CHEVY NSCS AT PHOENIX TWO: Team Chevy Advance

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE

KOBALT TOOLS 500

PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

AVONDALE, AZ

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

DID YOU KNOW? Chevrolet has recorded a total of 1.3 million sales in 2010, a 17 percent increase over the first 10 months of 2009. For October, total sales climbed 7 percent over the same month a year ago, driven by increased demand for Silverado, Equinox, and the all-new Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan.

CHEVY RACING AT THE TRACK-PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY – JEFF CHEW, MARKETING MANAGER, NASCAR, CHEVY RACING:   “We’re looking forward to bringing the Team Chevy Racing Tour back to Phoenix International Raceway. The fans were very receptive when we visited PIR during the April NASCAR event. The Team Chevy Racing Tour provides an opportunity for fans to experience all of the newest Chevy products, take a test drive of several of our most popular models and join in the festivities when Team Chevy driver Ron Hornaday visits the Display Sunday morning for a question-and-answer session with Riki Rachtman”

·        At the Chevy Test Drive fans can take a spin in one of Chevy’s hottest new rides including Equinox, Silverado, Tahoe Hybrid, Malibu and Traverse; and then get behind the wheel of a Chevy Camaro or Corvette Grand Sport. The Chevy Test Drive at PIR will be open: Friday 10:00 am-5:30 pm and Saturday from 8:00 am-2:00 pm. Fans can skip the line and pre-register at www.teamchevytestdrive.com Transportation from the Team Chevy Racing display to the Chevy Test Drive will be provided

• At the Team Chevy Racing Display in the PIR Midway located behind the main grandstands, fans can check out Camaro, Cruze, Malibu, Silverado HD, Silverado 1500 Crew. Equinox and Traverse
• At Team Chevy Display there will be interactive activities including a Victory Lane “green screen” photo opportunity taken at the Team Chevy Winner’s Circle Photo Trailer
• Fans can bring gently used cell phones to donate to the Cell Phones for Soldiers program in drop boxes around the display
• The Chevy Display Kid Zone will feature games and prizes
• Driver appearances for fan Q & A with Riki Rachtman in the Display: SUNDAY –Ron Hornaday-9:50 am
• The over-the-wall pit crew for Jeff Burton’s No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet AND Kevin Harvick’s No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet crew will sign autographs Sunday at the Display starting at 9:00 am
• Hours for the Team Chevy Racing Display will be: Friday 10:00 am-6:00 pm; Saturday 9:00 am-6:00 pm and Sunday 8:00 am-1:00 pm

TEAM CHEVY AT PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY-PAT SUHY, GM RACING NASCAR GROUP MANAGER: “After a tough weekend in Texas, it’s good to come back to a track where Team Chevy has enjoyed so much success.  A Chevrolet driver has won the last 10 Sprint Cup races at Phoenix International Speedway, and Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup contender Jimmie Johnson has won four of those.

“Phoenix International Raceway is one of my favorite stops on the tour for a lot of reasons.  The track is challenging for drivers and crews alike.  The racing is short track close, but there’s room to pass on both ends of the relatively flat one mile tri-oval. With only nine degrees of banking in the turns, there is a premium placed on chassis setup. The track’s asymmetry means that the drivers have to tolerate being sub-optimized at one end to be optimized at the other.  The best teams will find a compromise that keeps the driver comfortable on the ‘bad’ end and gives them an advantage on the other end where they’ll do the most passing.  With the skill and determination of our Team Chevy Sprint Cup teams, I’m confident that when the dust settles in the desert, we will be celebrating with a Chevy driver in victory lane.”

