TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
53RD DAYTONA 500
DAYTONA, FL
FEBRUARY 20, 2011
CHEVY RACING AT THE DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY – JEFF CHEW, MARKETING MANAGER, NASCAR, CHEVY RACING: “Racing is a very important part of Chevy’s long history, and sharing that heritage with our fans is very important to us. We are coming off of another phenomenally successful season, and are very happy to be rolling out the all-new Team Chevy Racing Display for the 2011 season. This year we’ve added even more elements, like the latest GM Performance Parts crate engines and an assortment of GM accessories and performance parts for fans to purchase from their local Chevy dealer and install on their own vehicles. Plus, there are interactive games and other activities for fans of all ages.”
- Follow Team Chevy on Facebook to receive the latest news as well as updates with times and locations of events
- Fans can visit Chevy Racing Display in Daytona International Speedway (MIS) Fan Midway near the turn four tunnel
- Fans can check out great Chevrolet vehicles including: The brand new Sonic debuted at SEMA, Cruze, Malibu, Impala, the exciting new Volt, Corvette Grand Sport, Corvette Z06, Camaro, Camaro Convertible, Equinox, Traverse, Tahoe, Silverado Crew Cab, Silverado Extended Cab, Silverado HD and Military Camaro
- Activities at the Chevy Racing Display includes a variety of interactive activities for adults and kids
- New this year is the GM Performance Parts display including crate engines and an assortment of GM accessories and performance parts
- DRIVER APPEARNCES AND AUTOGRAPH SESSIONS:
o Friday, February 18 — Austin Dillon & Joey Coulter appear on Chevy Stage @ 12:30 p.m.; Team Chevy Autograph Session @ 1:00 p.m. with Austin Dillon, Joey Coulter, Johnny Sauter, Matt Crafton, Ron Hornaday, Justin Allgaier and more….; Chevy Stage appearances by Jamie McMurray @ 2:30 p.m.; Tony Stewart @ 2:50 p.m., Paul Menard @ 3:35 p.m.
o Saturday, February 19 — Chevy Stage appearances by Jimmie Johnson @ 9:15 a.m.; Jeff Gordon @ 9:30 a.m.; Juan Pablo Montoya @ 9:45 a.m.
o Sunday, February 20 — Jeff Burton @ 8:45 a.m.; Clint Bowyer @ 9:00 a.m.; Kevin Harvick @ 9:30 a.m.; Ryan Newman @ 9:45 a.m., Dale Earnhardt Jr. @ 10:00 a.m. AND No. 1 Pit Crew Autograph Session on Sunday @ 10:15 a.m.
- Hours of operation: Wed. Feb. 16 -11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.; Thurs. Feb. 17 – 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.; Fri. Feb. 18 – 9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.; Sat. Feb. 19 – 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and Sun. Feb. 20 – 7:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
TEAM CHEVY IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (NSCS) COMPETITION:
- Chevrolet has won 34 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Manufacturers’ Championships
- Team Chevy drivers have scored 669 wins in NSCS competition
- In 2010, Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team scored their unprecedented fifth consecutive drivers’ and owners’ NSCS championships
CHEVROLET ON THE TRACK—DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY:
- Chevrolet drivers have won 21 of 52 Daytona 500 races
- A Chevrolet driver has won seven (7) of the last 10 Daytona 500 races
- Team Chevy drivers have won 40 of 127 previous NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) races at Daytona International Speedway (DIS)
- Chevrolet drivers have won 39 poles at DIS
- Team Chevy drivers have scored 175 top-five finishes and 339 top-10 finishes at DIS
- A Chevrolet has led 6,640 laps (34.5% of possible 19,233) at DIS
TEAM CHEVY IN THE GARAGE DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY – MARK KENT, DIRECTOR, GM RACING: “The NASCAR season is officially in high gear, and we are excited to be back at the race track. Last year was a great year with Chevy drivers securing Chevrolet’s 34th Sprint Cup Manufacturers’ Cup and Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team making history winning an unprecedented fifth consecutive drivers’ and owners’ championships.
