TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
ECHOPARK TEXAS GRAND PRIX
CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS
AUSTIN, TEXAS
MAY 23, 2021
RACE #14 – CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS
For the first time in NASCAR’s history, all three NASCAR national series will head to Austin, Texas, to take on the Circuit of The Americas (COTA). The inaugural NASCAR race weekend on the 3.426-mile/20-turn undulating road course features the 68-lap/231-mile NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) EchoPark Texas Grand Prix on Sunday, May 23. The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) events will make for an action-packed doubleheader on Saturday, May 22.
The Series’ highly-anticipated debut at the circuit that features a 133-foot hill in Turn One will provide for a weekend full of unique challenges. Among the few drivers that have limited on-track seat time at the venue includes reigning NCS Champion Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 1LE, who participated in a Goodyear tire test at COTA in March. Chevrolet drivers, Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick, also familiarized themselves with the circuit when they competed in a World Racing League endurance race in December 2020.
COTA, which opened in 2012, is the first of five NCS road course events through the end of August. In February, the Daytona Road Course kicked off the record-seven road course events on the 2021 NCS schedule. Chevrolet drivers made a strong showing by occupying four of the top-10 spots in the final running order.
Heading into the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pit Boss 250, Chevrolet has scored an impressive six victories in 10 races thus far this season and sits atop the Manufacturer Standings. AJ Allmendinger, who is fourth in the Driver Standings, will do double duty this weekend, making his second NCS start of the season in the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Camaro ZL1 1LE.
Reigning NCWTS champion Sheldon Creed, who earned his first victory of the season and first at Darlington Raceway on May 7 in the No. 2 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado, leads the Team Chevy contingent into the Toyota Tundra 250. Creed is third in the Driver Standings.
CLOSING IN ON HISTORY
It was a monumental weekend for Chevrolet team, Hendrick Motorsports, when its drivers recorded a 1-2-3-4 finish for the first time in the organization’s history. It was just the fourth time this feat has been accomplished in NASCAR Cup Series history. Hendrick Motorsports is just the third organization to achieve this historic sweep, joining Peter DePaolo Racing (1956 at Titusville; 1957 at North Wilkesboro) and Roush Fenway Racing (2005 at Homestead-Miami).
Alex Bowman’s win in the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was Hendrick Motorsports’ 267th all-time victory in NASCAR’s Premier Series, putting the organization just one win away from tying Petty Enterprises’ all-time win record. Bowman’s victory was the 799th for Chevrolet, the winningest brand in motorsports.
HALFWAY THROUGH THE REGULAR SEASON
Through 13 of 26 regular-season NCS races, Chevrolet sits atop the Manufacturer Standings. Team Chevy drivers have recorded four victories – two by Alex Bowman and one each by William Byron and Kyle Larson, locking in their spots for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and their chance at the championship title.
Leading Team Chevy in the Driver Standings is William Byron, who sits second, with Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson in fifth, Chase Elliott in seventh and Alex Bowman in 13th. Also checking into the Top-16 are Austin Dillon (11th) and Tyler Reddick (15th).
BYRON’S STREAK KEEPS ROLLING
William Byron’s fourth-place finish at Dover extended his streak of NCS top-10 finishes to 11, making it the longest active streak in the NASCAR Cup Series. Byron’s streak, which started with his win at Homestead-Miami Speedway in February, is the longest top-10 streak by a Hendrick Motorsports’ driver since Jimmie Johnson recorded 13 top-10’s in a row in 2004-2005.
BOWTIE BULLETS
· Chevrolet leads all manufacturers in top-10 finishes this season with 56.
· Chase Elliott (Daytona Road Course), William Byron (Homestead-Miami Speedway) and Kyle Larson (Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway 2, Kansas Speedway, Dover International Speedway 2) have scored stage wins, for a total of 8 thus far this season for Chevrolet.
· Of his 13 starts in NCS road course events, Chase Elliott has scored five wins, the most of active drivers. Elliott has won four of the past five NCS races on road courses.
· Austin Dillon will make his first NXS start since 2019, driving the No. 77 Bassett Racing Camaro SS.
· Two-time Rolex 24 at Daytona class winner, Spencer Pumpelly, will make his NXS debut in the No. 6 JD Motorsports Camaro SS.
