TEAM CHEVY NASCAR: RACE ADVANCE
Martinsville Speedway
Ridgeway, Virginia
October 28-29, 2023

WHITE-FLAG ON THE 2023 NASCAR SEASON

The Round of Eight for the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) will come to a close this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, with the checkered-flag in Saturday’s NXS Dead on Tools 250 and Sunday’s NCS Xfinity 500 determining the four drivers in each series that will compete for their respective championship titles. NASCAR’s oldest and shortest track on the circuit – the historic Martinsville Speedway has been a part of the playoff picture since the inception of the postseason format into the series in 2004, with this year marking its fourth consecutive season hosting the Round of Eight elimination race for both series.

Team Chevy’s Kyle Larson and Sam Mayer each have a Round of Eight win in their respective series, already solidifying their chances to compete for a championship title. In NASCAR’s premier series, Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron sits in the best position of the six drivers looking for a championship berth – entering the series’ elimination race with a 30-point advantage over the playoff cutline. Of the three positions left up for grabs in the NXS Championship Four, the series’ regular-season champion Austin Hill is fourth in the standings and three-points above the playoff cutline.

· Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway:

Famously known as “The Paperclip”, Martinsville Speedway is the only track that has hosted a NCS race every year since the inception of the series in 1949, with Sunday’s 500-lap event marking the series’ 150th appearance at the track. Chevrolet is the winningest manufacturer in NASCAR’s premier series at Martinsville Speedway, with Kyle Larson’s win in the series’ spring event delivering the Bowtie Brand its 60th all-time victory at the track – doubling the next ranking manufacturer competitor.

The first of Chevrolet’s series-leading wins at Martinsville Speedway came in 1957 when Buck Baker drove his Chevrolet 150 to victory lane. The Bowtie Brand went on a winning streak at the track on a couple of different occasions, including seven in a row from October 2004 to October 2007, as well as eight consecutive triumphs from April 2011 to October 2014.

Four of the series’ last six appearances at Martinsville Speedway saw a Hendrick Motorsports-prepared Chevrolet make its way to victory lane. The organization’s recent success at the track dates back to Chase Elliott’s victory in November 2020 – the first time the South Virginia short-track hosted the series’ Round of Eight elimination race. Elliott capitalized on a must-win situation to take the win and a berth into the title-deciding race – ultimately leading the Georgia native to his first career championship in NASCAR’s top division. Since then, each of Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates have tallied a win at the track with Alex Bowman (October 2021), William Byron (April 2022) and Kyle Larson (April 2023).

 
NCS PLAYOFF PICTURE WITH ONE-TO-GO

Already earning a spot into the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Four, Team Chevy’s Kyle Larson can focus on executing a momentum-building weekend before heading into the season-finale at Phoenix Raceway. Despite an unfortunate ending to the team’s day at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team put on a championship-caliber performance through much of the day. The former series champion posted top-three finishes in each stage, including a win in Stage One – going on to lead a race-high 96-laps before an incident entering pit road during a green-flag pit cycle took the team out of the race.

Turning the page to Martinsville Speedway, the 31-year-old California native will return to the South Virginia venue as the series’ most recent winner at the track. In his five career starts at Martinsville Speedway since joining Hendrick Motorsports, Larson has tallied one win (April 2023), three top-five finishes and an average finish of 8.2 at the track. Two of Larson’s four points-paying wins this season have come on a short-track, with the driver also taking the win at Richmond Raceway in April. Larson also added a non-points paying short-track win to his name this season with his dominating performance in the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Looking for his first career bid into the NCS Championship Four, Team Chevy’s William Byron currently sits in the best position among the six playoff contenders left vying for the two remaining spots – with the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 team heading into the Round of Eight elimination race with a 30-point cushion above the playoff cutline. The 25-year-old North Carolina native netted a fourth-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway last weekend, bringing his postseason average finish to an impressive 5.5. Martinsville Speedway has been good to Byron in recent years, with the driver collecting one win, three top-five finishes, four top-10s and an average finish of 8.00 in his last five starts at the track.

A look at Team Chevy’s playoff contenders heading into the NASCAR Cup Series Round of Eight elimination race at Martinsville Speedway:

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – 2nd in Playoff Standings; Clinched Championship Four position with his win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Victories: 4

Poles: 2

Top-Fives: 14

Top-10s: 16

Laps Led: 1,127

Average Finish: 15.2

Stage Wins: 8

At Martinsville Speedway:

Wins: 1

Top-Fives: 4

Top-10s: 5

Average Finish: 18.235

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – 3rd in Playoff Standings; 30-points above the cutline

Victories: 6

Poles: 3

Top-Fives: 14

Top-10s: 20

Laps Led: 921

Average Finish: 11.1

Stage Wins: 8

At Martinsville Speedway:

Wins: 1

Top-Fives: 4

Top-10s: 6

Average Finish: 15.182

MAKING HIS MARK AT MARTINSVILLE

At Martinsville Speedway just one year ago, Team Chevy’s Ross Chastain made an iconic move that will forever be etched into NASCAR history. With one lap to go and on the outside looking in of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Four, Chastain pulled an unprecedented move now known as the “Hail Melon” – riding the wall of the final two corners to move from the 10th to the fifth position, passing Denny Hamlin at the line to take the fourth and final position in the series’ Championship Four. The move gave Chastain his first career opportunity to compete for the championship title in NASCAR’s premier series, with the Trackhouse Racing driver ultimately leading Chevrolet in the runner-up position of the final points standings.

