TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
OVERTON’S 400
CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY
JOLIET, ILLINOIS
JULY 1, 2018
BOWTIE BULLETS
LEADER OF THE PACK:
Chevrolet leads all other manufacturers with eight (8) victories at the 1.5-mile, Chicagoland Speedway. Chevrolet has powered five (5) different drivers and teams, as well as, three (Monte Carlo, Monte Carlo SS and Impala) different nameplates to Victory Lane at the Joliet track.
CHEVY HISTORY MINUTE:
Did you know? Career-long Chevrolet driver, Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Camaro ZL1, leads all other drivers in pole wins at Chicagoland Speedway with two to his credit (’05 and ’12).
CHEVY FIRST:
Chicagoland Speedway is one of the younger venues of the 23 tracks on the current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Back in 2001, Chevrolet became the first manufacturer to hoist the trophy at the 1.5-mile venue. Seven other times in MENCS history has Chevrolet won the inaugural race at one of the 23 tracks currently on the schedule (Chicagoland – ’01; Auto Club Speedway – ’97; Charlotte Motor Speedway – ’60; Daytona International Speedway – ’59; Indianapolis Motor Speedway – ’94; Kansas Speedway – ’01 and Watkins Glen International – ’57)
NATIVE CHEVY ILLINOISANS:
Chevrolet MENCS crew chief’s Drew Blickensderfer and Chad Knaus both hail from The Prairie State. Blickensderfer calls Mt. Zion home, while Knaus is a native of Rockford, Illinois. Both crew chiefs are looking for their first career Cup Series victories at their home track.
DATE CHANGE:
This weekend will mark the first time in seven years that the race at Chicagoland Speedway has not been in September. How will that change things? According to career-long Chevrolet driver and seven-time MENCS champion, Jimmie Johnson: “The track should be racier with higher temperatures since we are racing there in July instead of September, so it should be a great show for the fans.”
TUNE-IN:
The Overton’s 400 is scheduled to begin on Sunday, July 1 at 2:30 pm, ET. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, 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 697 poles in MENCS competition
Chevrolet drivers have won eight of 17 races at Chicagoland Speedway. Victories by current Team Chevy drivers are:
Ryan Newman, No. 31 Camaro ZL1, has one trophy from Chicagoland Speedway (’03)
A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole at Chicagoland Speedway seven times
Team Chevy drivers have scored 48 top-five and 83 top-10 finishes at Chicagoland Speedway
A Chevrolet has led 2,489 laps (54.7% of possible 4,545 laps) at Chicagoland Speedway
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CAMARO ZL1 – 9TH IN STANDINGS
“It feels a little odd to be heading to Chicago at this point in the season, but I think it’s a good change and the conditions should make for a really good race. With the schedule moving to the summer hopefully there will be a good turnout at the race track because there are really no other major sporting events going on and kids are out of school, so I think that will be big. As far as the style of racing we might see, the track should hopefully be hotter and slicker, so we may be sliding around a good bit. Moving the race out of the playoffs might have some affect too. I always felt like that first playoff race was kind of tame because people are just trying not to make mistakes and don’t race that aggressive to avoid having a bad start. Without advancing in the playoffs to worry about, and with guys still trying to secure a spot in the playoffs, I think the racing will be more intense this time around than it has been. We usually have a good car at Chicago and we have had fast Chevy’s at the mile and half-tracks, so hopefully I can shake the runner-up finishes at mile and half’s and finally get a win at one of those places.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S FOR PROS CAMARO ZL1 – 12TH IN STANDINGS
“After my first Cup Series win in 2003 at my home track in California, I made a promise to (No. 48 team crew chief) Chad (Knaus) that we would win at his home track in Chicago. We have had a few opportunities and just haven’t been able to close the deal. I love the track. It’s a very fun 1.5-mile track. The asphalt is really porous at Chicagoland, so tire wear will be high. The track should be racier with higher temperatures since we are racing there in July instead of September, so it should be a great show for the fans.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – 13TH IN STANDINGS
“The surface, for sure. It hadn’t been paved in a while, one of the older surfaces that we race on. The racetrack is pretty friendly to moving around and lets everybody kind of spread out, which is always fun. It has a good feel to it. It has some bumps and some character, which is nice, and I have always enjoyed racing there.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 – 15TH IN STANDINGS
“Chicago and Kansas look similar, but they drive different. Chicago is so bumpy compared to Kansas. They would be comparable if they paved the track, but since it hasn’t been repaved, it is quite a bit different.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW INTELLIFRESH CAMARO ZL1 – 18TH IN STANDINGS
“Chicagoland Speedway is a special track. It’s worn out, and it has gotten rougher over the years. You want a car that rides the bumps really well, and that can flow through the corner. You want good corner flow so that you can run from the bottom to the top and change lanes pretty easily because the track has gotten pretty wide over the past couple of years.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 UNIFIRST CAMARO ZL1 – 20TH IN STANDINGS
“Chicagoland is a fun racetrack. It’s probably going to be the hottest race of the year, so I can’t say that’s something I’m going to look forward to (laughs). But, I like Chicago and how you can run against the fence there. I had a parts failure in the transmission there last year (in the Xfinity Series), but I was able to just run some laps and run laps on the top. I feel like it’s very similar to Homestead in that aspect, so you go there with the same mentality you have at Homestead – you try to move around and work your car in the different lanes to figure out something that works.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S/CESSNA CAMARO ZL1 – 21ST IN STANDINGS
“Being able to make your car work on the top or the bottom and the bumps play a huge factor at Chicagoland Speedway. The grove usually widens out during the race to help make that happen. I feel that racing here earlier in the year might help that with hotter temperatures. Usually the heat helps with making a wider racing groove, so hopefully that plays into our favor on Sunday.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 OKUMA CAMARO ZL1 – 22ND IN STANDINGS
“Chicago is just a big circle. It’s important to keep the Caterpillar Chevrolet turning and on the gas. Those two things are super important more so than other tracks we compete. Also, the track has some character bumps so any kind of breaking of momentum at a track with its configuration is important so having a car that can ride over those bumps well is so important.”