TUNE IN
Practice and qualifying are on the schedule for all three series. FS1 will telecast qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Texas Grand Prix live at 11 a.m. ET Sunday, May 23, followed by the live telecast of the race at 2:30 p.m. Live coverage of both events can also be found on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. FS1 will also telecast the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota Tundra 250 at 1 p.m. ET and the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pit Boss 250 at 4 p.m. ET Saturday, May 22.
QUOTABLE QUOTES
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 2nd IN STANDINGS
BYRON ON HIS THOUGHTS FOR COTA AND UPCOMING ROAD COURSE RACES:
“I’ve been to COTA to test in a Trans Am car but I feel like the Cup car will be a totally different beast there. This race means we’re getting close to starting a swing of road courses soon. That is really going change how teams prep to go to the racetrack versus prepping for an oval race. While I don’t really know what to expect this weekend, I think with this being the first road course in a short stretch, it’s important to get a good baseline to be able to use and build off of moving forward for the other road courses. I also think having practice and qualifying is going to help us not only better prepare for Sunday’s race but prepping for the other road course races moving forward.
RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FUGLE ON THE CHALLENGES AT COTA:
“This weekend at COTA is going to bring a lot of unknowns but at least that’s the general feeling across the board for everyone. We’ve spent a lot of time going over notes from when the No. 9 team did the Goodyear test earlier this year, as well as time in the Chevy simulator with William. While we do have practice this weekend, the issue will be how much time we will actually get on track and be able to make adjustments. With the course as long as it is and only one hour of practice, the hope is any adjustments that need to be made will be minor enough to allow you to make a couple decent-length runs, at least. I think we have a good baseline to go off of, though. Hendrick Motorsports has a good road course package and we showed that speed earlier this year at the DAYTONA Road Course. The only factor we can’t control this weekend will be the weather but once again, that evens the playing field across the board. We just need to try minimize our mistakes and capitalize off of others’ mistakes.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 5th IN STANDINGS
LARSON ON RACING FOR THE FIRST TIME AT COTA AND ROAD COURSE RACING:
“I’m excited to get on track there and hopefully we’ll be fast. It looks like an awesome facility. I enjoy road course racing because it’s a nice change of pace from what we’re used to, and drivers mean a little bit more on road courses. I’ve qualified well on road courses and run okay in the race. Now that I am with Hendrick Motorsports, I hope I can race better and challenge for a win. To learn the track, I jumped on iRacing a few months back. It took a while to learn the elevation, the corners and stuff like that, but I have the corners memorized now.”
CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE
DANIELS ON COTA:
“Expectations heading into COTA are to check all the right boxes and have a good foundation with the car, which I think we do. With what the 9 (team) has developed the last few years on the road courses, our Hendrick Motorsports road course package is really strong. But you still have to make the right adjustments with the track. We hope to get a good baseline under us during practice on Saturday – give Kyle what he needs in the braking zones, the esses and the switchbacks. We’ll see how qualifying goes – I think everyone is going to go really hard, but you don’t want to take a chance, damage your car and lose your starting spot or have to pull out a backup car. We don’t really know what to expect going into the race – tire fall off and the pit strategy for stages and for the end of the race.”
DANIELS ON LARSON USING THE SIMULATOR FOR COTA:
“We did two weeks ago, and that was good. He got comfortable with the rhythm of the track, what to look for and what to expect. Of course, it will still be different when he gets in the actual race car. The 9 (team) tested there with Goodyear and a few other teams, so we have some notes from them, as well.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 LLUMAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 7th IN STANDINGS
ELLIOTT ON HIS KEY LEARNINGS FROM THE GOODYEAR TEST AT COTA:
“We did the Goodyear test out at COTA a couple months ago, which was fun. We got a chance to see a new racetrack. The track has a lot more elevation than I think a lot of people would think or see on tv. Turn 1 is a big hill and unless you are there to see it in person it doesn’t look like it, so way more elevation than I anticipated. It was also interesting because I felt like different parts of the track had more grip than other parts and I suppose that’s because they had to patch different areas and some areas have really old asphalt. One of the toughest things for me was understanding the level of grip at different points around the track. I think it is going to be a real challenge, obviously a real long back straightaway that we have seen in the F1 races there so that will be interesting there. I think for our cars, I’m not exactly sure how we will handle and adapt to that. Being really detailed and hitting your marks as always and trying to put together a good race and should be able to have a good result.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 WORKRISE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 11th IN STANDINGS
WHERE DO YOU THINK THE BEST PASSING ZONES ARE GOING TO BE AT COTA?
