NASCAR CUP SERIES
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
GOODYEAR 400
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES
MAY 8, 2022
TYLER REDDICK LEADS CHEVROLET WITH RUNNER-UP FINISH AT DARLINGTON
Camaro ZL1 Records Three Top-Five’s, Six Top-10’s
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-20 RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
2nd TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1
3rd JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1
5th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA CAMARO ZL1
8th RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER / NATURE VALLEY CAMARO ZL1
9th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 HUK PERFORMANCE FISHING CAMARO ZL1
10th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 COCA-COLA CAMARO ZL1
12th TY DILLON, NO. 42 PETTY GMS CAMARO ZL1
13th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Joey Logano (Ford)
2nd Tyler Reddick (Chevrolet)
3rd Justin Haley (Chevrolet)
4th Kevin Harvick (Ford)
5th Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Kansas Speedway with the AdventHealth 400 on Sunday, May 15, at 3:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 2nd
TALK ABOUT THOSE CLOSING LAPS ON THAT FINAL RESTART.
“William (Byron) did a really good job on the restart to get by Joey (Logano). There was a little bit of contact there, so I don’t know if that’s why Joey got back to William. It also kind of looked like Joey was going under and William kind of faded down. I was hoping they were going to blow their momentum a little bit more than they did, but it didn’t turn out that way.
All-in-all, it was a good rebound for our No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet team. We pitted for a vibration pretty early in the race that could have derailed our whole day, but we were able to bounce back from it.”
WE SAW A LOT OF ISSUES IN TURN TWO. HOW TREACHEROUS WAS THAT CORNER ALL DAY?
“I didn’t think turn two was honestly that bad. It’s just so gripped up over there with it being repaved. But when you’re in dirty air, it makes it really unpredictable and really narrows up. These cars are a little bit wider than the old cars and they do not like the bump transitioning from the new asphalt to the old asphalt. It was definitely pretty rough from the start.”
DO YOU LIKE RACING DARLINGTON?
“Yeah, Darlington (Raceway) is fun. It’s a frustrating place. You let your guard down for one second and your whole day can change. It’s one of the most difficult tracks that we go to, especially trying to manage the dirty air; trying to manage your right side and not tearing it off. A lot of options when you go into each corner here, so it makes it really fun, but also pretty frustrating until you figure it out.”
JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 4th
“This isn’t the best car we’ve brought to the race track unloading after practice. But we just kept after it all day. Some great strategy from this No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevy team. We had a good restart there at the end and we just kind of hung on. We didn’t have a fourth-place car, but it’s a great finish. This was my best Cup finish besides that win. To do it here at Darlington (Raceway), to get a fourth, it’s pretty special.
It was a good run. We’ll take this to next week and see what we can do at Kansas (Speedway).”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 5th
“We just kind of survived, really. It wasn’t anything spectacular by any means. I thought we had our No. 9 NAPA Chevy in a pretty good spot there on a couple occasions. It was just kind of a matter of how you restarted; whether you had a fortunate set of circumstances that your lane went forward and you were able to get a couple of spots here and a couple spots there. And then you ride around pretty much the rest of the time, unless it gets messed up and then you might be able to pass somebody in the last five laps or so in a run. And then you hope your pit stops are really fast and then hope you do a good job on the next restart.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER / NATURE VALLEY CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 8th
“It was a battle. We weren’t very good to start. I think the track conditions got a little better for us as it cooled off. But we battled all day. My No. 47 Kroger / Nature Valley Chevrolet team made good adjustments and the cautions fell the right way. I felt like we had really good strategy on that last long run, which put us in the top-five when the caution came out. I felt like we were in a really good spot to run top-five; and then the No. 4 (Kevin Harvick) got us in the fence there and I was really tight after that.
Two top-10’s in a row is nothing to be too bummed about. That was a battle. We weren’t very good, but we made something out of it.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 HUK PERFORMANCE FISHING CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 9th
“What an unbelievable day at Darlington Raceway. We faced so much as a team so it feels really good to get a ninth-place finish in the Huk Chevrolet. We had to make a green-flag stop in Stage 1 but fought back to take the wave-around and get back on the lead lap. Our Chevy was really good on the long run, but we struggled on the short run, especially in dirty air. I was starting to wonder how many times I could hit the wall without having issues. We overcame two speeding penalties today, so it says a lot about our team to be able to overcome those and finish in the top-10.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 COCA-COLA CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 10th
“It was a good day for our No. 99 Coca-Cola Chevrolet team. I feel like we did a good job making adjustments. Track position was huge and the pit crew did an amazing job all day. We only had one issue there, but there’s nothing we can do about that. It’s not 100 percent under our control.
We have to keep working and keep building. I feel like we can be better and come back stronger.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 13th
WE JUST HEARD FROM JOEY (LOGANO) AND IT SOUNDED ALMOST LIKE IT WAS A RETALIATION THING. DID YOU GUYS HAVE SOMETHING HAPPEN BEFORE THAT?
