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[/media-credit]TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
GOODY’S FAST RELIEF 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA
APRIL 1, 2012
DID YOU KNOW? The Chevrolet Sonic’s fuel-efficient Ecotec 1.4L turbo engine will now be available in either manual or automatic transmission, bringing the increased torque of turbocharging to drivers of automatics. The 2012 Chevy Sonic Ecotec 1.4L turbo six-speed automatic delivers an EPA-estimated 37 mpg highway and 27 mpg in the city, while the manual gets 40 mpg on the highway and 29 in the city.
CHEVY RACING AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY – JEFF CHEW, MARKETING MANAGER, CHEVY RACING: “We are very much looking forward to returning to Martinsville Speedway, where the Team Chevy Racing Display will have something for everyone in the entire family. Fans this week can ask questions of Team Chevy’s Paul Menard, who is off to such a great start to the season, and get autographs from his No. 27 Menards Chevrolet race-day pit crew. You also can spend time with one of our friendly product specialists and learn more about Chevy’s great 2012 vehicle lineup, and compete with other fans on our video race simulators. Also on display are Chevrolet Performance Parts crate engines and an assortment of accessories and performance parts for fans to purchase from their local Chevy dealer. We hope to see you there.”
TEAM CHEVY SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow Team Chevy on Facebook and @TeamChevy on Twitter to receive the latest news as well as updates with times and locations of events
TEAM CHEVY FOR THE FANS AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY:
· Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Martinsville Speedway Fan Midway area outside turn four
· Fans can check out great Chevrolet vehicles including: Camaro SS Convertible, Cruze LT, Equinox LTZ, 2013 Malibu ECO, Silverado Crew, Siverado EXT, Tahoe, Traverse, Volt and Sonic 5 Door
· At the display see a variety of show cars including the No. 88, No. 29, No. 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup cars, plus the Grand-Am Camaro
· Also on display is a Chevrolet R07 racing engine complete with electronic fuel injection that will power all of our NASCAR Sprint Cup series Team Chevy drivers in 2012. Fans can also see a sample of engines, parts and accessories available for purchase from Chevrolet Performance at their local Chevrolet dealer
· Other activities at the Team Chevy Racing Display include a variety of interactive games for adults and kids
· When fans register at the Team Chevy Racing Display they will receive a 35 Manufacturers’ Championship t-shirt
DRIVER FAN Q/A APPEARANCES:
· Friday March 30 – Ron Hornaday and teammate Max Gresham will visit the Team Chevy stage at 1:00 pm followed by Ty Dillon at 1:15 pm.
· Saturday, March 31 – Jeb Burton will visit the Team Chevy stage at 11:45 a.m. followed by James Buescher at Noon
· Sunday, April 1 – Paul Menard will appear on the Team Chevy stage at 9:30 a.m. followed by the No. 27 RCR Chevrolet over-the-wall pit crew who will hold an autograph session at the Team Chevy display on Sunday prior to the Goody’s Fast Relief 500.