TEAM CHEVY IN 2010 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (NSCS) COMPETITION:

• Race wins – 18 as of race 34 of 36
• Poles – 15 as of race 34 of 36
• Laps led – 5,237 (51.3% of possible 10,199)
• Top-five finishes – 91 (53.5% of possible)
• Top-10 finishes – 168 (49.4% of possible)
• Team Chevy has six (6) drivers in the 2010 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. After eight  (8) of 10 races, the order is:
  • Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet – 2^nd in point standings
  • Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet – 3^rd in the standings
  • Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet – 6^th in point standings
  • Tony Stewart, No. 14 Old Spice/ Office Depot  Chevrolet – 8^th in the standings
  • Clint Bowyer, No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet – 10^th  in points
  • Jeff Burton, No. 31 Cat Financial Chevrolet – 12^th in the points order

CHEVROLET ON THE TRACK—PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY:

• A Chevrolet driver has won 14 of the 27 and 10 consecutive NSCS races at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR)
• Chevy has 15 poles at PIR
• Jeff Burton, No. 31 Cat Financial Chevrolet, has two (2) wins at PIR

• Team Chevy drivers have scored 64 top-five finishes and 124 top-10 finishes at PIR
• A Chevrolet has led 3,292 laps (40.3% of 8,751 possible) at PIR
• Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet, has four (4) victories at the one-mile oval

• Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew Paint the 88/National Guard Chevrolet has two (2) PIR wins
• Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet has won twice (2) at PIR
•  Mark Martin, No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, has two (2) PIR victories
• Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet has won once (1) at PIR
• Ryan Newman, No. 39 U.S. Army Veterans Day Chevrolet, has one (1) win at PIR
• Tony Stewart, No. 14 Old Spice/ Office Depot Chevrolet has one (1) PIR win

TEAM CHEVY FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT:

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET – 2^ND IN STANDINGS: “The last four years we have been in a different position (33 points back going into Phoenix). I have lost plenty of championships in the past and this is racing and it doesn’t come easy and you are not going to get what you want every single year and every single weekend. I can promise you this. I am trying as hard as I can; I know my team is, and we are doing everything we can. Thirty-three points back is not where we want to be but we are going to work to get back on top. I don’t know (if winning a tight point’s race championship brings satisfaction). Initially I react and say not really because the reason we had a lot of points is because we went out and won races and the amount of wins we had in the Chase – it’s not like we backed into a championship and just kind of stumbled upon four in a row. I don’t want to take anything away from the stretches we’ve had and the races we’ve won. We’ve won a lot of Chase races. I guess I’ll know more if that comes together and I can look back on my emotions then. Right now I’m really proud of how we won these races and taken a lot of pride in winning 19 of 64 Chase races right now. That is pretty tough to do so I don’t want to take anything away from the past.”

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 SHELL/PENNZOIL CHEVROLET – 3^RD IN STANDINGS: “At Phoenix, you’ve just got to get your car turning really well and obviously the asphalt is worn out so the tires fall off a lot and you have to find that compromise between a fast car and a car that lasts long enough to maintain that speed as you go through the run. So the day race is a little bit different than the night race; just because you’ve got a little bit more track temp and it seems like the cars fall off a little bit more than they do at the first race. So, it’s a tough place to find that balance between the whole run. When you look back at Martinsville, we (Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, and Harvick) spent half the race racing each other.  I don’t think top-10’s are going to cut it.  I think it’s going to come down to putting yourself in victory lane and capitalize on the most bonus points in the next two weeks.”

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET – 6^TH IN STANDINGS: “We had a good car during at the spring event, and I think we were sitting third before that last caution came out. My crew chief Steve Letarte made a great call for two tires during the caution to give us the lead, but I spun the tires on the restart. I wasn’t too worried about it, but then I saw Ryan (Newman) shoot ahead and I knew I was in trouble. I love the Phoenix track even though it’s a very challenging one. Both ends of the race track are complete opposites and it’s impossible to get both ends to work perfectly. I like that challenge. I’ve driven on the track since I was like 18 years old, so I always look forward to coming here because it’s a lot of fun to drive. We’ve always had a one-team, two-car philosophy with the 24 and 48 cars. The shop personnel work on both cars in the shop, and the crew will lend another HMS team a hand if needed at the track. We want to do everything possible to bring another championship trophy back to Hendrick Motorsports. But I also plan to do everything possible to get another Phoenix trophy for this DuPont team.”

