NASCAR CUP SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
JULY 21, 2024
Kyle Larson, Chevrolet Takes 2024 Brickyard 400 Victory
· In the NASAR Cup Series’ return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson became the next driver to add to Chevrolet’s legacy at the famed 2.5-mile venue – driving his No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 to the win in 30th anniversary of the Brickyard 400.
· The victory marks Larson’s fourth trip to victory lane in NASCAR’s top division in 2024 – making the 31-year-old Elk Grove, California, native the winningest driver in the series this season.
· The trip to victory lane is Larson’s 27th triumph in 352 NASCAR Cup Series starts. This marks the 2021 champion’s third crown jewel victory, with his other crown jewel victories including the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (May 2021) and the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (Sept. 2023).
· Larson extended Chevrolet’s series-leading win record on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval configuration to 18 victories in 28 NASCAR Cup Series races – a winning percentage of 64.3 percent at the 2.5-mile oval.
· Chevrolet now sits at a double-digit win count in NASCAR’s top division this season, with Larson taking the Bowtie brand to its 10th victory in 22 NASCAR Cup Series this season.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (July 21, 2024) – Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1, added to Chevrolet’s legacy at the “Racing Capital of the World” by taking the checkered-flag in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The victory – Larson’s fourth win of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season and his 27th all-time in NASCAR’s top division – comes in NASCAR’s much anticipated return to the track’s famed 2.5-mile oval configuration, marking the crown jewel event’s first appearance in the Next Gen era.
“What a job by our team,” said Larson. “I mean, never gave up at all. We had the pit stop issue there early on. Just fought, dug and had things work out. Just can’t thank them enough. HENDRICKCARS.COM, Valvoline, Chevrolet, JINYA Ramen Bar, Prime; all the fans, too. I love you, Indiana fans. I know you guys love me, too.”
Larson added to an already prestigious list of drivers that have taken the Bowtie brand to victory lane at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the 31-year-old Elk Grove, California, native delivering Chevrolet its 18th victory in 28 all-time NASCAR Cup Series races at the 2.5-mile oval. This isn’t Chevrolet’s first trip to victory lane at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this season. Larson’s victory is the manufacturer’s second crown jewel triumph at the famed oval this season, with Team Chevy’s Josef Newgarden also driving his No. 2 Chevrolet to his second-straight victory in the Indianapolis 500 just a few months ago.
The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Richmond Raceway with the Cook Out 400 on Sunday, August 11, at 6 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10:
POS. DRIVER
1st Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1
8th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway Insurance Camaro ZL1
10th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
WITH 22 NASCAR CUP SERIES RACES COMPLETE:
Wins: 10
Poles: 7
Top-Five Finishes: 39
Top-10 Finishes: 82
Stage Wins: 12
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1
Finished: 1st
Kyle, you just won the Brickyard 400. You’ve won some big races in your career. This is Indianapolis. Is this ranked No. 1 now?
“It’s for sure up there. Like you mentioned, this is just such a prestigious place.. such hallowed ground. Pretty neat to get an opportunity to race here on the oval again.
What a job by our team. I mean, never gave up at all. We had the pit stop issue there early on. Just fought, dug and had things work out.
Just can’t thank them enough. HENDRICKCARS.COM, Valvoline, Chevrolet, JINYA Ramen Bar, Prime; all the fans, too. I love you, Indiana fans. I know you guys love me, too. How about we come back next May and try to kiss these bricks in an INDYCAR?”
Does this make up for the month of May when you left disappointed?
“It does.. I guess a little bit. I wish we could have got to do both and run the 600. We had a phenomenal car for that race, too.
I think everything just comes full circle. Everything is meant to be. Today definitely was meant to be for us. With the way the strategy was working out, Brad (Keselowski) running out of fuel and me inheriting the front row; a lot had to fall into place. Thankfully it did.
I can’t believe it. It’s surreal to win here. Can’t wait to kiss the bricks with my team. Rick Hendrick, who is here; my family, my friends. My parents are here. We’ll be celebrating these next couple weeks.”
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Campers Inn RV Camaro ZL1
Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage Two.
Finished: 37th
Allmendinger on the accident that ended his day early at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
“I just saw everyone start checking up. I actually saw the No. 21 (Harrison Burton) on the bottom, so I went to go to the middle. Right as I went to the middle, the No. 24 (William Byron) was coming across. It’s just kind of the story of the year.. wrong place, wrong time.”
How sketchy was it in the back of the pack?
“I mean on the restarts, everyone is going to be aggressive because you know that’s the time to make up the most starts. It’s tough to pass. I felt like on our No. 16 Campers RV Chevy, we missed it. At the beginning of the race, we were really loose, so we lost some track position. We started getting it back. I felt like we kind of got into that 15th to 20th place range that we thought we would be. It’s just disappointing, but it’s part of it. The way the wreck happened, it was kind of out of my control.”
William Byron, No. 24 Valvoline Camaro ZL1
Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage Two.
Finished: 38th
Byron on the accident that ended the No. 24 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 team’s race early:
“We got back there in traffic. It seemed like the pit stop sequence didn’t go our way there. The No. 14 (Chase Briscoe) was just being a squirrel back in the pack. He drove up in front of me. I had to lift way off the corner and I got run over. Hate it for our team. We had an amazing No. 24 Valvoline Chevy. We were running there on the right strategy in the top two or three; got back there in the pack and got wrecked. Appreciate everybody at Valvoline, Chevrolet. We had a great car. We’ll go on over the break and try to get some more wins.”
Is it even more frustrating that it’s the Brickyard?
“Yeah, I mean it sucks. We put a lot of effort into this race, but we put a lot of effort in every week.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kleenex 100 Years/Donors Choose Camaro ZL1
Finished: 11th
“Our No. 47 Kleenex 100 Years / Donors Choose Chevy was really good. Qualifying was really solid yesterday and that set us up to get points in both stages. The way those cautions fell, we could have done with one less of them. Running in the top-10 there, it sputtered a little bit coming to the white and then the caution came out, so that was a fortunate one.
All-in-all, happy about our day and good momentum going into the off weekends. We have had a solid month-and-a-half; two crashes late in the race, and a set of top-15s. Other than that, we have been battling for top-10s, so really happy.”
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
Finished: 31st
“Bummer of a day. We didn’t really have a very good day going with our No. 48 Ally Camaro. We were pretty fast in clean air, but just really tight in dirty air. We were stuck in traffic there, and getting blocked all the way down the straightaway for 27th was pretty frustrating. We just didn’t need to be that far back in position. We should have been running better than that and eventually the way the strategy and the cautions fell, we got buried there. We had a lot going on and my ass was on fire at one point, so interesting day, for sure.”
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Camaro ZL1
Finished: 12th
“It was just hard to keep on the right end of it with fuel strategy and everything, but I think we did a really good job. The yellow caught us off guard, but I think that was the difference maker in us making it. Our No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevy was super strong, and to be able to capitalize from Saturday was big. We put ourselves in a hole, but we were able to claw our way up when it was really hard to pass. We put together a really good day for the No. 77 team.”
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway Insurance Camaro ZL1
Finished: 8th
“The No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevy team did a great job with the strategy. Our car wasn’t horrible, we just never had the track position that we wanted to, to show the speed of the car. We needed to be faster on the straightaways. But all-in-all, I felt like we had a decent Chevy. Still have some work to do, but the team executed a great strategy, so we will take it.”
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. 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.
