TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
FEDERATED AUTO PARTS 400
RICHMOND RACEWAY
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
SEPTEMBER 9, 2017
BOWTIE BULLETS
CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS:
Heading into the final race of the regular season, Chevrolet currently has five drivers locked into Playoff positions on the strength of wins within the regular 26-race season. Those drivers are: Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Larson, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and Austin Dillon.
Chevrolet drivers Chase Elliott and Jamie McMurray head into Richmond in position to make the cut of the 16 drivers who will compete for the 2017 championship title. Elliott and McMurray can make the Playoffs if they score their first victory of the season this weekend at Richmond or if they do not score the victory, if the winner is a repeat winner in 2017 and they remain in their current points positions they will be in the Playoffs. If the winner at Richmond is the 15th different winner this season, Elliott and McMurray must finish ahead of Matt Kenseth (Toyota) in the final finishing order to be championship contenders.
If after 400 laps around the 0.75-mile short track plays into Team Chevy’s favor, the Playoff picture will consist of more Chevy drivers than any other brand, a feat the brand will achieve for the 12th time since this type of championship format was established in 2004.
LEADER OF THE PACK:
Chevrolet leads all other manufacturers with 37 victories at the 0.75-mile, D-shaped, Richmond Raceway. Chevrolet has powered 17 different drivers and teams to Victory Lane at the Virginia short-track.
CHEVY HISTORY MINUTE:
Did you know? Chevrolet’s Jeff Gordon set the track qualifying record of 130.599 mph in his Chevrolet SS on September 6, 2013.
TUNE-IN:
The Federated Auto Parts 400 is scheduled to begin on Saturday, September 9 at 2 pm, ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
BY THE NUMBERS:
Chevrolet has won 39 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships
Team Chevy drivers have scored 774 wins and 693 poles in MENCS competition
Chevrolet drivers have won 37 of 122 races at Richmond International Raceway. Victories by current Team Chevy drivers are:
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS, has three victories at Richmond (’00, ’04 & ’06)
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS, has three wins at Richmond (’07 – TWICE & ‘08)
Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS, has made one trip to Victory Lane at Richmond (’05)
Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS, has one trophy from Richmond (’03)
A Chevrolet driver has won one of the last five races at Richmond Raceway
A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole at Richmond Raceway 46 times
Team Chevy drivers have scored 230 top-five and 470 top-10 finishes at Richmond Raceway
A Chevrolet has led laps 15,204 (33.1% of possible 45,903 laps) at Richmond Raceway
FOR THE FANS:
Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway at Richmond Raceway
Fans can check out great a great assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: Malibu Redline, Equinox Premier, Traverse Redline, Silverado 1500 Special Ops, Silverado 1500 Crew Redline, Silverado 2500 HD High Country, Colorado Redline, Camaro SS Redline, Corvette Grand Sport, Impala Premier, Cruze Hatchback Premier, Tahoe Premier, Bolt
At the Chevrolet Display, fans can view the No, 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS and No. 3 DOW Chevrolet SS show cars. The 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 race car and the 2018 Camaro ZL1 production car that paced the 2017 Brickyard 400
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:
Friday, September 8th
12:45 p.m. – Brendan Gaughan
1:00 p.m. – Brandon Jones
1:15 p.m. – Spencer Gallagher
1:30 p.m. – Daniel Hemric
5:30 p.m. – JD Motorsports
5:45 p.m. – Blake Koch
Saturday, September 9th
4:00 p.m. – Jamie McMurray
4:15 p.m. – Jeffery Earnhardt
5:00 p.m. – Ty Dillon
Chevrolet Display Hours of operation: Fri. Sept. 8th – 10:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. and Sat. Sept. 9th – 9:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – 3RD IN STANDINGS
“It’s kind of hard to believe we’re back at Richmond with the regular season set to wrap up. Up to now it’s been a pretty solid year for our team. We’ve accomplished some of our goals, but still have a few more to work towards over the coming weeks. Unfortunately, the regular season title is out of contention this weekend, but we’ll work hard to have a strong run at Richmond with the Target Chevy and try to move back into second in the standings and get as many playoffs points as we can. Our cars have definitely been improving at Richmond, so looking forward to a good race.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 MOUNTAIN DEW CHEVROLET SS – 7TH IN STANDINGS
ON POTENTIALLY MAKING THE PLAYOFFS FOR A SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR:
“It would be great. We need to continue to run like we have ran these past couple of weeks and have solid weekends altogether. I feel like our qualifying efforts have really improved here lately, which is what we need and I think what is going to be even more important as time goes on, so we need to continue to do that. Getting in is one thing, but doing something when you get in, if you get in, is another thing and you want to be able to do something if you can get in. We need to continue to run like we have been running these past couple of weeks to have a chance to continue forward if we are lucky enough to make it.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S CHEVROLET SS – 9TH IN STANDINGS
“I think most everyone likes racing at Richmond. This is a place that tires seem to dictate as much as anything as to what groove we run. I feel like the day races are a little bit better than the night races because the groove seems to widen out more. Over the last few years we have had several different tire compounds and combinations at Richmond, some races we run all the way up to the wall and some races there is no groove on the outside. It changes race-to-race based on the tires, but the best part of racing there is that tires make a big difference. When the caution comes out everyone will take new tires, it’s not like some places where you can run faster on scuffs. We have been really good a Richmond that last few times there, so I’m looking forward to having a good race for our team and securing a spot in the playoffs.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – 10TH IN STANDINGS
“Richmond is always exciting for the fans. It will be interesting to see who makes it into the Playoffs, there are a few scenarios that have to play out. A lot of guys are racing for their seasons this weekend so it’s always interesting. I’m ready to get these next 10 weeks going and chase our eighth championship. The summer hasn’t been to kind to the No. 48 team.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS – 16TH IN STANDINGS
“For the first time in six, seven years, I’m locked in with a win. This Caterpillar team doesn’t have to go into Richmond grinding it out for our first win to get in or lock in on points. Getting that win changed our year, but it didn’t change how we fight as a team. The Phoenix win gave us a lot of hope for the sake of our chances were good that we were locked in. At that point, there were no guarantees, but it was still huge for us, not only for this year but for the fact that the last three years we were close several times, especially Homestead in 2014, but to get that first victory for myself, for Luke, for Richard, for Caterpillar, Grainger, for everybody, that was huge for us.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 CHEVROLET SS – 19TH IN STANDINGS
WILL YOU TRY AND STAY AWAY FROM THOSE DRIVERS TRYING TO CLAIM THE FINAL FEW PLAYOFF SPOTS?
