TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
DIXIE VODKA 400
HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY
HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA
JUNE 14, 2020
HOMESTEAD FOR RACE #12
The revised NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) schedule continues on Sunday, June 14th with the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. For the past 18 years (2002-’19), the Florida venue hosted the annual season-ending championship event in November, but it was re-positioned on the 2020 calendar to be a Spring Break affair on March 22. However, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 267-lap, 400-mile contest now marks the 12th race on the tour.
NASCAR has taken initial steps in introducing the return of guests to its events, and Homestead-Miami Speedway is the first part of this process. Up to 1,000 South Florida service members, representing the Homestead Air Reserve Base and U.S. Southern Command in Doral, will be on hand as honorary guests to view the race from the grandstands.
STARTING LINEUP
The NCS race will be a one-day show with no practice and no qualifying. Owner points and a random draw have again set the starting lineup. Here are Team Chevy’s top-20 starters:
5th Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hooters Camaro ZL1 1LE
8th Alex Bowman, No. 88 Llumar Camaro ZL1 1LE
9th Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE
10th Kurt Busch, No. 1 GEARWRENCH Camaro ZL1 1LE
16th Austin Dillon, No. 3 DOW/BEHR Ultra Scuff Defense Camaro ZL1 1LE
17th Bubba Wallace, No. 43 World Wide Technology Camaro ZL1 1LE
19th Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., No. 47 Kroger Camaro ZL1 1LE
20th Matt Kenseth, No. 42 Credit One Bank Camaro ZL1 1LE
BOWTIE BULLETS
· Jimmie Johnson is Chevrolet’s most recent winner at Homestead-Miami Speedway – Nov. ’16. In 19 starts, the career-Chevrolet driver has 2 pole positions, five (5) top-five’s, and 11 top-10 finishes
· Victories by current Chevrolet drivers also include:
Kurt Busch, No. 1 GEARWRENCH Camaro ZL1 1LE has one win (2002)
HOMESTEAD HISTORY
· Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, is looking for one more highlight in his final career race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he has already made history. Johnson has clinched each of his seven championships there, including an unprecedented five consecutive (2006-’10). In 2016, he won at Homestead and clinched his historic seventh title, which tied Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty for the all-time record.
MIAMI MAKES 50
· Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hooters Camaro ZL1 1LE will make his 50th NCS career start on a 1.5-mile track on Sunday, June 14th. In his previous 49 races (on 1.5-mile venues), he has led 590 laps. Most recently, Elliott scored his second career 1.5-mile track win at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 28.
TYLER REDDICK’S NO. 8 CAMARO ZL1 1LE TO RUN CHEVY CARES PAINT SCHEME
Chevrolet is Committed to Helping in Uncertain and Challenging Times:
· Chevy Clean Dealers use enhanced vehicle cleaning measures with CDC-approved cleaners
· OnStar® Crisis Assist emergency services available to current Chevrolet owners
· A helping hand to heroes with the Chevrolet First Responder Discount
· The fight to save lives with medical equipment by converting GM plants in Kokomo Indiana to build ventilators, and Warren, Michigan to make thousands of surgical masks each day.
· Chevrolet is a company that cares. Visit ChevyCares.com to learn more.
TUNE-IN
FOX will telecast the 267-lap race live at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 14th. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 3rd IN STANDINGS
“I am looking forward to getting down to Homestead this weekend. It will be interesting to see how different the handling of our cars is at the track in the summertime. This will be our first race of the season with Hooters so hope we can put on a good show for them and be in contention throughout the day.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 LLUMAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 7th IN STANDINGS
“Getting back to an intermediate track should be good for this No. 88 team. We have a really strong intermediate program and it has been providing good results so far this season. Miami is a track where you can typically run the wall. It will be a quick turnaround from Martinsville, but everyone back at Hendrick Motorsports has been working hard to get these Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE’s set up and ready to go before the next event.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 GEARWRENCH CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 10th IN STANDINGS
“Going to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the first time, not being Championship weekend in almost two decades. It will be a much quieter type weekend, but the intensity of the track, the speed and the tire drop-off, all that will be the same; just a little bit different environment not being Championship Weekend. We didn’t run all that well there last year but our teammates with the No. 42 Camaro was hooked-up in that upper groove and that’s the setup that we’re going to emulate. We just need to get there and execute as a team, on pit road, short- run and long-run speed; the spotter has been doing a great job, we need to continue to find the right holes, because you’ve got to be aggressive in order to keep or improve your position right now.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 16th IN STANDINGS
“It’s going to be different to be running at Homestead in the summer verse the last race of the year for sure. I think the top groove is going to be even more dominant probably than it usually is. It’s a racetrack that the preferred line usually migrates up towards the wall where there’s more banking up there. Plus, the wall helps you turn some. I plan on running right against the wall. I’m interested to see if that’s the case though when we get racing.”
“I think I move around and search less for a line at Homestead than a lot of other race tracks we race at. You still have to move around though to find that line that works best for your car’s handling and find grip. I just think it’s a track that no matter what, as a driver you know you need to make speed against the wall. I think with when we’re racing, finding that line early on is going to be critical for this year’s race though.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW/BEHR ULTRA SCUFF DEFENSE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 17th IN STANDINGS
WHAT’S IT LIKE RACING AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY?
