NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
COCA-COLA 600
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
MAY 29, 2023
William Byron Leads Chevrolet with Runner-Up Finish in Coca-Cola 600
Team Chevy Drivers Take Four Top-10 Finishes
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
2nd William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1
6th Kyle Busch, No. 8 Alsco Uniforms Camaro ZL1
7th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger / Coca-Cola Camaro ZL1
9th Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Camaro ZL1
TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Ryan Blaney (Ford)
2nd William Byron (Chevrolet)
3rd Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)
4th Bubba Wallace (Toyota)5th Tyler Reddick (Toyota)
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at World Wide Technology Raceway with the Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter on Sunday, June 4, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 9th
“We never gave up all night, and it feels like we passed more cars than anyone else all race long in our Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet. It was a hard-earned top-10 finish. We started this year’s Coca-Cola 600 deep in the field – 33rd – after practice and qualifying were canceled due to weather, but I knew that we would have a chance to be in contention at the end because this is the longest race of the year and there are plenty of laps to work our way forward. It was challenging, though. Pit road was tight for us today, and it felt like every time we gained positions we would pit and get trapped in our box and lose everything we worked so hard for. We never gave up and to finish in the top-10 is a testament to the tenacity that this No. 3 team has. We were just too tight at the end to advance any further, but I think we showed how hard we are willing to work. Today is about our heroes who served and made the ultimate sacrifice. I’m thankful that I can do what I love, which is race, because of them. Thank you to the families of Navy SEAL Mark Crampton and Army soldier Rusten Smith for allowing us to recognize them on our Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevy today as part of NASCAR’s 600 Miles of Remembrance program.”
KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 ALSCO UNIFORMS CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 6th
“Coca-Cola 600’s are normally up-and-down, so we definitely had an up-and-down day. But the guys fought hard all race long and made some good repairs. We made a lot of good adjustments. There were a couple that we had to go back on, and then go back on again. But all-in-all, just proud of everyone on the No. 8 Alsco Chevy team. Our car wasn’t as fast as we wanted on the fire-off’s there – we wanted the long run to finish. Even though we hadn’t been good on the long runs all night, we adjusted for that, but we just didn’t get it. We’ll take a good solid effort and top-10 finish.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1
Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 185.
Finished: 34th
“The No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) ran us up into the fence there. Once you tear the right-side off these things, it’s kind of over. I hate it – I thought our No. 9 NAPA Chevy was getting better. It was nice to be making some gains there throughout the race. Our pit stops were really good. We had some pretty good fortune to get up towards the front there. It was just trying to get to mile 600 and have a shot, so unfortunately failed to do that again.”
Denny (Hamlin) said there was some retaliation there. Was there any retaliation on your part?
“No, like I said, once you hit the wall in these things, you can’t drive them anymore. So no, just unfortunate circumstances.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 2nd
Byron on what else he needed for the win:
“I think we just needed a little bit more. Our No. 24 Liberty University Chevy was good. We could move around and get through the field. We could get to the top-five, and then we would just kind of stay there and not have enough pace to really get further than that.
That’s the way it goes sometimes, for sure. We’ll keep working.”
It looked like you kept up with the track changes from the day to the evening.
“Yeah, it was easier with the fact that it was cloudy and cool out when the race started, and it stayed that way for three-quarters of the race. It wasn’t as much change as it normally is here. Honestly I think everyone’s dialed their cars in so much that I don’t know how much change there would be even if it was really hot out.”
How satisfying is it that you guys were good enough to win the Coca-Cola 600?
“Yeah, we have some work to do. I felt like our balance was as close as its probably ever been in some ways. But we would just get out-paced for 20 or 25 laps. So I think we need a little bit more speed, but overall, it was a good day. Our balance was close every time – good on both sides of it, so that was good.”
Talk about the battle with (Ryan) Blaney. Every restart, it was the two of you battling back and forth.
“Yeah, it was fun. I enjoyed it. I have trust in how he (Ryan Blaney) races. He caught me off guard with the last restart. He restarted first and I thought about it – I tried it in the simulator actually, but I never did it throughout the night. I was getting good pushes from the No. 5 (Kyle Larson). When we got wrecked or whatever happened there, I had lost my help. Anytime you have the same engine, you can kind of match your push-up pretty good. So yeah, he caught me off guard there that last restart. But like I said, I think he was just that good and cleared me anyways.”
JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 15th
“We fired off tight today, but the No. 31 team made some great adjustments and had good pit stops. We made it as high as eighth and thought we would get a top 10 there but just got shuffled at the end. A top 15 is not a bad day, but our car was by far the best car we’ve had all year. We made some major gains today as a team.”
NOAH GRAGSON, NO. 42 BLACK RIFLE COFFEE COMPANY CAMARO ZL1
Sidelined by a mechanical failure.
Finished: 36th
“Bummer day for the No. 42 Black Rifle Coffee Company Chevy team. We made it through the first stage clean. Something went through the radiator. We replaced the radiator and the motor blew up. Just frustrating.
Thank you to Black Rifle Coffee Company and the Menusa family for coming out here. Wish we could have had a better run for them, but it was an honor to have Sgt. Menusa on the windshield. It makes this weekend all worth it. Wish we could have given him and his family a better run, but we’ll try again at Gateway.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 U.S. AIR FORCE CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 32nd
“We had a fast No. 43 U.S. Air Force Chevy, but nothing to really show for it. Appreciate the U.S. Air Force and their support. Just hate that we had the radiator issue, but hopefully we’ll go to Gateway with the same speed and have a good day.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER / COCA-COLA CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 7th
How are you feeling after 600 miles?
