NASCAR CUP SERIES
LOS ANGELES MEMORIAL COLISEUM
BUSCH LIGHT CLASH AT THE COLISEUM
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES
FEBRUARY 5, 2023
CHEVROLET TAKES FOUR OF THE TOP-FIVE AT THE CLASH
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL MAIN EVENT TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
2nd Austin Dillon, No. 3 Get Bioethanol Camaro ZL1
3rd Kyle Busch, No. 8 BetMGM Camaro ZL1
4th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
5th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1
8th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1
10th William Byron, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1
TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL MAIN EVENT RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
- Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)
- Austin Dillon (Chevrolet)
- Kyle Busch (Chevrolet)
- Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)
- Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season officially kicks off at Daytona International Speedway with the Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 19, at 2:30 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Get Bioethanol Camaro ZL1
Finished: 2nd
“The Get Bioethanol Chevy was really fast. Keith [Rodden] and our engineer did a really good job. We were prepared for the race and it showed up. We really weren’t great in practice until the very last one and I felt like we had something to race with. Qualifying went well, and we got to beating and banging out there pretty good but we ended coming home second. It was nice. Kyle [Busch], he knew we had a really fast car and he let me run down Truex at the end. That was nice of him. Loving my new teammate. We’ll go to Daytona and see if we can’t return the favor.”
Kyle Busch, No. 8 BetMGM Camaro ZL1
Finished: 3rd
“Man, if I had another 15 laps of rear tires on it, I think we could’ve went spin to win. All of these boys would’ve been sad seeing that happen. It was a good run for us. You can never count us out. You’ve always got to bet on the BetMGM Camaro and we made the most of it today with going to the back, coming to the front, passing on the outside, passing on the inside, and everywhere we could. Just a lot of chaos, a lot of mayhem, a lot of disrespect if you will. That’s tight quarters racing at a quarter mile. What do you expect, right? All good though. I’m looking forward to Daytona and getting the season started.”
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
Finished: 4th
“I think it went pretty well. We struggled here last year and didn’t have a good weekend. I was nervous a little bit and didn’t know what to expect. Yesterday went really well, and today went pretty well. When you come out of here with fourth kind of bummed about it, it’s a good weekend. I think the whole team is working really well together and Blake’s fitting in really, really well.”
Justin Haley, No. 31 Celsius Camaro ZL1
Finished: 11th
“I’m so proud of everyone at Kaulig Racing and where we have come in a short amount of time. The race results weren’t exactly what we wanted, but this weekend was a fun confidence booster. It’s pretty cool to get mine and Kaulig Racing’s first NASCAR Cup Series pole, points race or not, and I think we really showed we belong here. I feel pretty confident about where we are, and I think we are in a good spot to start the season.”
Noah Gragson, No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Camaro ZL1
Finished: 14th
“I felt like we had a decent No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Chevy. We just had some damage on the front from the heat race that hurt us with cooling the right front and the brakes. We got really tight in the first half of the race. We started cutting some of it away, but overall, it was just a pinball machine out there. I thought we had some good restarts; good lane choices and we were making our way back up there. We got back up to eighth but just didn’t have enough there. I kind of made some poor decisions there at the end and chose the wrong line. I thought they were all going to stack up there on the bottom, so I went to the outside and they didn’t. It’s just part of the learning curve.
Thank you to everyone at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB; Jimmie Johnson, Maury Gallagher, Richard Petty, Mike Beam.. everybody that’s a part of this team. Definitely the Sunseeker team. They worked really hard and I’m definitely excited to start the year off with making it into this race. I’m just very thankful.”
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Jockey Camaro ZL1
Finished: 19th
“It was tough. I couldn’t breathe and it was tough because of that. I think at lap 30 or so in the first stage, we had contact in the right side of the car, and that made the exhaust get some fumes inside the cabin. After that, I struggled a lot, especially the second half of the race. I felt like I was okay for a while, but then the second half of the race I struggled big time. We just have to continue to get better. I felt like the car was okay. We definitely made a big swing for the main race and we showed that, but actually went to the other side of it. We just have to continue to work and continue to learn.”
Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1
Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 16.
Finished: 27th
It’s early in the race for Erik Jones to be standing in the infield. We saw the move by Michael McDowell, diving into the inside. Was it ultimately just too late to react to it?
“Yeah, I couldn’t move over. I was clear on the straightaway, but obviously he (Michael McDowell) really wanted the spot. When we got spun out, I think we must have got hit in the right rear and it bent the toe link pretty bad. It kind of is what it is. Michael has gotten me twice pretty good now, which is frustrating.
I think we had a decent car. We were kind of moving up there and I felt good about it. It’s a tough little place and it’s easy to get in trouble like that. We’ll move on with the No. 43 Allegiant Chevy to the Daytona 500 and hopefully go for a win.”
TEAM CHEVY RACE QUICK NOTES:
· 12 Chevrolet drivers made up the 27-car field for the 45th running of the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum.
· The first caution of the race flew on lap 16, involving Erik Jones and the No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1 team. Damage sustained in the on-track incident ultimately ended the day early for Jones.
· The halfway break on lap 75 saw five Camaro ZL1’s in the top-10 of the running order, led by Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Get Bioethanol Camaro ZL1 team in the third position.
· Camaro ZL1’s finished in the top-five of the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum main event, led by Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Get Bioethanol Camaro ZL1 team in the runner-up position.
· Joining Dillon in the top-five of the final running order was Richard Childress Racing teammate Kyle Busch (third); and Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman (fourth) and Kyle Larson (fifth).
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.
