TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
BASS PRO SHOPS NIGHT RACE
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
BRISTOL, TENNESSEE
SEPT. 18, 2021
RACE #29 – BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
The opening round of the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Playoffs concludes with the third consecutive race on a short track. The .533-mile Bristol Motor Speedway will host the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday, September 18. Following races at the 1-mile Darlington Raceway and .75-mile Richmond Raceway, the 500-lap, 266.5-mile race under the lights on Bristol Motor Speedway’s high-banked concrete oval will determine the 12 drivers who advance to the next round.
NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Champion, Kyle Larson, is one of three drivers who has already secured a spot in the Round of 12. Larson, driver of the No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, charged from the rear of the field to finish sixth at Richmond.
A look at Team Chevy in the NASCAR Cup Series title hunt:
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 1LE – 1st in Standings (Playoff Rank: 3rd)
Victories: 5 (field-high)
Top-Fives: 15; Top-10’s: 20; Laps Led: 1,730
Average Finish: 9.3
Stage Wins: 13
At Bristol (12 career NCS starts): Top-Fives: 2; Top-10’s: 7; Poles: 1; Average Finish: 14.417
Of Note: The NCS Regular Season Champion drove from the rear of the field to finish sixth at Richmond, securing place in the next round of the Playoffs.
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hooters Camaro ZL1 1LE – 7th in Standings (2072 points)
Victories: 2
Top-Fives: 12; Top-10’s: 17; Laps Led: 395; Average Finish: 11.5
Stage Wins: 3
At Bristol (10 career NCS starts): Top-Fives: 3; Top-10’s: 5; Poles: 1
Average Finish: 12.100 (series-best); Average Running Position: 9.892 (series-best)
Of Note: The 2021 NCS season marks Elliott’s sixth consecutive year of being part of the Playoff field. Six of his 13 career NCS wins have come in the Playoffs.
Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE – 12th in Standings (2053 Points)
Victories: 1
Top-Fives: 4; Top-10’s: 10; Laps Led: 192; Average Finish: 16.4
Stage Wins: 3
At Bristol (40 career NCS starts): Wins: 6; Top-Fives: 12; Top-10’s: 21 (most of active drivers); Poles: 1
Of Note: This is Busch’s 15th NCS post-season appearance, tying career Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson and two others for most. Busch’s first NCS victory came at Bristol in 2002.
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE –13th in Standings (2053 points)
Victories: 3
Top-Fives: 6; Top-10’s 13; Pole Wins: 1; Laps Led: 151; Average Finish: 14.5
At Bristol (10 career NCS starts): Top-Fives: 1; Top-10’s: 2
Of Note: The 2021 NCS season marks Bowman’s fourth-career Playoffs appearance. Bowman has raced his way into the Round of 12 for the last three years.
Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1 1LE – 14th in Standings (2048 Points)
Top-Fives: 2; Top-10’s: 13; Pole Wins: 1; Laps Led: 26; Average Finish: 14.8
Stage Wins: 3
At Bristol (2 career NCS starts): Top-Fives: 1; Top-10’s: 1
Of Note: The 2021 NCS season marks Reddick’s first Playoff appearance. Reddick won the fall 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol.
William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE – 15th in Standings (2035 points)
Victories: 1
Top-Fives: 9; Top-10’s: 16; Pole Wins: 2; Laps Led: 276; Average Finish: 14.0
Stage Wins: 3
At Bristol (6 career NCS starts): Top-10’s: 1
Of Note: The 2021 NCS season marks Byron’s third-career Playoffs appearance.
GRAGSON TAKES HOT HAND INTO REGULAR-SEASON FINALE
Noah Gragson won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race for the second consecutive week in the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS. The Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, September 17, is the final race in the series’ regular season. AJ Allmendinger – who has captured 3 NXS wins, 15 top-five’s and 16 top-10’s thus far this season – continues to sit atop the Driver Standings. Chevrolet, with 11 NXS wins, remains first in the Manufacturer Standings.
