[media-credit name=”doverspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”100″]
[/media-credit]TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
FEDEX 400 BENEFITING AUTISM SPEAKS
DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DOVER, DELAWARE
JUNE 3, 2012
DID YOU KNOW? With the official start of the summer driving season fast approaching, Chevrolet is reminding consumers of some easy ways to maintain their vehicles and drive smarter to help improve fuel economy and save money at the pump. Five Driving Tips to Save at the Pump: Get out of the drive-through lane and go inside to get your purchase, take it easy on the accelerator, drive 70, not 80, use cruise control and roll up the windows.
CHEVY RACING AT DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY– JEFF CHEW, MARKETING MANAGER – CHEVROLET RACING: “The Team Chevy Racing Display will have something for everyone who visits Dover International Speedway this weekend. Fans can ask questions of a host of Team Chevy drivers including Paul Menard and Danica Patrick. 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 DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY:
· Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Zone area at Dover International Speedway
· Fans can check out great Chevrolet vehicles including: Sonic, Cruze, Volt, Corvette, Camaro SS, Malibu, Equinox and Silverado
· At the display see a variety of show cars including the No. 88 and No. 29 NASCAR Sprint Cup cars
· 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 June 1 – Jeb Burton will visit the Team Chevy stage at 11:30 a.m. followed by Cale Gale at 12:10 p.m. Gale’s Eddie Sharp Racing teammate Justin Lofton will stop by at 1:00 p.m. followed by Max Gresham at 1:45 p.m. Joey Coulter and Ty Dillon at 3:15 p.m. and Danica Patrick at 4:10 p.m.
· Sunday June 3 – Paul Menard will pay a visit to the Team Chevy stage at 9:30 a.m.
· Hours of operation: Fri. June 1 – 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; Sat. June 2 – 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sun. June 3 – 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 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 692 wins and 623 poles in NSCS competition
CHEVROLET ON THE TRACK—DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY:
· Chevrolet drivers have won 31 of 84 races at Dover International Speedway. Wins by active drivers are:
o Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Madagascar Chevrolet, has six (6) victories at Dover International Speedway (’02 –TWICE, ’05, ’09-TWICE & ‘10)
o Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, has four (4) wins at Dover International Speedway (’95, ’96 – TWICE & ‘01)
o Ryan Newman, No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet, has three (3) victories at Dover International Speedway (’03 – TWICE & ’04)
o Tony Stewart, No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, has gone to Victory Lane twice at Dover International Speedway (’00 – TWICE)
o Jeff Burton, No. 31 BB&T Chevrolet, has one win at Dover (’06)
o Kurt Busch, No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services Inc. Chevrolet, has one victory at Dover International Speedway (’11)
o Dale Earnhardt Jr., No 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, has visited Victory Lane once at Dover International Speedway (’01)
· A Chevrolet driver has won three (3) of the last six (6) races at Dover International Speedway
· A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole at Dover 21 times
· Team Chevy drivers have scored 162 top-five and 313 top-10 finishes at Dover
· A Chevrolet has led 15,415 laps (39.8% of possible 38,704 at Dover International Speedway
TEAM CHEVY IN THE GARAGE DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY – PAT SUHY, MANAGER – CHEVROLET RACING OVAL TRACK GROUP: “Congratulations to Kasey Kahne on his first win for Chevrolet in the Sprint Cup Series race this past weekend in Charlotte. It’s always nice to add another name to our long list of winners in NASCAR’s top series.
“This coming weekend, the action moves to Dover International Speedway, aptly nicknamed the “Monster Mile”. It’s a challenging one-mile high-banked track with bumps and heaves that challenge the chassis specialists at every team to provide setup options to maximize grip and maintain a stable aerodynamic platform. The drivers can also ‘tune’ on the car by searching out a line that works for the car at any given time and keeps them from losing too much time if the car isn’t perfect on any given run. Our Team Chevy engineers have a suite of tools that complement our teams’ chassis engineers’ tools and skills. Over time, that powerful combination of the right people with the right tools has proven to be a winning one, making us the manufacturer to beat in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series.
“On Sunday afternoon the fans will get to see another great race at Dover, and there’s a good chance that they’ll also get to see a Chevrolet driver doing a burnout with the checkered flag waving as he heads to victory lane.”
TEAM CHEVY FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT:
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET – 4th IN STANDINGS: “Dover has been good to me at times and a challenge at times. I like asphalt better than I like concrete, but as high-banking and as fast as Dover is, concrete was the only thing could really put down that would survive. Once the concrete ages a couple of years, it gets joints in it, and it becomes kind of like a wooden deck. It gets bumps in it and you just hop all the way around the racetrack. That’s just the way it goes.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S MADAGASCAR CHEVROLET – 5th IN STANDINGS: “I honestly don’t know. It just suits my driving style and I guess you could say my stats show that. You really have to learn how to get through the corners there. If you get it to turn in the center and you get good forward grip off of the corner you will typically turn a good lap. That’s the tough part though, figuring out how to get your car do that. I’m looking forward to seeing what we’ve got for it though.”
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 JIMMY JOHNS CHEVROLET – 7th IN STANDINGS:
“We’ll have to have our Jimmy John’s Chevrolet handling well because the track is so fast and there are so many things happening so quickly at Dover (International Speedway) that the driver has to be comfortable in the car. It seems like at Dover (International Speedway) they always have one of those runs where you have green-flag pit stops and halfway through that run the caution comes out, so you have to be a little bit lucky to not end up on the wrong side of that.”
