TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
OVERTON’S 400
POCONO RACEWAY
POCONO, PENNSYLVANIA
JULY 30, 2017
BOWTIE BULLETS
PROSPEROUS IN POCONO:
Chevrolet established a winning tradition at Pocono Raceway in 1977 when Benny Parsons took the brand to Winner’s Circle for the first time at the ‘Tricky Triangle’. Since then, Chevrolet has gone on to record 31 more victories for a total of 32, making the Bowtie Brand the most successful manufacturer at the 2.5-mile venue.
ROOKIE ROCKET:
Chevrolet’s Kyle Larson set the Pocono track qualifying record during his rookie season (2014) by posting a lap of 183.438 mph in his Chevrolet SS race car. Not only did he set the track qualifying record, which stands to this day, but it was also Larson’s first career Monster Energy Cup Series pole award.
CHEVROLET DOMINATION AT THE TRIANGLE:
Not only does Chevrolet lead the way in the wins category at Pocono Raceway, career-long Chevrolet driver, Jeff Gordon, owns the most victories around the ‘Tricky Triangle’ with six wins to his credit. Hendrick Motorsports, which has a 34-year partnership with the Chevrolet brand, has the most victories of any organization at Pocono with 17 wins to their credit.
RACE RECAP:
Last weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Chevrolet swept the weekend as William Bryon recorded a victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race. Kasey Kahne followed up that performance by taking Chevrolet to Winner’s Circle for the 17th time at the iconic venue. Chevrolet now has eight wins in 2017, a tie for the most in the series; and has five drivers all but locked into the playoffs via victories this season.
TUNE-IN:
The Overton’s 400 at Pocono Raceway will commence on Sunday July 30th. Live coverage can be found on NBC Sports Network, MRN, and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 at 2:30 p.m.
BY THE NUMBERS:
Chevrolet has won 39 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships
Team Chevy drivers have scored 773 wins and 692 poles in MENCS competition
Chevrolet drivers have won 32 of 79 races at Pocono Raceway. Victories by current Team Chevy drivers are:
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS, has two wins at Pocono Raceway (’14 – TWICE)
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS, has three victories at Pocono Raceway (’04 – TWICE & ‘13)
Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS, has two wins at Pocono Raceway (’08 & ’13)
Ryan Newman, No. 31 Velveeta Shells and Cheese Chevrolet SS, has gone to Victory Lane at Pocono Raceway once (’03)
A Chevrolet driver has won one of the last three races at Pocono Raceway
A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole at Pocono Raceway 33 times
Team Chevy drivers have scored 163 top-five and 342 top-10 finishes at Pocono Raceway
A Chevrolet has led 6,570 laps (43.5% of possible 15,087 laps) at Pocono Raceway
FOR THE FANS:
Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway Area at Pocono Raceway
Fans can check out great a great assortment of Chevrolet vehicles at the Team Chevy Display including: Bolt EV, Military Chevrolet Camaro, Silverado 2500, Volt, Colorado ZR2, Chevrolet Corvette grand sport, Equinox and Suburban
At the Chevrolet Display, fans can view the No. 48 Chevrolet SS and No. 3 DOW Chevrolet SS show cars
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
TEAM CHEVY QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSIONS AT THE DISPLAY:
Saturday, July 29th
11:00 a.m. – John Hunter Nemechek
3:30 p.m. – Stewart Friesen
Sunday, July 30th
10:05 a.m. – Kasey Kahne
10:20 a.m. – Austin Dillon
Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation: Fri. July 28th – 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Sat. July 29th – 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and Sun. July 30th – 8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 ENERGIZER CHEVROLET SS – 2ND IN STANDINGS
“We’ll be looking to rebound this weekend after a tough end to our race at Indy. I think we’ve done a better job of qualifying at the last couple Pocono races, and that will be important again this weekend. It’s too bad our pit stall will be picked based off of last week’s qualifying effort, but getting a good starting spot for the Target Chevy will help make up for what could be a tough pit stall. Starting up front also gives me a better opportunity to get in a rhythm early in the race and take care of the car. Our team has run pretty well at Pocono in my previous starts, so hopefully another good run this weekend.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S CHEVROLET SS – 7TH IN STANDINGS
“This track (Pocono) is about trying to compromise and hope that you can have the car working good everywhere, but especially off of turns one and three, in order to get a good run down the long straightaways. With three different turns, it’s tough to be good everywhere. We had a fast car here at the last race a few weeks ago, but our day ended with a brake failure and a hard crash. Hoping to still have that speed coupled with a strong finish.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA CHEVROLET SS – 8TH IN STANDINGS
ON HOW THE NEW AERO PACKAGE AFFECTED RACING AT POCONO IN JUNE:
“I thought it was pretty similar. Braking seemed to be a little bit more emphasized this past race. You just don’t have as much spoiler to help slow you down getting in the corners and you are going really fast. That part was a little different, but overall the general tendencies of the cars are very similar to what they were last year.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – 10TH IN STANDINGS
“After our brake issue at Pocono in June, we obviously don’t want that to happen again. We are stepping up our brake package – I wore out the pads last time, which caused the wreck we had. I like going there, I love the area, and I’m looking forward to the new schedule to see how it shakes out. We have a good pit selection thanks to our fourth-place qualifying effort at Indy, so it should be a good show.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS – 15TH IN STANDINGS
“With its long straightaways you definitely need to get off the corner really good and you need to use all the horsepower you possibly can. There are three distinct corners which are always a challenge. A little bit of the character of the bump in Turn 2 you have to make sure the car rides well through that. Probably most importantly of all things is just getting off Turn 3 with the mile long straightway.”