· Hours of operation: Fri. March 30 – 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; Sat. March 31 – 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sun. April 1 – 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
TEAM CHEVY IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (NSCS) COMPETITION:
· Chevrolet has won 35 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Manufacturers’ Championships
· Team Chevy drivers have scored 689 wins and 621 poles in NSCS competition
CHEVROLET ON THE TRACK—MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY:
· Chevrolet drivers have won 48 of 126 races at Martinsville Speedway
· A Chevrolet driver has won two (2) of the last five (5) races at Martinsville Speedway
· A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole at Martinsville Speedway 49 times
· Team Chevy drivers have scored 234 top-five and 433 top-10 finishes at Martinsville Speedway
· A Chevrolet has led 24,414 laps (42.7% of possible 57,087) at Martinsville Speedway
o Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, has seven (7) victories at Martinsville Speedway (’96,’97, ’99, ’03-TWICE & ’05-TWICE )
o Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 My Lowe’s Chevrolet, has gone to victory lane at Martinsville Speedway six (6) times (’04, ’06, ’07 – TWICE, ’08 & ’09)
o Tony Stewart, No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet has taken the checkered flag at Martinsville Speedway three (3) times (’00, ’06 & ’11)
o Jeff Burton, No. 31 BB&T Chevrolet, has one victory at Martinsville Speedway (’97)
o Kurt Busch, No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services Inc. Chevrolet, has visited victory lane at Martinsville Speedway once (’02)
o Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Budweiser is Back Chevrolet, has one victory at Martinsville Speedway (’11)
TEAM CHEVY IN THE GARAGE MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY – ALBA COLON, PROGRAM MANAGER, NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES, CHEVROLET RACING: “Congratulations to Tony Stewart, Steve Addington, and the entire Stewart-Haas Racing team on scoring their second victory of the year last weekend at Fontana. It just proves that you not only have to be good (as the team showed during the race), but you also have to be in the right place at the right time. Fantastic job!
“Our Team Chevy drivers are looking forward to racing at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia this weekend. It’s a fun track that still has that old short track feel. It is flat and narrow, with long straightaways, tight corner radii, and tight pit lanes. You name it; Martinsville has many challenges.
“The racing is really close on this historical half-mile oval. The drivers are always in traffic, which requires them to be on their toes at all times. You have to have a good handling vehicle; and for sure, you have to have good control of it. Martinsville is definitely a ‘driver’s track’; and that’s why we love this track so much.
“Our engineers have been working hand-in-hand with the team engineers to provide the technology that leads to better handling race cars. Again, handling is the key component to being successful at this track.
“Chevrolet has a good winning record at Martinsville Speedway, and we are looking forward to continuing that tradition on Sunday!”
TEAM CHEVY FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT:
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 BUDWEISER IS BACK CHEVROLET – 2nd IN STANDINGS:
“We’ve been fast at Martinsville a lot and to be able to put together a complete day like we did last time at the end of the race we were able to capitalize on a fast car and win the race. We had a lot of things to overcome on that particular day and were able to pull out a win. For us it was good to get the win out of our way and getting those solid finishes over the last couple of years has been good for us. We felt like we have always run fairly well there, we just never could put together a complete day.
“Really, the spring race last year, when we won, we had a tough go at it in the first half of the race, and actually wrecked and got a car tore up and were able to fix it and keep ourselves on the lead lap and make our car a lot better as we went through into the second half of the race. You know, it all worked out in the end. So it’s a race track we feel confident at. All of our cars have run well there in the past. It’s really keeping yourself out of trouble and getting to the end and hopefully by the end of the day you’re in position to do something in the top-five.
“I just like the short tracks. I grew up, as a lot of us did, racing short tracks and Martinsville has always been a place I’ve enjoyed racing at. I think you can look back at the history of Martinsville and watch a lot of races and see a lot of things that have happened there. To be able to still race on that particular track today in virtually the same setting is cool for the sport and cool for the competitors to be able to do that year after year.”
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET – 3rd IN STANDINGS:
“I look forward going to Martinsville. I always have a lot of fun there. I think everybody really enjoys running there. It’s a pretty fun track. We’ve had some good success there. I’m hoping to have a good race like we did last year and maybe have an opportunity to try to be in the battle for the win.”