So far Daytona SpeedWeeks has yielded very positive results for our Chevrolet teams. Having the front row with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jeff Gordon certainly makes a statement has to how prepared we are for the Daytona 500.
As we look to the 2011 season, we are looking forward to another year of tremendous competition. We also look forward to increased relevance between the race cars and our production vehicles. With the new nose configuration, fans of Chevrolet now have the ability to easily identify our cars on the track as they more closely resemble the production Impala.
In addition, the introduction of biofuels in NASCAR racing is an initiative that we whole-heartedly support. In fact, the use of biofuels is one of the technologies we desire in all of the series in which we compete as it is a relevant technology that we currently offer in many of our production vehicles.
Our engineers at GM Racing have been working closely with our teams to maximize the performance of the Chevrolet Impala race cars. We had very competitive cars battling for the victory in the Shootout that showed the performance of the Impala and the strength and power of our teams. We expect the level of competition to be tighter and better than ever. We believe our teams are up to the challenge and we are ready for a tremendous start of the 2011 season for Team Chevy.”
TEAM CHEVY FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT:
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS HENRICK MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET – Has one (1) Daytona 500 win – ’06: “Our track record doesn’t show that the old surface was really a plus. Maybe this is a plus (for his driving style). You know our finishes here especially in the 500 we’ve been caught up in a lot of late-race stuff and we haven’t been the dominant car by any means, but we’ve had top-fives, top-tens in our hands and had some situations that plagued us. The July race has been much better to us where it is more slick so maybe there is an argument with that. I feel though as race teams with the new surface we only have a few areas to adjust the car and with the track being so forgiving everybody is going to be set on kill and handling is not going to be an option or an obstacle like we all like Talladega. From our standpoint we have less to separate ourselves with on the track during the race but I think it will be in perspective and for the Daytona 500 we’re going to have the best circumstances and the best race we’ve seen. The only thing that can screw that up is all getting too out of control early and cause a big pile up and there’s 15 cars left on the track. That’s the one thing that can screw this all up but I think for the Daytona 500 we have the best circumstances building.”
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 BUDWEISER RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING CHEVROLET – Has one (1) Daytona 500 win – ’07: “It (Daytona) is a lot hairier. It’s a lot easier now with the pavement, and the grip level that you have on the race track. It’s not that big of a deal, but definitely a lot hairier than Talladega. At Daytona, it feels like it’s half the width of Talladega. It’s just a lot narrower than Talladega is. You definitely feel like you have a lot less room. “There isn’t anything that compares to winning the Daytona 500, just for the fact of the magnitude and the attention that comes with that particular race. There’s nothing else that even comes close. I remember that day like it was yesterday. There’s no better feeling of winning a race than that one.”
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/ MOBIL 1 STEWART-HAAS RACING CHEVROLET: “The history (of Daytona). There’s nothing about the track that’s different than a lot of places we go to, it’s just the history of it. It’s the history of that trophy. It’s the history of that event. It’s knowing that this is where our sport was started. It didn’t start right where we’re sitting, it started at the beach. But to see how this sport started and how it’s evolved and when this facility was built, it was way ahead of its time. To see how, as time has gone on, technology has changed, how this place still produces some of the greatest races of the season, the fact that it’s the most important place of our season, that’s what makes this place special.”
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET – Has three (3) Daytona 500 wins – ’97, ’99, ’05: “He (Dale Earnhardt Sr.) taught me a lot about the draft. He didn’t tell me it. He just beat me enough times, passed me enough times. It’s not possible. He’s got something going on in that car. What is it? I just realized he just was that good. I’d say the last three or four years that we raced together on the speedways, I felt like it was kind of a race between me and him. He taught me enough or I learned enough from racing with him that I felt like I could do what he could do, you know. He was always reinventing things, just only getting better at those types of tracks. I always was in awe of racing with him. But it was a totally different type of racing back then.”
