NASCAR CUP SERIES
ROAD AMERICA
KWIK TRIP 250
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES
JULY 3, 2022
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1
2nd CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1
3rd KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1
4th ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 ADVENT HEALTH CAMARO ZL1
5th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 JOCKEY CAMARO ZL1
9th AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 GOLD FISH CASINO SLOTS CAMARO ZL1
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Tyler Reddick (Chevrolet)
2nd Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
3rd Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
4th Ross Chastain (Chevrolet)
5th Daniel Suarez (Chevrolet)
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next Sunday, July 10, at Atlanta Motor Speedway with the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on USA Network, the NBCSports Gold App, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1 – Race Winner
The two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion is now a Cup Series winner. So cool to see all these drivers coming back to congratulate him, including Brad Keselowski, who used to be his boss. What were you thinking as you were racing Chase Elliott there for the lead and eventually what wound up being the win?
“Well, I definitely knew he (Chase Elliott) was fast, but we could stay with him on the long run. That told me if we cycled through that last pit sequence, we’d be close or get around him, and we’d have a great shot. Didn’t quite get around him.. we were within reach. Thankfully we just waited for the right opportunity and was able to take advantage of it in Turn 6.
I thought he was going to run me back down. I started to make some mistakes and started to take care of the brakes; apparently I didn’t need to. Yeah, very good shape there. What a day.”
I want to know the significance for you personally. We talked earlier this week, you said we’ve got to put together the last 10 percent of a race. You did that today. Did you sense the playoff pressure, that hey, our season is on the line, we’ve got to get it done today?
“We had to. What better place than Road America? I love the fans. I love this racetrack. Being here on 4th of July weekend is just so special. And just a huge shout out to 3Chi and the special paint scheme we had this weekend. Love that they’re coming on board this year and taking a chance on a young guy like me and we got it done. We won a race.”
Not only is it the first win for you, Randall Burnett; and now RCR is in the playoffs, as well.
“Randall (Burnett, Crew Chief) has been working at this for a very long time and he’s always believed in me. Everyone on this team at Richard Childress Racing has believed in me. I’ve made a lot of mistakes along the way; but man, this year has been one step, one mistake away from greatness all year long, and we finally did it today. It feels good.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 2nd
Chase Elliott led 36 laps for most of the race, but in that final stage Tyler Reddick got up there and got past you. What more did you need to hold him off or even get back at him?
“Just do a better job. First off, congrats to him. I know he’s been super close to that first win, and I’ve been down that road and it can be a rocky one. I’m happy for those guys. They deserve it.
For us, just proud of our NAPA team. I didn’t do a very good job there. I just let him stay close enough to pressure me there while we had decent tires and never could get enough of a gap. Made a couple mistakes. I was gaining a gap there a couple times and made a couple mistakes and let him get back close enough to get me out of sync. After that, just started struggling.
Obviously it was super difficult to get to somebody to pass them. It was impressive he was able to get up there and capitalize on my mistakes. Happy for those guys. Appreciate the effort out of our team. Wish I could have done a better job there. I felt like we probably needed a little bit, but I think we were good enough to win, so those always hurt.”
You and I are sitting down right here, it’s a hot day. We saw you pushing. We saw you going deep into every braking zone. How tough is it to try and make a pass and why was it so impressive the pass he made on you when you weren’t able to get back by him?
“These cars are very aero sensitive and even more so nowadays.. even more than last year’s car. As the season goes on and everybody’s car has become more of the same and as we learn what everybody needs in their vehicles, every car is going to become the same manufacturer to manufacturer. And as that becomes the case, track position is going to become more and more of a premium. That’s just motorsports nowadays. Aero is huge, and you can’t unlearn, so that’s the road we’re on.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 3rd
Not a win, but top-five all day and a good finish. How would you summarize your afternoon?
“Yeah, it was really smooth. I knew the 8 (Tyler Reddick) was really good; and obviously the 9 (Chase Elliott) was really good. I felt like we were third best and we finished third best.
A nice, smooth day and our pit crew was great the few times we came down pit road. Our car was good enough to run where we did. So, overall happy and congrats to Tyler Reddick. That is really cool. I grew up racing with him in Outlaw cars in California, so it’s really awesome to see him win. I know everybody from northern California is really proud.”
ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 ADVENT HEALTH CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 4th
The streak ends for Trackhouse Racing, but how would you describe how hard you have to drive this car at Road America?
“Trackhouse still had two in the top-five. Daniel (Suarez) and I were just talking and there were little bits and pieces we were off today and we still had top-five speed. Absolutely nothing to be ashamed about. Our Advent Health Chevy was fast enough, we were just lacking mainly rear grip on throttle and in the rights (turns) especially. Got really slick there at the end and those guys didn’t slow down in the end as much as we did. A fourth-place car was where we ran most of the day.”
You had to be a little aggressive out there too.
“Absolutely, its NASCAR Cup Series racing and that is what it’s all about.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 JOCKEY CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 5th
Where do you assess your afternoon the way you had to drive through the field?
“I thought it was fine. For the car that we had, I thought that we maximized everything that we got. Proud of my team and my pit crew today, everyone did a great job. I felt like we had a top-seven car and we finished in the top-five, so I felt like we did a good job with that.
With that being said, it’s not a win. We have to continue to work and continue to get better.”
TEAM CHEVY QUICK NOTES
· The win is Tyler Reddick’s first career victory in 92 NASCAR Cup Series starts.
· It also marks the 110th NASCAR Cup Series triumph for Richard Childress Racing.
· Reddick’s victory marks Chevrolet’s ninth-consecutive NASCAR Cup Series road course win.. a streak that started at Circuit of The Americas in May 2021.
· Reddick is now the 13th different NASCAR Cup Series winner thus far this season, seven of which are Chevrolet drivers.
· Chevrolet drivers swept the top-five finishing positions, led by Reddick, Chase Elliott (2nd), Kyle Larson (3rd), Ross Chastain (4th) and Daniel Suarez (5th).
· The victory moved Chevrolet to double-digit wins on the season, marking the Camaro ZL1’s 10th NASCAR Cup Series win of 2022.
· The winningest brand in NASCAR, Chevrolet now has 824 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories.
Team 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.