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL1 CHEVROLET – 4th IN STANDINGS: “It’s still that old short-track feel. That’s what I like. We run a lot of 1.5-mile tracks during the year and it’s the only place that races like this. We’ve got two half-mile tracks that we race on. This one’s quite a bit different than Bristol, and that’s what makes it fun. You can out-brake guys and you can run the outside if you get a shot. It’s racing the way we all grew up racing.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 MY LOWE’S CHEVROLET – 9th IN STANDINGS:
“I do have a lot of success at Martinsville, but it took me a few tries to get it right. And since then, it’s been a very good track for me. I certainly want to get back to my winning ways there. But at a minimum, we always end up with a real strong finish. When I think of how close we were to victory last fall; it didn’t happen, but we led a lot of laps and was a factor in the end. I’m looking forward to going back and trying to win there again. Martinsville is really rhythm-based. That’s me as a driver, and really takes place at any track, but that is one of the tracks where the rhythm is so important and so specific. And I have a very good rhythm for the race in the long run and have always struggled a little bit with qualifying in the short-run rhythm there. I feel like I get better each year. I did get a pole there at one point and I hope to find that magic once again when we go back because qualifying is so important. But it really is a rhythm race track.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO 39 OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE CHEVROLET – 10th IN STANDINGS:
“Martinsville is very much a finesse race track – from a braking standpoint, but also the acceleration part of it, too. You can really chew your tires up on the concrete before you get to the asphalt getting back to the gas, and you have to get back to the gas, but how you do it can make a really big difference in how good your car is for a whole fuel run. A fuel run here is roughly 110 to 120 laps, and you only get three or four times to do that. Tires are important but, if the race goes green for a long time, you can go a lap down by not managing your racecar. For me, I’m thinking about who’s around me, what to expect at the start of the race, how good the car is, what we need to work on, those kind of things. Sometimes your competition is more you than anybody else.
“We’ve got a good setup at Stewart-Haas. I enjoy the simplicity of the track. I enjoy the fact that you have to brake. Tracks you go to where you don’t have to brake just means more people can be closer to driving it because it requires less skill. The tracks where you have to operate that third pedal, it makes a big difference when it comes to driver ability. I think that’s why some people don’t enjoy Martinsville, at first. I didn’t enjoy Martinsville, at first. It was a big challenge. As simple as it is to hit the brake pedal, it’s pretty complex when it comes to doing it right.”
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 MENARDS/LIBMAN CHEVROLET – 11th IN STANDINGS:
“There’s just a lot of bumping and banging. You’re lucky to come out of there without spinning out at least one time. Of all the tracks we visit, track position is probably the most important there. Tires don’t fall off much and it’s extremely hard to pass. So you really try to position yourself to get up front and then once you’re there, not get run over from behind.
“If anyone has been on a bumper car track at a fair or amusement park, that’s how the restarts are at Martinsville. You go into turn one and everybody checks up. You hit the guy in front of you, and then you get hit from behind. It literally feels like a bumper car.”
JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 BB&T CHEVROLET – 15th IN STANDINGS: “To go fast in these cars, you have to be aggressive. You hear people say, ‘you have to drive them easy.’ That means you have to drive them really aggressive to the point where it is too aggressive. Then you have to back off just a touch. The brakes and components are so good today that you don’t save your car anymore. It is 500 laps of hard racing. You have to be very precise. You never catch a break or get to say to yourself, ‘you get to chill out here for a little while.’ Someone is always on your bumper or right next to you. People tend to get road rage at Martinsville because of the pressure and there is so much stuff in your face all the time. Mentally, it is difficult to stay focused and not let everything that is going on around you let you make decisions that are wrong for you. You have to remember why you are there and who you are. You also have to stay focused on what you are doing on that lap that will get you there.”
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET – 18th IN STANDINGS:
“I really like racing at Martinsville. It’s not as hard as people think it is. That is if you can stay out of trouble. You race and if somebody races hard, you’re going to race hard. It’s a place you don’t want to wreck anybody because payback is really bad. We have to have respect for each other out there. We need to have a good day out there and start working on getting some points back.”
