TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
GANDER OUTDOORS 400
DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DOVER, DELAWARE
OCTOBER 7, 2018
BOWTIE BULLETS
CHEVROLET PERFORMANCE:
Chevrolet leads all other manufacturers with 39 victories at Dover International Speedway. A win by a Team Chevy driver this weekend would add Dover to the elite list of tracks where Chevrolet has over 40 victories, a feat no other manufacturer competing in NASCAR’s top division can claim. Those tracks include: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Daytona International Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.
CHEVROLET PLAYOFF CONTENDER UPDATE:
At the conclusion of the Round of 16, the first segment of the 2018 Playoffs, Chevrolet emerged with three contenders still in the running for this year’s championship title. Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Alex Bowman move on to the Round of 12, which starts this weekend at Dover International Speedway. Elliott enters the second section of the Playoffs as the ninth seed, followed by Larson in 10th and Bowman rounding out the top 12 in the final transfer position.
CHEVY HISTORY MINUTE:
Did you know? Bobby Allison, driving a Chevrolet Monte Carlo, won the first race for the Bowtie brand at Dover International Speedway in 1972. Since then, 18 different Team Chevy drivers and six different Chevy brands have gone to Victory Lane at the Monster Mile.
MASTER OF THE MONSTER MILE:
Career-long Chevrolet driver and seven-time Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson, leads all drivers with 11 career victories at Dover.
POLE MAN:
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 31 Camaro ZL1, leads all active drivers with four pole awards at the Monster Mile on his racing resume.
TUNE-IN:
The AAA 400 Drive for Autism is scheduled to begin on Sunday, May 6 at 2 pm, ET. Live coverage can be found on FoxSports1, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
BY THE NUMBERS:
Chevrolet has won 39 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships
Team Chevy drivers have scored 777 wins and 699 poles in MENCS competition
Chevrolet drivers have won 39 of 97 races at Dover International Speedway. Victories by current Team Chevy drivers are:
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Camaro ZL1, has 11 victories at Dover International Speedway (’02 – TWICE, ’05,’09 – TWICE, ’10,’12,’13,’14, ’15 & ‘17)
Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, has visited Victory Lane at Dover International Speedway three times (’03 – TWICE & ’04)
A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole at Dover International Speedway 24 times
Team Chevy drivers have scored 195 top five and 372 top 10 finishes at Dover International Speedway
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
CHEVROLET DRIVERS IN PLAYOFF CONTENDERS:
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – 9TH IN STANDINGS
“I felt like I was just kind of playing defense at the ROVAL. It’s just wasn’t worth busting our butts and not making it through to the next round when we had a little bit of cushion. So, I am just glad we are moving on and I am looking forward to the next three because there are some good tracks for us.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CAMARO ZL1 – 10TH IN STANDINGS
“We narrowly made it through to the second round of the playoffs, but we had really good cars in all of those races, so I’m excited to get to Dover and see what we have there. We usually are pretty fast at Dover, and had our Chevy on the pole there earlier in the year. I’ve been close to a couple wins there and this weekend would be a great time to finally break through at one of my better tracks. Everybody has been really focused to start the playoffs, and Sunday at Charlotte was a great example of that, so we just need to keep that up these next three weeks as we look to keep advancing.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 – 12TH IN STANDINGS
“Dover is just really physical. It’s a long race. 400 laps around that place is tough. We had a really good car there at the beginning of year and just got off on pit strategy and could never recover. So, I think if we can just do a little better job there and not get rained on and have a full 400-mile race it will be a good one.”
CHEVROLET DRIVERS NOT IN PLAYOFF CONTENTION:
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S FOR PRO’S CAMARO ZL1 – 13TH IN STANDINGS
ON CHARLOTTE ELIMINATION: “After sleeping on it… I would only change one thing from Charlotte. I should’ve added front brake bias heading into the braking zone… I think we would’ve been door to door with the No. 78 across the start finish line. We were one turn away, and I was only focused on the win. Bring on Dover.”
