TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
FOLDS OF HONOR QUIKTRIP 500
HAMPTON, GEORGIA
FEBRUARY 24, 2019
BOWTIE BULLETS
- ALL ABOUT AERO: This weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway will mark the first race the new “aero” package hits the track. Chevrolet Manager – NASCAR Competition, Pat Suhy, is looking forward to what this new package will mean for all the Chevrolet Cup Series teams:
- “This is definitely a reset for everybody in terms of where they are at. I think the package is so different that the things you did in 2018 and before that a lot of them or most of them probably won’t apply to making a car go faster. The old days of just piling on more and more downforce are gone and you are going to have to be smart about putting on downforce without adding too much drag and things like that. I really think that it’s an opportunity where the whole industry has been reset and the cream will rise to the top. Historically, we have had the best teams, we still have the best teams and I’m excited to see what this year holds.”
- CHEVROLET SILVERADO LEADING THE PACK: This weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway the production counterpart of newly redesigned Chevrolet Silverado competing in the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Series, the Chevrolet Silverado RST, will serve as the pace truck for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS), for the Folds of Honor QuickTrip 500. Fans will get the opportunity to see just how close the production version is to the race car counterpart.
- ALL-TIME GREATEST: Chevrolet is the most successful manufacturer at AMS with 40 victories. Atlanta is one of eight tracks on the current MENCS schedule where Chevrolet has earned 40 or more wins. The others include: Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Daytona International Speedway, Dover International Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.
- DID YOU KNOW? Chevrolet not only leads in most wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but other Chevrolet drivers, teams and owners lead in other categories at the iconic speedway. Dale Earnhardt, Sr., is the most successful driver at Atlanta Motor Speedway with nine victories, all earned behind the wheel of a Chevrolet. Rick Hendrick, who shares a 36-year partnership with Chevrolet, is the most successful car owner with 14 victories at the 1.5-mile track.
BY THE NUMBERS:
- Chevrolet has won 39 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships
- Team Chevy drivers have scored 779 wins and 700 poles in MENCS competition
Chevrolet drivers have won 40 of 111 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS). Wins by current Team Chevy drivers:
Kurt Busch, No. 1 ComSurv Camaro ZL1, has three wins at Atlanta (’02, ’09 & ’10)
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1, has won five times at AMS (’04, ’07 – TWICE, ’15 & ’16) - A Chevrolet driver has won one out of the last three races at AMS
- A Chevrolet driver has earned the pole award at AMS 25 times
- Team Chevy drivers have scored 189 top-five and 376 top-10 finishes in 111 races held at AMS
- A Chevrolet driver has led 12,538 laps (35.6% of possible 35,209) at AMS
FOR THE FANS:
- Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the midway area at Atlanta Motor Speedway, located in just outside of the front stretch grandstands
- Fans can check out great a great assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: Cruze HB RS, Malibu LT, Corvette GS, Equinox LT, Trax LT, Traverse Redline, Tahoe RST 6.2L, Colorado Crew ZR2 Dusk, 1500 Crew High Country, 1500 Crew High Country, 1500 Crew Trailboss, 2500HD Crew High Country, Blazer Premier, Camaro ZL1
- 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, February 22nd
Justin Allgaier – 4:40 pm
Saturday, February 23rd
Michael Annett – 10:45 am
Matt Mills and Vinnie Miller – 12:05 Pm
Justin Haley – TBD
Sunday, February 25th
Kyle Larson – 10:25 am
Ty Dillon – 11:15 am
Chevrolet Display Hours of operation: Fri. Feb. 22nd – Noon – 6:00 p.m.; Sat. Feb. 23rd – 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sun. Feb. 24th – 9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 – 6TH IN STANDINGS
“With the new package it’s going to be a completely different style of racing. Hard to know what to expect until we get there, but looking forward to seeing how it is when we get there, but there are just a lot of options, the surface is worn out and you can move around a lot. It kind of gives a driver some options depending how your car is driving. It’s always fun when you have options.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 MCDONALD’S CAMARO ZL1 – 7TH IN STANDINGS
“I’m glad our team was able to start the season with a pretty good race last weekend in Daytona. Our car was pretty banged up by the end, but we were able to get to the finish line, which is always important. I’m excited to head to Atlanta this weekend and run the new package. I think we’re all interested to see how the racing is going to be. I’ve always enjoyed racing in Atlanta, and we usually have pretty competitive cars when we’re there, so hopefully we will be able to show our partners McDonald’s a great first race with us this season.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 – 8TH IN STANDINGS
“Leaving Daytona, we all certainly have a little spark of energy. To be able to recover from the wrecks we were involved in and be there at the end is certainly a great start. This weekend in Atlanta is a completely different deal as we roll out the 2019 rules package. In my eyes, the cars are going to be faster and we are all going to be closer together, there will be more passing, and there is going to be a lot of excitement with the 2019 package. I was able to test Las Vegas and we had some drafting sessions. It was really racy. I’m also looking forward to being in the booth (for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race) with (Kevin) Harvick for FOX. I’ll be doing some homework leading into the weekend for sure, it’s a whole different kind of pressure.”
