34-TIME MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPION – NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
SUBWAY FRESH FIT 500
PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
February 27, 2011
CHEVY RACING AT THE PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY – 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 at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR).
“This year we’ve added even more elements, like the latest GM Performance Parts crate engines and Chevy accessories and performance parts that fans can purchase from their local Chevy dealer. We also have Chevy race cars on display representing several of the race series that Chevy competes in, including Dale Jr’s and Jimmie Johnson’s Sprint Cup Series Impala’s, Chevy’s C6R Corvette and a GT-R Camaro. Plus, there are interactive games, digital photography and other activities for fans of all ages. Chevy’s had a long-time association with PIR and are looking forward to meeting our fans there this weekend.”
. 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 Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) Fan Midway behind the turn two grandstands
. Fans can check out great Chevrolet vehicles including: Camaro, Volt, Cruze, Corvette, Silverado HD, Equinox, Traverse and Tahoe.
. The display will feature the 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
. Special to PIR this weekend: Fans can have their photo taken with the No. 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot Chevrolet Show Car
. DRIVER APPEARNCES AND AUTOGRAPH SESSIONS:
o Ryan Newman will be on the Chevy Stage for a Q&A at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday
o The display will also feature an Autograph Session with the #42 Pit Crew at 10:45 a.m. on Sunday
. Hours of operation: Friday, February 25th – 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.; Saturday, February 26th – 11:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Sunday, February 27th – 7:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
. Fans – be sure and bring your old cell phones to donate to the Cell Phones for Soldiers program
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 – PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY:
. A Chevrolet driver has won 14 of the 29 total races and 12 of the last 15 NSCS races at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR)
. Chevy has won 15 poles at PIR
* Team Chevy drivers have scored 66 top-five finishes and 129 top-10 finishes at PIR * A Chevrolet has led 3533 laps (35.3% of 9,063 possible) at PIR
. Ryan Newman, No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet, is the defending race winner
TEAM CHEVY IN THE GARAGE — PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY – MARK KENT, DIRECTOR, GM RACING: “The 2011 NASCAR season is officially underway. Although several of our Chevrolet drivers fell victim to a variety of on-track incidents during the Daytona 500, we had several cars that were strong contenders throughout the race; running up front and showcasing our strength. We won the pole for all three NASCAR races during SpeedWeeks and Tony Stewart scored his fourth consecutive victory in the Nationwide series.
“The performance of our teams at Daytona International Speedway was clearly a product of the hard work our GM Racing engineers in conjunction with our partner organizations did during the brief and intense “off-season”.
“Now we get into the rhythm of the schedule heading to Phoenix this weekend. Chevrolet has experienced great success at the one-mile oval in the Valley of the Sun.
“In the Sprint Cup Series, Team Chevy drivers have 14 victories and Ryan Newman arrives at Phoenix the defending winner of this race. In the Camping World Truck Series Chevrolet drivers have also notched 14 victories.
“Phoenix offers a variety of unique challenges to drivers and crews alike. The corners are all different; the dogleg in the backstretch creates an additional issue to be address in the handling of the car and both the track and pit road are narrow in comparison to some tracks on the circuit. The teams that find the balance n the setup to give their drivers the optimum performance around the track will be the ones that reap the trip to victory lane. We will be looking for a repeat of our previous success in all three series this weekend at Phoenix.”
TEAM CHEVY FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT AT PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY (PIR):
EARHARDT GANASSI RACING WITH FELIX SABATES:
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS CHEVROLET – 17TH IN STANDINGS: “I am looking forward to Phoenix this weekend. Daytona is always a race that requires some luck and being in the right place at the right time. Moving on to some of the intermediate tracks that we run on more frequently, we can get a better gauge on what our team has to show. Phoenix offers a challenge because the corners are so different from one end of the track to the other. It is a place that is real fun to race if you hit the right balance. I am excited to get our Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet back on the track.”
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET – 6TH IN STANDINGS: “Phoenix is a cool place. It is really tricky. Both ends are very different. It’s one of those tracks you look forward to going to because it’s so different. From what I heard they’re going to change it up a bit when we go back there in the fall so that’s a little disappointing. I haven’t seen the proposed plan but they are probably looking for better racing or something different. The racing has always been pretty exciting there I thought.”
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS:
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/ AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET – 22ND IN STANDINGS – HAS TWO (2) PIR WINS – ’03, ’04: “I have a lot of respect for Steve (Letarte) as a crew chief. I’ve enjoyed getting to know him better these past couple of months. I’ve seen him make some awesome calls and do a lot of great things with Jeff (Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet). I really enjoy the way the team approaches their jobs and what their goals are. I like the way they go about business, how they conduct themselves. . Those guys are used to winning. I like that pressure and sense of entitlement to winning. Handling is really important at Phoenix. It takes something special to make a car work really good there. Turns 3 and 4 have been a challenge for me lately. Both ends can be challenging but (Turns) 3 and 4 create a longer corner, and they are just so different from each other.”
