TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
TICKETGUARDIAN 500
ISM RACEWAY
AVONDALE, ARIZONA
MARCH 11, 2018
BOWTIE BULLETS
LEADER OF THE PACK:
Chevrolet leads all other manufacturers with 23 victories at ISM Raceway. Chevrolet has taken six different name plates (Lumina, Monte Carlo, Monte Carlo SS, Impala SS, Impala and SS) to Winner’s Circle in the Arizona Desert. The Camaro ZL1 will take its first turn at finding victory at the 1-mile venue this weekend.
WEST COAST SWING TRADITION:
Chevrolet has been the most successful manufacturer during the ‘West Coast Swing’ over the last three seasons by earning six victories in the last nine races.
CHEVY QUALIFYING RECORD:
Self admittedly not a great qualifier, seven-time series champion, Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Camaro ZL1, holds the track qualifying record at ISM Raceway of 143.158 mph, set on November 13, 2015.
POLE MAN
Chevrolet driver and two-time Phoenix winner, Ryan Newman, No. 31 Grainger Camaro ZL1, holds the record for most poles at ISM Raceway with four pole awards to his credit.
TUNE-IN:
The TicketGuardian 500 is scheduled to begin on Sunday, March 11th at 3:30 pm, EDT. 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 776 wins and 695 poles in MENCS competition
Chevrolet drivers have won 23 of 43 races at ISM Raceway. Victories by current Team Chevy drivers are:
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Camaro ZL1, has four wins at ISM Raceway (’07, ’08 – TWICE & ‘09)
Ryan Newman, No. 31 Grainger Camaro ZL1, has two victories at ISM Raceway (’10 & ‘17)
Kasey Kahne, No. 95 WRL General Contractors Camaro ZL1, has one win at ISM Raceway (’11)
A Chevrolet driver has won one of the last three races at ISM Raceway
A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole at ISM Raceway 17 times
Team Chevy drivers have scored 106 top-five and 200 top-10 finishes at ISM Raceway
A Chevrolet has led 5,852 laps (42.7% of possible 13,689 laps) at ISM Raceway
FOR THE FANS:
Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway at ISM Raceway
Fans can check out great a great assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: Silverado 1500 Crew LTZ, Silverado 2500HD High Country, Colorado LTZ, Tahoe Premier RST, Impala Premier, Camaro ZL1, Equinox Premier and Traverse Premier
At the Chevrolet Display, fans can view the No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Camaro ZL1 show car and the 2018 Camaro ZL1 race car show car and matching ZL1 pace car
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, March 10th
10:00 a.m. – Daniel Hemric
10:30 a.m. – Vinnie Miller and Matt Mills
Sunday, March 11th
9:00 a.m. – Jeffrey Earnhardt
9:15 a.m. – Kyle Larson
9:30 a.m. – Kasey Kahne
9:45 a.m. – Ty Dillon
10:00 a.m. – William Byron
Chevrolet Display Hours of operation: Fri. March 9th – 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; Sat. March 10th – 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sun. March 11th – 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CAMARO ZL1 – 6TH IN STANDINGS
“I think our team really benefitted from a strong west coast swing last year, and hopefully we can add to our good start this season with another solid run in Phoenix. Our Chevy’s have been pretty strong there recently, and even though the last race there ended for us early with an engine issue, we still had a really strong car that led some laps. It’s always great to head into a track where you typically qualify and race well, so hopefully we can get a good result and keep working to put together a clean race from start to finish.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CAMARO ZL1 – 10TH IN STANDINGS
“ISM Raceway is a good track. I think it’s coming into its own. I learned a lot last year there at the end of the race. I feel like we should just be able to get better and better as we go. The track is going to widen out more. It started getting really wide this last race. It’s fun. My teammate, Ryan Newman, won this race last year so I think we have a good base organizationally. We’re riding on the momentum from winning the Daytona 500 and just trying to build off that.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 GRAINGER CAMARO ZL1 – 14TH IN STANDINGS
“For me it was finally getting the monkey off my back so to speak. It seemed like the last three years at RCR we kept building a bigger monkey to get off our backs. To win at Phoenix in the fourth race of the season with two new engineers and other new people on our 31 team, plus so many other people on our team that had never won a Cup race before, was truly an achievement for all of us. It was a relief to finally get that W and I really wanted to contribute to Luke Lambert’s (crew chief) first ever Cup victory. I feel like we can keep the momentum going with the new Camaro ZL1. We have shown speed from the get go and I’m looking forward to being in this new Chevrolet for ISM Raceway. I believe we will be even more competitive.”
DARRELL ‘BUBBA’ WALLACE, JR., NO. 43 CLICK N’ CLOSE CAMARO ZL1 – 15TH IN STANDINGS
“We’re coming out of Vegas and into Phoenix with a lot more experience and knowledge about our new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. We showed speed in Vegas, but we fought both tight and loose in the race. We’re going to do some work on the Phoenix car before we get to the track. Drew (crew chief Drew Blickensderfer) and the crew are going to work on our car on Thursday. We’re going to go old school, and just do some work in the hotel parking lot before we park our hauler at the track. It’s all part of what happens on this west coast swing, but that’s pretty cool.
“We have Click n’ Close back on the car this weekend. This is the first time since Daytona that they are coming back. They brought us a lot of good vibes at Daytona and hopefully they can bring us more luck in Phoenix.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 SCOTT TOWELS CAMARO ZL1 – 16TH IN STANDINGS
“ISM Raceway in Phoenix is extremely tricky for me. For myself, Phoenix has been a tough one for me. I haven’t quite got my hands around it, and it’s been a little bit of hit and miss for me. I’ve tried to study that place a lot through the last couple years and even got on iRacing trying to learn as much as I could.”
