TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
AXALTA ‘WE PAINT WINNERS’ 400
JUNE 7, 2015
WHAT TURN FOUR? CHEVROLET SS READY FOR POCONO CHALLENGE
Chevrolet Looking for Sixth Consecutive Win at the ‘Tricky Triangle’
DETROIT – (June 3, 2015) – Pocono Raceway is one of the most unique tracks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. The track is a three-turn superspeedway with minimal banking in the corners and one very famous long straightaway. Some drivers have nicknamed it a ‘roval’, but all drivers agree that there has to be some sort of compromise, because no car can be perfect through all three very unique corners.
Anything can happen at Pocono with the high speeds. Many of the car components will be tested to the max. Drivers will be hard on the brakes and transmissions. Other than the two road courses on the Sprint Cup Series schedule, Pocono and Phoenix are the only two oval tracks where drivers will chose whether or not to downshift for better corner exit speed.
As of late, Chevrolet has been the dominate manufacturer on the 2.5-mile track by earning the last five consecutive victories. Last June, Chevrolet’s Dale Earnhardt, Jr. captured his first career win at the ‘Tricky Triangle’. The driver of the No. 88 Chevy SS repeated that performance in July to sweep both Pocono events in 2014. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jeff Gordon, holds the title for most wins by any driver at Pocono with six victories to this credit.
Dating back to the fall of 1974, there have been 74 Cup Series races at Pocono. Chevrolet has been the winning manufacturer in 30 of those events. Benny Parsons was the first to take Chevy to Victory Lane at Pocono in 1977. This weekend, 22 Chevy SS drivers and teams look to put Chevrolet in the Winner’s Circle at the ‘Tricky Triangle’ for the 31st time.
While enjoying all the festivities on the grounds of the Pocono Raceway, fans are encouraged to visit the Team Chevy display to check out the great lineup of Chevrolet cars, trucks and SUVs on exhibit in the midway.
The display will open at 8 a.m., Friday. Fans can see a variety of vehicles including Cruze, Malibu, Impala, Corvette Stingray, Equinox, Trax, Colorado with accessories and Silverado HD Duramax Diesel. They can also check out Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS show car and Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Drive to End Hunger show car.
Before fans take their seats to watch all the action at Pocono, they can ask questions to some of their favorite Team Chevy drivers. Austin Dillon, Martin Truex, Jr. and Michael Annett will stop by the Team Chevy stage on Friday. Grant Enfinger will make appearances at the Team Chevy stage on Saturday. Danica Patrick and Justin Allgaier will be at the Team Chevy stage answering fans questions on Sunday.
The 160-lap/400-mile Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400 at Pocono Raceway is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday June 7. Live coverage will be available on FoxSports1, MRN, Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 90 and NASCAR.com.
TEAM CHEVY IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (NSCS) COMPETITION:
· Chevrolet has won 38 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Manufacturers’ Championships
· Team Chevy drivers have scored 746 wins and 672 poles in NSCS competition
CHEVROLET ON THE TRACK—POCONO RACEWAY:
Chevrolet drivers have won 30 of 74 races at Pocono Raceway. Victories by current Team Chevy drivers are:
Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet SS, has six (6) wins at Pocono Raceway (’96, ’97, ’98, ’07, ’11 & ‘12)
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet SS, has three victories at Pocono Raceway (’04 – TWICE & ‘13)
Kurt Busch, No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS, has visited Victory Lane at Pocono Raceway twice (’05 & ‘07)
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS, has two victories at Pocono Raceway (’14 – TWICE)
Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS, has two wins at Pocono Raceway (’08 & ’13)
Tony Stewart, No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS, has two trophies from Pocono Raceway (’03 & ‘09)
Ryan Newman, No. 31 Grainger Chevrolet SS, has gone to Victory Lane at Pocono Raceway once (’03)
A Chevrolet driver has won five of the last five races at Pocono Raceway
A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole at Pocono Raceway 31 times
Team Chevy drivers have scored 151 top-five and 319 top-10 finishes at Pocono Raceway
A Chevrolet has led 6,206 laps (43.4% of possible 14,309 laps) at Pocono Raceway
TEAM CHEVY FOR THE FANS AT POCONO RACEWAY:
· Fans can check out great Chevrolet vehicles including: Cruze, Malibu, Impala, Corvette Stingray, Equinox, Trax, Colorado with accessories and Silverado HD Duramax Diesel
· At the display fans can see a variety of show cars including: Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS and Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS
Fans can see a sample of engines, parts and accessories in the Team Chevy Display available for purchase from Chevrolet at their local Chevrolet dealer
· Other activities at the Team Chevy Racing Display include a variety of interactive games for adults and kids
DRIVER FAN Q/A APPEARANCES:
· Friday, June 5th – Austin Dillon and Martin Truex, Jr. will stop by the Team Chevy stage at 2:00 p.m. followed by Michael Annett at 2:30 p.m.