To commemorate the one-year mark of the historic move, the actual No. 1 Moose Fraternity Camaro ZL1 that performed the “Hail Melon” will make its return to Martinsville Speedway this weekend as a part of the Chevrolet Racing Display. Fans at the South Virginia short-track will have the chance to relive history and get a first-hand look at Chastain’s Chevrolet-powered machine throughout the race weekend.

MAYER SET TO RUN FOR FIRST CAREER NXS TITLE

In only his second full-time season in the series, JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer will make his first run at the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship title. The 20-year-old Wisconsin native collected the first guaranteed ticket into the series’ Championship Four after taking his No. 1 Camaro SS to the team’s fourth victory of the season.

Mayer became a first-time winner in the series at Road America in July, with the JR Motorsports driver going on to score two more road course victories at Watkins Glen (August) and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course earlier this month. Entering the second race of the Round of Eight below the playoff cutline, Mayer scored top-five points in both stages, going on to lead the last 30 circuits around Homestead-Miami Speedway to record his first career oval victory in the series. Mayer’s victory also clinched the series’ manufacturer championship title for Chevrolet with still two races remaining. The prestigious honor marks Chevrolet’s 25th – and seventh consecutive – Bill France Performance Cup in the NXS.

NXS Playoff Update:

Four Team Chevy NXS playoff contenders will vie for the three remaining positions in the series’ Championship Four. Of those entering the elimination race above the playoff cutline includes the series’ regular-season champion Austin Hill, who occupies the fourth position in the standings and three-points above the playoff cutline.

Just shy of the top-four in the standings is JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier, who currently sits in the fifth position in the standings and three-points below the playoff cutline. Allgaier knows how to navigate postseason pressure with the series’ veteran being the only driver to make the NXS playoffs every season since the format was introduced to the series in 2016. In six career NXS starts at Martinsville Speedway, Allgaier has notched three top-five finishes – all of which have come in the series’ fall race at the track.

Kaulig Racing’s Chandler Smith and Richard Childress Racing’s Sheldon Creed sit in the seventh and eighth positions, respectively in the playoff standings – both facing a must-win situation in order advance into the Championship Four.

 
HOCEVAR, ENFINGER SET TO REPRESENT CHEVROLET IN NCTS CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR

With the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) Championship Four set, Niece Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar and GMS Racing’s Grant Enfinger will have the opportunity to compete for Chevrolet’s 15th NCTS Driver Championship title.

 
Hocevar claimed his first career berth into the NCTS Championship Four after picking up the victory in the series’ Round of Eight elimination race at Homestead-Miami Speedway last weekend. The 20-year-old Michigan native drove his No. 42 Silverado RST to the lead with 11 laps to go en route to his fourth victory of the season – a feat making him the winningest driver in the series this season. Hocevar also delivered Chevrolet its first championship title of the season, with the victory clinching Chevrolet’s 11th NCTS Manufacturer Championship.

Entering the series’ elimination race on the outside looking in, GMS Racing’s Enfinger channeled his veteran experience to point his way into the Championship Four after picking up a fourth-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This season will mark the 38-year-old Alabama native’s second career appearance in the series’ Championship Four as the Team Chevy driver will look to deliver GMS Racing its third NCTS Driver Championship title in the organization’s final season of competition.

 
CHEVROLET LOOKS TO CAP OFF MANUFACTURER CHAMPIONSHIP SWEEP AT MARTINSVILLE

NASCAR’s annual trip to Homestead-Miami Speedway saw Chevrolet already claim two championship titles – the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Manufacturer Championship and the 2023 Bill France Performance Cup in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Following Carson Hocevar’s win in the series’ Round of Eight elimination race at the 1.5-mile South Florida oval, Chevrolet clinched the 2023 NCTS Manufacturer Championship. Competing in the NCTS since the series’ inception in 1995, the Silverado claimed the manufacturer championship title in the series’ inaugural season, with the Bowtie Brand going on to win four-straight. This season marks Chevrolet’s 11th time earning the NCTS manufacturer championship title.

Chevrolet made its way back into Homestead-Miami Speedway’s victory lane later that afternoon, with JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer claiming the NXS victory and a ticket into the series’ Championship Four. The win also delivered Chevrolet the Bill France Performance Cup in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – marking the manufacturer’s 25th time receiving the prestigious title. The Chevrolet Camaro made its debut as the automaker’s flagship vehicle in the NXS in 2013, and has since earned nine titles in the series with 2023 marking its seventh consecutive title-winning season.