REGAN SMITH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW/CSX PLAY IT SAFE CHEVROLET – 19th IN STANDINGS:
“Based on last year’s performances at Martinsville I feel we have a pretty good handle on the half-mile track. The finishes of 31st and 13th might not support that, but had we not had a brake issue late in the spring race we were in position for a top-10. And finishing 13th in the fall was my best result at Martinsville. Right now I feel that our Furniture Row/CSX Play it Safe Chevrolet has the potential of doing something special this weekend. We’ve haven’t had any really bad days this season, but we also haven’t had any really good days. We need a jump start and Martinsville could be the race that we’ve been waiting for.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 BELKIN CHEVROLET – 22nd IN STANDINGS:
“I really like racing at Martinsville, so I can’t wait to go there this weekend. We seem to have good cars at Martinsville every year. At this race last season we sat on the pole last and had a solid top-10 finish. Hopefully we can start a streak of top-10 runs here again this weekend. This is one of those tracks that I seem to like a lot because I have had some good runs, so that makes it fun to go back and race.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 51 PHOENIX CONSTRUCTION SERVICES INC. CHEVROLET – 23rd IN STANDINGS:
“It’s not my favorite track. I’ll admit I have struggled there in years past. Heck, I won there in 2002 but I think I must have been wearing a blindfold for the whole race or something. It’s just real funny with that place because if you hit it exactly right your car drives nice and smooth and it’s as if you’ve never even run 500 laps. Then on the other hand, if your car isn’t handling right it will wear you out. You’re on the brakes hard, trying to feather the throttle and just trying to make it through. So I’m hoping that this time around with Finch’s car and Phoenix Racing having a little affiliation with Hendrick that this will give me new optimism for the track. I mean I just flat out struggle there so hopefully we can go there with the best car that we can, the Hendrick affiliation and hopefully find the right set up.”
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET – 25th IN STANDINGS:
“The one place on the schedule that has changed the least is Martinsville. I believe the track, the set-ups and the tires have changed the least here compared to other tracks over the course of 20 seasons. And that’s where experience can really pay off. At other tracks, sometimes you have to reinvent yourself – along with how we reinvent the setups and the aero package that we’re racing – and that’s tough to do. The longer you’re in the sport, the tougher that is to do.
“Somebody like me – who has a lot of experience and who has also had success at a place like Martinsville – can continue to have that success because it’s not all about aerodynamics. It’s not about a spring and shock and sway bar combination that all of the sudden makes your car fly. I feel like Martinsville is that one place that I can go to every time and give good information back to the team to keep us fast throughout the race.
“We’ve had some good performances this year hurt by engine issues or accidents or pit road miscues. But we’ve had fast race cars, and that is always encouraging. We just need to have a ‘complete’ race, and then another one, and then another one. We have a team capable of stringing together a lot of good finishes.”
DAVE BLANEY, NO. 36 TOMMY BALDWIN RACING CHEVROLET – 28th IN STANDINGS:
“Martinsville is a very small and unique track compared to the other tracks the ‘Cup series runs. We are locked in this week, which is really nice after having to qualify for the first five races. I’m very happy we made it into the top-35 and proud at the improvement TBR has showed this year.”
DAVID REUTIMANN, NO. 10 TOMMY BALDWIN RACING CHEVROLET – 32nd IN STANDINGS:
“Not having to qualify into the show this weekend is a pretty big deal. Martinsville has been a place where I have run well but not finished well. Hopefully, we can get that turned around this weekend. We have had some decent runs the last few weeks, once we got the mishaps out of the way.”
Chevrolet NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics
Manufacturers Championships
Total (1949 – 2011): 35
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 9 twice (1983 – 1991) (2003-2011)
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, 2011
Drivers Championships
Total (1949 – 2011): 28
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005 – ’11)
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, 2011
Event Victories
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 – (in 2007)
2012 STATISTICS:
Wins: 2
Poles: 1
Laps led: 488
Top-five finishes: 10
Top-10 finishes: 24
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 689 (1949 – to date); (2,323 possible = 29.6%)
Poles Won to Date: 621
Laps Lead to Date: 205,590
Top-Five Finishes to Date: 3,457
Top-10 Finishes to Date: 7,074
Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date
GM: 1,024
Chevrolet: 689
Pontiac: 155
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 707
Ford: 607
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Chrysler: 462
Dodge: 213
Plymouth: 190
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 40
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
