"We all want to make them proud" - Chase Elliott & Kyle Larson lead the charge for victory in HMS' 40th anniversary at Martinsville

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season has made its first visit to Martinsville Speedway this year with Hendrick Motorsports' drivers Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, William Byron and Alex Bowman celebrating the 40th anniversary of Rick Hendrick's racing outfit.

The Cook Out 400 due to go live this afternoon has already seen the team celebrate its 40-year-old heritage in the sport with special ruby red paint schemes for all four drivers and cars, at a venue where the team achieved its first-ever victory.

Crossing the 300-win mark at the same venue with William Byron last year, Hendrick Motorsports' visit to Martinsville Speedway this year marks the triumph of what has been a venue laced with tragedy as well as triumph for the racing outfit. Driver of the #9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the team, Chase Elliott, recently spoke about how he plans to lead the charge heading into the 2024 Cook Out 400 in an interview with Frontstretch. He said:

"You can just tell when something means a little extra to the boss and Linda (Rick Hendrick's wife). This is a place that has a lot of success for the Hendrick Motorsports family and a terrible loss too, for that reason its special in both good and horrific ways. There's just a lot of emotion around it and ultimately we all just want to make them proud."

Chase Elliott starts today's race from P3 as the event kicks off at 3:00 pm ET.

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Chase Elliott's teammate Kyle Larson on the importance of Martinsville weekend for Hendrick Motorsports

Ahead of today's race at Martinsville Speedway, NASCAR Busch Light Pole Award winner and Chase Elliott's teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, Kyle Larson, also spoke about the importance of the team's performance on the track today.

The former Cup Series champion touched on the magnitude of a victory today for the racing outfit and elaborated during a press conference uploaded by Frontstretch:

"I don't think probably any of us four drivers feel any more pressure to win, but we know what the magnitude of a win this weekend would mean for the company. We all try to go out there and execute as good as we can every week. We all know what this weekend means to the company."

Watch Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, William Byron and Alex Bowman try and bring home a victory for Hendrick Motorsports on its 40th anniversary at the track where it all began for the racing outfit. The event goes live today at 3:00 pm ET.