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET – – 26TH IN STANDINGS — HAS WON ONCE (1) AT PIR – ’07: “Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and the entire No. 24 crew did a great job during Speedweeks. We had a fast car and were able to sit on the front row for the ‘500. Then, after the wreck in the Duel, they did a great job repairing the car so we could keep our starting spot for the race. The car was fast in the race, we just got caught up in an early wreck. They did an amazing job of getting that car back on the track Sunday, and that type of determination and teamwork is why I’m looking forward to racing with this group at Phoenix and the rest of the 2011 season. There will be some new things that we will need to adjust to this weekend. In the past, the sun can be difficult to deal with while driving into turn 1. Friday’s practice session will give us an opportunity to see what kind of challenge that gives us in February. And those practice sessions now determine our qualifying order. This should make qualifying very interesting with the fast drivers going out later and later. We could see the top spot changing after each run. Qualifying well here seems to help on race day. It’s not like Daytona where you can go from 10th to the lead in one lap. Sometimes it can take several laps just to gain one position. And the fewer positions needed to gain to get to the front, the better.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET – 25TH IN STANDINGS – HAS FOUR (4) VICTORIES AT THE ONE-MILE OVAL – ;07, ’08, ’08, ’09: “Definitely disappointed that they needed to resurface the track. I understand that at some point all tracks need it and they are at that point. We love the tracks that are worn out and on the verge of needing to be resurfaced. I think we put on our best races there. So, disappointed to hear it go but Phoenix has done a good job in speaking with folks, drivers, trying to understand the track from a safety standpoint and to make sure that we don’t have single-file racing starting at the first race after the repave. I’ve been in talks with Phoenix and the crew that is working on the track and I feel good about things and where they are going with it. If we don’t like it, which sounds like the chances are low, in time it will come back, just like a lot of the other tracks.”
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET – 9TH IN STANDINGS – HAS TWO (2) PIR VICTORIES – ’93, ’09: “I love racing at Phoenix. I’m a big fan of short track racing. I grew up racing on short tracks and it’s just always been something I’ve enjoyed. I’ve had a lot of success at Phoenix, too, so that gets me pretty geared up when I get out there. There comes a time when you really aren’t sure you’ll ever get a win again. I was at that point (when he won Phoenix with Hendrick Motorsports in 2009). I knew our team was capable, but I hadn’t won in so long. That night was incredible. I was just so happy. Beyond happy. And to see the guys, Alan (Gustafson) and the crew guys, to see their faces. I’ll never forget it. Then to have as many of the other drivers and owners in this sport come to see me. It will be one of the most memorable wins of my career for sure.”
RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING:
CLINT BOWYER, NO. 33 CHEERIOS/HAMBURGER HELPER CHEVROLET – 16th IN STANDINGS: “Phoenix is an important race track. It gives you that first shot at looking where you stack up to the competition. Do you have work to do? Are you behind? Are you looking good compared to the competition? That’s your first look at how you stack up to the competition. That’s one of my favorite race tracks. We’ve really put a lot of emphasis on Phoenix this year in the off season because I know our package isn’t right. I don’t know what it is, but that’s one of my best race tracks. It’s where we should run well at. For whatever reason, we can’t, so we’re working hard on Phoenix. Hopefully we’re going to come up with a better package, so we can go there and run better with it. This is going to be the last time we race on it before they repave it. When we go back for the second time in the fall, it will have a new surface on it and new track configurations. I think you’re going to have to have a good day and put that notebook away. That notebook won’t lay over to the next race like they usually do.”
JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET – 33RD IN STANDINGS – HAS TWO (2) WINS AT PIR – ’00, ’01: “Phoenix has been a really good race track for me. I felt that if we had qualified better and been up front earlier, we would have been hard to beat in that race. We were really fast and got by a lot of cars early but never had good track position until later in the race. It’s been a while since I’ve won there and we’re going back to finish where we left off in the fall. The key for us to do that is to go back better than we were and respond better to the spoiler than everybody else. It’s a really cool race track. Both ends of the race track are completely different. It’s not really a short track. It’s like a small superspeedway. The straightaways are real long and restarts are really aggressive. The front straightaway is downhill which leads to a really sharp turn one corner. The exit of turn two is like nowhere else I’ve ever been. Turns three and four are big, long, sweeping corners. Some people can run the top and some can run below the apron which gives the drivers different options. It’s a challenge because it’s so different on both ends of the race track. I’m hearing they’re going to make changes to the track. What I’m hearing is their going to make enhancements. I hear they’re going to make it a little bigger, the dog-leg is going to get moved out a little bit and the exit of Turn 2 is going to open up a little bit. I think that’s going to help the racing some. What I’m hearing about what they’re going to do to the race track at Phoenix is actually going to make the race track better.”
