NASCAR CUP SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY R.C.
VERIZON 200 AT THE BRICKYARD
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
AUGUST 13, 2023
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
2nd Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
3rd Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway.com Camaro ZL1
5th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
8th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1
10th Shane van Gisbergen, No. 91 Enhance Health Camaro ZL1
TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
- Michael McDowell (Ford)
- Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
- Daniel Suarez (Chevrolet)
- Tyler Reddick (Toyota)
- Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Watkins Glen International with the Go Bowling at the Glen on Sunday, August 20, at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:
Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
Finished: 2nd
Elliott on his second-place finish and what more he needed for the win:
“We just needed to be a little better through the back-half of the race, and get off of (turn) 14 a little better to have myself in a better spot getting into Turn One. Just really appreciate the effort. Our NAPA Chevy was really good, we just needed a little bit more. We came up just a bit short, but congrats to Michael (McDowell) – man, he did a good job, ran a great race and stayed mistake-free, and that’s what you have to do.”
What’s that like chasing him (Michael McDowell) down like that, knowing in one mistake, you can have it?
“Yeah, I just lost too much ground under that pit cycle. I was just trying to pace myself for the long haul – it kind of had that green flag feel. And I thought I did that, just need to do a better job getting through traffic.”
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway.com Camaro ZL1
Finished: 3rd
“I felt like the No. 99 Freeway.com Chevy was very strong today. We just lacked a little bit of speed the first-half of the race. We made a mistake as a team during the last pit cycle, which was probably the most important one. But we will continue to build and get better. We’ll continue to build race cars like this and hopefully we’ll have another shot next week at Watkins Glen (International).
It was a pretty intense battle with Tyler (Reddick) there towards the end. How were you able to protect your spot?
“Yeah, I felt like Tyler (Reddick) was a little bit better in some areas, and I was better in some areas. I was pushing very hard the first three-quarters of that run, and then by the end, I didn’t have a lot left. I was trying to keep pace, but that’s part of it. I needed to push hard to catch those guys. We were catching them – I felt like the entire run, we were catching them.”
This is your best finish on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. What positives can you take from this?
“I think the speed that we had today was definitely very promising. I think that my entire team did a great job. We’ll try again next year.”
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
Finished: 5th
Bowman on this top-five finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course:
“A top-five finish is good after the last couple of months. Just proud of the whole No. 48 Ally Chevy team. We fell off a little too hard there in the end of the run before that, but that last run we were really fast. We had a little mechanical issue there at the end, but we were able to hang onto fifth. Always want more, but it was a good, solid day for us.”
Define the race today:
“It was how road course racing used to be. We didn’t have a million restarts to run over each other, which was nice. I think we had a fast race car. A caution there at the end would have been nice to have a shot at it, but at the same time, the best team won. Congrats to the No. 34 guys and we’ll try to get one the next couple of weeks.”
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1
Finished: 8th
“I just made that mistake into turn 12. Flat-spotted my left front, which I felt like it could have affected my right-hander but thankfully, it didn’t. There were more right-handers than lefts, but all the left-handers I had no grip. So I was really tight. Just kind of had to get through that run. I gave up a few positions right before green flag stops. We cycled ahead of the 20 and the 91. It was a tough race. I wish I wouldn’t have made that mistake, maybe I would’ve ended up third or fourth. Glad we were able to salvage a top-10 out of it. Bummed that I made a mistake like that, and we didn’t have any cautions to make up for it. It is what it is, just got to clean it up a bit.”
How do you feel?
“I’m a little bit bummed. I made a mistake in turn 12 there and locked up. Went from fourth to tenth, then the race went green from then on. I don’t know. I’ll have to see the gaps. If I didn’t make that mistake, maybe I’d finish third or fourth. I’m bummed about that, but all in all, it could have been worse. I just have to clean up a little bit. All in all a good day. It was just a long green flag run. When things get spread out, it’s really hard to pass. The 20 and the 91 were better than I was in the end, but it was just going to be hard to pass.”
You mention no cautions during the race. It was around 100 minutes straight (of green flag racing). That doesn’t happen in Cup racing anymore. How tough was it behind the wheel? It was pretty warm as well.
“It was hot. It was way hot. Temps were hot, and then your body starts cramping up a bit. Your body starts getting heavy in turns one and seven. Kind of cramp up a little bit. I was thankful the checkered came out soon. I would’ve liked it to get bunched up or have a pit sequence to shake the strategy up a little bit to get a better finish, but all in all, I’ll take the eighth. We’re trying to gain the points we can to move up a little bit before the Playoffs. Any bit of Playoff points we can get. Just keep fighting for that and try and close out this season on a strong note.”
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 91 Enhance Health Camaro ZL1
Finished: 10th
It seems like the common trend I’ve been hearing is that race was fun. Can you elaborate on that a little bit?
