Daytona 500 Team Preview: Hendrick Motorsports

In case you didn’t know, Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick is a NASCAR Hall of Fame member. His induction took place in Uptown Charlotte in 2017, and no one can question his credentials. In the three national series, his cars have landed in the victory lane 312 times, with most of them (263) being in the Premier Series.

Hendrick’s stable of drivers since he opened shop in 1984 reads like a Who’s Who of Racing. Some of the names are Benny Parsons, Darrell Waltrip, Ricky Rudd, Al Unser Jr., Terry Labonte, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt. The bottom line is, he knows talent and gives them every opportunity to find success.

In his career, Hendrick has won the so-called Super Bowl of Racing eight times with five drivers. That ties him with the legendary team, The Wood Brothers, for the most in the all-time list. Should a Hendrick Motorsports car land in the victory lane, there will be no more deadlock.

The #DAYTONA500 is quickly approaching!Drop a 🙌 below if you're just as pumped up as we are to hit the track @DAYTONA next week. pic.twitter.com/1pZLuyxZZi

— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) February 4, 2021

Hendrick Motorsports is a multi-Daytona 500 winner

Hendrick Motorsports has Daytona 500 wins from Geoffrey Bodine (1986), Darrell Waltrip (1989), Jeff Gordon (1995, 1997, 2005), Jimmie Johnson (2006, 2013), and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2014). This time around, he will try with one of the youngest teams in the sport, with an average age of just over 25 years of age.

Team newcomer Kyle Larson is the elder statesman at 28, followed by Alex Bowman (27), Chase Elliott (25), and William Byron (23). None of them have a Harley J. Earl Trophy as a 500 winner on their trophy shelf.

Here is how the Hendrick Motorsports team looks heading into the opening race of the 2021 season.

Bring on the #DAYTONA500, @KyleLarsonRacin is ready to kick off the season @DAYTONA add to the history of the No. 5 Chevy! 👊 pic.twitter.com/DV3fni2ZIh

— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) February 5, 2021

Kyle Larson – No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports NationsGuard Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

Larson has started the Daytona 500 seven times and nearly won it in 2017. He was leading with one lap to go but ran out of gas to finish 12th. This year, he will have Cliff Daniels as his crew chief as Hendrick Motorsports brings back the No. 5.

It was the first number used by Rick Hendrick and has 45 wins in NASCAR’s premier series, with Hendrick Motorsports collecting 38 of those checkered flags.

“I don’t think I’ve ever really qualified inside the top 20 on a superspeedway,” Larson told Gabrielle McMillen of Hendrick Motorsports. “I know the car is going to be fast and it’s really going to be up to me to make the right decisions on the racetrack and execute on pit road and do all the little things right. If I do that, I think we’ll have a shot to win the biggest race of the season and get started off on the right foot as a new team.”

Chase Elliott with the Bill France Cup. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Chase Elliott - No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

Elliott is the defending NASCAR Cup Series Champion, and the last of his five wins clinched the title at Phoenix International Speedway. He won the Daytona 500 pole for Hendrick Motorsports twice (2016-17), with Alan Gustafson as his crew chief.

Gustafson will be back on top of the box for Elliott this season. In last year’s opener, he led 23 laps but could only manage a P17 at the end. If Elliott wins this year, he will become the fifth NASCAR Cup Series champion to hoist the Harley J. Earl trophy in the following season.

He will join Dale Jarrett (2000), Gordon (1999), Cale Yarborough (1977), and Richard Petty (1973).

William Byron celebrates winning the 2020 Coke Zero Sugar 400. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

William Byron - No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

William Byron knows about winning at Daytona International Speedway, although none were in the Daytona 500. He would capture a Duel qualifying race in February, and in August, he won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at the World Center of Racing.

That would qualify him for the 2021 Clash at DAYTONA. Ryan “Rudy” Fugle takes over as crew chief for Byron after Chad Knaus was promoted to Hendrick Motorsports Vice President of Competition.

For Fugle, it will be his first job at the Cup level, although he and Byron know each other from his days in the Camping World Truck Series.

Alex Bowman at the 2020 Daytona 500 Media Day. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Alex Bowman - Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

The No. 48 Camaro will be back for another run at the Harley J. Earl Trophy, but it won’t be Jimmie Johnson behind the wheel. Alex Bowman hopes to continue the legacy of that car number when he takes to the track looking for his first Daytona 500 victory.

He will be paired with crew chief Greg Ives. Known as Bowman the Showman, he would win the pole for the 2018 Great American Race in his first outing as the full-time driver of the No. 88 that belonged to the retired Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Combined with the pole, his Hendrick Motorsports car has been on the front row in each of the last three years.