With the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championship still up for grabs, Chevrolet enters this weekend’s event at Martinsville Speedway with a 74-point lead in the manufacturer points standings. Capturing the 2023 NCS Manufacturer Championship would mark Chevrolet’s fifth time sweeping the manufacturer championship titles across all three NASCAR national series – a feat the manufacturer also accomplished in 2012, 2005, 1998 and 1996.

WRAPPING UP 2023 ‘MAKING STRIDES AGAINST BREAST CANCER’ CAMPAIGN

For the 13th consecutive year, Chevrolet has partnered with the American Cancer Society and its ‘Making Strides Against Breast Cancer’ initiative. The specially-themed pink Camaro ZL1 will serve as the official pace vehicle for three NASCAR Cup Series races during the month of October, including Sunday’s NCS Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. For every caution lap the pink Camaro ZL1 completes, Chevrolet will make a donation of $350 (up to $50,000) to the American Cancer Society to honor the ‘Making Strides Against Breast Cancer’ initiative.

The second of three NCS events that are part of the initiative took place at Homestead-Miami Speedway last weekend. With the pink Camaro ZL1 pace car leading NASCAR’s premier series for 35 laps under caution during last Sunday’s race, Chevrolet will contribute $12,250 towards the campaign, bringing the total to $18,900 with one race remaining in the campaign.

The pink Camaro ZL1 pace car will return to the track this weekend, serving as the pace car for the 500-lap/263-mile NCS Round of Eight elimination race at Martinsville Speedway – marking the third and final race of this year’s campaign.

 
BOWTIE BULLETS:

· Chevrolet will pace the field in the doubleheader race weekend at Martinsville Speedway. The Camaro SS will lead the NASCAR Xfinity Series in Saturday’s Dead on Tools 250; and the specially-themed pink ‘Making Strides Against Breast Cancer’ Camaro ZL1 will lead the NASCAR Cup Series in Sunday’s Xfinity 500.

· Active Chevrolet drivers with a NASCAR Cup Series win at Martinsville Speedway:

Kyle Busch – two wins (2016 & 2017)

Kyle Larson – one win (2023)

William Byron – one win (2022)

Chase Elliott – one win (2020)

· In 149 NASCAR Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, Chevrolet has recorded a series-best 60 wins – doubling the next ranking manufacturer competitor.

· In 34 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races this season, Chevrolet continues to lead the series in wins (17), top-fives (74), top-10s (145), stage wins (25) and laps led (3,293).

· Chevrolet leads the series in wins across all three NASCAR national series this season with 17 victories in 34 NASCAR Cup Series races, 16 victories in 31 NASCAR Xfinity Series races and 13 wins in 22 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races – all with a winning percentage of at least 50 percent.

· Chevrolet’s series-leading 17 NASCAR Cup Series wins this season have been recorded by seven drivers from five different Chevrolet teams: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (JTG Daugherty Racing), Kyle Busch (Richard Childress Racing), William Byron and Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports), Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen (Trackhouse Racing) and AJ Allmendinger (Kaulig Racing).

· Chevrolet drivers have recorded 25 of the 68 NASCAR Cup Series stage wins this season: William Byron (eight), Kyle Larson (eight), Ross Chastain (five), Kyle Busch (two) and Chase Elliott (two).

· With Carson Hocevar’s win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Round of Eight elimination race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Chevrolet clinched the 2023 NCTS Manufacturer Championship – the Bowtie Brand’s 11th time earning the manufacturer championship title in the series.

· With Sam Mayer’s win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Round of Eight elimination race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Chevrolet clinched the 2023 Bill France Performance Cup in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – the manufacturer’s 25th time earning the manufacturer championship title in the series.

· Heading into the Martinsville Speedway, Chevrolet continues to sit atop the NASCAR Cup Series manufacturer points standings with a 74-point lead over its manufacturer competitors.

· Chevrolet has swept the manufacturer championships across all three NASCAR national series in a single season four different times (2012, 2005, 1998, 1996).

· With its 41 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships and 850 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title of winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.

 
FOR THE FANS:

· Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway at Martinsville Speedway.

· Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles at the Team Chevy Racing Display.

· Fans will also have a special viewing of Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Moose Fraternity Camaro ZL1 – the actual race car that performed the iconic move now known as the “Hail Melon” at Martinsville Speedway last year.

Team Chevy Driver Appearances at the Display:

Saturday, October 28

· Jeremy Clements: 12:15 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.

· Sam Mayer: 12:45 p.m. – 1 p.m.

· Jeb Burton: 1 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.

· Sheldon Creed: 1:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

· Austin Hill: 1:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.

Sunday, October 29

· Alex Bowman: 11 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

· Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: 11:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

· Carson Hocevar: 11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

· Ty Dillon: 11:45 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation:

· Friday, October 27: 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.

