TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
PENNZOIL 400 PRESENTED BY JIFFY LUBE
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
MARCH 7, 2021
RACE #4 – LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
After three consecutive weeks of racing in Florida, NASCAR heads west to Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s 1.5-mile tri-oval, a venue situated just around 15 miles northeast of the famed Las Vegas Strip. The three-day event weekend includes the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, March 7; the Alsco Uniforms 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday, March 6; and the Bucked Up 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Friday, March 5.
Kurt Busch, a Las Vegas native, won the September 2020 NASCAR Cup Series race, giving Chevrolet its eighth victory at the racetrack that hosted its first Cup Series race on March 1, 1998. Career Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson is the all-time leader at the track with four wins.
Tyler Reddick will compete in the Xfinity Series race for the second consecutive week, driving the No. 23 Our Motorsports Camaro SS. Reddick, who drives full-time for Richard Childress Racing in NASCAR’s premier series, won the September 2019 Xfinity Series race in a Camaro SS.
Chevrolet INDYCAR driver Conor Daly, who made his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut with an 18th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last September, returns with Niece Motorsports in the No. 44 entry.
CHEVROLET, HENDRICK CLOSING IN
William Byron’s trip to victory lane at Homestead-Miami Speedway gave Chevrolet its 796th NASCAR Cup Series win, which leads all manufacturers. Byron led an impressive run by Team Chevy drivers during the event, where a Camaro ZL1 1LE scored three of the top-four and five of the top-nine positions in the final running order.
Byron, who punched his ticket into the NASCAR Playoffs for the third year in a row, is among just eight drivers to score at least two wins before the age of 24. Byron turned 23 on November 29, 2020.
Byron also gave Hendrick Motorsports its 264th Cup Series win, just four wins away from tying Petty Enterprises as the all-time win leader at 268. 19 different drivers have contributed to the win category for the organization.
ON THE WAY TO THE GREEN
With no practice or qualifying for the race, the starting lineup is determined by NASCAR’s metrics system that was introduced to the series last year and incorporates results from both individual races and season-long results.
Here are Team Chevy’s Top-20 starters:
2nd William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 1LE
3rd Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 1LE
7th Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE
8th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE
9th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE
11th Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Ben Gallaher/Quartz Hill Records Camaro ZL1 1LE
12th Austin Dillon, No. 3 BetMGM Camaro ZL1 1LE
17th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger Camaro ZL1 1LE
19th Ryan Preece, No. 37 Natural Light Naturdays Camaro ZL1 1LE
Myatt Snider, who earned his first Xfinity Series win last week at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the No. 2 TaxSlayer Camaro SS for Richard Childress Racing, will start on the pole for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race. Sheldon Creed will start on the outside of the front row for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in the No. 2 Camping World Chevrolet Silverado.
BOWTIE BULLETS
· Heading into the fourth race of the 2021 season, Chevrolet sits atop the Manufacturer standings in the NASCAR Cup Series. The Bowtie Brand also leads in laps led (184) and top-10 finishes (16) through three races.
· In addition to its eight wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Chevrolet has recorded 54 top-five and 103 top-10 finishes in the 26 races, and led 2,661 laps.
· Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 1LE, has six top-10 finishes in his nine races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, including runner-up finishes in March 2017 and September 2018.
· Ryan Preece, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson are among seven drivers to complete all 537 laps this season.
· William Byron is among eight drivers to have at least two wins before the age of 24. Byron turned 23 on November 29, 2020.
· Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1 1LE, matched his career-best Cup Series finish of second in the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
· Chase Elliott (Daytona Road Course) and William Byron (Homestead-Miami Speedway) have collected stage wins thus far this season.
TUNE IN
FOX will telecast the 267-lap/400-mile Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube live at 3:30 p.m. EST Sunday, March 7. Live coverage can also be found on PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
QUOTABLE QUOTES
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 5th IN STANDINGS
“I thought we were pretty good at Las Vegas last year in the spring race. We struggled a little bit in the fall, but there are certainly some things we can learn and take from both of those races. I think more importantly, we can take the things we saw at Homestead last Sunday, where we need to improve, and apply those to this weekend.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 6th IN STANDINGS
“I’m feeling good about heading back home to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. We won the last time there; we ran good at Homestead last week. We just need to execute on everything – short-run speed, long-run speed, restarts, pit road; you just have to do it all as a team. We can’t have any weak areas. We are trying to get everyone to identify where any of our weakness exist, so we can fix that next. We just need to keep pushing to the front. Las Vegas (Motor Speedway) is a place where restarts will be a key factor on the day. We need to find those right spots on the restarts, a fender rub can happen pretty quick when your pretty close to wide-open with all those cars around you on restarts for the first few laps. Once it fans out and the field gets sorted, I’m hoping our Monster Energy Chevy will have that same long-run speed that it did at Homestead.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BETMGM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 11th IN STANDINGS
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY?