· Saturday, June 6th – Grant Enfinger will make an appearance at the Team Chevy stage at 11:15 a.m.
· Sunday, June 7th – Danica Patrick will answer questions from fans at the Team Chevy stage at 9:30 a.m. followed by Justin Allgaier at 9:45 a.m.
· Hours of operation: Fri. June 5th – 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; Sat. June 6th – 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and Sun. June 7th – 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
DID YOU KNOW? Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac dealers in the United States delivered 293,097 vehicles in May 2015, for General Motors Co.’s (NYSE: GM) best May sales since 2007 and its best month since August 2008. Total sales were up 3 percent year over year and retail sales were up 7 percent in a month when most major competitors lost ground. Pickup trucks and crossovers were especially strong sellers.
ENGINEER EXPERTISE FROM THE GARAGE AREA – ALBA COLON, CHEVROLET RACING PROGRAM MANAGER – NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES:
“What a great way to start the hot summer months by celebrating a victory. Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus, Rick Hendrick and the entire No. 48 Lowe’s ProServices Chevrolet SS team for their win at the Monster Mile. Jimmie celebrated an historic 10th victory at Dover International Speedway, which is a fantastic achievement.
“Also, we want to congratulate Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, and Kasey Kahne for their second, third, and fourth-place finishes, respectively.
“This weekend the circuit heads to Pocono Raceway, which is also known as ‘The Tricky Triangle’. Pocono’s 2.4-mile triangular configuration requires heavier use of the brakes than most big tracks. It not only puts extra wear on the brake components, but also on the engines, gears and transmissions; much like a road course. No other track on the circuit is quite like this one. It’s full of challenges for all the drivers and teams. Durability will be the key to success.
“Team Chevy is ready for the challenge and ready to succeed on Sunday at Pocono Raceway.”
TEAM CHEVY FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT:
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 BUDWEISER/JIMMY JOHN’S CHEVROLET SS – POINTS LEADER
“The first thing you do is you’ve got to survive the restart. We learned last time that practice didn’t really matter, if you could get a good restart and survive going through the corner and get in line then you were in good shape. It’s really fast and the thing I like about what they did at Pocono (Raceway) is that all the bumps are now kind of swells and you have the same kind of feels that you had there, they are just not extreme bumps. Each corner is fast. Turn one is a corner where you drive in and down shift. The key to Pocono now is getting up off the corners and in the throttle and being able to stay in the throttle really in all three (turns).”
MARTIN TRUEX, JR., NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW/VISSER PRECISION CHEVROLET SS – 2ND IN STANDINGS
“If Dover is my home track then Pocono is my second home track. I have fond memories of Pocono, dating back as a youngster to watch my father (Martin Truex Sr.) race modifieds there. Our Furniture Row team has been on a nice roll lately, leading a lot of laps and contending for a win. We had the same car the last three (point) races but we’ll have a new car for Pocono. We seem to run well at all different types of tracks and hopefully we can continue that momentum in Pocono. They call Pocono the tricky triangle and that’s exactly what it is — tricky. If I had to say right now if you were going to change the track bar on every turn it would most likely be at Pocono. The hardest thing about Pocono is the tunnel turn — you carry a lot of speed, which is a flat corner along with being very sharp. The racetrack is narrow and when you’re coming down that Long Pond straightaway you’re looking straight at the wall going the other way and you’re running 200 miles per hour and there’s not a lot of banking. It’s just an intimidating turn because of all those factors.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/JIMMIE JOHNSON FOUNDATION CHEVROLET SS – 3RD IN STANDINGS
“For me, I love the speed factor at Pocono. It’s not an easy track, and trying to figure out how to pass someone or get by someone, there’s something in that that gets me going. Again, I always race better than I qualify here so that is something we are focusing on. Outside of the track, there is some great riding areas and just nice scenery. It’s a great place to go.”