CLINT BOWYER, NO. 33 CHEERIOS/HAMBURGER HELPER RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING CHEVROLET: “I was leading (the Daytona 500) twice last year and the caution came out for debris and for the big hole. I thought they were going to call it one time and we just didn’t end up coming up with a win. We were definitely close. That’s the one of the coolest things I’ve ever been a part of. Truthfully, I thought I was going to win. Anytime you’re thinking you’re going to win it is cool. It just doesn’t happen every day, especially at a place like Daytona. The good thing is that testing went well. Our cars were very fast and our engines are backing up every bit, if not more, performance than they did last year. I’m excited. I think we’re going to have a good package. If I can stay out of trouble and make it to the end, I think we’re going to have a shot at it.”
JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING CHEVROLET: “Well, I have more years behind me than I have ahead of me and the more the years that go behind me the more I appreciate the Daytona 500. I’ve been lucky. I have filled out my list of big races pretty well. However, this one I haven’t. It wouldn’t make my career. This is a marquee race with a tremendous amount of history and being part of this event means a lot to me. But, I can honestly tell you if I don’t ever win the Daytona 500, I’m not going to look back on my career with great disappointment, but it would confirm some things. It would mean some things to me, personally.”
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET: “Well the statistics show a lot but I am not convinced that the stats are just not in one of those coincidental phases where it looks really, really good (safer). When you say safety, you think comfort. I don’t think that there is a huge amount more of comfort with what we do but certainly the HANS device is and incredible light years move forward along with all the other little things that go along with that and then maybe the safer barrier being number two to the HANS device. But we didn’t give safety a second thought when we didn’t have those things to be honest with you and we don’t give them a second thought really today. So it hasn’t changed the driver’s thought process, you know most of the guys out there don’t know any better. And let me put it this way because that is not fair to say. What is fair to say is that they don’t know any different whereas Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton, and even Jeff Gordon; we know, we have been there and we have lived it when there was a tire war, and we didn’t have safer barriers or HANS and that was brutal and as long as I live I will feel the effects (laughs) from those days.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS EARNHARDT GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET – Has one (1) Daytona 500 win – ’10: “It’s exciting (to return to Daytona as defending champion) because you guys (media) all want to talk about it. It’s a different vibe than a year ago, the questions that you ask. But, you know, it’s going to be a lot different this year. The Daytona 500, the plate races, man, it’s not like you show up on Friday and you sit on the pole and that’s the guy to beat. If they don’t mess this up, that’s the car to beat. The Daytona 500 can be won in the last hundred yards. It’s such a unique race. With the fact that the track has been repaved, there’s going to be a little bit of a learning curve I think for all the drivers to figure out where they need to be, if you want to be in second on the last lap coming to the start/finish line, if you want to be in first. The Shootout is going to be really important. The 150 is going to be important to set yourself up to be in the right position. As excited as I am to come back here winning the race last year, there’s so many new things that go with this race, so many unknowns, you just don’t know.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 U.S. ARMY STEWART-HAAS RACING CHEVROLET – Has one (1) Daytona 500 win – ’08: “Obviously (winning the Daytona 500) it’s a big career builder and resume builder. It changed my life because I have the trophy, the check and the notoriety to go along with it. But I think it’s the impression that people have of you as a Daytona 500 champion that changes your life more so. I want to drive the Soldiers’ car to victory lane. That’s our goal and what better way to salute our Army Strong Soldiers than with the Daytona 500 trophy. I feel we have a car and a team that can improve upon what we’ve already accomplished at Daytona. There’s plenty of speculation about the two-car draft and the recent rule change by NASCAR, but we just have to wait and see how it all shakes out and make whatever adjustments that will be needed. It appears we have an interesting week ahead of us.”