“Las Vegas Motor Speedway has always been one of my favorite tracks. It’s always been a rough place as far as Turn 1 goes. Being able to turn through the bumps is very important. In Turn 3, it is important not to miss the entry. It starts there. The track has gotten a lot of character over the last couple of years, and that is what makes it fun to drive on. You really have to challenge yourself to be disciplined on your marks. I really enjoy the track. You saw Kurt Busch pull out a win in the NASCAR Playoffs last year. We had a pretty solid run going but we had a belt break. We’ve got a solid base line for Las Vegas Motor Speedway, so we want to make sure we continue to have the speed we’ve shown the first three races of the year.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 13th IN STANDINGS/LOCKED INTO THE 2021 NCS PLAYOFFS WITH A WIN
BYRON ON BEING VIRTUALLY LOCKED INTO THE PLAYOFFS SO EARLY IN THE SEASON:
“We can be more aggressive now. At the same time, we know what it takes to win and be successful, so we don’t have to do anything much different, either. We can be a little more aggressive with the calls on pit road and the strategy calls to get track position and hold it. I feel like at Las Vegas we can be strong. We just need to go there and execute similarly to how we did last weekend in Homestead.”
BYRON ON RACING AT LAS VEGAS:
“Vegas has become really fun to race and a really good track for us on the No. 24 team. It’s a challenge, though. You need to have a car that can be dynamic and change lanes around the track. The top of turns three and four is a really good place to run, especially if your car is a little loose. I think Vegas puts on a really good race with this aero package and it brings out the best. You can draft up on guys but still get clean air in the corners to make a pass on someone. Plus, the restarts are crazy. I really enjoy it.”
BYRON ON THE BUMPS AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
“The bumps there are a bit challenging. You have to hit them facing the right way and not pointing up the track. It can really kill momentum if you’re carrying too much speed over them because the front of the car or the back of the car, even both, gets out of the track. It’s really important to time those well. There’s so much speed made in having a smooth turn one and turn two that it’s really important to get through there fast and carry good momentum. It’s a challenge, for sure, but it’s fun to maneuver as a driver.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 17th IN STANDINGS
BOWMAN ON RACING AT LAS VEGAS:
“Las Vegas is a track where we have had a lot of speed in the past and was in a position to go to victory lane in both events last season. Our 1.5-mile program is so strong at Hendrick Motorsports and we have really dialed in our Chevrolet Camaros on these tracks. Coming off two top-10 finishes gives our Ally team a little bit of momentum, but we are hungry for more.”
GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
IVES ON PREPARING FOR LAS VEGAS:
“I feel like we are going to have a fast Ally Chevrolet when we get to Las Vegas. Alex is pumped up and ready to go. I know we are a little disappointed after last week and finishing ninth, but we have some fast race cars and a good history at Vegas. We have knocked on the doorstep of a win out there a few times. We have to do a little homework and execute the way we need to and be there at the end of the race.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 CAMPING WORLD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 22nd IN STANDINGS
“Las Vegas is going to be a tough track for everyone. You don’t have as many lanes to use to pass. But I think our Camping World Chevrolet is going to be really good. I hope we can find some luck and avoid others’ problems and show just how fast we really are.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 BEN GALLAHER/QUARTZ HILL CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 23rd IN STANDINGS
YOU HAD A STRONG RUN DURING LAST YEAR’S SPRING RACE AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY. HOW DOES THAT EXPERIENCE FROM LAST YEAR HELP YOU IN YOUR PREPARATIONS FOR THIS WEEKEND’S RACE?
“It definitely helps having a year in the NASCAR Cup Series under my belt for both myself and my team to have notes to look back on as we get started with the 2021 season. Last spring, we had really good long run speed in our Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, but just needed a little more on the short runs. If we had that, I think we would have been able to hold our own on the final restart and come away with potentially a top-10 or top-12 finish to match where we had been running for a lot of the race. Knowing how our car was last year and that we can set it up to benefit us more in the short run, I think we’ll have a strong No. 8 Ben Gallaher / Quartz Hill Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Las Vegas this weekend. Hopefully, we’ll be up front so everyone will get a good look at our Chevy and then go check out Ben Gallaher’s new song, ‘Every Small Town.’”
COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 BUILT BAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 27th IN STANDINGS
“Vegas has turned into being one of my favorite 1.5-mile tracks on the schedule. It’s starting to get worn and bumpy which gives it some character with multiple grooves. I’ve had some good runs there and can’t wait to give the Built Bar Chevy Camaro a solid run this Sunday.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 MEDALLION BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 28th IN STANDINGS
THOUGHTS ON LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
“I enjoy Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I would say that Las Vegas (Motor Speedway) is a pretty straight-forward 1.5-mile track, but it is a lot of fun. As a driver, you can run a little bit all over the race track. There are a lot of lanes and plenty of options to move around and do different stuff. I really like going there. It is a really cool place to try and win at. I think everybody has that a little bit on their bucket lists of races they want to win, at least I do.
“Las Vegas is a neat place and I enjoy going out there. I enjoy the area and the atmosphere at the track. It’s always a lot of fun and I think the crowd there is always pretty cool, too. It’s a diverse group of people with just a lot of people traveling in and vacationing from throughout the whole country, so you get a pretty broad group of fans there.”
Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics
Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2020): 39
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)
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 (1949-2020): 32
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)
Most Recent: Chase Elliott (2020)
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, 2020
Event Victories:
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)
2021 STATISTICS:
Wins: 1
Poles: 1
Laps Led: 184
Top-five finishes: 6
Top-10 finishes: 16
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 796 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 718
Laps led to date: 236,889
Top-five finishes to date: 4,071
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,418
Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date
General Motors: 1,130
Chevrolet: 796
Pontiac: 154
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 805
Ford: 705
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 191
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 153About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. 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 www.chevrolet.com.
