39-TIME MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPION – NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
KOBALT 400
LAS VEGAS
MARCH 6, 2016
ROLLING DOUBLES – CHEVROLET SS LOOKING FOR BACK-TO-BACK WINS AT LAS VEGAS
· Chevrolet SS going for repeat win in Vegas
· One more win at Las Vegas will put Chevrolet in a tie for most successful manufacturer at the 1.5-mile track
· Chevrolet drivers and teams have good first showing with new low downforce package
· Team Chevy drivers have won two of the last four races at Vegas
· Las Vegas begins a three week long ‘West Coast’ swing for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
DETROIT – (March 1, 2016) – This weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to the ‘wild west’ taking on the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS). Vegas begins a three week stretch for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on the West Coast. Chevrolet would love nothing more than to sweep all three races; something no manufacturer has completed since NASCAR began the journey west for three consecutive weeks last season.
Chevrolet drivers and teams have had immense success in ‘Sin City’ over the past four races taking home two trophies, earning 10 top-five finishes and leading over 700 laps. One year ago Chevrolet powered driver Kevin Harvick earned his first win at LVMS, and in 2012 Tony Stewart captured the victory.
Last weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debuted a new low downforce aerodynamic configuration that teams will use throughout the 2016 season. Chevrolet came out of the box strong, as six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and Bowtie Brigade driver Jimmie Johnson earned his first win of the season on the 1.5-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Chevrolet looks to continue the momentum this weekend at Las Vegas. Despite both Atlanta and Vegas being the same length in distance, the tracks are quite different. Drivers and teams will have to rely on the Chevrolet suite of tools to figure out how to traverse the bumps in Turns 1 and 2, all the while learning a new tire and filling their notebook with information about the new aero package.
There are only five venues on the 23-race NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule in which Chevrolet has yet to earn the most wins. A victory this weekend will tie Team Chevy for the highest number of victories of any manufacturer at LVMS with eight.
All the excitement from Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the KOBALT 400 is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday March 6. Live coverage will be available on FOX, PRN Radio, Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 90 and NASCAR.com.
TEAM CHEVY FOR THE FANS AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
· Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the midway area
· Fans can check out great Chevrolet vehicles including: Camaro, Colorado, Malibu, Silverado LD, Silverado HD, Volt, Equinox, Traverse and Tahoe
· Fans can also get an up-close and personal look at a variety of show cars including: the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro Show Car, the No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS show car and the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS
· Also on display is a Chevrolet R07 racing engine complete with electronic fuel injection. 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
DRIVER FAN Q&A APPEARANCES:
· Friday, March 4th
o 2:15 p.m. – Blake Koch
· Saturday, March 5th
o 9:00 a.m. – Brandon Jones
o 11:45 a.m. – Ray Black, Jr.
· Sunday, March 6th
o 9:05 a.m. – Michael McDowell
o 9:20 a.m. – Austin Dillon
· Hours of operation: Fri. March 4 – 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; Sat. March 5 – 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sun. March 6 – 7:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
TEAM CHEVY IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (NSCS) COMPETITION:
· Chevrolet has won 39 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturer Championships
· Team Chevy drivers have scored 754 wins and 680 poles in NSCS competition
CHEVROLET ON THE TRACK—LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
Chevrolet drivers have won seven of 18 races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Victories by current Team Chevy drivers are:
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 KOBALT Chevrolet SS, has four wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (’05, ’06, ’07 & ‘10)
Tony Stewart, No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevy SS has one win at Las Vegas Speedway (’12)
Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS, has recorded one victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (’15)
A Chevrolet driver has won two of the last four races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole at Las Vegas Motor Speedway three times
Team Chevy drivers have scored 38 top-five and 73 top-10 finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
A Chevrolet has led 2,017 laps (45.4% of possible 4,441 laps) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
ENGINEER EXPERTISE FROM THE GARAGE AREA – ALBA COLON, CHEVROLET RACING – PROGRAM MANAGER – NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES:
“After a very successful weekend for Team Chevy at Atlanta Motor Speedway, with a 1-2 finish, we head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the third round on the 2016 tour. Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus, Rick Hendrick and the entire Lowe’s No. 48 Chevrolet SS group for their win; and to Jimmie for tying Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s number of NASCAR Sprint Cup career victories as seventh on the all-time series win list. Also, congratulations to Dale Earnhardt Jr. for finishing second. We are very proud of everyone.
“The race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will provide the teams an opportunity to race the new aero downforce package for the second time this year. The driver reactions after the Atlanta race were very positive. The fans seemed to like it too, so we are looking forward to learning what it takes to be successful with this new competition package on another 1.5-mile track configuration.
