Byron saved enough fuel over the final stage at Iowa Speedway on Sunday, scoring his second NASCAR Cup Series win of the season and his 15th overall. He became the only driver to win in all three national series at Iowa Speedway – CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series in 2016, Xfinity Series in 2017 and Cup Series in 2025. Across all three series, he has an average finish of 2.8 at Iowa including an average finish of 1.5 in Cup.
With the victory, Byron once again inherited the points standings lead. This is the 18th week this season he’s led the standings and he’s been no worse than second. The 27-year-old leads Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott by 18 points with three races to go in the regular season.
The Charlotte, North Carolina, native leads the series in several statistical categories including laps led (910), points (770), laps run in the top five (2,806), laps run in the top 10 (3,824) and average running position (10.09).
In the last 11 road course races, Byron has one pole, one win, two second-place finishes, five top fives (tied for second most) and eight top 10s (tied for most) with 110 laps led (second most). This season on serpentine courses, Byron has three top-10 finishes, tied for second most.
Byron has prior success at Watkins Glen International, picking up a Cup Series win in 2023 after leading 66 laps. He has three top-10 finishes in six starts at the New York road course.

48 ALEX BOWMAN

Age: 32 (April 25, 1993)

Hometown: Tucson, Arizona

Last Week: 7th (Iowa)

Crew Chief: Blake Harris

Standings: 9th

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet

2025

Cup Career

Watkins Glen

Races

348

Wins

Poles

Top 5

Top 10

109

Laps Led

160

1,528

Stage Wins

Average Finish

16.0

19.1

21.0

Alex Bowman has recorded 13 top-10 finishes in 2025, tying him for second most in the NASCAR Cup Series and marking his personal best through 23 races in a single season.
So far in 2025, Bowman has led 160 laps including at least one in 12 events.
Going into the final three races in the regular season, Bowman is currently scored 15th in the playoff standings, 63 points above the cutline.
On road courses, Bowman has scored 123 points in 2025, tied for seventh-most in the series. He also owns a road course victory, winning on the Chicago Street Course last year.
For this weekend’s race at Watkins Glen International, the featured Best Friends Animal Society partner is the Chautauqua County Humane Society in Jamestown, New York.
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 /

2025

All-Time

Watkins Glen

Races

1,404

Wins

318*

11*

Poles

258*

Top 5

1,310*

Top 10

51*

2,238*

Laps Led

2,328*

84,640*

760*

Stage Wins

16*

131

4**

*Most all time
**Tied for most all time

With William Byron’s win and Alex Bowman’s seventh-place run at Iowa Speedway last Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports remains the only organization to place at least one car in the top 10 of every event in 2025. That streak goes back 31 races to last season, the longest such run of any team in the Next Gen era.
The Hendrick Motorsports engine shop now stands at 548 national series victories, just two short of an unprecedented 550. The organization’s engines have won 17 poles (seven in the NASCAR Cup Series, 10 in the Xfinity Series) and 21 races (six in Cup, 14 in Xfinity and one in the preseason Clash) in 2025 and have powered teams to 39 points paying Cup Series victories in the Next Gen era, the most of any organization.
Hendrick Motorsports has led 2,328 laps through 23 events this year, accounting for 39% of all circuits completed in the Cup Series and more than any other team by 1,147.
With 16, the organization leads the series in stage wins and is tied for the most through a season’s first 23 races all time.
Byron, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson currently hold the first, second and third spots respectively in the Cup Series regular season points standings. It is the eighth week Hendrick Motorsports has held the top three spots, the most in any season by any team in history.
Hendrick Motorsports has won five of the last 11 road course races and has also claimed two victories in three events at Watkins Glen International in the Next Gen era. The organization has won at least one road course event in each of the last seven years (2018-2024).

QUOTABLE /

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, on returning to Watkins Glen International: “It’s always great going to Watkins Glen and to a track that I’ve had success at in the past. With just a couple races left in the regular season, we’re hopeful that we can put together a solid race weekend to help towards winning the regular season championship and put us in a good spot for the playoffs.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, on Hendrick Motorsports’ success at Watkins Glen International: “We had a really solid foundation, and prior to our success here in ‘18 and ’19, it wasn’t like we were bad. We might not have won, but we were really solid before that. And, yeah, had a package, kept building on it, got better. That was all with the old car. Since the new car came in, it’s been totally different, truthfully. The success in this new car, it’s not even a different chapter, it’s like a different book. So, I wouldn’t even compare that if it were me. I think it’s just kind of happenstance that we’ve fired off well. I think all of us get around here pretty good, so that certainly helps as you come into a new car.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on carrying momentum from last week’s win at Iowa Speedway: “This was just a big relief to have one go our way, and we’ve just been running so well this year, I feel like this is going to be a big momentum boost for our team just to be able to check that one off the list and keep carrying the speed that we’ve had.”
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on racing at Watkins Glen International: “Watkins Glen has never been an easy place for me, but I feel like we’ve made a lot of progress on road courses the last couple years. Getting that win last season really helped build confidence, and with how we’ve been running lately, I feel good about where we’re at. Every point matters right now with the playoff picture, so the goal is to keep that momentum going and have a clean, solid day.”