“I think the best passing zones are probably on all the big straights. The esses’s are pretty tight; you can’t really gain anything there. Obviously, lengthening the straightaways as much as you can is huge and in the final corner. Turn One, up the hill, you can out-brake someone into there, but it gets tight quick. In Turn One, it can be a struggle to really get off of the corner sometimes, from what I’ve noticed. You can maybe get someone on entry, but it’s probably going to put you in a bad position leaving.”
THIS WEEKEND, WE’RE RACING IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, WHERE YOUR PRIMARY SPONSOR FOR THE WEEKEND, WORKRISE, IS LOCATED. HOW COOL IS THAT TO BE ABLE TO RACE IN THEIR BACKYARD?
“It’s awesome to race for Workrise this weekend. They are the leading workforce management solution for the skilled trades. I’m pumped that the race is in their hometown of Austin, Texas. It’s awesome to be having a race at COTA, in Austin, where they are based out of. I can’t wait to get there and hopefully put on a good showing for everyone at Workrise. They are there for the people that get stuff done and we’re pumped to be working hard for them this weekend.”
DO YOU EXPECT CHAOS GOING INTO TURN ONE AT COTA?
“Yeah, I think Turn One will be aggressive, for sure. I have to qualify into the NASCAR Xfinity race, so luckily, we’ll have some experience after Saturday to see how that goes. But Turn One is a tough corner for any type of car to race on and not just our cars in NASCAR. It’s difficult because it kind of falls away from you. You’re going uphill and then it flattens out; just a lot of stuff going on there and it gets tight quick. There’s definitely going to be some chaos. If you miss Turn One on the bottom, that outside lane is probably really going to check up.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 13th IN STANDINGS
“To get the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro back in victory lane in Dover was really cool. I feel like that has been one of my favorite tracks and one of our best tracks the last few years. A lot of that just goes to Jimmie (Johnson) and learning from him. He was so good there, so taking notes from him and learning how he approached it and it has been paying off for us the last couple of years. Glad to get a win and a really cool day for us. To finish 1, 2, 3, 4 for Hendrick was really special.”
“I am pretty pumped for COTA. I have been to a lot of racetracks and I don’t think that I have ever been to a circuit. It is a really interesting racetrack. You have really slow stuff, really long fast straightaways, some crazy esses, it is just a super technical racetrack. If you look at the weather, it may rain, and we race in the rain on road courses. It is going to be pretty interesting for sure.”
GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
“Our guys have been doing a great job all year on pit road and the last few weeks we have been making some big adjustments on stops. Even with big adjustments, they have still been doing a great job on pit road. That final stop was an important one on Sunday, getting us out first. I think the Stage 1 stop was important too because we made some big adjustments and only lost six spots, which was big for the changes we made to the Ally Chevrolet.”
“I don’t even know how to get to the track! Hopefully the garages stay nice and dry. Just looking at pit road in pictures, I think it is going to be eventful for sure. There are a lot of unknowns that you are going to have to figure out pretty quickly. With this being the first time really with practice since Daytona, I think all of the teams are going to be a little bit rusty to get going. Just the fact that it takes over two minutes to get around that place is going to allow us to go get a snack and the come back to see if he completes the lap or not. We have been rehearsing corner numbers and memorizing the track.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 15th IN STANDINGS
WITH NASCAR HEADING TO COTA FOR THE FIRST TIME, WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING OUT OF THE RACE THIS WEEKEND?
“COTA will be a very interesting weekend. It’s a fun course. During the endurance race I ran during the off-season, one thing I noted was how it almost has four different sections that are nothing alike, so you need to be diverse as a driver on how to attack each one. One approach will only work in for one part of the track. There is a lot of run-off, so drivers should be able to be aggressive and not pay a massive penalty by ending up in a gravel pit like other road courses. As for the race, it’s going to be a mixed bag of strategies. Guys who are going for the win are going to try to flip the strategy for track position at the end of the race. You’re also going to see guys going for stage points on a different strategy, so we’ll see how our team falls in the mix, knowing we are now above the cut line for Playoffs. I hope we have the freedom to choose on what to focus on, but man, the weather may come into play too, which would throw a whole other wrench into the race.”
