CONCORD, NC – Hendrick Motorsports will compete in a variety of colors and patterns at the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway this Sunday.
It remains to be seen how many will return to the racing workshop without the infamous “Darlington stripe”.
Sunday’s race, which starts at 6 p.m. and airs on the USA Network, is the final race of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season, which adds to the excitement. All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers – Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron and Alex Bowman – have already qualified for the postseason with victories, but the Southern 500 still offers a chance for valuable playoff points and momentum.
Darlington, an odd, egg-shaped oval measuring 1.366 miles in length, is one of the sport’s oldest racetracks and hosted NASCAR’s first 500-mile race, the Southern 500, on Labor Day 1950. The track is incredibly narrow, with drivers having at most two lanes for passing. Turns one and two offer a gentle curve with a 25-degree bank, while turns three and four form a sharp, tight turn reminiscent of short-track racing but with a 23-degree bank.
Hendrick Motorsports has amassed 16 wins at the “too tough” track, six more than any other organization. Hall of Famer and current vice president Jeff Gordon leads the list with seven of those victories. Jimmie Johnson won three times at Darlington, and Kyle Larson, Mark Martin, Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte, Tim Richmond and William Byron each led Hendrick Motorsports to victory once.
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After last week’s race at Daytona International Speedway, Larson jumped back into second place in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings and needs to make up 17 points to win the regular season championship. Larson has one win and eight top-10 finishes in 13 starts at Darlington.
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Elliott is just one point behind Larson and still has regular-season championship aspirations. He needs to make up 18 points to catch leader Tyler Reddick. He has finished in the top five four times in 15 starts at Darlington and won an Xfinity Series race there in 2014.
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Byron has the best average finish among Cup Series drivers over the last seven events at Darlington, averaging 10th place. During that span, he has one win (spring 2023) and five top-10 finishes while leading 83 laps.
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The No. 48 team delivered a solid race at Darlington earlier this year, finishing eighth, which was Bowman’s fourth top-10 finish at Darlington. His career-best finish was a second-place finish in May 2020.
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Chase Elliott, #9 NAPA Auto Parts Gold Filter Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