“It’s just a battle of good drivers. It was with Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell there. Unfortunately, they came out in front of me on that last pit stop. Great to get another Top-10 for the Enhance Chevy, and Project 91. We had fun all weekend. Hopefully can come back and do it all again.”
It was rough right from the start. How was this challenge at Indy different than Chicago?
“It’s hard here because everyone’s on it. Everyone knows the track and there’s a lot more room for error. Everyone’s racing aggressively. I can’t thank the Project 91 guys here enough for the Enhance Chevy. So much fun to be back. Hopefully can do more. Had an awesome battle with Kyle (Larson) and Christopher (Bell) there. They got the better of me at the end, but battling with those guys was great.”
What did you learn about racing with the Cup guys? You were in the middle of it all.
“It’s aggressive, but it’s fair. I put a block on the 48, and the next corner he just moved me. I guess I deserved that. The racing was fun. I really enjoyed it. All the battling when you go through a move on someone, they give you room. They expect it back. Really cool.”
How would you sum up your entire week?
“It’s been an amazing week. I can’t thank Justin Marks and the Trackhouse team enough for giving me this opportunity. I learned a lot in the Truck on Friday night, and to get to come here and race again. Although a top-10 is awesome, expectations are high because of the last race. I just have to realize a top-10 is still pretty good.”
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Cowboy Channel Camaro ZL1
Finished: 16th
“We had a fast Cowboy Channel/Carolina Cowboys Chevrolet this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. We didn’t qualify where we needed to, but we weren’t too worried because we knew we had a fast car and a good strategy in place. It was great to run in the top-10 for a lot of the race. I thought we had a top-10 finish coming our way but we just got too tight at the end of the race. We were wheel-hopping more and more. It’s okay, because we hung in there. I wish we could have freed our Chevy up, but it’s hard to do when you’re running that well.”
STAGE ONE:
· Six Chevrolet drivers led the NASCAR Cup Series to the green flag from top-10 starting positions in today’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course – led by polesitter Daniel Suarez and the No. 99 Freeway.com Camaro ZL1 team.
· At the drop of the green flag, Suarez took his Camaro ZL1 to the top position – leading the opening five laps of the event.
· The first caution of the race came quickly on lap two with an incident involving Team Chevy’s Justin Haley. The Indianapolis native brought his No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1 to pit road as his team went to work on the Kaulig Racing Chevrolet – making quick repairs to end the stage only one lap down.
· The end of Stage One at Lap 15 saw polesitter Suarez picking up second-place stage points to lead the Bowtie brigade at the end of the stage. Team Chevy’s six-fastest qualifiers maintained top-10 positions in Stage One:
2nd Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway.com Camaro ZL1
3rd Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
5th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1
6th Kyle Busch, No. 8 3CHI Camaro ZL1
8th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
9th Shane van Gisbergen, No. 91 Enhance Health Camaro ZL1
STAGE TWO:
· With no stage breaks on road courses, the race remained under green flag conditions to start the 20-lap Stage Two. The first pit cycle of the race began on lap 18 with the lead pack beginning to hit pit road for four-tires and fuel, including Team Chevy’s top-two runners Suarez and Elliott.
· Rejoining the field in the top-15 on the leaderboard, the running order continued to cycle through with then-race leader (Denny Hamlin) opting to stay out for stage points. Suarez continued to lead Chevrolet at the end of Stage Two in the third position – posting back-to-back top-five stage finishes.
· Team Chevy Stage Two: Top-10
3rd Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway.com Camaro ZL1
5th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
6th Kyle Busch, No. 8 3CHI Camaro ZL1
8th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
10th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1
FINAL STAGE / POST-RACE NOTES:
· One lap into the Final Stage, Denny Hamlin (Stage Two winner) came down pit road to conclude to field’s pit cycle – putting Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team in the second-position.
· Elliott and fellow Team Chevy driver Daniel Suarez continued to maintain positions in the top-three as the race reached the mid-way point, with the final scheduled pit cycle expected to begin around the 48-52 lap range.
· Elliott and Suarez brought their Camaro ZL1’s down pit road for a scheduled four tires and fuel stop. Issues ensued for the No. 99 Chevrolet pit crew resulting in a long stop, but still sustaining the third position once the lead-lap pit cycle was complete.
· The No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team took over the runner-up position after the final green flag pit cycle with Elliott chipping away at the 3.8-second deficit of the leader with 29 laps to go.
· Elliott continued to close in on race leader Michael McDowell in the closing laps – ultimately taking the checkered flag in the second position, just 0.937 seconds behind the race winner.
· Elliott led Team Chevy to five top-10 finishes in the event – three of which took the checkered flag in the top-five.
· In 24 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race this season, Chevrolet continues to lead the series in wins (12), top-fives (53), top-10s (102), stage wins (18) and laps led (2,407).
Team 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.