YOU ALSO HAVE A UNIQUE PAINT SCHEME WITH CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN THIS WEEKEND. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT?
“It’s a really special scheme we’re running with Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen this weekend. When we get around this time of year during each season, you see some patriotic schemes start to come out and I’m really honored that Cheddar’s chose to participate in the NASCAR Salute window. There will be 40+ Cheddar’s team members who have served in the military whose names and hometowns are going to be riding along with me at COTA. I just thought that was a really cool, personal touch on the paint scheme. Those team members have done a lot for this country, and I’m going to do everything I can to get them a good run this weekend.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 18th IN STANDINGS
“I laugh a little bit when I think about going to COTA. That track was designed for Formula 1 cars, cars that can cut around tight apexes like turn 1, turn 11 and 12. Our big heavy stock cars are going to struggle with that; but it’s a new challenge and I’m looking forward it. With the asphalt being abrasive at COTA it’s going to wear out the tires, so your strategy is going to have to evolve on the fly. It’s going to be quick movements that you make and commit to, so with all that being said, I’m ready to attack course, find the right rhythm with the lap time but also find the right tire strategy bring us to Victory Lane. It’s a cool place with 20 corners; lots of action coming!”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 ONX HOMES/IFLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 22nd IN STANDINGS
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON COTA AND OTHER NEW TRACKS?
“I love road course racing. Now we get to go to the road courses at COTA, Indianapolis, Road America and the oval in Nashville. We haven’t been to these places in the Cup Series. It’s always exciting to see new places and make new fans.”
HAVE YOU EVER RACED AT COTA?
“I took a street car around it and have done a lot of laps on the simulator, but never raced there. I’m glad we have a practice on Saturday. I wish we had more time on the track. But this will be a new experience for most of us. I think we will put on a good show though Sunday. It’s going to be fun.”
WHY DOU THINK TRACKHOUSE RACING WILL BE A SUCCESS?
“These guys support me a lot and every single person is pushing in the same direction. They believe in me like nobody else has before. They have one interest and that is having the No. 99 run as well as possible. That has played to my advantage. It is still very early. We are only a few months into the season. But, so far, I can already see where the trend is going. I believe we are going to win races here at Trackhouse Racing.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 BLACK ENTREPRENEUR INITIATIVES CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 26th IN STANDINGS
COTA IS A BRAND-NEW TRACK FOR NASCAR. WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS GOING INTO THAT EVENT?
“COTA (Circuits of the Americas) is just going to be unique. There is not a lot to go on, note-wise. We have never been there, so we are going to have to rely on simulations and what we can do there. You are going to have to learn the track the best you can before you show up on the simulator, as well.
“I am excited. We do not get the chance to go to new tracks often, so it is cool to be going to somewhere new and unique. It looks like a world-class facility overall. You look at it from the outside and it looks like somewhere that is really nice. It is a real, true road course the way it is laid out from what I have seen and from the time on the simulator. It is going to be a lot of fun to get out there and see what we can do.”
COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 SCHLUTER SYSTEMS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 30th IN STANDINGS
“Really excited to get down to COTA this weekend with our Schluter Systems Camaro. I went down in December to get in some laps and got pretty comfortable with the race track. I’m excited to see how we can perform with our Spire Motorsports Cup car. We’ve had a couple of really good runs the past few weeks, but still have a string of bad luck we need to shake. Hopefully that will end this weekend in Austin. The track is fast. It has some slow technical sections, but also has some high speed, heavy braking areas to open up some passing zones. We’ll have a little bit of practice on Saturday to tune in our Camaro. But, generally speaking, it will be a learning experience throughout the course of the day on Sunday. So, hopefully we can keep it on the racetrack and have a good day.”
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: 4
Poles: 1
Laps Led: 1,311
Top-five finishes: 24
Top-10 finishes: 56
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 799 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 718
Laps led to date: 238,016
Top-five finishes to date: 4,089
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,458
Stage wins: 8 – Chase Elliott (Daytona RC), William Byron (Homestead), Kyle Larson (Las Vegas Motor Speedway), Kyle Larson (Atlanta x2), Kyle Larson (Kansas), Kyle Larson (Doverx2)
Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date
General Motors: 1,133
Chevrolet: 799
Pontiac: 154
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 808
Ford: 708
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 191
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 157Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
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.