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET EARNHARDT GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET: “I think the bigger thing is we’ve really got to pull together and make sure we are always on the same page. Make sure we never stay behind on changes. I think having the new fueling system is going to be a key factor for us. With the fueling, the fuel is going to take longer than changing the tires. I think everybody will have about the same time pit stops. Like before it was more mandated by the people doing the tire change. If you look at our averages, our pit crew average last year wasn’t great. It’s funny, I was looking at Dover and I qualified I think third or fourth, and I ran third or fourth all day until we came into the pits and I came out seventh. Then I ran seventh for a while, came in and came out 10th. So I ran 10th for a while, came in 10th and I came out 14th and I finished 14th. We had the pace to run where we were; we didn’t have the pace to improve. I think now with the new pit rules, I think the pit pick is going to be more important. I think coming into the box hard is going to be more important. The little details will make a big difference.”
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/ NATIONAL GUARD HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET – Has one (1) Daytona 500 win – ’04: “I particularly like 40 cars trying to race each other and me being in control of my destiny. I don’t really want to have to make this commitment with another driver to run together for 25 laps and push him in the lead, swap back and forth. I don’t want to do that. I want to race my car, pass everybody, take the lead myself; worry about my own self. It’s difficult enough doing it for yourself without working with another guy, having to look out for him, too. It’s a different style of racing, but as you saw it (the Budweiser Shootout) was still a good race. I thought the finish was really good. The race was really interesting. It’s something new. We’ll have a good race regardless of what the package is. And the changes that NASCAR decides to make may change the racing just a little bit. But they’re smart enough to know we’re so far into the game right now for this particular event, there won’t be a big swing at it. But it’s probably something we need to look at doing down the road. I’m sure they will. They’ll probably get us all together here or Talladega, try all kinds of crazy ideas and see what works. And something will. There’s definitely a package out there that will give us exactly what we’re looking for.”
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 MENARDS/PEAK RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING CHEVROLET: “My approach (to the Daytona 500) is really the same as any other week (on the tour), aside from the duration of time that we’ll be in Daytona, along with the media coverage. Ultimately, I don’t approach this race any different. The guys spend more time on the (Daytona) 500 car than they will on any other car, so, obviously, it puts a little bounce in your step.“
REGAN SMITH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW RACING CHEVROLET: “Now it’s all about making friends — we’re going to have to do some politicking. Without a partner you’re simply toast. It’s like musical chairs — you don’t want to be the last guy without a chair, and you sure don’t want to be the last driver without a dancing partner in the big race. Based on what I saw in the (Budweiser) Shootout, the guys weren’t necessarily concerned about their allegiance. Finding the best partner was the first priority. We’ve been preparing for the opener for a long time and we’re ready,” stated Smith. “Having a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing and running Earnhardt Childress Racing engines are a big boost to our Furniture Row Racing program. In our world, there’s nothing like the Daytona 500 and there’s nothing like starting the season with a solid performance. We just need to continue what we were doing at the end of 2010.”
Chevrolet NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics
Manufacturers Championships
Total (1949 – 2010): 34
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 9 (1983 – 91)
Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Drivers Championships
Total (1949 – 2010): 27
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 6 (1993 – 98) & (2005 – ’10)
Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Event Victories
2010 Race Wins: 18
Total Chevrolet race wins: 669 (1949 – to date) (2,282 possible = 29.3%)
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 – 2007
Poles Won to Date: 609
Laps Lead to Date: 200,220
Top-Five Finishes to Date: 3,368
Top-10 Finishes to Date: 6,883
Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date
GM: 1,004
Chevrolet: 669
Pontiac: 155
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 699
Ford: 599
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Chrysler: 456
Dodge: 207
Plymouth: 190
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 33
Note: Team Chevy press releases, high-resolution images, and media kit can be downloaded from the Team Chevy media website:
About Chevrolet: Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 140 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