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 MOBIL 1/OFFICE DEPOT CHEVROLET – 9th IN STANDINGS:
“Dover is a track that is kind of a two-phase deal. It’s easy to get your car too tight in the center (of the corner) trying to get it to drive up off the corner nice, and it seems like if you get it to rotate through the corner, then it’s way loose off. Those are the two things that you really battle there. It’s the sacrifice of where do you want to be a little bit off to accomplish having a balanced car.”
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 MENARDS/PPG CHEVROLET – 14th IN STANDINGS: “Dover (International Speedway) is one of my favorite tracks. We’ve run really well there, and we’ve run badly there in the past. It seems that Goodyear has changed the tire compound every time we go back there, so you have to start from square one to figure out the tire and what the car needs. Dover (International Speedway) and Bristol (Motor Speedway) are the two tracks that you get your greatest sense of speed. Darlington (Raceway) is like that, too. There are a few tracks where you feel like you’re going as fast as you are, and Dover is definitely one of them. The name is very fitting.”
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET – 15th IN STANDINGS:
“We were really strong at Dover last fall, so I’m looking forward to this weekend. It’s a challenging track with a tight pit road. Qualifying well and getting a good pit stall will be important. I hope we can keep building on the momentum the (No.) 5 team and our teammates have right now.”
JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 BB&T CHEVROLET – 17th IN STANDINGS: “Dover (International Speedway) is a track where we normally run well. The track is pretty consistent between the two races in June and September. I really like the track. It is fun and you must be aggressive. We’ve had some good race cars there and won a race in 2006. It’s one of those race tracks where I’m really comfortable and feel like we should run well. If you say Dover (International Speedway) doesn’t intimidate you, you are lying. I couldn’t think of a more perfect nickname than the “Monster Mile.” You have to be exceptionally aggressive, but if you cross the line, you will be in trouble. It’s an incredible race track and a huge challenge, but I like going there. As long as I’ve gone to Dover (International Speedway), it has always been a fight between how loose I can be so that I can make speed, against how tight is too tight. It’s like that every time. You always know what the fight will be going into Dover. You see drivers go there and run well for a certain period of time, but then fall off for certain periods. For me, I know what our struggles will be going in and have an idea what we need to do to get into contention for a victory.”
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET – 18th IN STANDINGS:
“I’ve always liked Dover. It was the first place I felt comfortable with the Sprint Cup car because it has a lot of banking, grip, you can pretty much run every line and it has fast corners like in open wheel. It is a fun place. When you have the car right, it is really good, but when you are off, you are way off and it’s hard to get the car turned around during the race. You’ve got to get the handling under control before heading into the race. We’re hoping for a strong run this weekend and getting this Target team back on track.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/ALLSTATE CHEVROLET – 21st IN STANDINGS: “I always look forward to racing at Dover, I think it is a really fun track, however things can happen real quick when the track narrows off the corners. This is one of the places that you have to race the track as much as the cars around you. I have had some good runs there in the past and would really like to get our Bass Pro Shops team back on track after our two weeks at home in Charlotte. We have some stuff that we are doing with the track and the Autism Speaks organization this weekend with their relationship at Dover and really looking forward to playing in their golf tournament on Thursday and meeting with some of the families on Sunday morning prior to the race. “
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET – 22nd IN STANDINGS:
“Dover is very fast and very challenging. Our team has always excelled at tracks that have been the most challenging. But we haven’t been as successful here recently as we would have liked. We’ve been constantly looking for that combination that will get us back to our winning ways here.
“Getting to pit road at Dover is very tricky, so I prefer to be conservative during green-flag pit stops. You don’t want to attack (the entry) – I think you’re better off being conservative and losing a little bit of time getting there safely than trying to get there super, super fast.”
REGAN SMITH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW/CSX PLAY IT SAFE CHEVROLET – 23rd IN STANDINGS:
“You better be ready with the right setup for Dover’s monster mile or you’ll be lapped quickly. That’s a given. Dover is a fun place to race at when it’s going well but on the other hand it can be awfully miserable if you’re off the pace. It doesn’t take long to be down a few laps. We’ve had some better performances at the past two Sprint Cup races, but still need to step up our program. We just need to keep hitting singles and not look for the home run. Keeping up the momentum is what we’re looking for with our Furniture Row/CSX Play it Safe Chevrolet.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 51 PHOENIX CONSTRUCTION SERVICES INC. CHEVROLET – 25th IN STANDINGS: “Dover I think is our best chance at really doing well. It’s not a mile and a half but it races much faster than the mile that it is. We had a Goodyear tire test earlier this year. They actually changed the left-side tire. So we’re one of the few teams that have had that opportunity to drive on it. Our car had a lot of speed there during the test so I’m pumped up about it.”
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: 5
Poles: 3
Laps led: 1593
Top-five finishes: 22
Top-10 finishes: 50
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 692 (1949 – to date); (2,329 possible = 29.6%)
Poles Won to Date: 623
Laps Lead to Date: 206,695
Top-Five Finishes to Date: 3,469
Top-10 Finishes to Date: 7,100
Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date
GM: 1,027
Chevrolet: 692
Pontiac: 155
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 708
Ford: 608
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Chrysler: 463
Dodge: 214
Plymouth: 190
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 42
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.