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS – 5TH IN STANDINGS
“It seems like guys that run well at Pocono can sustain it. I’ve seen guys sweep there and we were able to do it last year. I like the track, and we have run well there since the repave. I anticipate us being competitive again and hopefully getting three in a row.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 CESSNA CHEVROLET SS – 7TH IN STANDINGS
“I think the most important part of Pocono is getting your car to turn good and get a run off the corners, especially in turns one and three. It is vital to carry good momentum down the two longest straightaways. Pocono is still a pretty smooth track, even after the repave a couple of years ago which makes it much nicer than it used to be. I like having to shift, because I think that it creates passing opportunities. We finished in the top-10 both races last year, so hopefully we can build on that.”
KEITH RODDEN, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS – 8TH IN STANDINGS
“I love going to Pocono. Brandon (Igdalsky, CEO and President at Pocono Raceway) and his staff have done an excellent job there, and the fans are awesome. It is definitely the “Tricky Triangle” with three distinct turns. The track is all about compromise to find the best total speed possible. The best part about the races there of late is the multiple strategies that the teams employ to try to get ahead of one another. It is very exciting on top of the pit box.”
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 AXALTA/PENN STATE CHEVROLET SS – 9TH IN STANDINGS
“I like the challenge that Pocono Raceway presents the teams – it really is tricky. Compromise in the setup is key with the three unique corners.
ON PENN STATE AND AXALTA PARTNERSHIP:
“Supporting STEM education and future business leaders is vital to our future. I depend on the mechanical engineers on my team to make sure that my racecar is in top form for every race. Linking STEM education to the technology behind successful racing is important. I’m proud to partner with Axalta and Penn State on this exciting program.”
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 SCHROCK/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS – 12TH IN STANDINGS
“We shift (gears) there and a lot of guys have been doing that the last couple of years, which adds a different element. It’s like a big road course really, you just turn left. The hardest part is trying to get your car out of the air while maintaining grip in the corners. In Turn 1, it’s real wide and has good banking. Turn 2 is really flat and sharp which makes it very difficult to run side-by-side. Turn 3 is in between. It’s flat but with a sweeping, pretty wide corner. Pocono is a great track as far as uniqueness.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 GRAINGER CHEVROLET SS – 13TH IN STANDINGS
“Horsepower is huge at Pocono, but you have to shift correctly and be good in the corners to use that horsepower. The straightaways are so long that if you are not getting down the straightaways well, you cannot make it up in the three corners. Having good horsepower is really key.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 41 HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET SS – 15TH IN STANDINGS
“I think it’s a fun track on how unique it is with the three corners being different. And the fact that your set-up really can’t be dialed in for all three corners, you have to give and take. Some years it seems like Turn 1 is tough. Some years Turn 3 ends up being a tough corner, but I always focus on the Tunnel Turn. I always try to get through Turn 2 as quick as I can because it seems like that is where the years that I’ve won, that is where I’ve had the best car.”
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY CHEVROLET SS – 18TH IN STANDINGS
“It’s a neat place, definitely a unique track. It’s still a place I don’t have a ton of experience at. It’s just an odd place to set the car up because the corners are so different. If you are really good in turn one, then maybe two and three are a little off. Or if you’re good in three, maybe one and two are different. I will say that the straightaway is enormous. There’s a lot of distance between turns three and one.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – 20TH IN STANDINGS
“I’m looking forward to getting back to Pocono this weekend and working to build off the momentum that I feel the team gained last weekend at Dover. While we’ve had fast cars this season, we just haven’t been able to come away with good finishes. Last weekend we kept getting the car better throughout the race and were able to adjust when things didn’t go our way to get the finish I thought we deserved. So, at Pocono, we’ll look to put together another complete weekend. It’s a track that I really like and enjoy the challenge of the three different corners. It’s also where I won my first pole award in the Target Chevy, so it’s a track where I feel we can be competitive.”