· Saturday, October 28: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

· Sunday, October 29: 8 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

 
TUNE IN:

NASCAR Cup Series: Xfinity 500

Round of Eight Elimination Race

Sunday, October 29, at 2 p.m. ET

(NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

NASCAR Xfinity Series: Dead on Tools 250

Round of Eight Elimination Race

Saturday, October 28, at 3:30 p.m. ET

(USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

 
QUOTABLE QUOTES

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Moose Fraternity Camaro ZL1

Now that you look back on the “Hail Melon” move what do you think about it?

“It’s wild to think that it has been one year since the wall ride. Obviously, it was huge for my team because we got a chance to run for the championship in Phoenix but it ended up being a huge moment for our sport. Its wild how many people outside of racing saw it and the amount of attention it got. That’s great though. We brought more eyes to the sport of NASCAR and hopefully gained some new fans.”

Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1

Larson on racing at Martinsville Speedway:

“It’s obviously both comforting and exciting to know that the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team is locked into the Championship 4 by our Vegas (Motor Speedway) win. Martinsville (Speedway) had historically been a challenging track for me.. and transparently not a favorite. April of this season, our team was able to help change that. Securing my first win at the Virginia short-track was super rewarding. Our team is always actively trying to build consistency, so really focusing on another solid weekend in Martinsville would help us build a good mindset to tackle the Championship at Phoenix (Raceway).”

Cliff Daniels, Crew Chief, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1

Daniels on racing at Martinsville Speedway:

“We certainly enjoy going to Martinsville (Speedway). It’s a track I’ve gone to since I was a kid and it’s also just a tough track in general. I know Kyle (Larson) doesn’t give himself the credit he deserves coming to Martinsville (Speedway) and he has come a long way. We’ve had some strong runs there lately but would recognize the fact that you’ve got to be sharp- on your set up, balance and approach to the race. We’ve got to do the things we can do to make sure Kyle (Larson) is comfortable making speed with. We have all of those things on our minds. We want to perform at a very high level and keep our strength at a high level to keep us operating at the level that we need to going into Phoenix.”

Kyle Busch, No. 8 BetMGM Camaro ZL1

Do you think that Martinsville is the most challenging short track on the schedule? How physically and mentally demanding is racing at Martinsville?

“Martinsville is a challenging short track. I think with the Next Gen race car it’s become a bigger challenge just with the fact that everybody being a lot closer. Little setup differences with the old car meant an awful lot in speed and it seems like little setup differences with this car doesn’t really mean a whole lot so everybody runs the same speed no matter what so it just makes it tough to pass. Track position is everything. The aero affects when you get behind guys makes it tough to move around and find grip in other grooves in order to make moves. It seemed like with the old car you could definitely follow a lot better and keep yourself closer to the guy in front of you so if he made a little, tiny mistake you could pounce on that and make a pass.

The racing there is pretty demanding. I mean, you’re on the brakes all the time and steering all the time. You’re trying to feel that grip and not slip. You want to carry your speed as fast as you can while off the gas. The biggest thing that I learned that made me better at Martinsville is how fast can you go slow. You actually spend more of the lap off the throttle than you do on the throttle so it’s about figuring out how to go slow fast.”

How important is it to qualify well at Martinsville, not only for track position to start the race but also regarding pit selection?

“Qualifying well at Martinsville I think now is more important than what it once was. I remember it used to be that it didn’t matter how you qualified. I was never a really good qualifier at Martinsville but you could always race towards the front, pick up some positions on pit road, and get yourself in a good position for the end of the race. I think track position and pit selection with qualifying well is very important. There’s four to five really, really good pit stalls on pit road and if you can get one of those pit stalls then that can really make or break your day on pit road.”

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1

“Martinsville is completely different now with this car and how much we shift. Our short track program has been a bit of a struggle, but I felt like the first race there we at least made a lot of gains. I think we can go back there and have more speed than we have had in the past. I’ve always loved this race. It’s definitely different now but it’s just a fun racetrack to go to. Short tracks are our weak point, but we are getting better. I am really looking forward to getting to Martinsville and trying to build off of everything we have learned this year.”

Carson Hocevar, No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Camaro ZL1

Martinsville hot dogs or shifting at short tracks, which are you more a fan of?

“I’m a fan of Martinsville hot dogs, but I probably need to be more of a fan of eating them post-race though. I ate some before the race when we had a rain delay last year. Ross (Chastain) and I didn’t think we were going to race so we started ‘pounding dogs’ and all of the sudden they told us we were going to go racing and we just looked at each other and said, ‘oh no’. I’m excited to get back there though, because it’s always been a fun racetrack with the trucks. I don’t know if I’m going to be a fan of shifting at short tracks; it just seems like there’s a bunch going on, but I’ve never done it before so I can’t say yes or no yet. Hopefully we can qualify up front for the race with our Sunseeker Resort Chevy, because that’s going to be the key for sure. It’ll be good to hop back in the No. 42 car to finish out the year with these last two races for LEGACY M.C.!”

