TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
BIG MACHINE HAND SANITIZER 400
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
SPEEDWAY, INDIANA
JULY 5, 2020
RACE #16: INDIANAPOLIS
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has created several date & location changes to the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) schedule, the Brickyard remains on its original date this season. Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) will host the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 on Sunday, July 5th, the first since 1994 to be held on Independence Day weekend.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
For tennis, it’s Wimbledon. For golf, it’s Augusta National. For horse racing, it’s Churchill Downs.
When it comes to hallowed ground in worldwide motorsports, it’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The world’s most famous race track has been the site of numerous prestigious motor racing events featuring legendary names since it opened in 1909.
This holiday weekend adds to its historic legacy with the first-ever NASCAR/INDYCAR triple-header at IMS, a crossover 2-day event that kicks off with NTT INDYCAR SERIES (NTTICS) GMR Grand Prix on the track’s road course at noon ET on Saturday, July 4th, followed by NASCAR’s Xfinity Series (NXS) Pennzoil 150 at 3:00 p.m. On Sunday, NASCAR’s Cup Series race will own the day with the running of the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at 4:00 p.m. ET on the famed 2.5-mile oval.
Chevrolet is the sole manufacturer to participate in all three events: There are 28 Chevrolet Camaro SS entries in the NXS race, 18 Chevy Camaro ZL1 1LE entries in the NCS race, and 11 Chevrolet entries in the NTTICS race.
ALL-TIME LEADER
Career Team Chevy driver Jeff Gordon, who won the inaugural Brickyard 400 on August 6, 1994, leads all drivers with five victories at IMS (1994, ’98, ’01, ’04, ’14). His record also boasts 12 top-5 finishes, 17 top-10’s, 528 laps led, and three poles in 17 starts. At the age of 23 years, 2 days, Gordon is also the youngest NCS winner at IMS. His last victory came in 2014.
BOWTIE BULLETS
· Team Chevy has won 17 of the 26 NCS races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including an amazing streak of 12 years (2004-13).
· Seven-time NCS champion, Jimmie Johnson, leads all active drivers with four wins (2012, ’09, ’08 and ’06) and also has a runner-up (2013) and third-place (2016) finish in 18 starts.
· The most recent Chevrolet winner was Kasey Kahne in 2017.
· A Chevrolet driver has led the field to the green from the pole position 10 times. The most recent Chevy pole winner at the Brickyard was Kevin Harvick in July ’14.
· Hendrick Motorsports has more wins at the Brickyard than any other NCS team with 10 trips to victory lane in 26 races, all in Chevrolet race cars: Jeff Gordon (five), Jimmie Johnson (four), Kasey Kahne (one).
· Milestone Moment: Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, will make his 700th NCS career start on Sunday, July 5th at IMS. His first Cup race was at Dover on Sept. 24, 2000, where he finished 18th. In 21 years and 699 starts, Busch has 31 victories, 146 top 5’s, 307 top 10’s, and has won the pole 28 times. Busch was the 2004 NCS Champion.
COMING TO THE GREEN
In compliance with the pandemic guidelines, the race will be run without spectators; and the format continues with no practice or qualifying. The starting lineup for Sunday’s Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 will be set by virtue of owner’s points and a random draw. Here are Team Chevy’s top-20 starters:
2nd Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE
3rd Alex Bowman, No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/Adam’s Polishes Camaro ZL1 1LE
4th Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE
10th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro Zl1 1LE
13th Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Camaro ZL1 1LE
16th Austin Dillon, No. 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Camaro ZL1 1LE
17th Bubba Wallace, No. 43 World Wide Technology Camaro ZL1 1LE
18th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 1LE
TUNE-IN
NBC will telecast the 160-lap, 400-mile Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at 4:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 5th. Live coverage can also be found on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 4th IN STANDINGS
“I’ve really struggled at Indy. We’ve just been trying to get better there. It has just consistently been a huge challenge for me every year. My excitement level probably isn’t as high as some others about going to Indy, but that’s just because of how hard it has been. I would love to get over the hump. I think it would be such a cool place to run well and have success at. We are looking forward to giving it our best shot this weekend.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 8th IN STANDINGS
“Indianapolis is one of those tracks where we continue to learn each time we go there. We haven’t had great finishes at the track, but I think we make gains each time we go there. Greg (Ives) and the guys have been putting in a ton of work both at the track and away from the track. I know that we will have a car that can contend for a win when we arrive.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 10th IN STANDINGS
“It’s a big marquee race – it’s our Brickyard 400. Unfortunately, we don’t have our race fans. That’s what I still think about first, each time we’re heading to the race track. With a special weekend like this with INDYCAR and Xfinity on the road course on Saturday, and then the Cup race on Sunday on the oval, Roger Penske is the only one that could have made INDYCAR and NASCAR happen on the same weekend. Big Machine is there with their sponsorship and I know they would put on a great concert and the whole atmosphere around Indy. It was set-up to be fan-based and to have that extra entertainment value, so it’s something we’ll miss. But I’m focused-in on Sunday’s race.”