“It’s one of the best tracks. I think it’s the most driver-friendly track. It’s fun. Actually, it’s not really friendly because you can get into the wall pretty easily, but it’s so much fun to run right up against the fence. You have to be disciplined in how you drive that track and save your tires. It’s an epic race. It’s always intense.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHEVROLET CARES CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 18th IN STANDINGS
YOU’VE WON YOUR LAST TWO RACES AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY, GRANTED IN A DIFFERENT SERIES. DOES THAT PROVIDE ANY EXTRA CONFIDENCE HEADING INTO THIS WEEKEND?
“It’s tough to know if that experience will help me this weekend. These Cup cars are just so difficult to drive, especially in the dirty air like we saw at Atlanta and Fontana. Once the tires start to go away, it’s really easy to prohibit any progress on someone who is catching you on the track by moving into the lane they’re using. I even had that happen to me at Darlington last month. Being fast against the fence will be important to our long run speed this weekend, but how much we’ll be able to capitalize on that will depend on where we start a run because tires will start to fall off, and other drivers will start to move up and take your line away. It’s hard to maintain and close on other cars when they start doing that. It’s just a new challenge that comes with the Cup Series for me. We’ll need to have some versatility built into our No. 8 Chevy Cares Chevrolet this weekend, and all that depends on outright speed, what balance we bring to the track and the rest of the little things we need to have a fast car.”
BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 20th IN STANDINGS
HOW DOES HOMESTEAD COMPARE TO OTHER 1.5-MILE TRACKS WE GO TO?
“I don’t think Homestead-Miami Speedway compares to other tracks – it’s the true oval. It does not have a have a dog-leg or a kink in the straightaway. I think you can compare grip levels to Fontana (Auto Club Speedway), Atlanta (Motor Speedway) or Darlington (Raceway) – it is just so unique. It is one of a kind; it’s really fun. Homestead is one of those races where, now that we moved it from the last race of the year, we should go there five or six times because it is that fun. Homestead is a race within itself. You have to manage your tires and manage your stuff. But you also have to have a good balance underneath you and not just stuck in a certain part of the track going nowhere. You still have to make good time. I have struggled there with our Cup car, but it’s another race we’ll go and figure out.”
JERRY BAXTER, CREW CHIEF FOR THE NO. 43 WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
“On Sunday, we’re heading down to the Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 World Wide Technology (WWT) Camaro ZL1 1LE. It’s the car that we ran at the second Darlington (S.C.) Raceway event – it’s a pretty good piece. Bubba won at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2014 in the NASCAR Truck Series – so, his confidence is strong.”
“We start in the 17th-place on Sunday, which is a better draw than what we have had in quite some time, so that’s good. It’s going to be very hot. It definitely seems like we have some momentum building after the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. We had a good run, moved-up two more spots in the points, so we’ll see what happens.”
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO FOR YOUR BOAT CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 28th IN STANDINGS
“Going to Homestead in June is going to be a different curveball, since it will be more of a day race and hotter than what we’ve dealt with in years past. I think it’s going to be a little more unique. It’s obviously a track that tire wear, fall off and lap time speed is pretty high, so it’s going to fall into a similar category as Darlington and Atlanta, which we as a team have had polar opposite results at. Matt (Borland) and I have done a lot of work in communicating about where to hit the happy medium of improving on Darlington and fix the issues from Atlanta. I’m looking forward to Homestead though. Matt and I actually ran our first race together there as driver and crew chief, and had a really strong finish that day. Hopefully we can recoger some of that magic in our GEICO For Your Boat Camaro ZL1 1LE.”
MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 31st IN STANDINGS
“Homestead is a very unique mile-and-a-half track. Turns 1 and 2 have more banking than turns 3 and 4 because the back stretch is elevated, so you kind of drive uphill off Turn 2 and that corner has much more grip. Then you drive downhill off of Turn 4 and that’s a real tricky corner. Both ends are a lot different. Seems the good guys can run the bottom-middle early in the run and make some moves, and then the grove kind of migrates towards the top. Then there’s those few guys, though maybe not quite so much last year, that can make the very top work well. Depending on your car’s balance, you can usually move around the track and find something that works well for you. It’s usually November when we go there, so it’s going to be totally different conditions during the day and being super-hot down there in June. Should be an interesting race.”
Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics
Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2019): 39
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)
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 (1949-2019): 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 (2007)
2020 STATISTICS:
Wins: 2
Poles: 3
Laps Led: 1,009
Top-five finishes: 16
Top-10 finishes: 42
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 788 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 717
Laps led to date: 235,315
Top-five finishes to date: 4,030
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,324
Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date
General Motors: 1,122
Chevrolet: 788
Pontiac: 154
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 792
Ford: 692
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 191
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 146
Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics
Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2018): 39
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)
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 (1949-2018): 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 (2007)
2020 STATISTICS:
Wins: 2
Poles: 3
Laps Led: 1009
Top-five finishes: 16
Top-10 finishes: 42
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 788 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 717
Laps led to date: 235,315
Top-five finishes to date: 4,030
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,324
Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date
General Motors: 1,122
Chevrolet: 788
Pontiac: 154
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 792
Ford: 692
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 191
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 146
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
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.