Erik Jones, No. 43 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Camaro ZL1

“Martinsville is always a crazy race this time of year, with it being a cutoff for the playoff guys, and going into Phoenix, there is a lot of chaos that normally happens in Martinsville. I feel like we have improved our short package, in general, going into Martinsville, so hopefully we can go there and have a solid day.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger / Reese’s Camaro ZL1

“In the spring, we left Martinsville with my best finish there. We got pinned a lap down when we pitted under green and an untimely caution occurred. We were able to capitalize on a late-race strategy that placed us back on the lead lap with about 60 laps to go. We got into a rhythm and were able to hold on for a top-10 finish. We’re ready to get back to Martinsville with our No. 47 Kroger / Reese’s Camaro and apply what we learned in April.”

 
Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships:

Total (1949-2022): 41

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, 2021, 2022

Drivers Championships:

Total (1949-2021): 33

First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)

Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)

Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021)

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, 2021

Event Victories:

Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)

2023 STATISTICS:

Wins: 17

Poles: 8

Laps Led: 3,293

Top-five finishes: 74

Top-10 finishes: 145

Stage wins: 25

· Ross Chastain – 5 (Daytona), (Auto Club x2), (Dover), (Darlington)

· William Byron – 8 (Las Vegas x2), (Phoenix), (COTA), (Richmond), (Dover), (Charlotte), (Watkins Glen)

· Kyle Larson – 8 (Phoenix), (Bristol Dirt), (Pocono), (Kansas), (Texas), (Las Vegas x2), (Homestead)

· Chase Elliott – 2 (Talladega), (Charlotte RC)

· Kyle Busch – 2 (WWTR), (Sonoma)

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:

Total Chevrolet race wins: 850 (1949 to date)

Poles won to date: 742

Laps led to date: 248,837

Top-five finishes to date: 4,295

Top-10 finishes to date: 8,857

Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:

       General Motors: 1,184

       Chevrolet: 850

       Pontiac: 154

       Oldsmobile: 115

       Buick: 65



       Ford: 827                                                           

       Ford: 727

       Mercury: 96

       Lincoln: 4



       Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467

       Dodge: 217

       Plymouth: 191

       Chrysler: 59



       Toyota: 180

 
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. 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.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Ryan Blaney Media Availability | Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Discount Tire Ford Mustang for Team Penske, goes into this weekend’s elimination race at Martinsville Speedway in the final Championship 4 transfer spot, 10 points above the cut line. Blaney spoke with members of the media earlier today about his situation.

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Discount Tire Ford Mustang — GIVEN THE SEASON PENSKE HAS HAD, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE POSITION YOU ARE IN? “I would say incredibly proud of our whole group, and I’m not just talking about our 12 group. I’m talking about all of Team Penske for digging down and finding what we need to find midway through the season, two-thirds part of the season, to get us where we’re at. It’s no secret that we struggled a little bit in the summer months, not being where we wanted to be, and even before the start of the playoffs we were struggling a little bit trying to find speed. We’ve put our head down and have really put together a good eight weeks to put us in this position, especially the last two weeks at Miami and Vegas. We’ve done an absolutely amazing job of finding the speed that we need to find and executing amazing races, so my emotion on that is huge pride and being proud of being with this group who is always working to get better and not getting down. They don’t get down or upset. Even when we’re not running very good they just go to work and they try to find ways to be better and that’s a group you want to be a part of and I’m really happy to be a part of this group that has that mindset because that’s a great mindset to have and that’s the people you want around you. So, I’m very proud to be at this point. They deserve it and now we just have to go and do it again this weekend, try to execute like we have the last two weeks and give us a shot to get to Phoenix.”

DID YOU FEEL LIKE HOMESTEAD WAS YOUR MOMENT TO MAKE THE CHAMPIONSHIP 4 AFTER THAT NAIL BITING FINISH? “Yeah, I was bummed we didn’t win because I thought we had a good shot to win and that’s all you can ask for. All you can ask for is trying to put yourselves in a position to try to win the race and being competitive enough to run up front, lead laps and have a shot to win and that’s all you can ask for. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen, but you have to hold your head high about you tried your best. I thought that was a good shot for us to punch our ticket, but, on the other side, even though we didn’t punch our ticket we did a great job of putting ourselves in a good spot for this weekend, especially for where we entered Homestead. Yeah, maybe a little bit of that, but that wasn’t really on the top of my mind at the moment.”

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU HAVE BEEN ABOVE THE CUT LINE IN THE ROUND OF 8 ELIMINATION RACE, SO DO YOU LOOK AT THIS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY THAN BEFORE? “No. Personally, I don’t really look at it any differently. It’s nice to be in that spot – above instead of clawing your way in. You’re still gonna have to fight hard. You can’t get relaxed unless you are the 20 or the 5 for this weekend. You still have a job to do and you still have to work hard and whether you’re below or above you still have to have the mindset of, ‘hey, we still have to go do an amazing job because I know other jobs are gonna do an amazing job as well, so we have to be on that level.’ So, I don’t think I have any different emotions, mindset on being above or below. Like I said, it’s nice to be above instead of the opposite, but you still have a very tough job to do and you have to go do your job.”