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 JIMMY JOHN’S CHEVROLET – 37TH IN STANINGS – HAS WON TWICE (2) AT PIR – ’06, ’06: “To carry that momentum from Daytona to Phoenix is going to be exciting for all of us. I know that I look forward to going there just for the fact that I grew up racing there, and I enjoy the race track. When you lead off the season with your biggest race, the Daytona 500, there’s really no other race on the schedule that can match the hype and anticipation of that particular race. It is really the first official week of what it’s going to be like on the weekly grind as we go to Phoenix this year. I love racing during the day because I like when the race track gets slick. You have to manage the car, tires and everything that goes with it. That is definitely something you have to do at Phoenix. It really changes the complexion of the race when it’s in the day there. I think it’s the right thing to do – race on Sunday afternoon. We ran well in the fall race there. I think we ran well and finished decent there the first race there last season, too. It has been a struggle for us the last couple of years. Our mile and-a-half and superspeedway programs have been the best, and our short track program has been the weakest for us. I feel that everything that was done over the last ten weeks was strong. We just have to continue working forward and continue working at it.”
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 MENARDS RACING CHEVROLET – 8TH IN STANDINGS: “PIR is a great track, a lot of fun to drive. It’s a short track, but in a lot of ways it drives like an intermediate style track. Brakes will be important, but mostly just keeping the car turning without giving up the drive off. The last few times there that has seemed to be the key, keeping the rear tires from spinning. Slugger has assembled a great race team, I was very proud of the way my guys worked together and with our team cars. Unfortunately, Daytona and Phoenix are completely different style tracks so there won’t be any translation there, but it gives me the confidence that we’ll have another fast Chevy and have the ability to make it better throughout the weekend.”
STEWART-HAAS RACING:
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 TORNADOS CHEVROLET – 20TH IN STADINGS – HAS ONE (1) PIR WIN – ’10: “Phoenix is really one of my favorite racetracks because the design of the racetrack makes it fun and challenging to drive. It’s definitely a driver’s racetrack. We’ve always said that because it’s so unique. It’s different from one end to the other. And, therefore, the crew chief can only get one end perfect, it seems, and the other one the driver has to adapt to. It’s not a compromise if your crew chief does a good job setting up the race car, because you can do things to try to manipulate those opposite end of the racetrack. But when your car is not working it’s up to the driver to make up what you can of what’s left, and that I think separates the men from the boys at Phoenix. Phoenix is interesting because, I think every time we come back here, it seems like the track loses just a small percentage of grip, and that’s a good thing because the driver has to drive and hustle the car a little bit more and a little bit differently and still be smooth. It’s those aspects that make this track a lot of fun to me. And it is a special track to me. It’s where I started my Sprint Cup career. It’s the first track I raced on in NASCAR, so it’s an important place. And after last year with our win, it’s a special track for our team, too, so we are looking forward to going back there. It’s kind of funny actually. After the Daytona 500 on Sunday, I was making my back way to the bus lot and Jimmie Johnson saw me and he was like ‘Are you ready for Phoenix?’ and I said ‘Yeah, since like last Tuesday.’ It’s just a track that I have always liked from my USAC days. Back then, Phoenix was the place to race, so it’s kind of like a track that’s the backbone of how I’m used to racing. We ran so well there last year, and we seem to be in-tune with the racetrack, so we’re looking forward to continuing our streak of solid finishes there.”
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/ MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET – 12TH IN STANDINGS – HAS ONE (1) PIR WIN – ’99: “I think everybody’s pretty worn out after being in Daytona for so long. Phoenix means a normal routine and a chance for the crew guys to get back to their families for a couple of days before heading to another racetrack. I think so. Daytona is a restrictor-plate race and, unlike Daytona, four guys can’t get in a line at Phoenix and go to the front. Daytona and Talladega (Ala.) have always just been two different forms of racing. With the draft being so important at those two tracks, it’s more of a team deal than an individual deal. What happens at Phoenix and the races after that has to be done on your own. You can’t help each other at Phoenix. You just have to go race.”
FURNITURE ROW RACING:
REGAN SMITH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW RACING CHEVROLET – 6TH IN STANDINGS: “After Daytona 500 I found time to take a few deep breaths, and for a short time, rehashed what could have been. But then it was all about Phoenix and thinking about how important it is to maintain the momentum we gained during Speedweeks. While in Daytona, Phoenix’s one-mile oval was on our mind and we went to Disney World Speedway to conduct a test session. We were pleased with what we learned in the test and feel that Phoenix and the following races should be good for our Furniture Row Chevrolet. We’re looking for big things and know that we have the potential to produce positive results on a weekly basis.”
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
2011 YEAR-TO-DATE STATISTICS:
Poles: 1
Laps led: 125
Top-five finishes: 0
Top-10 finishes: 4
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Poles Won to Date: 610
Laps Lead to Date: 200,361
Top-Five Finishes to Date: 3,367
Top-10 Finishes to Date: 6,886
Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date
GM: 1,004
Chevrolet: 669
Pontiac: 155
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 700
Ford: 600
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 ce5&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.chevrolet.com%2f> .