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CLICKLIST CAMARO ZL1 – 23RD IN STANDINGS
“Chicagoland Speedway is a challenging track because we only race at it one time during the year. With Chicago’s rough winters, the racetrack is always getting rougher through the offseason, more than some of the other tracks we go to. Over the last couple of years, the seams and the bumps in the racetrack are getting more noticeable, and the pavement is getting older, which changes how hard it uses the tires. I feel like we’ve made some gains, but that’s a place where we can almost hit the reset button because we haven’t been there in so long. It’ll also be a new challenge with the qualifying impound, enhanced race weekend schedule and racing there almost two months earlier in the season than we’re used to. But, there’s a lot of good opportunities too.”
DARRELL ‘BUBBA’ WALLACE, JR., NO. 43 JEWEL-OSCO CAMARO ZL1 – 24TH IN STANDINGS
“Well, I’m pretty happy to be on an oval. I struggled last week, was out oy my comfort zone, but glad to be back at Chicagoland with Jewel-Osco and Eckrich. We had the off weekend and then the road course. Now, I feel like I can get back into a rhythm and start making more gains. We need to keep working on our Camaro ZL1 and find ways to get better. We want to be a little more consistent and finish around the Top-15 each week. We feel that we can do that.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 KLEENEX WET WIPES CAMARO ZL1 – 25TH IN STANDINGS
“Chicagoland Speedway is a little different as far as the 1.5-mile tracks go. There are definitely some bumps around that place, it’s one of the rougher tracks. You compare it to a track like Michigan (International Speedway) and how harsh their winters are and how well the track ages. Chicagoland hasn’t aged that same way through their harsh winters. It has aged the right way to make the track fun and give us some character. The aging in the track makes it where you have to search around for some smoother lines for more grip. With the shape of the track and the banking, you know you’re constantly turning there so it’s a little different from the other 1.5-mile tracks. I enjoy the kind of tracks where we are able to move around a bit and are not subject to one line or groove, and the curveball of the enhanced race weekend and impound qualifying should make it an interesting weekend.”
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 95 THORNE WELLNESS CAMARO ZL1 – 28TH IN STANDINGS
“Chicago is a lot of fun to race at! It’s a place that eats the tires up pretty well, which is a challenge that is enjoyable for drivers. I think one of the biggest challenges there is to have enough rear grip and enough turn, which is similar to every track in that sense, but Chicago also has some bumps getting into Turn 1 and also from the wall all the way into Turn 3. Having good balance, getting our Thorne Chevy to ride those bumps well, and keeping the tires on it are all important factors for Chicago. The longer entry into Turn 3 over the bumps, being able to keep your car turning well, yet also keeping the back of the car in the race track so that you can get into the corner hard enough are the challenges there. Usually when you can get that right, you can be pretty decent at the other end of the track as well and have a good day. I would imagine with us now moving the race at Chicago from September to July, that the heat is going to be quite a bit hotter and I’d think that could definitely change up the overall race and the pace, as well as possibly the lines on the track for where the grip is at. I raced an XFINITY Series race at Chicago several years ago in July, and it was definitely way warmer for that race than what we’ve experienced in the Cup Series racing there in September.”
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 – 29TH IN STANDINGS
“Chicagoland is a lot of fun, but it has been really tough track on me the past couple of years. I haven’t really been able to find the handle on what I need. The surface is wearing out, and the tires are falling off worse every time that we go back. The groove has continued to get higher and higher and is almost all the way to the wall now. Funny thing about mile-and-half-tracks is that they’re all very similar. But, once they all start to age and endure the seasons of whatever part of the country they may be in, they become completely different from each other. That’s what makes racing such a challenge though. I always look forward to going back to Chicago and trying to improve. I think that we’re going to have a good shot at running well this year with our GEICO Camaro ZL1.”
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: 3
Laps Led: 549
Top-five finishes: 16
Top-10 finishes: 42
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 776 (1949 – to date)
Poles Won to Date: 697
Laps Led to Date: 231,350
Top-Five Finishes to Date: 3,948
Top-10 Finishes to Date: 8,110
Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date
GM: 1,111
Chevrolet: 776
Pontiac: 155
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 766
Ford: 666
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Chrysler: 466
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 190
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 117
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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.