“This time around, all the teams will get an extra day at the track. Lately with the lack of on-track testing, tools like simulation and tire data analysis have become very important to all our Chevy teams. With what they have learned through those tools, they will be ready for the test on Thursday. With the extra five hours of testing time, teams will get an opportunity to understand the new racing package and the tires; and to prepare a good strategy for qualifying and for the race.
“Although we are just getting started with the new race season and the new rules package, the one thing that remains the same is that we must continue to work hard to maintain Team Chevy’s on-track success. While there are many challenges this year, we have the best teams on the circuit; and our goal is to continue our winning tradition. We look forward to a great weekend, and exciting race, and a trip to Victory Lane on Sunday.”
TEAM CHEVY FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT:
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 JIMMY JOHN’S CHEVROLET SS – 3RD IN STANDINGS
“I have raced there for a long time but I don’t know that it has that special meaning other than the fact that we got married out there. Usually, DeLana and I eat at the same restaurant; we go to the same places and try to have some fun. It’s definitely been a good racetrack for me. It’s still a place where I have a lot of family and friends and people I enjoy. It’s a busy weekend but, all-in-all, it’s still a fun place to go.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 KOBALT CHEVROLET SS – 6TH IN STANDINGS
“The bottom line from the test is we were just fast – really, really fast. When we took downforce off the car, they’ve lowered the gear ratio, a lot of things to kind of slow the cars down and we’re every bit as fast if not faster than (with) the combination they had last year. Obviously when we come back for the race, the sun will be out and hopefully we’ll get the fall-off we’re looking for. The track will lose some grip and be slick. It’s a partner race for us, so obviously we want to take home the cool Kobalt wrench trophy Lowe’s creates and there is a lot of pride that comes along with that. The pressure is high for this race. We want to do well for all the people in Vegas supporting the No. 48 team.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 41 MONSTER ENERGY/HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET SS – 7TH IN STANDINGS
“Directionally I think it’s great with the lower downforce and softer tires. Goodyear has their work cut out for them. Or could we make it simpler for them and make the cars weigh less? These stock cars are really heavy and they chew up tires. I wish they could weigh less and that way we would have less crashing course when we hit the wall due to an odd circumstance, but overall happy with the way things turned out. We just need to find a little bit more speed on the No. 41 that is consistent from the beginning of the race to the end.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW ENERGY & WATER / INTELLIFRESH CHEVROLET SS – 9TH IN STANDINGS
“I think we have to expect some of that speed, for sure, although the heat will slow the speeds down a little bit. It will be fast for qualifying. We qualify in the evening, usually, there, or right around the time that it’s cool outside. We practice in the morning and qualify at night and usually it’s pretty comparable because the temperature doesn’t sway a whole lot. I think you’ll probably see a track record broke.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – 14TH IN STANDINGS
“Our team is looking forward to getting to Las Vegas this weekend and showing our Chevy’s will be strong on the intermediate tracks. Last weekend was a tough race for us, but we’re ready to bounce back and prove we can contend at Vegas. It will also be good to get some extra track time on Thursday to keep working on our setups and find as much speed as we can in the Target Chevy. We raced pretty good at Vegas last year, so looking for another good run there.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS – 15TH IN STANDINGS
“The bumps in Turn 1 at Las Vegas are kind of tricky. You can either drive around them or drive under them. Turns 3 and 4 are pretty smooth, nice and sweeping. It’s mostly the bumps in Turns 1 and 2 that makes for the key to being fast there and repetitively fast. Sometimes you can hit it right and then the next lap, you may not hit it right which creates riding issues making it all pointless. It’s imperative in the race to get over them every time.
“Las Vegas is a fast track and in the past you spent a lot of time wide open. With this year’s package, it is going to be interesting to see how much we have to brake or have to start slowing the car up a bit versus what we’ve done in the past.”
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS – 16TH IN STANDINGS
“I think Vegas will be completely different this year than last year with the new package and I really look forward to racing that car there. We all talked a good bit with Jimmie (Johnson) from their test — I think they learned a lot and they were really fast. When it comes to the race, I hope we see tire wear like we saw at Atlanta. I doubt we see quite as much, but I think we will definitely see some.”
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 DUTCH BOY/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS – 17TH IN STANDINGS
“Vegas has gotten better the last couple of years with how much it has widened out. We can run all over the track. There were guys running by the fence the last couple of years there. You can run from the fence all the way down to the bottom and everywhere in between. The tires fall off a decent amount there, not as much as Atlanta but still some pretty decent fall off, which usually makes for one heck of a race.”
