NASCAR CUP SERIES
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
COOK OUT SOUTHERN 500
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES
SEPTEMBER 4, 2022
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-20 RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1
3rd TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 LENOVO CAMARO ZL1
8th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1
10th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1
12th KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1
17th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BETMGM CAMARO ZL1
18th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 JOCKEY CAMARO ZL1
19th JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1
20th ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Erik Jones (Chevrolet)
2nd Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
3rd Tyler Reddick (Chevrolet)
4th Joey Logano (Ford)
5th Christopher Bell (Toyota)
Race #2 of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will get underway next Sunday, September 11, at Kansas Speedway with the Hollywood Casino 400 at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, the NBCSports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1 – Race Winner
Erik Jones does it a second time and puts Petty GMS and the 43 in Victory Lane. How about that? Of all places to do it, Erik, you put the 43 in Victory Lane at Darlington. What does that mean to you to put Richard Petty in Victory Lane tonight?
“I get a hat. He told me I get a hat if I win.
But Richard hasn’t been to Victory Lane at Darlington probably since he last won here. It’s just awesome. Just so proud of these guys, Petty GMS and FOCUSfactor Crew. We’ve been so close all year, and I didn’t think today was going to be the day. It was going to be a tough one to win, but no better fitting place. I love this track; I love this race. On that trophy twice, man. I was pumped to be on it once, but to have it on there twice, pretty cool.”
I’ve got to ask you about the final few laps. How in the world did you hold off Denny Hamlin and how much were you driving out of the rear view mirror or the windshield?
“Man, I was focused forward. Honestly that’s the calmest I’ve been in the race car going for a win ever, really. I think back to the last time winning here and I was driving my guts out; my nerves were pounding, my stomach was hurting, and today it was just business as usual.
Just feel good about this track and knew Denny (Hamlin) would run me clean. I knew it was going to be tough for him to pass. It was tough to pass all day, and we got a good restart there.
But man, so proud of everybody. Just what a dream come true. That’s all you can say.”
What sort of redemption is this for you; let go by Joe Gibbs Racing, these guys took a chance on you and they put you in the 43. Now you’ve put them in Victory Lane.
“Well, I never lost any belief in myself through any of it. I knew I could still do it. I just knew we needed to grow the program to do it and we have. We’ve brought on a lot of great people in the last year. Dave Elenz (crew chief) called a great race today. His Cup win; that’s pretty cool for him.
I’m excited, man. We’ve been talking about this day a long time, and it is redemption in a lot of ways. Very fitting that it’s here at this race again. I felt like this was the race that saved my job the first time around; and coming back here with this win, I guess it puts you back on the map.”
You seem almost like you’re in disbelief yourself.
“Well, we had a lot of good stuff go our way. We got the lead there with the 18 (Kyle Busch) losing a motor. And man, we’ve got a good shot if we can just get clear. We had a good car, we just weren’t quite with the pace of some of those guys up front. And I knew — we took the lead, I’m like 20 laps, I can just run hard, and those last two I was losing the balance a lot. I had been running really hard, but it was just enough. So just really proud.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 LENOVO CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 3rd
Battling a lot out there. I know your cool suit went out; you needed a pep talk from Randall (Burnett, crew chief) at one point and then just a tight race car. What was the biggest thing that was keeping you from Victory Lane here tonight?
“I just couldn’t quite put the whole race together. I didn’t do a good job of getting in the box tonight. I just felt a little inconsistent. Ultimately I wish I could have been better there. Last time we were here, I felt like I was pretty good at that.
Just have to figure out what exactly changed. Always something to be learned; but considering all things, at one point we were in a pretty tough spot. I think Ty Gibbs, (Austin) Cindric and myself kind of got sandwiched together and got in the wall off (turn) 4. So to rebound like we did and get third out of it, it was a really good night. It’s what we needed in the playoffs; what we didn’t have here last year. So to get that tonight is great, but certainly when you’re that close and one spot away on a restart from having the lead, it certainly always stings.
More from Reddick on his race:
“We all had to work really, really hard on this No. 8 Lenovo Chevy. It always stings a little bit when you’re that close, especially here at Darlington. The last two races, we’ve been that close and haven’t gotten it done.
All-in-all, a good night for our No. 8 Lenovo Chevy. A year ago today, and two years ago when we ran this race, we would just fall apart throughout the night. At times, it looked like we were going to do that again. But we recovered, we bounced back. We stuck true to what we knew was our race car. We decided to fight around it with some other ideas and it worked out. Really good start to the playoffs for us.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 8th
“I feel great about leaving here eighth tonight. We’re second in points. Obviously I’m frustrated we didn’t win especially with how stage one went. I definitely thought we were going to be battling for the win but overall I’m really happy. We executed our race, it was just that caution that got us behind being caught a lap down. There’s nothing we could do about that but we fought back. I’m proud of my No.24 team.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 12th
Can we start with the engine.. do you have any idea what was going on with it?