WHAT DID YOU SEE WHEN ROSS PULLED HIS MOVE LAST YEAR AT MARTINSVILLE? “I think his car was mainly red and black, I think. I looked in my mirror into three and I was like 10 car lengths to the good from the guy behind me, so I just kind of glanced in my mirror as a force of habit and I saw something. I didn’t pay any attention to it and then I looked at my mirror again off of four and I just see this car running video game speed and I’m like, ‘What the heck was that?’ I had no idea what it was at the time and then they told me after the race, so it was wild. I wasn’t watching the whole time, but I had a peek getting in the corner and it kind of confused me and then I looked up and I was like, man, I didn’t know. I thought someone had a problem, like someone had an issue and they were up there. I didn’t know it was intentional, so pretty crazy. I’ll never forget that. It’s one of those things that are burnt into your mind – pretty wild. It was more wild when I watched the replay because it looked fake. It doesn’t look real. It’s one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen.

ARE YOU GLAD YOU’RE NOT GOING TO BE ASKED TO DO THAT THIS YEAR? “I have to give Ross props. He did what he had to do. I mean, the amount of stones it took to do that is amazing and I don’t think anyone ever thought of that. You’re never gonna see it again. You’re not allowed to do that anymore, but it was pretty wild. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to get in and he did that. Unfortunately, you’ll never see anyone do that again.”

WHERE DO YOU FEEL PENSKE WAS MISSING IT DURING THE FIRST PART OF THE SEASON? “It’s hard to pinpoint. We got a new nose, all the Fords did, and I think that took everyone a little while to adjust to it. You had a year of ‘OK, this is your aero balanced. Here is the optimal heights and travels you need to be the best,’ and then when you have a new nose and it shifts the aero balance then it’s like, ‘OK, well now where do we need to be and how do we get back to that spot? Oh, we can’t get back to this spot that we were, so how are we going to adjust to try to optimize everything?’ That’s tough to do when you don’t really have any tests and limited practice. That’s really hard to do and you’re very limited on things you can do to the car, so I think that was tough for everybody to get a handle on. I don’t think this was a big factor, but the 22 group was in the hunt for the championship (in 2022). We were too. We had two of us in the Round of 8 and they were 100 percent focused after winning Vegas. I think when you’re in that spot it’s really tough for a group to focus on next year when you have so much riding on this year, which we have great people who are always focused on the future, but that’s just tough to do. But I feel like the new nose was a little bit tricky for us and we’ve been working hard to try to get it right and I think you saw a good resurgence of the Fords from our camp in May, the Roush camp did a really good job with it as well. Front Row did a really good job with it, so I feel like it just took us a little bit to get going, but I think sometimes you have to have tough conversations like, ‘OK, we are in this spot. We’re struggling. How do we get better?’ You just have to have those talks and be open and our group does a good job of taking emotion out of it and just trying to figure out how to be better as a whole and that’s how you get better. You just work on it. It took a little bit longer than I would have liked, but at least we’ve gotten better.”

WHERE DID POST-RACE FEISTY RYAN COME FROM? ARE WE NO MORE MR. NICE GUY TO MAKE IT TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP 4? “I feel like that got blown out of proportion, personally. It was a half-joke anyway, my post-race comments. It’s not like me, but it’s intense stuff and he (Denny Hamlin) and I were racing hard. I probably said stuff on the radio that was just kind of in the moment stuff, but at the end of the day we’re racing hard. Did I feel a little crowded? Yeah, but when you look at it, it’s just two guys running real hard. Hey, you guys have been saying for a while that I’m too nice, and I did say a couple years ago that if I start not being as nice I don’t want to hear about it, so I guess we’re in that spot (laughing). Hey, it’s just words. It doesn’t mean anything and hopefully we move on from it.”

ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE AS MUCH IN THESE CLOSING RACES TO GET WHERE YOU NEED TO GO AS YOU HAVE IN THE PAST? “You definitely have to take. Everybody in the playoffs now, there’s no give anymore. It’s all take and that’s what you have to do. People approach it differently. Everyone is different of how much they take and how they take it, but you can’t give anymore. If you’re giving, you’re going backwards, so it depends what spot you’re in, but in the playoffs it’s hard to give. You have to be on the aggressive side and take and that’s just the nature of what it is.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT SUNDAY BECAUSE YOU’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE? “I personally feel fairly decent about it. Like you said, we’ve run pretty good there in the past. It’s nice to have run good at places that you’re going to in the past, but I don’t think you can fully rely on that. Things change. We have a different tire going there this weekend. The track changes. Cars change, so it’s important you utilize the things you’ve learned in the past that has made you good, but I don’t think you can put all your chips into that basket. You have to understand that you have to continue to evolve and learn. That’s from a driver’s side and from a setup side how you unload, what have we learned this year as well at short tracks that maybe we can apply that’s made us better? Maybe we’ve done some stuff at short tracks that we worse, but you just learn that stuff and you have to be ready to do different things to be competitive. Hopefully, we can put together a good race like we have the last couple of weeks and it works out for us, but everyone’s heads are up high right now and understand that you’re not in a comfortable spot whatsoever. If you haven’t won, you still have to go execute and run a good race and hopefully we can go do that.”