“No, we’ve got to do what we can to get bonus points for the playoffs. We will be up in there and trying to get one of our better runs at Richmond. We’ve gotten better and better as we have gone through the years there. Looking forward to the Richmond race.”
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS CHEVROLET SS – 21ST IN STANDINGS
“Richmond is cool for me because it’s where I got I my first Cup win. The past few races we’ve been really good there, and I hope we can continue to build on that. It will be an intense night because it’s the last chance for a lot of drivers to lock themselves into the playoffs. Fortunately, we are locked in we’ll focus on getting the best result we can.”
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS – 22ND IN STANDINGS
“Richmond is a track that I’ve had a lot of success at, though not so much recently. It’s really hard to get a hold of and hard to figure out exactly what line we’re running and where you need to put your car to get it to work. It’s been a bit of a challenge for us over the last couple of trips, but it should still be a fun race.”
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 RICHMOND/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS – 23RD IN STANDINGS
“There’s not much we learned earlier this year that we can apply this time around at Richmond. We were OK there in the spring race. The cars have evolved quite a bit since then – different chassis, different clips, things like that. We’ll just try to make the right decisions to get us close to where we were before but also moving forward and improving with the evolution of the sport.”
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CHEVROLET SS – 24TH IN STANDINGS
“We were really fast at Richmond during the first race in the GEICO Chevrolet SS, so I’m looking forward to getting back there and racing under the lights. I know it’s going to be amped up with a lot of people on the line of getting into the Playoffs. We are just looking to have a good run and capitalize on how fast we were there last time. Hopefully we will have better luck on pit road this time.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 NATURE VALLEY CHEVROLET SS – 25TH IN STANDINGS
“We’re heading to Richmond Raceway this weekend with Nature Valley on the hood of our No. 37 Chevrolet for the first time this season. I’m looking forward to getting there for the last race before the playoffs. We have to go out there and see if we can pull off a win and race our way into the Playoffs. Richmond is a track that’s very unique. It’s been unique to see the line move around as much as it has there over the past couple of races. Hopefully we can make that work to our advantage and have a good night.”
MICHAEL MCDOWELL, NO. 95 FDNY FOUNDATION CHEVROLET SS – 26TH IN STANDINGS
“I love racing at Richmond, but that last race before the chase is just nerve-wracking. If you’re not fighting for a chase spot, you still want to have a great race, but you also don’t want to be a part of the story. There’s just so much on the line, which usually creates really exciting racing. It also creates opportunity! Last year, we finished 12th in the fall Richmond race. It’s definitely a good weekend to have a great race.”
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CLICKLIST CHEVROLET SS – 27TH IN STANDINGS
“Richmond is a really unique short track that we have. Three-quarters of a mile, it is kind of an egg-shape, makes it a lot of fun because there is not another track on the circuit like racing at Richmond. It’s an interesting place that unfortunately, used to be one of my favorite short tracks. We have struggled at it lately. The biggest thing about racing at Richmond is it’s all about saving rear tires. The track is very slick, grains the tires a lot. A lot of great short-track racing, but if you can save those rear tires you have a great shot to win. So, that is what we are going to work on and try to get the ol’ Kroger Chevy up front and get ourselves into the Playoffs.”
Chevrolet Monster Energy NASCAR 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: 9
Poles: 5
Laps Led: 1,480
Top-five finishes: 37
Top-10 finishes: 78
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 774 (1949 – to date)
Poles Won to Date: 693
Laps Lead to Date: 229,926
Top-Five Finishes to Date: 3,911
Top-10 Finishes to Date: 8,035
Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date
GM: 1,109
Chevrolet: 774
Pontiac: 155
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 756
Ford: 656
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Chrysler: 466
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 190
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 103
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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.