“No, I mean, we were really close off of (turn) two and I think it spooked him and got him tight; and he was right against the wall and I got the lead. He does this stuff all the time. I’ve seen it with other guys. He drove in there 10 mph too fast, and with these Next Gen cars, he slammed me so hard it knocked the whole right side off the car and there was no way to make the corner.
He can’t win a race, so it does it that way. I don’t know. It was close racing on the restart. We were faster than him. Obviously at the end, the right rear started to go away; and yeah, he didn’t even make it a contest.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 25th
“A tough end to our day. Our FOCUSFactor Chevrolet Camaro was a little on the tight side, but we stayed after it and I thought we had a shot at another top-10 finish. We’ll go back to the shop and refocus on next week at Kansas.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 29th.
AS YOU SAW THERE, QUITE A BIG FIRE. ANY IDEA WHAT LED TO THAT?
“I don’t know. Obviously, a pretty miserable day for our Ally Camaro. Greg (Ives) and the guys were working hard on it. I was just really out of the racetrack; didn’t make any grip and we could be super tight or super loose. Either way, we were really slow. And then something broke and it just went straight. We hit the wall and then whatever is on fire now.
Bummed for the guys. It was a pretty miserable day.”
ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 COCA-COLA CAMARO ZL1, sidelined due to damage sustained in an accident on lap 196; Finished 30th.
“We had a super strong day for our No. 1 Coca-Cola Chevy Camaro. We were fighting the balance all day. We were racing with those guys for the lead. I just thought I could run the bottom there off of turn two and the exit of the patch. I just got loose on the transition and spun out.
Aside from that, it was a perfect day on the track and on pit road. I’m proud of the effort; proud of the grip that our car had. We’ll come back here in the fall and give ourselves another shot.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1, sidelined due to mechanical failure; Finished 36th.
THE GUYS IN THE BOOTH WERE SAYING, WHEN YOU SPUN, THEY WONDERED IF MAYBE THAT HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH WHAT HAPPENED HERE.
“I was thinking that, as well. With these cars, you don’t want to lock the tires up because you’ll get a flat and it really tears your car up. I definitely rolled backwards some. That was my concern with why we blew up, but they said that probably didn’t have anything to do with it.
Bummer. Our No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet was super good today, so that’s promising. I feel like maybe we hit on something here this weekend. I hate that we’re not going to get the finish that we deserve, but I’m proud of my team for the car they brought today.”
TEAM CHEVY RACE RECAP
STAGE ONE
For the third time this season, Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1, led the NASCAR Cup Series to the green from a front row starting spot. The qualifying feat also marks his eighth top-10 starting spot thus far.
Heading into the competition caution at lap 30, Chase Elliott was tied for the biggest mover; advancing 13 spots after starting at the rear of the field due to being forced to a backup car.
At the conclusion of the 90-lap Stage One, four Camaro ZL1’s collected stage points with a top-10 finish, led by Ross Chastain and the No. 1 Coca-Cola Camaro ZL1 team in second.
William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1, was sixth; Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Camaro ZL1 was eighth; and Tyler Reddick, No. 8 3CHI Camaro ZL1 was ninth to round out the Team Chevy top-10 in Stage One.
STAGE TWO
During the duration of Stage Two, Kyle Larson brought his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 to pit road for an unscheduled pitstop, ultimately sidelined due to a mechanical failure.
Ross Chastain powered his No. 1 Coca-Cola Camaro ZL1 to the Stage Two win. This marks his second-career NCS Stage Win; and the 12th for Chevrolet in 2022.
Chastain led the bowtie brigade to five of the top-10 at the conclusion of Stage Two. William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1, was fifth; Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Camaro ZL1 was sixth; Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Camaro ZL1 was eight; and Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Coca-Cola Camaro ZL1, rounded out the Team Chevy top-10 in tenth.
POST-RACE QUICK NOTES
Three of the top-five and six of the top-10 of the final running order of the Goodyear 400 were occupied by the Camaro ZL1.
Tyler Reddick, No. 8 3CHI Camaro ZL1, led Chevrolet with a runner-up finish. This marks Reddick’s fifth top-10 finish in 2022; and his second top-10 in six-career NCS starts at Darlington Raceway.
Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1, posted a season-best of third; his first top-10 finish in three-career NCS starts at Darlington Raceway.
Rebounding from starting at the rear of the field in a backup car, Chase Elliott piloted his No. 9 NAPA Camaro ZL1 to a fifth-place finish to round out the Team Chevy top-five.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger / Nature Valley Camaro ZL1, finished eighth; Austin Dillon, No. 3 Huk Performance Fishing Camaro ZL1, finished ninth; and Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Coca-Cola Camaro ZL1, rounded out the Team Chevy top-10 in tenth.
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
About Chevrolet
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