IS IT OFFENSE OR DEFENSE THIS WEEKEND WHEN IT COMES TO HOW YOU APPROACH THIS – AT LEAST THE FIRST TWO STAGES? “It’s hard to say because it’s all situational. What spot are you in? When you’re coming down to these stages can you grab points? Is there a late caution? Then you have to make a tough decision, ‘Do you flip it? Do you stay out?’ What’s everyone doing around you? You have all these plans throughout the week that Jonathan and I talk about what we want to utilize, what’s important, what might happen in this situation. Ninety percent of the time those plans don’t come true. You have to be able to improvise on the fly and understand and make these calls quickly, and maybe it’s not part of your plan, but you have to be able to do that and adjust. I think that’s situational. There are times you’re gonna have to play offense. There are times you’re gonna have to play defense. That just depends on how cautions fall, pit cycles and what spot you’re in, so you have to be open to it all.”

TEMPS LOOK LIKE THEY’LL BE IN THE EIGHTIES THIS WEEKEND. HOW MUCH WILL THAT PLAY A ROLE? “I think it’s fantastic that it’s gonna be hot. That’s really good. I think it’s gonna help the racing out and hopefully lay some rubber down to where we’re moving around the racetrack a good bit. That place puts on such a better show when it’s mid-eighties than if it’s 45. It just gives you more options to move around and hopefully this tire just cakes rubber on the racetrack to where you’re gonna have guys searching and there are multiple lanes. I think that’s good. I’ve always preferred Martinsville to be a slicker race than when it’s really cold. I feel like we’ve run better at the slicker Martinsvilles in the past, so hopefully we can do that, but I think it’s good for the racing and the event. It’s always better when it’s a little bit hotter.”

WHAT’S YOUR OUTLOOK ON PHOENIX AND HOW CONFIDENT WOULD YOU BE SHOULD YOU MAKE IT? “You’ve got to get there first. I’m not really looking at Phoenix right now. We’ve got one job to do first and then I’ll look forward to it. Hopefully we can do it, but that’s not really on my mind right now. We’ve got a job to do first.”

WHAT HAS BEEN THE CHALLENGE OF THE SEASON FOR YOU? “I think the biggest challenge this year has just been trying to find speed. It’s kind of eluded us a little bit, especially in the summer months leading up to the playoffs. We’ve done a fantastic job here the last eight weeks of finding some good speed to where we’ve been able to run up front and get stage points, lead laps and stuff like that – especially the last two weeks. So I think that was a huge challenge during the year. That’s the toughest thing to find and you’re finding ones and twos, you’re finding little, tiny things here and there that hopefully just add up. There are no more big speed finders or revelations anymore. It’s all these little, tiny things that you hope add up over time, so that was tough. That’s super hard to find and we had just an absolute committee of people trying to find this stuff and props to them for doing a great job and this group does such a good job of that of digging down, so I would say that’s the tough part. I feel like our execution has been great this year, kind of the opposite of last year. I felt like last year our speed was fantastic and our execution was a little tough, whether it was on my side or some other things going on. That stuff you can normally fix easier than finding speed, so that’s been the biggest part of this year, but it’s coming at a time to where we’re finding it at the precise moments and you just hope that it keeps carrying.”

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE SO CLOSE TO A CHAMPIONSHIP AND TO BE AT THIS POINT WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO ACHIEVE THAT? “That’s all you want is an opportunity to be a champion of your sport. That’s with anything. You want to do a good job in whatever you do, whether it’s motorsports, other sports, your job. You want to do well and you want to be the best at what you’re doing, whether that’s winning a championship, getting a promotion, running a company, whatever that is you want to do that. That’s why you do it. You’re not just going through the motions. You want to be the best, so that’s the ultimate goal. That’s why everyone races is to win races and win championships. That’s why every team plays and that’s the biggest thing. Dad turned 61 yesterday, so they had a birthday dinner for him and it was nice talking to him about that, so hopefully we can keep doing our job for two weeks and have a late birthday present for dad. That would be pretty special because when I was a kid wanting to get into racing watching dad run it, that’s what you want to be. You see all the champions of the sport, Jimmie winning all these championships and see all these great. You want to be that guy, so that’s what you aspire to as a kid and we’re close to doing it. We’ve just got to dig down deep here the next couple of weeks.”

