NASCAR CUP SERIES
ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY
AMBETTER HEALTH 400
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES
MARCH 19, 2023
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
4th Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Celsius Camaro ZL1
8th Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1
10th Kyle Busch, No. 8 Lenovo Camaro ZL1
TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Joey Logano (Ford)
2nd Brad Keselowski (Ford)
3rd Christopher Bell (Toyota)
4th Corey LaJoie (Chevrolet)
5th Tyler Reddick (Toyota)
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Circuit of The Americas with the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix on Sunday, March 26, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1
Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 210.
Finished: 31st
“There was nowhere to go. Nobody had been having tire issues, so I wasn’t even expecting the No. 10 (Aric Almirola) to have a tire issue in front of me. Even if I did, I didn’t have time to react.
It’s a bummer. Just frustrating.. I was finally upfront on this style of race track and still end up with a DNF. I don’t know, just frustrating.”
Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Celsius Camaro ZL1
Finished: 4th
“I hope he gives me a shout-out for pushing him (race winner Joey Logano).. gave him a good shot there at the end. I was probably fourth or fifth in the top lane there. I had an opportunity to get down and as soon as I didn’t take it, I was like – man that was the race. That was probably with 18 or 20 to go. That’s why these guys make millions of dollars.. they’re pretty good and know where to put their car.
Fourth-place is a solid day for the No. 7 Celsius Chevy team.”
LaJoie on this style of racing:
“Honestly, I think as this track gets a little more wear and abrasiveness to it, it’s going to be like old Daytona.. where you’re bumping and sliding around, and your car has to be fast. I felt like the track lost 10 to 15 percent of grip from last year, so handling was a big thing. You could really drive or push if you wanted to, or you could be sideways. Our Chevy drove great. We were able to pick the right lanes at the right time, just a little short.”
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Lenovo Camaro ZL1
Finished: 10th
“We had a decent day. Our No. 8 Lenovo Camaro was fast enough. I think there were probably 20 of them that were fast enough. It was just a matter of positioning yourself and getting positioned there towards the end. I got shuffled out to around 16th and then made our way back into the top-10. Tried to make a move there with four to go on the outside and just hit a block or a wall of air and just slowed up.
Top-10 finish. We’ll take that and head to COTA.”
Josh Berry, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
Finished: 18th
“I thought it was a solid day for the No. 9 NAPA Chevy. I feel like we definitely improved. We got up there in the top-10 and we were pretty solid before that wreck. After that, the car was just a little too damaged to be too aggressive. All-in-all, we finished the race, learned a lot and had some fun.”
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1
Finished: 16th
“I thought we made the best of it. We got a little bit of damage in one of the wrecks and that probably didn’t help our speed, but we were just lacking speed in general which made it tough for us to make moves and we kinda got stuck. Pit stops were really good, strategy was really good. We did everything right and the car handled well, just got stuck there in pack racing and we didn’t have a lot of raw speed in the car. We just tried to make the best there with what we had and we got out with a clean race car.”
William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1
Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 190.
Finished: 32nd
“It was superspeedway-type racing. I thought for the most part, it was pretty single-file all day. That was a little discouraging because the bottom lane wouldn’t really go that much. But as we all started to save fuel on the top, the bottom started to surge there. It looked like the No. 1 (Ross Chastain) and the No. 4 (Kevin Harvick) just got connected there into turn one and got the No. 4 loose.
It’s just part of racing. That’s the way it goes.. not really in our control. We were up there running in the top-five and doing what we needed to do. Thank you to Liberty University and all of our partners. We’ll go to COTA and hopefully control a little bit more there and get a win.”
Noah Gragson, No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Camaro ZL1
Finished: 12th
“It was a smooth, solid day for the No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Chevy team. I felt pretty competitive running in the top-10 or 15 throughout the race. Really felt like we had a decent shot, we were just a little too far back there at the end to really make anything happen. But solid execution and solid job by everyone on the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Chevy team.
Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1
Finished: 8th
Did you think you’d get a top-10 after that accident?
“Probably not. Just looking at the day, I thought we were just stuck farther back. It was just hard to pass. We didn’t qualify good, so it just took awhile for us to get up there and we never really did, and then we got in a crash there.
Happy to get a top-10 for the No. 43 Allegiant Chevy. We needed that. We just needed a good finish. We haven’t had one this year, so it was nice to do that. I hope we keep it rolling. We just kind of squeaked that one out there at the end with some stuff working out on the last two laps for us. But happy with that; proud of that. Glad we can hopefully get some momentum going and keep rolling.”
Stage One
· Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 team led Chevrolet in yesterday’s qualifying session, taking the green from a ninth-place starting position for today’s Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
· The only caution in Stage One fell early in the race on lap 11, with the majority of the field opting to not pit for track position.
· Kyle Busch (No. 8 Lenovo Camaro ZL1) led Chevrolet to the conclusion of Stage One in the seventh position.
· Two Chevrolet drivers scored stage points with top-10 finishes in Stage One:
7th Kyle Busch, No. 8 Lenovo Camaro ZL1
9th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Tootsies Camaro ZL1
Stage Two
· The 100-lap Stage Two went caution-free, with a round of green-flag pit stops playing a factor in track position in the latter-part of the stage.
· At the 160-lap mark, the race had seen nine lead changes, with Kyle Busch leading twice for Chevrolet for seven laps.
· Alex Bowman (No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1) led Chevrolet to the end of Stage Two in the third position.
· Team Chevy Stage Two: Top-10
3rd Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
5th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1
10th Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Celsius Camaro ZL1
· With a round of pit stops at the conclusion of Stage Two, crew chief Mike Kelley called Ricky Stenhouse Jr. down pit road for a two-tire pit strategy. The No. 47 Kroger / Nature Valley Camaro ZL1 team gained 18 positions on pit road to lead Chevrolet to a fourth-place starting position for the final stage.
Final Stage
· The first multi-car accident of the race took place on lap 190, collecting a handful of Chevrolet drivers (No. 9, 24, 1, 8, 3, 78). Unable to make repairs to the No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1, Byron was forced to retire from the race.
· Kyle Larson was running in the second position on lap 210 when race leader Aric Almirola spun due to tire issues, collecting the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1. Damage sustained in the accident ended Larson’s day.
· Corey Lajoie and the No. 7 Celsius Camaro ZL1 team finished in the fourth position, leading Chevrolet to three top-10 finishes at the conclusion of the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
· With five NASCAR Cup Series races in the books, Chevrolet has recorded four wins, two pole wins, 12 top-fives, 24 top-10s and seven stage wins.
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.