“No, nothing. It felt like it was blowing up. It sounded funny off of (turn) two for a lap and by the time I got back around, it was really laying down. People are passing me, and I was kind of pulling down and letting people go. We pitted and nothing looked funny. We went back out and it kind of ran crappy for a few laps, and then kind of cleared itself out and it was fine the rest of the race. So, I don’t know yet what it was. If it was fuel pressure, my dash would have been lighting up. So, I don’t know if it was something electrical for a quick second or what. I am sure when they plug in the data, they will learn the whole story. I am just glad that it wasn’t terminal, and we were able to get back out there and fight back from three laps down.
We got back to the lead lap by the third stage. I was hoping for a better result, but we restarted like 30th every time, we were just trapped in dirty air and my balance wasn’t great. Finally there at the end, we were going to have some decent track position, but I wasn’t sure if we had a lug nut tight and we decided to pit to be safe rather than giving up 20 spots for more. So, pretty bummed about it, but also happy at the same time because I thought we were going to have another DNF. So, I just hope they just learn what happened and we can cure the problem.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BETMGM CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 17th
The way the race started, this could be considered a small victory.
“Yeah, for sure. We just didn’t have it tonight. We were tight from the start and in the middle of the race, we had something that was decent and then it flip flopped to loose.
Our No. 3 BetMGM Chevy wasn’t great, but we are not last in points right now and we made some improvements on the points situation. We just need to bring a better hot rod to Kansas (Speedway) and go get it from there.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 JOCKEY CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 18th
So many playoff drivers had issues tonight, including Ross (Chastain) and Kyle (Larson).
“I have no idea. I haven’t watched the replay, but heard they had issues.”
Obviously you started at the back and made your way forward, and didn’t succumb to those issues.
“My 99 Jockey Camaro ZL1 was good and felt like the pit crew did a really good job. I just made a mistake and sped on pit road. That shouldn’t happen.”
ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 20th
Ross Chastain had a bizarre drive pin issue that put you a number of laps down. How did you still remain focused to finish this race?
“Just stayed in my bubble and kept my world small. It’s what we prepare for.. for moments like that. It’s not in my control. It’s a freak deal that we haven’t had happen in the whole time we’ve had this car, so it took me awhile to describe what was happening. To me, it felt like the left rear was just low on air.
Our No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet team came back from four laps down, to be one lap down at the end and plenty fast enough to fight with these guys. It’s so cool to race in the Cup Series at Darlington (Raceway), let alone go fast. To come back to 20th and fight the way we fought is just a testament to this team.”
TEAM CHEVY RACE QUICK NOTES
Stage One:
· Just six laps into Race #1 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 16, precipitation began to fall, forcing the race to go under yellow flag conditions.
· Daniel Suarez, who had to serve a pass through penalty at the beginning of the race due to pre-race inspection, was the first car one lap down; receiving the ‘lucky dog’ to put the No. 99 Jockey Camaro ZL1 back on the lead lap.
· The competition caution flew at lap 35, with William Byron leading the bowtie brigade in the running order in the third position. Coming down pit road for a four tire and fuel stop; the No. 24 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 pit crew gained Byron one spot on pit road to give the team a front row restart position.
· Byron powered his No. 24 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 around Joey Logano for the lead on lap 77. As green flag pit stops began to cycle through, Byron retained the lead.
· 2022 NCS Regular-Season Champion, Chase Elliott, was involved in an incident on lap 113, which ultimately ended the stage. Under the 10-minute DVP clock, the No. 9 NAPA / Children’s Camaro ZL1 ran out of time to make repairs, forcing the team to retire early from the race.
· Byron went on to take the Stage One win, marking his fourth stage win of 2022.
· Team Chevy: Stage One Top-10
1st William Byron, Valvoline Camaro ZL1
6th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1
7th Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Lenovo Camaro ZL1
8th Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Camaro ZL1
Stage Two:
· Team Chevy: Stage Two Top-10
5th William Byron, No. 24 Valvoline Camaro ZL1
7th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
8th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Jockey Camaro ZL1
9th Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Camaro ZL1
Post-Race Notes:
· Erik Jones drove his No. 43 FOCUSfactor to victory lane in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, marking his third career win in NASCAR’s premier series.
· The win marks the first for Chevrolet team, Petty GMS, since entering the NASCAR Cup Series.
· Jones is the ninth different Chevrolet driver to score a NASCAR Cup Series victory in 2022.
· In 27 NASCAR Cup Series races this season, Chevrolet has recorded a manufacturer-leading 16 wins, with Petty GMS becoming the fourth different Chevrolet team to score a victory.
· The winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history; Chevrolet now has 830 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.