THIS IS YOUR FOURTH ROUND OF 8 APPEARANCE. OUTSIDE OF BEING ABOVE THE CUT OFF, WHAT MAKES THIS TIME DIFFERENT THAN THE PRIOR THREE IN THIS ROUND? “I think experience is big in this stuff, so you hope to learn from what you’ve done well in the past and you hope to learn from what you haven’t done well in the past. Personally, I did not do a good job last year in this round and it kept us out and it was solely on me, so those things you learn from in hopes that you make it right in the future and you become a better driver from it. I think we’ve learned from our prior mistakes as a team and me as a driver and you just keep building. That’s the route of getting better. You’re gonna make mistakes. Those things happen, but it’s how you rebound from them, how you learn from them is huge and that’s what makes you better. You just hope to apply those things and I think we have applied those things. You just hope they’re enough.”

CHASE BRISCOE
Martinsville Advance
No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Xfinity 500 (Round 35 of 36)

● Time/Date: 2 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Oct. 29

● Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway

● Layout: .526-mile oval

● Laps/Miles: 500 laps/263 miles

● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 130 laps / Stage 2: 130 laps / Final Stage: 240 laps

● TV/Radio: NBC / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● With just two races remaining on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, Chase Briscoe is looking to find his way back to victory lane where the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors team has been the strongest – the short tracks. The mission begins this weekend with the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, where Briscoe’s performance has been strong since the introduction of the NextGen car at the start of the 2022 season. A fourth-consecutive top-10 finish at the half-mile oval tucked in the hills of Ridgeway, Virginia, would add to the Stewart-Haas Racing driver’s momentum headed to the final race of the season at Phoenix Raceway, where the 28-year-old driver earned his first victory behind the wheel of the No. 14 Ford Mustang.

● Briscoe has earned three straight top-10 finishes at Martinsville dating back to the March 2022 race. He scored ninth-place results in both 2022 events, the second one in the October race, the third and final race of the Round of 8 of the Cup Series Playoffs in which he was eliminated from championship contention. This past April at Martinsville, Briscoe finished fifth in the first stage and second in the second stage, and led twice for a total of 109 laps en route to a fifth-place result.

● In the fall of 2020, when the NASCAR Xfinity Series returned to Martinsville after a 13-year hiatus, Briscoe drove to a seventh-place finish. The 27-year-old racer also owns two NASCAR Truck Series starts at Martinsville. His best result came in April 2017, when he started eighth and finished 11th. He returned that October to start on the pole and lead the first 39 laps before a late-race accident relegated him to a 19th-place finish.

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Since the introduction of the NextGen, you have never finished outside of the top-10 at Martinsville. Is that coincidence and good timing after a year of experience in the Cup Series, or is this car more suited to your driving style on a short track?

“I don’t know. I’ve always enjoyed going to Martinsville. I felt like I’ve always had speed there, I just didn’t really race that well. So, I don’t know if the NextGen just kind of fits me a little bit better there or if it’s the experience. Martinsville has definitely been a place where we’ve been really good every time we’ve been, we just haven’t been able to capitalize on how good we are. We’ve led quite a few laps there but just haven’t been able to put it all together. It’s a place we always look forward to going to because we are always so fast, so hopefully this time will be different.”

There are a lot of guys who grew up racing asphalt Late Models and who had a goal of racing on tracks like Martinsville. As a dirt racer, is a win at Martinsville as coveted to you as it would be to them?

“Martinsville is a very iconic track. The trophy is probably the one that everybody wants. So, from that standpoint, yeah, it definitely is. I feel like if you win at Martinsville, you’re respected as a really good short-track driver and, as a guy who didn’t do any of that growing up, it’d be cool for me to be able to win there. There is a list of guys who are just incredible short-track racers, and that’s not something that I grew up doing, so if I could add my name to that, it would be really cool.”

You didn’t do much Late Model racing growing up, but you did get behind the wheel of a pavement Late Model this year and won in just your second start. Have you learned anything from that limited amount of time on track?

“It’s a completely different kind of racing, but I do feel like I’ve learned some things as far as technique that could really help. The reason Denny Hamlin and William Byron are so good at short tracks is because they do have that foundation in Late Model racing. It definitely doesn’t hurt to get that experience.”

No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Chase Briscoe

Hometown: Mitchell, Indiana

Crew Chief: Richard Boswell

Hometown: Friendship, Maryland

Car Chief: J.D. Frey

Hometown: Ferndale, California

Engineer: Mike Cook

Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland

Spotter: Joey Campbell

Hometown: Berlin, Connecticut

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala

Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois

Rear Tire Changer: Dakota Ratcliff
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee

Tire Carrier: Jon Bernal
Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina

Jack Man: Dylan Moser

Hometown: Monroe, North Carolina

Fuel Man: Corey Coppola

Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia

Road Crew Members

Underneath Mechanic: Stephen Gonzalez
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Interior Mechanic: Trevor Adams
Hometown: Naples, Florida

Tire Specialist: Keith Eads
Hometown: Arlington, Virginia

Engine Tuner: Jon Phillips
Hometown: Jefferson City, Missouri

Transporter Co-Driver: Todd Cable
Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Rob Fink

Hometown: Mocksville, North Carolina