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 CLOROX CHEVROLET SS – 21ST IN STANDINGS
“Pocono Raceway is tough and over the last couple of years since the repave, to me it has almost gotten worse when it comes to trying to set up for that place. All the corners are definitely different, but now at least for me, I feel like Turn 3 has gotten really loose. So, you try to tighten up the car to make sure you get off Turn 3 okay because the straightaway is so long. You get down to Turn 1 and especially the Tunnel Turn and Turn 2 the car is really tight. Pocono is all about finding a happy medium. It’s about finding the balance. It’s lost a little grip over the last couple years after the repave, but it still has a lot of grip. More than ever, it’s really a challenge to set your car up for it.”
CASEY MEARS, NO. 13 GEICO CHEVROLET SS – 22ND IN STANDINGS
“I like racing Pocono. The place has a lot of history for the Mears family, my dad and uncle have both run there. For me, I’ve always enjoyed the track because of my road course background. Shifting at Pocono has always been easy for me. Our Germain Racing team has had pretty good cars there the last couple races. With the way our stuff has been this year, I’m really looking forward to getting the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS on track at Pocono. Our chassis we are bringing is 450. We raced it at Phoenix and Richmond earlier this year. I think it’s to the point where all teams have caught up on what it takes to run well at Pocono. We are getting pretty good at the races where track position is key. I look forward to seeing what we can do with the GEICO Chevy on Sunday.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CHEVROLET SS – 24TH IN STANDINGS
“Pocono is a fun race, I learned a lot testing there last year. There is a lot of shifting that goes on there. We’ll have to move our (shift) points around this year with the new package. I really think the RCR/ECR Engines package runs well there.”
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 MOBIL 1/BASS PRO SHOPS CHEVROLET SS – 28TH IN STANDINGS
“Going into turn one, you drive it in kind of deep and then try to float the car through the corner. It’s very flat when you go down the backstretch and into the tunnel turn. Then the short chute into turn three – it’s a big, long corner and it’s important to get through that turn well because you have a straightaway that’s three-quarters of a mile long after that. You need to come off the corner quickly so that you aren’t bogged down when you start down that long straightaway. Each corner has its challenges, and each one tends to present a different set of circumstances with each lap you make.”
JUSTIN ALLGAIER, NO. 51 CHEVROLET SS – 30TH IN STANDINGS
“Pocono [Raceway] is one of my favorite tracks on the schedule. Obviously it has a unique shape and it’s very fast with every corner being different. We have SEM Products on the car this weekend and I know they’re really looking forward to seeing their car on the track.”
TY DILLON, NO. 33 YUENGLING CHEVROLET SS:
“This is a big weekend for everyone at Circle Sport Racing, RCR and especially our friends at Yuengling with it being their home track. I’m looking forward to seeing all of Yuengling’s guests at the track on Sunday and hanging out in their “backyard.” We’re grateful to have the opportunity to race at Pocono, which is a pretty difficult track to maneuver. I’ve been having a lot of conversations and trying to learn as much as I can for this weekend. Practice time on Friday and Saturday will be critical. Learning the braking zones, finding the right places to race on the track and learning the proper places to shift gears are going to be important. Luckily, I have a lot of support around me to get plenty of advice. I look forward to the challenge.”
Chevrolet NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics
Manufacturers Championships
Total (1949 – 2014): 38
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 12 (2003-2014)
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, 2012, 2013, 2014
Drivers Championships
Total (1949 – 2014): 30
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, 2013, 2014
Event Victories
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 – (in 2007)
2015 STATISTICS:
Wins: 8
Poles: 6
Laps led: 3008
Top-five finishes: 43
Top-10 finishes: 87
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 746 (1949 – to date); (2,433 possible = 30.0%)
Poles Won to Date: 672
Laps Lead to Date: 222,819
Top-Five Finishes to Date: 3,752
Top-10 Finishes to Date: 7,663
Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date
GM: 1,081
Chevrolet: 746
Pontiac: 155
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 734
Ford: 634
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Chrysler: 466
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 190
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 68
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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 4.8 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive & active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