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 – 10TH IN STANDINGS
“A successful Daytona 500 can set the tone for the rest of the year. Our GEICO Racing team had a great Daytona race with a top-10 finish. It definitely gets the team pumped up and excited to start the new season. Atlanta is obviously very different from Daytona, so there’s nothing that we can take from one track to the other. But positive momentum is so important, and we have that. We know that mile-and-a-half tracks are where we struggled last year, and this team has been working hard for months to improve our intermediate track program. I’m looking forward to unloading in Atlanta and watching their hard work pay off.”
RYAN PREECE, NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 – 12TH IN STANDINGS
“I think it’s going to be totally different than what we did at Vegas (during the test) just because of how worn out the track is at Atlanta. It’s going to bring different racing. It’s still going to be your basic need the car to drive good and over a long period of time for sure and tire wear is obviously a huge thing too. Not quite sure, I know we have plenty of speed and I feel good about it and our speed it was so weird, we didn’t quite translate our single car speed to the draft, so I feel good going to Atlanta where the draft, I really don’t think, is going to be as big as it was at Vegas. I definitely feel better about Atlanta right now.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – 13TH IN STANDINGS
“Always nice to go race in Atlanta. It’s a special place and there’s definitely a lot of fans around home so I always enjoy going back. More than that, it’s a fun racetrack to drive. I’ve enjoyed racing there from a driver standpoint, and glad they didn’t repave it. With it being the second race of the year, we can all get back to downforce racing. Big transition and an important week to see how we all stack up. I’m looking forward to getting there.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 – 18TH IN STANDINGS
“I really don’t know what to expect when we get to Atlanta. I feel like it’s going to be a challenge in the sense that it’s a slick race track. We are going to go there and try and understand the new aero package, but also try and understand what that race track is going to do throughout the race. I think it’s going to present different challenges than we normally deal with there.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 CAMARO ZL1 – 19TH IN STANDINGS
“You’re still going to have to drive it a lot at Atlanta Motor Speedway. I don’t care, horsepower-wise. Atlanta Motor Speedway eats tires. You’re going to have to be on and off the throttle, keeping up with the track. There’s still going to be a lot of driving and working on your car throughout the race to get it better. You’re going to have to change your lane a lot. The person that can stay in the gas the longest is probably going to win.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 COMSURV CAMARO ZL1 – 24TH IN STANDINGS
“I’m ready to put Daytona behind us and focus on going to win in Atlanta this weekend. It is a new year and a new experience with the way that these cars are going to race with the downforce package in Atlanta. I think we will see a big difference with the way that the cars are going to draft on the 1.5-mile tracks, I expect to see some big packs of cars. Atlanta has a pretty abrasive asphalt, so it will be interesting to see how the cars handle after 10-15 laps when tires start to wear-off.”
BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 MCDONALD’S CAMARO ZL1 – 30TH IN STANDINGS
“The Atlanta Motor Speedway is a place where I have struggled in the past. This weekend, being my second start at the track in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car, with a whole new package, now brings new opportunities.
“Still riding-off the new season hype, and I am looking forward to getting our No. 43 McDonald’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 dialed-in and to go racing.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 SOFT COMFORT PLUS CAMARO ZL1 – 31ST IN STANDINGS
“Atlanta is going to be a lot of fun, I believe. We don’t have any definite answers, but from what we are getting at so far and what we have been able to see I think Atlanta is still going to be a similar race to what it has been in the past. It’s definitely not going to be a wide-open race track for any more than a very short period of time. I don’t know how the lanes are going to play out. I know there are definitely drivers that like to get right on the bottom and want to wrap around the yellow line and then the top always comes in good there. I don’t know if that will stay the same, if we will be able to move around as much, but that will be the first real test for our package this year and we will see how it plays out for our first 1.5-mile and then get a better idea of the rest from there.”
DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 8 RED CAP/ALSCO CAMARO ZL1 – 32ND IN STANDINGS
“The new package in itself I think is a little bit of a moving target, but on the flip side of that I feel like Chevrolet and the people at RCR, everyone is putting all their resources into figuring out or eliminating those variables as best as possible, which is a great thing to have that comradery between all of us to make sure we can do the right things and make sure when we do hit the race track we are as close to prepared as we can be. I think it’s going to be a constant evolution of what you need this week isn’t going to be the same as the next week and that is going to be the fun of everybody figuring it out.”
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)
2019 STATISTICS:
Wins: 0
Poles: 1
Laps Led: 51
Top-five finishes: 0
Top-10 finishes: 5
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 779 (1949 – to date)
Poles Won to Date: 700
Laps Led to Date: 232,307
Top-Five Finishes to Date: 3,969
Top-10 Finishes to Date: 8,177
Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date
GM: 1,114
Chevrolet: 779
Pontiac: 155
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 777
Ford: 677
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Chrysler: 466
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 190
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 124
Connect with Team Chevy on social media. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TeamChevy; follow us on Twitter @TeamChevy; and follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/teamchevy
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.