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OLD SPICE/OFFICE DEPOT CHEVROLET – 8^TH IN STANDINGS: “How to race the Chase is the thing everybody has asked since day one. It’s not a hard concept to understand. It’s just a 10-race season, basically. You race in that first 26 weeks to get yourself in there and then it’s a short 10-week season. So it’s not like people had to learn how to do this. Everybody in this garage area raced somewhere else before they got here; and raced for championships no matter whether it’s 10 races long or 120 races long like the World of Outlaws. So, they all know how to do it but it’s just a matter of doing the job for those 10 weeks. I know we’re not in contention so it’s fun for me to watch too and watch to see who’s got a chance to win this thing. It’s three great guys and three great teams and organizations right now that still have a really good shot. It’s anybody’s ballgame right now. I’m still trying to win races this year. We’re just staying the course right now, in all honesty. We’ve still got places we’re still racing for in the championship too, so we’re just trying to get the best finishes we can get.”

CLINT BOWYER, NO. 33 CHEERIOS/HAMBURGER HELPER CHEVROLET – 10^TH IN STANDINGS: “We have a great car for Phoenix, a great game plan. We ran awesome there in the spring race. I’m looking forward to getting out there. We won in the Nationwide Series there, haven’t in the Cup Series. I think that’s a track where I can win in the future. Phoenix is a great race track for me; it’s where I got my start in the Cup series and we’ve always run well out there. Hopefully this is a place where we can win another race before the end of the year.”

JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CAT FINANCIAL CHEVROLET – 12^TH IN STANDINGS: “Phoenix is a really cool race track. Both ends of the race track are completely different. It’s not really a short track. It’s like a small superspeedway. The straightaways are long and restarts are really aggressive. The front straightaway is down hill, which leads to a really sharp turn one corner. The exit of turn two is like nowhere else I’ve ever been. Turns three and four are big, long, sweeping corners. Some people can run the top and some can run below the apron, which gives the drivers different options. It’s a challenge because it’s so different on both ends of the race track. “It’s been a fun year and it’s been a really discouraging year all at the same time. For us, we need to execute in these last couple of races. We’ve run well, we’re fifth or sixth in laps led and we are in that same area in number of races led. Our performance has been good – not been great, but it’s been good.  Our average running position is much better than our average finishing position. That’s why we’re in the spot that we’re in. I want to see us continue to run well. We had a really fast car at Phoenix earlier this season and we led a lot at Homestead last year. These last two races are tracks that we performed well at the last time we raced there. I want to see us be able to do that, but I want to see us get the finishes that we weren’t able to get.  That’s what the final two races are about.”

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET – 13^TH IN STANDINGS: “Phoenix has been a good track for me since we first started racing there. I’ve had a lot of success at that track. Short track racing just works for me. I love it. It reminds me of the tracks I grew up racing on. You know, I almost won at Phoenix in 2008, then turned around and got my first win with Hendrick there last year. I’ll never forget that night, so this track will always be special to me for that.”

JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S CHEVROLET – 14^TH IN STANDINGS:

“Phoenix is a fun race track to run at, but it’s also a challenging track because you have to set up your car for two different corners. Turns one and two are completely different from turns three and four, so your car has to be balanced well enough to turn at both ends due to the unique shape of the track. We’ve had some fairly good runs at Phoenix lately so I hope that this weekend plays out in our favor for the No.1 McDonald’s team. Phoenix is a place that I always look forward to because I really enjoy visiting the area; it’s just a great place to visit and to be able to race at twice a year.”

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 U.S. ARMY VETERAN’S DAY CHEVROLET – 15^TH IN STANDINGS: “We look forward to Phoenix and it’s a fun race track and it’s been a while since we won so it will be nice to go back and have another shot at it.  It’s going to be a better shot at winning it and it’s just another race but it’s one that we won at in the Spring and it would be nice to sweep the season. It was huge deal for Tornados.  It was their third race and when you get to a Sprint Cup victory lane in your third race it’s a big deal.  There are sponsors in this sport who have been here for ten years and have never made it.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET – 17^TH IN STANDINGS: “Phoenix is a cool place.  We usually get some decent results there, not great but not bad. The track is different from anywhere else we go during the season. The set-up on the race car can be a little challenging because turns one and two are different from turns three and four. You have to find that right balance in order to run up front. Last week was a rough week for us.  But it’s okay.  Overall the Target team keeps doing an amazing job, brings good racecars, good motors.  Can’t complain. I’m just looking forward to moving on to Phoenix and having a good run.”

