39-TIME MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPION – MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
59th DAYTONA 500
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA
FEBRUARY 25, 2017
BOWTIE BULLETS
CHEVROLET SS RETURNS TO DAYTONA:
The Chevrolet SS race car returns to NASCAR Cup competition for the fifth consecutive year, and will kick-off the 2017 season of competition at the 59th running of the prestigious Daytona 500. The Chevy SS made its racing debut at Daytona in 2013, where Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Chevrolet SS team gave the model its first of 62 visits to Victory Lane (2013-’16). The Chevrolet SS is already off to a quick start in 2017 by earning its fifth consecutive pole for the Great American Race.
ALL-TIME GREATEST:
Chevrolet is the most successful manufacturer in the Daytona 500 with 23 victories.
FRONT-ROW SWEEP:
2017 marks the 16th time in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENSC) competition that Chevrolet drivers have swept the front row for the Daytona 500.
NEW LOOK SAME SUCCESS:
In 2017, NASCAR’s premier series has a whole new look. As the sport welcomes Monster Energy as the new title sponsor, Chevrolet hopes to continue doing what it’s been doing since NASCAR’s top echelon first acquired corporate support in 1971. Chevrolet has been the most successful manufacturer by winning more races, and more driver and manufacturer titles than any other brand under the Winston, Nextel and Sprint banners.
BY THE NUMBERS:
Chevrolet has won 39 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships
Team Chevy drivers have scored 765 wins and 689 poles in MENCS competition
Chase Elliott captured the 689th pole victory for Bowtie Brand. This marks the fifth consecutive season the Chevrolet SS has earned the pole for the season-opening Daytona 500
Chevrolet drivers have won 23 of 58 Daytona 500 races. Wins by current Team Chevy drivers:
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS, has won two Daytona 500’s (’06 &’13)
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS, has won the Daytona 500 twice (’04 & ’14)
Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Cessna/McDonald’s Chevrolet SS, has one Daytona 500 trophy (’10)
Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS, won the season-opening Daytona 500 in 2008
A Chevrolet driver has won two out of the last five Daytona 500’s
A Chevrolet driver has earned the pole award for the Great American Race 24 times including the last five consecutive seasons
Team Chevy drivers have won 47 of the previous 140 MENCS (points paying) races at Daytona International Speedway
Team Chevy drivers have scored 196 top-five and 396 top-10 finishes in 140 (points paying) races at DIS
A Chevrolet driver has led 7,476 laps (35.1% of possible 21,267) at DIS
FOR THE FANS:
Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the midway area at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) located right outside the new Chevrolet Injector Entrance on the front stretch
Fans can check out great a great assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: Camaro SS 50th anniversary edition, Colorado Z71, Cruze, Impala, Malibu, Silverado HD High Country, Suburban, Equinox, Camaro ZL1, Volt, Traverse, Corvette, Chevrolet SS, just to name a few of the award-winning Chevrolet products fans can get an up-close and personal look
At the Chevrolet Display, fans can view the No. 3 DOW Chevrolet SS and No. 7 Brandt Chevrolet Camaro Xfinity Series show cars
Also on display is a Chevrolet R07 racing engine complete with electronic fuel injection. Fans can also see a sample of engines, parts and accessories available for purchase from Chevrolet Performance at their local Chevrolet dealer
Other activities at the Team Chevy Racing Display include a variety of interactive games for adults and kids
MEET TEAM CHEVY:
Thursday, February 23rd
3:00 p.m. – Austin Dillon
Friday, February 24th
11:00 a.m. – Kaz Grala
11:20 a.m. – Johnny Sauter and Brendan Gaughan
2:00 p.m. – John Hunter and Joe Nemechek
4:00 p.m. – Daniel Hemric
Saturday, February 25th
11:45 a.m. – Ray Black, Jr.
12:40 a.m. – Spencer Gallagher
1:30 p.m. – Brandon Jones and Blake Koch
1:40 p.m. – Justin Allgaier
Sunday, February 26th
10:00 a.m. – Michael McDowell
10:20 a.m. – Ryan Newman
10:35 a.m. – Kyle Larson
11:00 a.m. – Ty Dillon
11:15 a.m. – Jimmie Johnson
Chevrolet Display Hours of operation: Thurs. Feb. 23 – 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.; Fri. Feb. 24 – 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.; Sat. Feb. 25 – 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Sun. Feb. 26 – 8:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 CESSNA/MCDONALD’S CHEVROLET SS:
“I have been pretty successful at plate races. I’ve won, I think, four plate races. There are some guys that I feel like have led a ton of laps that never get the win. I can’t tell you that I know why that is or that I do something specifically. I always watch the races back, but every scenario is different. When I look back at the races that I’ve won, honestly, a lot of it depends on what the cars around you do. It’s very seldom that it’s just a single file line and you are the guy in like third or fourth and you make a great move. It’s typically three-wide, you’ve hung someone out and you have to hope someone goes with you. There are just a lot of scenarios that play into that. To me, to be able to win one of those is remarkable and the fact that I’ve got to win four of them is pretty awesome.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CHEVROLET SS:
“We’ve just got to be smart and keep ourselves in a good position the entire race. Speed is going to be key when we get there and working with our teammates. We’ve got to be smart about how we work with our teammates to keep ourselves up front.”