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS/SHARK WEEK CHEVROLET SS – 20TH IN STANDINGS
“I think Pocono’s a really good track for me. I thought we were pretty quick there the first race this year. We weren’t the fastest car there, but we were a top-10 car for sure and we had our brake issues, so we’re looking at making sure that doesn’t happen again. I feel like coming off a win, the confidence, momentum, some of those things can propel you, and I’m hoping it does that for our team.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL CHEVROLET SS – 21ST IN STANDINGS
“Pocono, we ran there earlier this year, had a decent finish, the car was pretty solid. We just want to work hard to figure out how to get off of Turn 2 there for us. It seems like if you can get off to Turn 2, I think it sets up all the other corners too. We will be working hard at that and just on the balance of the racecar to get it close to what we need to win.”
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS – 22ND IN STANDINGS
“I feel bad for all the fans because they’ve been really supporting us and this has been a difficult season for them to see us not compete like we should or like we have in the past. I’m hoping that I can turn that around for all our sakes really soon. We’ll go to the next race – Pocono – and keep digging. This is not the worst season by any stretch of the imagination – at least the cars have speed in them, we’ve just had some really bad luck. We’ve got a busy week coming up, but I’m so ready for Pocono. We’ve got Fan Fest Friday, then it’s back behind the wheel Saturday.”
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 MOEN/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS – 23RD IN STANDINGS
“It does change a lot, because Pocono Raceway is so dependent on weather. Most tracks you can put in the exact same set-up that you had success with the previous time it usually changes and you don’t run as well. You always have to evolve with the changing conditions, whether it’s the track or weather or whatever. Pocono is a track that has a lot of compromises. We had a lot of good speed the first time we were there this year. We’ll take that and build on that for this weekend with the Moen / Menards Chevrolet.”
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CHEVROLET SS – 24TH IN STANDINGS
“I think a driver can definitely be good at Pocono Raceway and Indy. I’ve run well at both tracks. Pocono is getting more different in that you are shifting in almost every corner now whereas at Indy you are in fourth gear the whole time and focusing on getting through the corners. There’s definitely merit to the theory that if you are good at one you should be good at the other. I know for our setup, what we used at Indy was very similar to our Pocono setup. We were pretty good at Pocono in our last race there and we’re hoping that what we’ve learned there and last week at Indy will work well for us in the GEICO Chevrolet SS this weekend at Pocono. The three-turn track is always fun for me, but I also really appreciate the fans that come out for the Pocono races. This year there’s a lot planned for the fans. There’s a ‘Block Party’ in the infield on Friday, and Sunday the fans will get a touch of what we do in the Xfinity Series when we qualify and race on the same day. I think they’ll enjoy it!”
CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 CLOROX CHEVROLET SS – 25TH IN STANDINGS
“You will definitely be able to bring stuff back. For me the brakes were a big thing. I would like to work on that a little bit more as we go back. Turn 1 was freer into the corner with this downforce package than it was last year. That was something we fought quite a bit. Turns 2 and 3 did not seem a whole lot different than what I can remember in the past. Turn 3 is going to have that typical tight center off and if we can work on that a little bit. Back to shifting, figured somethings out there this last time that I thought were a little bit better for speed and so I can start off in practice when we go back instead of waiting to the race to try to work on that. We will see if we can’t be a little bit better than we were the last time.”
MICHAEL MCDOWELL, NO. 95 FDNY FOUNDATION CHEVROLET SS – 26TH IN STANDINGS
“It’s going to be fun going back to Pocono a second time. We just raced there a few weeks ago, so we have a chance to work on our setup and improve and develop our car. We didn’t finish the race exactly how we wanted to last time, but we qualified extremely well and had a lot of speed. I’m hoping this time we can follow up our solid qualifying effort with a good finish in the race.”
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER/CLICKLIST CHEVROLET SS – 27TH IN STANDINGS
“Pocono, the Tricky Triangle, a place that makes me kind of want to pull my hair out sometimes. Tough to set-up for, three different corners. Track position is very critical. Now with stage racing, pit strategy is very critical to get up front before that last pit stop. A race that you are never really out of because you can always get back on the lead lap. We had some speed there. We’ve had some decent success, but a place that definitely I’ve got to keep working on. But more than anything, a race track that makes for great racing, big-time restarts, four and five-wide down the front straightaway. Difficult challenge, but a place that at some point and I’m hoping it’s this time, we are going to conquer.”
Chevrolet NASCAR Monster Energy 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 – 2016): 31
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, 2016
Event Victories
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 – (in 2007)
2017 STATISTICS:
Wins: 8
Poles: 5
Laps Led: 1,270
Top-five finishes: 34
Top-10 finishes: 65
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 773 (1949 – to date)
Poles Won to Date: 693
Laps Lead to Date: 229,716
Top-Five Finishes to Date: 3,908
Top-10 Finishes to Date: 8,022
Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date
GM: 1,108
Chevrolet: 773
Pontiac: 155
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 756
Ford: 656
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Chrysler: 466
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 190
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 99
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About Chevrolet:
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 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.