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 DIET MOUNTAIN DEW PAINT THE 88/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET – 19^TH IN STANDINGS:  “Turns 3 and 4 have been the toughest part for me lately at Phoenix. Both ends can be challenging but 3 and 4 is just a longer corner and they are just so different from each other. The car will be good at one end of the track and it changes all the time. Getting around 3 and 4, getting in there hard, through the center real fast is going to help your lap a lot more than what can happen in (Turns) 1 and 2.”

BOBBY LABONTE, NO. 09 C & J ENERGY CHEVROLET – 31^ST IN STANDINGS: “We have got a great opportunity this weekend at Phoenix.  My good friends at C&J Energy Services will be on board with us again.  This gives the No. 09 Phoenix Racing team a good chance to perform well.  We’re going to have a good car, a good engine package and we’re looking for a good result. Our first weekend out with C&J was a couple weeks ago at Martinsville. We had trouble overheating and were taken out of the race way too early.  We had a good qualifying run and had high hopes for that weekend.  This weekend, we are looking to salvage that finish and give these great folks at C&J a good show and a strong, solid performance. I really like going out to Phoenix.  The track is very unique.  It’s a challenging race track.  You may have an advantage over a guy in turns One and Two, but when you get to turns Three and Four he is probably going to beat you down the straightaway. Phoenix is like Loudon, it’s short and flat, but it’s different too because of the configuration.  This is a tough place to get your car set-up just right. It is tricky and unique in its own way.  It usually takes a while for your car to get going, so you’re hoping for long green runs.  Once you’re able to get going, there are a lot of different lines to take on the track.  Hopefully we can find the right one and give C&J Energy Services Chevrolet a good run.”

BRENDAN GAUGHAN, NO. 71 SOUTHPOINT CASINO CHEVROLET: “Phoenix is more of a driver’s track. The Phoenix market is very big for us with our South Point Casino.  Also I have done well there in the past which makes it a natural for me to come back into the series for a race. I have been known to over drive everything at Phoenix.  But Phoenix is a place where the driver can make a difference.  Getting through (Turns) 3 and 4 fast, you have to dance that thing through there.  Turns 1 and 2, they’ve moved the wall back a ways which has taken some of the difficulty out, but there is a second lane up there.  The main thing at Phoenix is to be able to get to the throttle early and be as smooth as you can while having the out-of-control-looking dance.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships

            Total (1949 – 2010): 34

            First title for Chevrolet: 1958

            Highest number of consecutive titles: 9 (1983 – 91)

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

Drivers Championships

            Total (1949 – 2009): 26

            First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)

            Highest number of consecutive titles: 6 (1993 – 98)

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

Event Victories

            2010 Race Wins: 18

            Total Chevrolet race wins: 669 (1949 – to date) (2,279 possible = 29.4%)

Record for total race wins in single season: 26 – 2007

Poles Won to Date: 609

Laps Lead to Date: 200,215

Top-Five Finishes to Date: 3,363

Top-10 Finishes to Date: 6,873

Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date

            GM: 1,004

            Chevrolet: 669

            Pontiac: 155

            Oldsmobile: 115

            Buick: 65

            Ford: 697

            Ford: 597

            Mercury: 96

            Lincoln: 4

            Chrysler: 456

            Dodge: 207

            Plymouth: 190

            Chrysler: 59

            Toyota: 33

About Chevrolet: Chevrolet is a global automotive brand, with annual sales of about 3.5 million vehicles in more than 130 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. In the U.S., the Chevrolet portfolio includes: iconic performance cars, such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long lasting pickups and SUVs, such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers, such as Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly” solutions, such as the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco model that is expected to deliver up to an estimated 40 mpg highway, and 2011 Chevrolet Volt that will offer 25-50 miles of electric driving and an additional 310 miles of extended range with the onboard generator (based on GM testing).  Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security, and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response, and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models, fuel solutions, and OnStar availability can be found at www.chevrolet.com.