ON DOVER: “Dover is my favorite track – it’s my best track. It suits my driving style because it’s the only track we race on that reminds me of my motocross or off-road roots with the transitions into and off the corners.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AAA CAMARO ZL1 – 14TH IN STANDINGS
“It is a little crazier the way the rubber lays down on the track and the way you can get up really high at certain times in that race. The bottom is obviously always the preferred groove there, but the top does come in pretty early in the race. I have always enjoyed Dover.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CAMARO ZL1 – 17TH IN STANDINGS
“Dover is just a lot of fun. The way the transition is of getting down into the corners and then climbing the hill up the straightaway makes it a lot of fun to drive. The concrete doesn’t typically change a whole lot. Typically, when you get your car right there, it stays that way.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 GEARWRENCH CAMARO ZL1 – 20TH IN STANDINGS
“I think that Dover is totally dependent on what kind of car you have on race day. If your car is good, it is a really fun place to race. If you’re just a tick off, it can make for a really long race and you feel like you are in the way the entire race. Staying focused is key with the speed through the corners; things happen really fast. This is also one of the most challenging pit roads that we use all year. It is very narrow and the stalls are pretty tight. The pit crews are challenged at a track like Dover too; we all have to really be on our game to be in contention.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 HENDRICK AUTOGUARD CAMARO ZL1 – 22ND IN STANDINGS
“Dover is challenging. It’s very abrasive and it’s a long race. It’s tough on your body. The first time we went there this year, it was challenging in the Cup car, but at the same time, I kind of leaned on some of the things I did there in the past with the Xfinity car – we had some good results in that series and qualified on the pole. Hopefully going back there we can have some of that success and look for some of the same things in our car. I think at that point in the season, we usually come on stronger, so hopefully it’s a good race for us.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 SCOTT PRODUCTS CAMARO ZL1 – 23RD IN STANDINGS
“I love going to Dover International Speedway because of how different it is than any other one-mile track we go to. It’s easy to compare it to Bristol Motor Speedway because of the high banking and the concrete racing surface, but the banking transitions are a lot different between the two. It’s like a roller coaster in our Scott Products Camaro ZL1. You have a big drop down into the corner, then it throws you out of the banking on the exit and you get that drop in your stomach. It’s one of my favorite racetracks that’s not technically a short track because it’s changing every time you go there. It’s a little bit of a survival of the fittest, which we definitely got some practice doing last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway racing the Roval. Between the Roval, the race this weekend at Dover, and then racing at Talladega next weekend, we have a lot of survival races coming up and I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CLICKLIST CAMARO ZL1 – 24TH IN STANDINGS
“If there’s any track we can compare Dover International Speedway to, it’s probably Bristol Motor Speedway without the traction compound. Depending on the tire that Goodyear brings, throughout the last couple of years the track has widened out. Then throughout the run, the track rubbers up and we can run the bottom, which makes it a really fun race. The tires have gotten more critical there because of how quickly they go away and can rubber up the track, but then if we run two laps under caution we pick all of that rubber up and start all over on a green racetrack. More than anything, we’re going to focus on having a good setup going into the weekend in our Kroger ClickList Camaro ZL1. It’s one of those racetracks that we all enjoy going to because it’s something different. We have some positive momentum off of last weekend’s top-10 finish at the Roval, so we definitely want to keep that up since we have nothing to lose these last seven races of the season.”
DARRELL ‘BUBBA’ WALLACE, NO. 43 WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY CAMARO ZL1 – 27TH IN STANDINGS
“I’m looking forward to Dover. It’s one of my favorite tracks, or it was in the Trucks and XFINITY Series. My first Cup start here earlier this year, I wish it went better because I like this track so much. We’re just working within our capabilities right now and we’ve talked a lot about that. But, I think Dover is a track where we can breakthrough and have a really good run with our World Wide Technology Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. It’s fast, the sensation of speed is awesome, and I just love that factor of the track. After last week, I’m ready to back to a normal oval!”
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 – 28TH IN STANDINGS
“We were a little disappointed with how we ran at Dover earlier this year. Our GEICO Racing team was so strong there last season, but we just didn’t have the speed or the feel for the new Camaro ZL1 body when we were earlier this year. So, we know that we have some work to do. Our cars have developed quite a bit since then. When we go back to some of these tracks for the second time in the season, we are looking for massive improvements from where we were at the beginning of the year. We’ve made gains on this body and have gotten it to where we feel that we can be more competitive. Dover will be one of those benchmark tracks for us.”
REGAN SMITH, NO. 95 DUMONT JETS CAMARO ZL1 – Filling in for Kasey Kahne
“I’m really looking forward to Dover this weekend. I’ve had some success there in the past, and actually, my last win in any of the upper level series of NASCAR came at Dover (October 2015 NXS). Dover is just one of those places that I took a liking to the first time that I got out on track. I just thoroughly enjoy racing at that racetrack. It’s concrete so it drives different than the asphalt tracks, and it’s rough and choppy. You really have to work on the ride quality of your race car and getting that to last throughout a run. You also would think that for a track being concrete that it wouldn’t be that sensitive, but it’s a very tricky race track in terms of if it’s cloudy or sunny, the weather can change that track quite a bit. The way that the rubber goes down, you also need to pay attention to that all weekend long. I’m looking forward to getting to go back to Dover this weekend to race, and it’s been since (June) 2017 in a truck since I raced there, but it’ll be fun to get back into the No. 95 again. Hopefully Kasey is able to continue his process to get better, in the meantime I’m going to do everything I can for his guys and the entire organization. I’m just doing the best I can to string together some finishes for this group. They haven’t all been pretty finishes so far, but we’ve been grinding them out and finding ways to get it done at the end of these races, at the end of the day, that’s what’s important.”
Chevrolet Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Statistics
Manufacturers Championships
Total (1949 – 2015): 39
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-2015)
Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Drivers Championships
Total (1949 – 2016): 31
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005 – ’11)
Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016
Event Victories
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 – (in 2007)
2018 STATISTICS:
Wins: 2
Poles: 5
Laps Led: 1,303
Top-five finishes: 32
Top-10 finishes: 85
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 777 (1949 – to date)
Poles Won to Date: 699
Laps Led to Date: 232,104
Top-Five Finishes to Date: 3,964
Top-10 Finishes to Date: 8,153
Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date
GM: 1,112
Chevrolet: 777
Pontiac: 155
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 773
Ford: 673
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Chrysler: 466
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 190
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 122
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About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 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.