CREED GOES BACK-TO-BACK IN ROUND OF 10
The third race of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) Playoffs Round of 10 will be contested Thursday, September 16, at Bristol Motor Speedway. Reigning champion Sheldon Creed has won both races in the series’ opening Playoff round in his Chevrolet Silverado – most recently at Darlington to sweep at the track this season. The 200-lap race under the lights at Bristol serves as the Round of 10 elimination race, determining the eight drivers that will move onto the next round in quest for the coveted NCWTS championship title.
RECAPPING CHEVROLET’S WIN STREAKS AT BRISTOL
The Bristol 500 Night Race is the 121st on the Bristol Motor Speedway concrete oval since 1961. Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 45 victories. Charlie Glotzbach recorded Chevrolet’s first win at Bristol and the first for the Monte Carlo on July 11, 1971, which started a run of seven consecutive victories at the track for the Bowtie Brand. He still holds the track race record of 101.074 mph set in the ’71 race. Chevrolet won nine of the 10 NCS races between 1983 and 1987, which included four each by Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt and one by Terry Labonte. The other win in the span was by Rusty Wallace in GM brand Pontiac.
CHEVROLET SITS ATOP MANUFACTURER STANDINGS
Chevrolet remains the leader in the NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Standings in pursuit of its 40th title. Team Chevy has recorded field highs of 13 victories, 124 top-10 finishes, 2,996 laps led and 25 stage wins through 28 races. The Bowtie Brand has already surpassed its totals for wins (9), top-10 finishes (120), laps led (2,399) and stage wins (21) from the 36-race 2020 season.
ON THE WAY TO THE GREEN
With no practice or qualifying for the 400-lap race, the starting lineup is determined by NASCAR’s metrics system that was introduced to the series last year and incorporates results from both individual races and season-long results.
Team Chevy’s Top-20 starters:
4th Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hooters Camaro ZL1 1LE
5th Kyle Larson, No. 5 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 1LE
11th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE
13th Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1 1LE
14th William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE
15th Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE
17th Ross Chastain, No. 42 Moose Fraternity Camaro ZL1 1LE
18th Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Camaro ZL1 1LE
BOWTIE BULLETS
· Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 124 top-10 finishes and 2,996 laps led of 6,793 total this season.
· In addition to its 45 wins, Chevrolet has amassed 211 top-five and 440 top-10 finishes at Bristol Motor Speedway.
· Kurt Busch is tied for most starts at Bristol among active drivers with 40.
· Busch has led 17 races at Bristol for a total of 1,095 laps.4
· Busch will be making his 749th NCS start.
· Hendrick Motorsports continues to lead the Owner Standings.
· Kyle Larson paces all drivers with 1,730 laps led.
· Tyler Reddick is second among drivers with 99.46% of laps completed (6,756 of 6,793).
· Ross Chastain overcame two pit road penalties to finish seventh at Richmond – highest among non-Playoff drivers.
· Five Team Chevy drivers have combined for 25 stage wins – three more than in 36 races in 2020: Chase Elliott (Daytona RC, Michigan, Daytona2); William Byron (Homestead, Pocono2, Road America); Tyler Reddick (Road America, Indianapolis road course x2); Kurt Busch (Nashville Superspeedway, Pocono1, Atlanta2); Kyle Larson (Las Vegas, Atlanta x2, Kansas, Dover x2, Charlotte x3, Sonoma x2, Nashville, Darlington2).
TUNE IN
NBCSN will telecast the 500-lap NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at 7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, Sept. 18. Live coverage is also on PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. NBCSN will also telecast the 300-lap NASCAR Xfinity Series Food City 300 at 7:30 p.m. ET Friday, Sept. 17. FS1 will telecast the 200-lap NASCAR Camping World Truck Series UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics at 9 p.m. ET, Thursday, Sept. 16, from Bristol Motor Speedway.
QUOTABLE QUOTES
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 1st IN STANDINGS
LARSON ON ATMOSPHERE FOR BRISTOL NIGHT RACE:
“Bristol is cool all the time, but the night race, to me, has a little bit more meaning than the spring race because of the atmosphere around it. The lights, the crowd, the energy is just up for the night race. It makes me excited, and it makes me want to win there even more.”
CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1 1LE
DANIELS ON THE MINDSET BEING LOCKED INTO THE NEXT ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS:
“Our goal is to go to Bristol and win, of course, especially since we are locked into the next round. But being locked in really doesn’t change our mindset – we just need to execute a good race. It allows us the opportunity to go after stage wins and the race win possibly with a different strategy, but I don’t know what a crazy ‘Hail Mary’ would look like at Bristol, so I don’t think we would do that.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 7th IN STANDINGS
ELLIOTT ON RETURNING TO BRISTOL’S CONCRETE CONFIGURATION:
“It’s a little different, for sure. It seems like (Bristol) did a really good job of how they put the dirt down and took it back up to where the track surface doesn’t really look any different. I anticipate everybody will adapt pretty quickly. The Bristol night race is always one of my favorite races of the year. It’s a great environment. To me, it’s one of the coolest events on our schedule. It will be an exciting weekend. I am glad it’s in the playoffs and we get to go up there and enjoy a Saturday night in eastern Tennessee.”
ELLIOTT ON BRISTOL BEING A CUTOFF RACE:
“A cutoff race at Bristol is perfect. It’s a great event. Like I said, it’s one of my favorite races of the year and, honestly, I feel like it is one of the most exciting events of the year. It’s one that has been that way for a long time on our schedule. I think that’s a great place for a cutoff, and I am glad it’s in the playoffs.”
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
GUSTAFSON ON THE HIGH-PRESSURED PLAYOFF FORMAT:
“It’s tough; that’s one of the hardest things about it. It’s a long time; just under a third of the season. A lot can happen, and you can have the best-laid plans and something happens that puts you in a tough spot. You just have to maximize your opportunities and your moments to try to get ahead. When it gets really tough is when you have a bad week to start a round, then you’re behind. You’re trying to reach and make too much happen. (We’re) just trying to stay ahead, execute, maximize points and keep ourselves on the front side of it. That takes a lot of the pressure off.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 13th IN STANDINGS
BOWMAN ON HOW THE TEAM IS STRATEGIZING FOR BRISTOL:
“I think we need to maximize stage points and hopefully that has us in a good spot at the end of the day. I don’t think we are in a must win situation by any means, but when you are racing Kurt (Busch) and Kyle (Busch) and guys that are so good at Bristol it is going to be tough. We are going to go do everything we can to win the race and hopefully make it happen. I don’t think we are going to put ourselves in a situation where we either win or run 30th. We are just going to go maximize the day and do the best we can.”
GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
IVES ON PREPARING FOR THE CUTOFF RACE AT BRISTOL:
“I have been in playoff situations plenty of times to know … you take all of your pennies out and figure out how many points you have. You divide them all up and if you do this and add that and you get this many stage points and finish here, you end up transferring on. Honestly, my thought is that if you go out there and execute, have good pit stops, don’t have any loose wheels, vibrations, great restarts, and keep your car clean, you are probably going to transfer on. That’s our goal and I haven’t been quiet about it either, it all comes down to executing the races and finishing where we should.”
IVES ON THE NO. 48 TEAM’S HISTORY AT BRISTOL:
“I would say we have performed decent there – capable of top-10s. We haven’t been in the situation where I felt like we could win the race. Alex talks about it a lot, we kind of just focus on trying to get his driving style to match up with the setup I have underneath the car and being able to repeat that. Last time there, we were running between third and seventh most of the day and we had a left-rear tire come unbalanced. We had to pit, went two laps down and never got it back. That’s kind of what I am talking about, is whether we have a top-three car or a top-10 car, it doesn’t matter if you run into issues that you can’t overcome. Adversity is all about overcoming it and Bristol is definitely going to have plenty of opportunities to try and overcome.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 15th IN STANDINGS
BYRON ON HEADING TO BRISTOL UNDER THE PLAYOFF CUTLINE:
“Obviously, we’re not in an ideal situation heading to Bristol but we’re by no means out of it. Just because we’re below the cutline doesn’t mean we need to try anything crazy, either. That’s when people put themselves in bad situations, I feel like. We just need to go to Bristol and execute on all levels as a team. We know we have the speed in our cars to run well at Bristol; we just need to focus on running our race. We’ll be aware of what’s going on around us, but we can only control our race and that’s what we’re going to focus on. We need to maximize our points and be around at the end of the night to capitalize.”
RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FUGLE ON THE STRATEGY GOING TO BRISTOL:
“Every week we try to go win and this race is no different. We put in the same amount of effort every week. There are always going to be some tracks that you have a better chance at winning at than others, but we feel like Bristol is one of those that is high up on our list. We think we can go in there, reach the top five hopefully by the end of stage one and continue to race in the top five all night long before seeing what happens at the end of it. There’s probably a couple scenarios where if we get a lot of stage points and a few people have issues – which statistically happens at the Bristol night race – that we could point our way in with a top-five night. But there’s no easier way to lock in than to win and there’s no better place to do it than the Bristol night race. We want to end the night driving up into victory lane and celebrating.”
FUGLE ON HOW EASILY THINGS CAN CHANGE THROUGHOUT A RACE:
“No one knows better than us that anything can happen in a race, especially something out of your control. We had that happen at Darlington when a lug nut got wedged down in the wheel and broke a valve stem, ending our night early. These races – you can lose them faster than you can win them. All we can do is get those stage points early on and put more pressure on those guys in front of us. They may think they’re in a safe situation and can run 10th all night, but if we can put pressure on them to step it up, that’s when mistakes happen and we can be there to capitalize.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 COCA-COLA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 24th IN STANDINGS
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PAINT SCHEME?
“Oh my gosh, it is fantastic. Coca-Cola and Trackhouse Racing did a great job with it. I’m very honored to drive it and appreciate Coca-Cola recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month.”
WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT YOUR FOURTH-PLACE FINISH ON THE BRISTOL DIRT IN MARCH?
“To be honest, I had no idea what I was doing. But we were having fun that day. Everyone at Trackhouse Racing did an amazing job getting me ready and I just raced the best I could.”
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR SATURDAY NIGHT?
“Just a few spots better this time. I want to win!”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 US AIR FORCE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 26th IN STANDINGS
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY?
“Bristol Motor Speedway is tough. You are hustling the car nonstop. It is really the only place that we get to go where you are just all out for the whole race. A lot of places, you kind of have to manage your car. At Bristol, you are really going with all you’ve got from the start. Just being able to run both lanes; being able to make the bottom work in the PJ-1 and be able to move up as the race goes on. Getting in that upper groove, you can make a lot of speed up there and that’s really just as important. You have to have a good car in both lanes. That’s probably the toughest part, having that balance.”
COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 SCHLUTER SYSTEMS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 29th IN STANDINGS
“The Bristol night race is one of my all-time favorites! We look to rebound after a tough day in Richmond to have a run, which we know we’re certainly capable of. Schluter has been a great partner of mine since I started in the Cup Series. I’m excited to see that scheme pop under the lights at the last great coliseum. The last time we were at Bristol, it was covered in dirt. I’m happy it’s back to its original state & looking forward to the challenge of 500 grueling laps in the Schluter Systems Chevy Camaro.”
Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics
Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2020): 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 (1949-2020): 32
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)
Most Recent: Chase Elliott (2020)
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, 2020
Event Victories:
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)
2021 STATISTICS:
Wins: 13
Poles: 5
Laps Led: 2,996
Top-five finishes: 57
Top-10 finishes: 124
Stage wins: 25 – Chase Elliott (Daytona RC, Michigan, Daytona), William Byron (Homestead, Pocono 2, Road America), Kyle Larson (Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Atlanta x2, Kansas, Dover x2, Charlotte x3, Sonoma x2, Nashville, Darlington), Kurt Busch (Nashville, Pocono 1, Atlanta 2), Tyler Reddick (Road America, Indy RC x2)
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 808 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 722
Laps led to date: 239,701
Top-five finishes to date: 4,122
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,526
Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:
General Motors: 1,142
Chevrolet: 808
Pontiac: 154
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 811
Ford: 711
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 191
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 160Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and 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.
