TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
NASCAR ALL-STAR
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
BRISTOL, TENNESSEE
JULY 15, 2020
BRISTOL FOR THE NASCAR ALL-STAR:
The NASCAR All-Star race is an annual event that has been held at Charlotte Motor Speedway every year since 1985, with the exception of 1986, when it took place at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
For the first time, this popular race will take place at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday, July 15th, where NASCAR’s best will battle under the lights for a $1 million winner-take-all prize.
Although Charlotte will always be recognized as the traditional home for the All-Star, the current pandemic situation in North Carolina makes its 36th running at Bristol a better option to allow fans in attendance.
CONTENDERS:
There are 16 drivers who are eligible to compete in the All-Star event due to wins in 2019-20 or being a previous All-Star winner or Cup champion. Six of those are Camaro ZL1 1LE drivers, and their starting positions for the race have been determined by a random draw:
2nd Alex Bowman, No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/Adam’s Polishes Camaro ZL1 1LE
4th Justin Haley, No. 77 Fraternal Order of Eagles Camaro ZL1 1LE
6th Matt Kenseth, No. 42 McDonald’s McDelivery Camaro ZL1 1LE
7th Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE
13th Chase Elliott, No. 9 UniFirst Camaro ZL1 1LE
14th Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE
Drivers not already qualified will have a chance to join the All-Star field by competing in the NASCAR Open, in which there are ten Team Chevy entries. The winner of each Open segment will advance to the All-Star, as will the winner of the Fan Vote.
WHAT’S NEW?
In addition to the location change itself, there are three modifications coming to the 2020 All-Star Race. NASCAR oftentimes utilizes this particular event to test concepts for possible future use.
The highly anticipated ‘choose rule’ will be executed on restarts, which allows each driver to pick a lane. Traditionally, the leader makes a choice, and the field lines-up accordingly on the inside or outside lanes. With this new test format, there will be a designated point on the track where the drivers will choose their restart lane.
Teams already locked-into the All-Star race will feature underglow lighting mounted beneath their cars giving each manufacturer its own colorful identity.
The race cars themselves will feature a new paint scheme concept in which the side-door numbers are moved toward the rear wheel to allow additional sponsor exposure.
CHEVY PERFORMANCE:
Chevrolet leads all other manufacturers with 18 victories in the prestigious All-Star race.
Career-long Chevrolet driver and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson, leads all drivers with four All-Star race victories to his credit (2003, ’06, ’12, ’13). Other active Chevy drivers with All-Star wins are Kurt Busch (2010), and Matt Kenseth (2004).
Hendrick Motorsports leads all other NASCAR Cup Series teams with eight All-Star victories:
Jimmie Johnson (4), Jeff Gordon (3), and Terry Labonte (1).
FLASHBACKS:
Darrell Waltrip, driving a Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Hendrick Motorsports, won the inaugural All-Star race on May 25, 1985. Team Chevy has since won the event with multiple models including the Chevy Lumina, Monte Carlo SS., Impala, the Chevy SS, and most recently, the Camaro ZL1.
When rain caused a multi-car crash on Lap 1 of the All-Star race in 2001, Jeff Gordon used his back-up Chevrolet to win the big prize. Gordon has captured three All-Star wins in Chevrolet race cars.
TUNE-IN:
FS1 will telecast the NASCAR Open and the NASCAR All-Star at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday evening, July 15 at 7:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM / ADAM’S POLISHES CAMARO ZL1 1LE:
“This year’s All-Star Race is going to be a little different since we don’t have to race our way in. I have not ever been in the All-Star Race without having to race my way in or win the fan vote like we did last year. I think the ChevyGoods.com/Adam’s Polishes machine will look great under the lights at Bristol, especially with the underglow lights. We ran decent at Bristol earlier this year before we got caught up in an incident on track. I think we will have a good Chevrolet for Wednesday night’s race.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE:
BYRON ON THE ALL-STAR RACE AT BRISTOL.
“I think it’s going to be fun having the All-Star race at Bristol Motor Speedway, especially under the lights. Hopefully we make it in since we have to race our way in still. Bristol is always a tough track that requires constant concentration. I think that Open race is going to be even more wild than usual with people trying to secure their place. There will be desperation on the line to get a win and get into the big show. Last year we raced our way into the All-Star race with a Stage One win. We had a really good run there and honestly had a shot to win close to the end. I think if we get into the All-Star race, it’s going to be a lot of fun, especially now.”