“With this configuration, it’s created a lot of wild racing. Now that we’re going to put the start/finish line in the middle of the turn, we’ll see even more action. I don’t know how it’s going to go. I think it’ll be a test to see what we can get away with as far as some of these things go. We’ll go there and make the best of it.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CAMARO ZL1 – 17TH IN STANDINGS
“It’s really cool to race at home. The food is better out there. The racetrack is better. I get to see a lot of my family. So, it’s always cool to go home. We have a little redemption for there anyway. We should have won there a couple of years ago. Hopefully, we can make that happen, but it’s always cool to go home.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – 21ST IN STANDINGS
“I’m excited to get back to Phoenix. I think that we have a good place to start. Looking forward to seeing where we stack up and what we need to get that next spot. Phoenix is one of the most consistent places that I’ve ever been to. Spring to Fall, year to year, I don’t feel like it has changed at all. Hard to differentiate, but I think it will be really similar.”
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CLICKLIST CAMARO ZL1 – 23RD IN STANDINGS
“ISM Raceway in Phoenix is definitely a unique racetrack. For a while racing there, you felt like you needed a lot of mechanical grip. I feel like as we’ve taken off downforce on our rules package, the more aerodynamic stability you get in our Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, the more difference it makes in the racecar. It’s a place where because it is really flat – especially through Turns 3 and 4, and even in Turns 1 and 2 – as you go down the corner, there’s a fine line between getting the car to turn and not being too loose, and vice versa. It’s always a challenge there.”
“The track in Phoenix has gotten a lot slicker through the years, causing it to degrade a lot more. The rubber builds up and the track widens out. In the fall race there last year, we were almost up near the wall in Turn 3 and 4 trying to run a different lane. It’s something that more than anything, you’ve got to have the aerodynamics in the car to get the speed in it. Once you develop the aerodynamic elements, you work to get the mechanical grip. It’s a racetrack that when you get there, it’s dusty and dirty being in the desert of Arizona, so its slick and it changes a lot throughout the weekend. It’s a place where we haven’t had much speed at in the past, but hopefully all the work we’ve done in the off season and the new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 body style will help that.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 – 24TH IN STANDINGS
“Phoenix has always been a good track for me because it fits my background of short-track racing at Hickory (Motor Speedway) and places like that with floating speed into the corner and getting back to the gas. I like Phoenix – I think the key there is having enough front grip to get through the center of the corner and also keep some drive in the car off of (Turn) 4 so you can point and make that straightaway as long as you can. Also, it’s important to be able to get on the brakes and be stable for the first couple of laps on a restart without falling off too quickly. It’s easy to be good for a couple laps and then really fade quickly, so you just have to manage what your wants and needs are so that you have a good long-run car. Hendrick has run well there in the past and I’ve run well there at JRM, so it’s one of the places we go into with high hopes. I know what my feel needs to be – I’ve been there a few times now and had a pole and a win there in the Xfinity Series and finished fourth in my first race in Xfinity, so I know what the difference was there with my car.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S CAMARO ZL1 – 25TH IN STANDINGS
“We have had a pretty rough start to our season so I look forward to heading to Phoenix this weekend to try and get things turned in the right direction. The good news is that we were actually running pretty good last weekend before we cut a tire and wrecked. Phoenix is a race track that I really enjoy racing at, so that helps to go somewhere that you like. I am also looking forward to running the Xfinity Series race this weekend. I haven’t had the chance to do that in a while so it will be fun to race on Saturday and Sunday for a change.”
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 95 WRL GENERAL CONTRACTORS CAMARO ZL1 – 28TH IN STANDINGS
“I like phoenix – I’ve had some success there, including a win. LFR ran well there last year during the fall race. I think we can bring a faster car there this week and not battle with it quite as much as we have the past couple weeks.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S FOR PROS CAMARO ZL1 – 29TH IN STANDINGS
“Every outing with this new Lowe’s for Pros Camaro ZL1 we are learn more about it. We still have some work to do ourselves with the set-up of the car but there is a great vibe with some occasional grinning in our garage. Phoenix has turned into an aero track with the repave and higher speeds. Last week at Vegas I was in a lot of different aero situations that I started to get very comfortable with and kept charging and driving through. We are working our guts out to get back to our winning ways.”
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 – 32ND IN STANDINGS
“Phoenix is one of my favorite tracks that we visit each season. I have it circled on my calendar every year. Our GEICO Racing team ran a great race there last November, and we were right on the verge of a top 10. It’s unfortunate that we fell one spot short, but that makes us even more determined to score that top 10 this weekend. We have some significant changes to the team in our new crew chief and the Camaro ZL1 body as we prepare for the weekend, but I think that we can get it done. This team is as motivated as ever, and I’m ready to work hard right along with them.”
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)
2018 STATISTICS:
Wins: 1
Poles: 1
Laps Led: 37
Top-five finishes: 4
Top-10 finishes: 8
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 776 (1949 – to date)
Poles Won to Date: 695
Laps Led to Date: 87,836
Top-Five Finishes to Date: 3,936
Top-10 Finishes to Date: 8,076
Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date
GM: 1,111
Chevrolet: 776
Pontiac: 155
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 760
Ford: 660
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Chrysler: 466
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 190
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 111
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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.
