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| Chase Elliott at Michigan in June. |
TRIPLE DIGITS: Michigan is one of seven tracks where Hendrick Motorsports has accumulated 100 or more top-10 finishes. The list is led by Martinsville and Pocono, as the organization owns 126 top-10s at each track.
FEELING HOT, HOT, HOT: Hendrick Motorsports is the only team with multiple wins in the last six races. Including race wins, the organization has won four of the last five stages in 2019. Of Chevrolet's last eight wins, Hendrick Motorsports has accounted for six.
THREE OR MORE SINCE '94: Chase Elliott's win last weekend at Watkins Glen was the third of the season for Hendrick Motorsports. That extended the organization's streak, which began in 1994, to 26 consecutive seasons with at least three wins. It marks the longest stretch all-time by a team. The second-longest streak of 21 belongs to Petty Enterprises from 1957-77. The next closest active streak of seasons with at least three wins belongs to Team Penske with six.
POWER OF THE POLE: Hendrick Motorsports leads all organizations in poles for the 2019 season with seven. Last weekend at Watkins Glen International, Elliott captured the pole with William Byron on the outside pole. It was the fifth time the organization has swept the front row in 2019, which also leads all teams.
CREW CHIEF CREDIT: Two of the organization's crew chiefs are among the winningest currently active in the series. No. 24 crew chief Chad Knaus holds the top spot with 81 wins. After last weekend's win at Watkins Glen, No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson sits fifth with 25 wins, just one victory shy of tying Rodney Childers and Adam Stevens for third among active crew chiefs.
PLAYOFF POSITIONING: All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers are currently in position to make the 16-driver NASCAR Cup Series playoffs at the end of the regular season. Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman have essentially locked in their spots by finding Victory Lane and rank eighth and 11th, respectively, in the point standings. William Byron is currently 12th, with Jimmie Johnson in 16th.
ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 12 championships, 255 race victories, 222 pole positions, 1,061 top-five finishes and 1,816 top-10 finishes in points-paying NASCAR Cup Series competition. Its teams have led more than 68,600 laps since 1984.
QUOTABLE /
Chase Elliott on heading to Michigan:
“Michigan is a much different place now. Nothing like it used to be, we are close to wide open. It has been an OK place for me. We didn’t get the result we wanted in June, but we will look at our notes and go back and hopefully be better.”
Elliott on the No. 9 team's performance:
"To kind of have a weekend that wasn't as poor as the last six have been was really nice, and then the way we did it I think was the biggest thing. We've never had a weekend like that in my career, showing up, qualifying on the pole and leading the most laps and win the race. That's the kind of weekend you want to have, and that's the kind of team and the kind of effort you have to put on occasionally and often to compete with the guys that you're going to have to beat in this deal.”
William Byron on heading back to Michigan:
“I don’t really know what to expect fully when we go back to Michigan a second time this year, but I’m optimistic about it. Earlier this year was more of a learning process with the new package and what to expect at such a high-speed track. This time I think we have a better idea of where we need to be when we show up and what we can expect throughout the race. In general, we’ve learned a lot as a team as the season has gone on, though, which puts us in an even better position when we start going back to some of these places for the second time. I’m excited to get to Michigan and see how the weekend goes for us because of it.”
Jimmie Johnson on his new crew chief, Cliff Daniels:
“Cliff (Daniels) did a great job last weekend. We had a strong car and everyone did a great job all weekend long. We got stage points, we executed. Bring on Michigan.”
Cliff Daniels on his first race as No. 48 team crew chief:
“The first weekend was just incredibly busy. We had a great plan in practice and we executed it pretty well, I thought, but with that there are always a lot of changes and things going on. Overall, there was just a lot of excitement with the team, with Jimmie, and I’m really thankful for just the energy level we had and the enthusiasm.”
Alex Bowman on racing at Michigan:
“I’m looking forward to Michigan. We raced really well there earlier this year. We were running in the top five. The last green-white-checkered we were stuck on the bottom and couldn’t really go anywhere. But, it’s a fun place. I think the aero package obviously changed it quite a bit. It’ll be interesting to see how everybody has learned each and every week we take that package to the racetrack. I am ready to see what it’s like going back there versus the first time and see if guys have figured out new stuff or changed their approach. I thought our car drove really well there last time. We were a little down on single-car speed, but it turned into a good race for us. So, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
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