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS:
“It would mean a lot. That race is the biggest race that we can win. It’s one of the toughest races to win as well. I think to be a Daytona 500 champion would be unreal. I don’t know how I would feel until it actually happened.”
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CHEVROLET SS:
ON RACING AT DAYTONA:
“It means everything, especially growing up in the sport and knowing what the Daytona 500 means and all the historic races that have happened at Daytona. It means everything to me just to be on the race track and then to be competing for a win. Winning the Daytona 500 is definitely my goal and I think this GEICO Chevy team can make that happen.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA CHEVROLET SS:
ON POSSIBLY GETTING HIS FIRST CUP SERIES WIN IN THE DAYTONA 500:
“That would be incredible. I mean to win the 500 at any point in time whether it is your first or your 100th, I think it still is going to mean a lot. But to have your first one, if you could do that in the 500 that would be pretty incredible. Definitely, something to shoot for.”
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 MENARDS/PEAK CHEVROLET SS:
ON WHAT IT TAKES TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT RESTRICTOR PLATE RACING
“There is a time to go and there is a time to be patient and kind of balancing that. There are some guys that you see crash more often than others that are probably just too aggressive all the time. Then there are guys that just don’t get those good finishes because they are probably too passive. There is a balancing act there.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS:
“It’s an honor to be called at Daytona 500 champion. Never thought about it until after it happened and people put it in perspective for me and said ‘hey you win Daytona, you win the Brickyard, those races you become a champion’ any other race you are just a race winner. It just carries a little bit of extra glory I guess you could say. It doesn’t change the way the cash gets deposited into the bank. It doesn’t change the appearance of the trophy, but the glory and the honor that goes along with that race win is really special.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 COTTONELLE MEGA ROLL CHEVROLET SS:
“Daytona, especially the 500, is obviously a huge race for us and for our sport. To be a part of it is very special. I have a love/hate relationship with Daytona. I have had some really good highs there on the Xfinity side and on the Cup side it really beat me down last year. The good news is I’m pretty sure I have all my bad luck out of the way last year, so we will be able to come into this year strong.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS:
ON WHAT HE HAS LEARNED ABOUT RESTRICTOR PLATE RACING:
“I’ve learned you have to have a lot of friends. When I was a rookie, even my second year, you look at my finishes and they are all really bad. Lots of DNF’s (did not finish), but a big part of that is because nobody wants to follow rookies. I’m the same way. You see the yellow stripe and you kind of avoid them a little bit. I was that way and I would slowly move forward then somebody would ship me out and then I would fall to the back and get collected in somebody else’s wreck. Last year though, I felt like more people would work with me and we finished in the top-10 I think three out of the four races. I feel like you just need to have friends.”
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CLICK LIST CHEVROLET SS:
“I think it comes down to trying to put yourself in a better spot. Those races, I typically kind of just try to bide by time and more than anything miss the wrecks and try to be there at the end. I think some of it comes down to us having more speed on the superspeedway races. With the new rules now that have come out, you’ve got to race the race a little bit different. I think for me, it’s more just getting comfortable and trying to find a spot early in the pack. Especially, Daytona, Talladega is a little different because you can kind of ride around there and the track is wide enough that when it is time to go, you can still go. Daytona, the last couple of years have gotten where you are three-wide racing the whole time and if you try to wait until 20, 30 to go, there is nowhere to go. It’s something that I have to be better at getting myself up in the pack earlier and staying there.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS:
“From a raw speed stand point it’s tough. You spend some time working on single cars runs and you just try to not bind the car up through the turns. There are transitions in and out of the corners that the track itself can naturally help turn the car. You can avoid putting in a little too much steering wheel input in or off the turn and let the transition of the track do that work for you and save a little time, but truthfully there is just more that you can mess up at that point than really make up. Once we get into the Duels and into the race itself, handling is such a premium, especially the older the surface becomes, handling is more and more of an issue. If you can have the foresight to know this end of the car is going to need more grip and we can start massaging the attitude of the car, the springs that are in the car, even a little bit of the shape of the body and you start taking some of the qualifying speed out of it to achieve all of this, but in the race handling is everything. If you can run wide-open and the others can’t you are going to win.”
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS:
“Everybody wants to win the Daytona 500 whether you have won it before or not. That celebration is unlike any other. The people that are there and watching the race locally and on TV, I don’t know that you get a better crowd. If you want to make a statement that is the place to do it.”
MICHAEL MCDOWELL, NO. 95 K-LOVE RADIO CHEVROLET SS:
“No, it’s not a level playing field at all, because you still have big teams, multi-car teams that have teammates and work together. I think that you see that the teams that run well, qualify well at Daytona and Talladega, but the equalizer is the draft. You can wedge yourself in there and work your way up there. I think every time we have finished in the top 10 we have probably started 30th, 35th something like that. So, you don’t have to have the outright fastest car to run well there, you just have to have a car that drives well and that you can move around and make up spots.”
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About Chevrolet:
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 115 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with 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.