BYRON ON USING THE CHOOSE CONE WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
“I’m for sure excited to use the choose cone in the All-Star race. There’s no doubt that I think it will add an extra layer of strategy and excitement. It’s going to be a tool that will make this into an incredible race and keep people on their toes more than they already would be at a place like Bristol. It brings me back to my early days in racing. The race itself is going to be phenomenal I feel like but I’m really looking forward to see how this plays out.
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS / TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE:
WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO GET INTO THE ALL-STAR RACE?
“You’ve got to go get it. You will be after it, and putting it all on the line to try and win a Stage in the open in order to transfer into the All-Star race. The All-Star race is so fun because you let everything go on All-Star night as far as the big picture, and just put it all on the line to try and win. It’s for the fans, and I’m really looking forward to trying to race my way in. Especially at a short track like Bristol Motor Speedway.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 FOOD CITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE:
“It’s tough to gauge our chances on making into the main event. Honestly, the All-Star race is an event I always have fun going to watch from the stands with my friends, so it’s weird being involved in it this year. I haven’t gotten much of a chance to campaign for the fan vote with how busy we’ve been with all these races, but it would be an honor to win that. Hopefully, fans are seeing what I’m doing out on the track and that performance has gotten them to go vote for me. If they want someone who is going to do some crazy stuff to try to win the million dollars, I’m their guy. As for racing our way in through the Open, I hope we can do that. There are just so many variables going into the race that it’s tough to even form a strategy. The lineup is based off a random draw, so that is an unknown for now. We also aren’t quite sure yet how the traction compound will be laid down, so that’s another variable. We’ll just have to adapt to all the challenges and try to put ourselves in the best spot to win a stage and advance to the main event.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER / COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL1 1LE:
“I think we have a really strong shot at making the All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bristol is one of my favorite tracks, and we have a great starting position starting fourth. We had a really strong run om the first Bristol race before ultimately being involved in a wreck that ended our day early, but that gives me nothing but confidence that Brian Pattie set up our No. 47 Kroger/Cottonelle Chevrolet as best he could to give us a shot at $1 million.”
MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 MCDONALD’S DELIVERY CAMARO ZL1 1LE:
“The All-Star Race moving to Bristol is awesome. It’s long overdue. I love Charlotte Motor Speedway but I think the All-Star Race needs to be at a short track and there’s no better short track in the country than Bristol Motor Speedway. I think everyone is looking forward to being a part of this one. There’s a high probability of a lot of action there, maybe some hurt feelings, most likely some wrinkled up race cars. It’s the All-Star Race, it pays a lot of money, so you know everyone’s going to be in the gas. I’m thankful to be a part of this one and hopefully we can go up there and dice it up for that million.”
RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 ENERGIZER CAMARO ZL1 1LE:
“Nothing would turn our luck around quite like advancing into the All-Star Race and competing for $1 million. I love Bristol Motor Speedway and short track racing, and I think we have a really strong shot at winning a stage and advancing into the race. Bristol is one of the only tracks where we’ve seemed to have some luck this season, and I feel confident that we can race our No. 37 Energizer Chevrolet into the big show. We’ve got a great setup, and one of the best-looking cars on track and I know we’ll have some extra power with Energizer on board.”
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO HUMP DAY CAMARO ZL1 1LE:
ON GETTING A TOUGH STARTING POSITION DRAW FOR THE OPEN (21st OF 22) AND OVERALL THOUGHTS ON ALL-STAR RACE:
“Drawing second to last for the Open is not quite what you want, but you never know what can happen. It’s going to be wild and a crazy shootout to get in. The choose rule is going to make it super interesting as well, so we might have to be strategic and just go for it. Bristol is a place where I’ve been successful. Our GEICO team won a stage there last season, and this will be essentially stage racing. If we can get ourselves in a position to find some track position at the end of one of the stages, I believe that we can win and sneak into the All-Star Race.”
DO YOU KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE CHOOSE RULE WHEN WHAT YOU DO IS DEPENDENT ON WHAT THE PEOPLE IN FRONT OF YOU DO?
“It’s going to be a split-second decision. You are going to see the guys with an aggressive mindset who put themselves out there in a tough spot – probably on the top lane which isn’t the dominant lane at Bristol. It just depends on how the PJ1 comes in and what line will be dominant on the restart. It’s going to be interesting, but quite fun. I used to do this back in my legend car days, and you could always make something happen. I love that our sport is opening up their minds to new creative ways to make the racing exciting. I think they are going to be very pleased with what this choose rule brings and maybe it is something that we can adapt into the future of our sport.”
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.