“To have this opportunity and to have been blessed to have raced with so many great race teams over the years, just making it past the local track was something that I thought was an achievement because my dad was a local racer. He won a lot. But it was the money, sponsors, and the whole challenge of even getting to the Southwest Tour and Late Model division, that was even tough for us way back in the past. It’s amazing – twenty years of racing at the top series level and now having 700 starts, I never would have guessed.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 15th IN STANDINGS
“I’m really excited for the Brickyard 400 to be on July 4th weekend, even though it’ll be hotter than when we are normally there. The Brickyard is a marquee race at a marquee racetrack. This is another race that I’ve been looking forward to this season, not only because of how special the race is, but seeing what our team can do. Last year we had a really strong race overall and finished fourth. We’ll see how we unload this weekend, but I think we will have a good chance to contend for the win. We want to win every weekend, but this would just be an awesome race to win in general.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW SALUTES VETERANS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 17th IN STANDINGS
HOW HARD IS IT TO GET A HANDLE ON INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY?
“Well, Indy is a fast place. You are looking at a wall going into Turn 1. It feels like a never-ending turn there. You can’t see it and it’s just a fun place to cross the bricks. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a prestigious place, similar to Daytona International Speedway, Darlington Raceway, and a few of the other big tracks that we go to. We love getting there and trying to race for that trophy.”
TYLER REDDICK NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 18th IN STANDINGS
“We’re spending a lot of time this weekend analyzing data and figuring out where we need to be for this weekend’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The good news is, we really liked the speed our cars showed us over the weekend in Pocono. We just had a couple missteps that made it so the races didn’t fall our way. It was tough to get into a position where we could weigh it out and compare tire to tire and lap to lap like some of the other guys could, but we did like the overall speed. Pocono and Indy do have some similarities when it comes to this package with the flat corners and long straightaways, so we’ll be building off what we just saw and experienced for this weekend. We’ll analyze the differences between the two cars we ended up using at Pocono and hopefully come up with something in the middle to help us this weekend.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 19th IN STANDINGS
“I always love getting to go back to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We’ve had strong speed in our No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet the last few races, building positive momentum as we look towards the next stretch of races. The Brickyard 400 is a race that always comes down to strategy, which is right in Brian Pattie’s wheelhouse. He’s done a great job the last couple of races to utilize strategy and get us in a position to earn stage points, which have really helped put us in a decent points position during this summer stretch.
I’m looking forward to a great Fourth of July weekend in one of my favorite cities.”
RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 KLEENEX CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 29th IN STANDINGS
“We had two decent runs at Pocono Raceway last weekend, but I’m looking forward to continuing to keep putting everything together and having strong finishes. We have a new, clean paint scheme on the No. 37 Chevrolet this weekend with Kleenex, and I really want to get a great finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for them. I’ve really enjoyed the no practice and no qualifying races, and I think Indianapolis will continue to be a good test of how we can unload and race. I think the next few tracks will be really good for us as we’ve had strong intermediate track speed and I’m looking forward to having a good race in the No. 37 Kleenex Chevrolet debut this weekend.”
MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 MCDELIVERY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 30th IN STANDINGS
“I think all of us love to go to Indianapolis just because of the history of that track—it’s one of the most famous speedways in the world. Indy is a place where I’ve had a lot of fast race cars through the years, a lot of really great runs, but never been able to win. Obviously, it’s on the top of my list. I’m looking forward to getting another chance at it this year. It’s not really a tricky race track, but you got to keep your momentum and have a car that’s turning good enough so you can use a lot of throttle, particularly in turns two and four to try and set up some passes. I’m really looking forward to this one.”
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: 1,130
Top-five finishes: 20
Top-10 finishes: 52
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 788 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 717
Laps led to date: 235,436
Top-five finishes to date: 4,034
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,334
Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date
General Motors: 1,122
Chevrolet: 788
Pontiac: 154
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 794
Ford: 694
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 191
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 148
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.