“I feel great. I got up and did the “Murph” workout this morning. My trainer wasn’t too thrilled about that, but went ahead and did that, and then came out here and ran 600 miles. Our No. 47 Kroger / Coca-Cola Chevy was so good all night. We just fought some track position every now and then, and then the No. 8 (Kyle Busch) fenced us there. I felt like we would have had a top-five if it wasn’t for that.
But all-in-all, it was a great Coca-Cola 600 for us. It was what we needed after last week at the All-Star Race.. we kind of got beat up there a little bit. But it’s cool to get another top-10. This team is doing a lot of good things.”
It was a wild weekend, obviously dealing with weather and no track time. As a driver with no preparation and going into 600-miles, was it easy or were you a little worried about it?
“Well it’s the same for everybody, so we weren’t too concerned about it. But I think all-in-all, you’re a little cautious the first few laps. I definitely was. We were a little looser than I thought we were going to be, so that kind of caught me off guard. But my guys did a really good job on pit road making adjustments and making the car better all night. It was a fun one.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 12th
First and most importantly, how is your back?
“It doesn’t feel very good at the moment, but about what I was expecting. There was no pain in the car really, but now that I’m out, I feel it a little bit.
Just proud of my No. 48 Ally Chevy team. We had a really fast long run car. Obviously the short runs was what we needed, but we were just too tight for that. We got stuck on pit road – every stop, we came in like 10th, but lost spots coming out. But that wasn’t on my guys, it was just pit stall selection. We’ll move onto Gateway. Hopefully we’ll get to qualify there, have a good pit box and just go have a normal day.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 84 CLUB WYNDHAM CAMARO ZL1
Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident.
Finished: 37th
“I just didn’t know we were put in that three-wide situation. There were a bunch of us cars that were wrecked and just trying to limp it home. Unfortunately I ended up in a situation I wasn’t aware of and got turned around. It’s a bummer for the No. 84 Club Wyndham Chevy team.”
TEAM CHEVY RACE HIGHLIGHTS:
Stage One
· After a battle with weather throughout the weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series finally hit the track for the first time Monday afternoon to take the green for the 64th running of the Coca-Cola 600.
· A scheduled competition caution flew on lap 35 with pit road opening for the first round of pit stops of the day. Polesitter William Byron was running in the fourth position at the time of the caution, and with the No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 pit crew firing off a fast four-tire stop, Byron won the race off pit road – gaining four positions to take a front-row starting position for the restart.
· The green-white checkered flag flew on lap 100 with Byron leading the field to the Stage One finish – his series-leading seventh stage win of the season and his first career stage win at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
· Team Chevy Stage One: Top-10
1st William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1
7th Kyle Busch, No. 8 Alsco Uniforms Camaro ZL1
9th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1
10th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger / Coca-Cola Camaro ZL1
Stage Two
· After driving to an 11th-place finish in Stage One, Erik Jones was forced to take his No. 43 U.S. Air Force Camaro ZL1 to the garage to replace the radiator due to damage caused after hitting debris.
· After hitting the halfway point in Stage Two – precipitation began to fall, ultimately forcing the race to go under red flag conditions at lap 155.
· The race took the green flag following a brief weather delay, but was quickly brought back under caution on lap 163 following an incident involving the Jimmie Johnson and the No. 84 Club Wyndham Camaro ZL1 team. Damage sustained was deemed too much to repair, forcing the team’s early departure from the race.
· A handful of caution periods followed with an accident involving Team Chevy’s Kyle Busch and Daniel Suarez bringing out the sixth caution of the race on lap 175. Both Camaro ZL1’s obtained minimal damage and were able to make quick repairs to return to competition.
· Stage Two ended under a caution flag, bringing the race to the halfway point. Two Team Chevy drivers scored stage points, led by polesitter William Byron and the No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 team in the eighth position.
· Team Chevy Stage Two: Top-10
8th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1
9th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Advent Health Camaro ZL1
Stage Three
· At the conclusion of Stage Three – the 300 lap marker – the race had seen 24 lead changes among 11 different drivers.
· For the third consecutive stage, William Byron led Team Chevy to the green-white checkered at the stage end – driving his No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 to fourth-place stage points.
· Team Chevy Stage Three: Top-10
4th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1
6th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1
7th Kyle Busch, No. 8 Alsco Uniforms Camaro ZL1
9th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger / Coca-Cola Camaro ZL1
10th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
Stage Four / Post-Race Notes
· William Byron led Team Chevy to the finish in the NASCAR Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600 – driving his No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 to a runner-up finish in the crown jewel event.
· Byron’s runner-up finish marked his third career top-10 finish in seven NASCAR Cup Series starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway; and his eighth top-10 NCS finish of the 2023 season.
· The No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 pit crew showcased a stellar performance on pit road throughout the 600-mile race – giving Byron the win off pit road on seven different occasions, gaining a total of 18 spots by the conclusion of the race.
· Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain maintained the NASCAR Cup Series’ driver points standings lead with a one-point advantage over the Coca-Cola 600 winner Ryan Blaney.
· In 14 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race this season, Chevrolet continues to lead the series in wins (eight), top-fives (31), top-10s (59), stage wins (11) and laps led (1,845).
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.