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS – 18TH IN STANDINGS
“We’re going to Vegas. Jimmie (Johnson) tested there and he liked what he saw, so I’m excited to get out there and practice. We practice Thursday…so we’ll get some laps and see if we can’t dial the car in. Vegas is going to be a lot of fun – a lot of bumps going down into Turn 1. You’ll definitely try to run the high side at some point in the race in Turns 1 and 2. I don’t know if the top will work in (Turns) 3 and 4 – sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t – but we’ll definitely be trying everything we can, running every groove, wherever that car wants to run and be comfortable. Hopefully we have as good a car, as fast a car and as good a day (as we did at Atlanta), and try to put it in Victory Lane. I’ve never won there and I’d love to get that victory at Vegas on my résumé.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 CESSNA CHEVROLET SS – 19TH IN STANDINGS
“We showed that our car has really good speed on the 1.5-mile tracks when we unloaded last week, but we missed on our race setup. Hopefully we can pick-up from what we learned on Sunday and continue with the speed that we had. I think a lot of people were really pleased with how the new aero package raced in Atlanta, so hopefully we can continue that with a strong run in Las Vegas.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET SS – 21ST IN STANDINGS
“I thought Jimmie had a really good test which I think was encouraging. He was really fast compared to some of the guys that were there. I think that’s good news. He always has really good feedback and I think it’s good to just kind of go and listen to his communication and how they go about their weekend. I thought that was good to do, you can’t do that in other sports, so to go and be able to watch that closely with one of your competitors, although he’s a teammate, you’ve still got to compete against him – so I thought that was good. I tried to learn as much as I could and I’m excited to get out there.”
CASEY MEARS, NO. 13 GEICO CHEVROLET SS – 23RD IN STANDINGS
“The low downforce package worked really well in Atlanta. Our GEICO team adapted and made good changes to our Chevrolet SS throughout the weekend. Atlanta and Las Vegas Motor Speedway are very different tracks in the way that they drive but there are some things that we can take from Atlanta. Vegas will have a new tire for the weekend so having the test day should be really helpful. I’m really looking forward to this west coast swing. It’s always fun to be in Vegas! There are good restaurants, shows…and it’s a good opportunity for me to catch up with family”
MICHAEL MCDOWELL, NO. 95 WRL GENERAL CONTRACTORS CHEVROLET SS – 25TH IN STANDINGS
“Vegas is different than the other mile and a half race tracks. It’s a fast race track and grip is decent. The weather can be tricky there and wind usually plays a big factor. It’s certainly a different type of track than the other mile and half’s like Charlotte and Atlanta. But if you get your car working well on the mile-and-half tracks, you’ll be good everywhere.”
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER/KINGSFORD CHEVROLET SS – 26TH IN STANDINGS
“You would think with the desert and the beating the track takes throughout the course of the summer that it would make a lot bigger difference, but the place still has a lot of grip in it. I’d say the only thing that changes a lot is Turns 1 and 2. It gets a little bumpier every year through the middle. You’ve got to kind of work around that. Turns 3 and 4 doesn’t change a lot. The only thing is that if it gets really hot there, it does get slick. Last year, I think it was high 60s, low 70s and it really had great grip throughout the course of the weekend.”
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 NATURE’S BAKERY CHEVROLET SS – 29TH IN STANDINGS
“As you saw last weekend, we are going to be moving around a lot more this year and I think at times we’re going to be miserable, especially when the tires fall off and you’re like ‘Shoot me out here – it’s terrible!’ I have a feeling we’re going to have a few of those moments this year, where the car is just going to be moving all around and it’s going to be a lot of work. Physically it’s going to be a lot more work, but as long as we have the opportunity to pass – I mean, even if you’re slip sliding around and it feels like crap and you’re passing somebody – it’s still fun.”
Chevrolet NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics
Manufacturers Championships
Total (1949 – 2015): 39
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-2015)
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, 2015
Drivers Championships
Total (1949 – 2015): 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)
2016 STATISTICS:
Wins: 1
Poles: 2
Laps led: 285
Top-five finishes: 4
Top-10 finishes: 10
2015 STATISTICS:
Wins: 15
Poles: 12
Laps led: 5119
Top-five finishes: 93
Top-10 finishes: 201
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 754 (1949 – to date)
Poles Won to Date: 680
Laps Lead to Date: 225,216
Top-Five Finishes to Date: 3,806
Top-10 Finishes to Date: 7,787
Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date
GM: 1,089
Chevrolet: 754
Pontiac: 155
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 739
Ford: 639
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Chrysler: 466
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 190
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 80
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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 115 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
