TEAM CHEVY RACE ADVANCE
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nevada
October 14-15, 2023
AND THEN THERE WERE EIGHT..
Coming off yet another weekend sweep by the Bowtie brand, the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) will make the trek out west to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the first race of the Round of Eight. A win by a Team Chevy playoff driver at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval would guarantee his spot in the Championship Four and the opportunity to compete for the coveted title in their respective series.
The checkered flag at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course last weekend determined the eight drivers in each series that remain in title contention. In NASCAR’s premier series, Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson will represent Chevrolet in the Round of Eight as the pair inches closer to competing for the manufacturer’s 34th NCS driver’s championship title. In the NXS, JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer turned a must-win situation into a ticket into the next round with his third win of the season. Five drivers from three Chevrolet teams have advanced into the Round of Eight with Mayer joined by his JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier; the pair of Richard Childress teammates Austin Hill and Sheldon Creed; and Kaulig Racing’s Chandler Smith.
DEFENDING IN THE DESERT
NASCAR’s most recent visit to Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March saw a Chevrolet-powered machine in victory lane across all three national series.
In the NASCAR Cup Series, William Byron picked up his first of a now series-leading six wins on the season at the Nevada oval – delivering Hendrick Motorsports its third consecutive triumph in the series’ spring appearance at the track. The 25-year-old North Carolina native led the Chevrolet organization to a podium sweep with Byron leading playoff contender Kyle Larson in second and Alex Bowman in third. The win marked Chevrolet’s 11th victory in the series’ 31 race history at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Austin Hill made a late-race charge in his No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Camaro SS – ultimately taking the lead as the field approached the white flag to claim his second triumph of the season. The victory marked Chevrolet’s series-leading 16th NXS victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – four of which have come in the series’ past five appearances at the track. All five Team Chevy NXS playoff contenders are returning to the track with the momentum from top-10 finishes in the March event.
In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS), Kyle Busch put Chevrolet back in victory lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the first time since 2015 – driving his No. 51 Silverado RST to a nearly five second lead en route to the Bowtie brand’s 10th all-time NCTS win at the track. The dominating performance led to a monumental victory for Kyle Busch Motorsports – marking the organization’s first victory since it began competing under the Chevrolet banner at the beginning of the season.
BYRON, LARSON SET FOR STRONG TRIO OF TRACKS
With the playoff standings reset, William Byron maintained the top position after a nearly perfect showing in the Round of 12. In arguably the most diverse and unpredictable round of the postseason, Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 team posted a series-best average finish of 1.67 after their series-leading sixth victory of the season at Texas Motor Speedway and a pair of runner-up finishes at Talladega Superspeedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
The 25-year-old North Carolina native enters the penultimate playoff round with an extra boost with the Team Chevy driver returning to Las Vegas Motor Speedway as the series’ most recent winner. In addition, with back-to-back intermediate ovals, Byron has already proven to be an early favorite with an average finish of 4.40 on 1.50-mile tracks this season with results that include two wins and four top-five finishes.
Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson also finds himself reseeded in the top-four of the points standings. Larson is one of only two former series champions that remain in title contention, and despite an up-and-down second round, the 31-year-old California native has demonstrated that he’s more than capable of becoming a repeat champion in NASCAR’s top series. Larson opened up the postseason with a win at Darlington Raceway, going on to post an average finish of 2.33 in the opening round.
During his tenure at Hendrick Motorsports, Larson has one win and three top-two finishes in five starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 team are also the series’ most recent winners at two of the three tracks in this round with a win at Homestead-Miami Speedway in October 2022 and a win at Martinsville Speedway in April 2023.
A look at Team Chevy’s playoff contenders heading into race one of the NASCAR Cup Series Round of Eight at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – 1st in Playoff Standings; 20 points above the cutline
Victories: 6 (series-leading)
Poles: 3
Top-Fives: 13
Top-10s: 18
Laps Led: 895
Average Finish: 11.5
Stage Wins: 8 (series-leading)
At Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
Wins: 1
Top-Fives: 2
Top-10s: 4
Average Finish: 16.273
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – 4th in Playoff Standings; three points above the cutline
Victories: 3
Poles: 2
Top-Fives: 13 (series-leading)
Top-10s: 15
Laps Led: 898 (series-leading)
Average Finish: 15.1
Stage Wins: 5
At Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
Wins: 1
Top-Fives: 6
Top-10s: 10
Average Finish: 10.5
TALLYING PODIUM SWEEPS
The Team Chevy one-two-three finish courtesy of AJ Allmendinger, William Byron and Kyle Busch at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course marked the manufacturer’s sixth podium sweep of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. Chevrolet was first able to accomplish the feat in only the second points-paying race of the season at Auto Club Speedway, going on to reciprocate the podium sweep the following weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The manufacturer hit a season-high finish in the series’ debut on the Chicago Street Course with drivers from four different Chevrolet teams taking the Camaro ZL1 to a sweep of the top-five.
KAULIG RACING MAKES FIVE TRIUMPHANT CHEVROLET TEAMS
AJ Allmendinger became the first driver to score a playoff upset this season – claiming his third career NASCAR Cup Series win at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. The 41-year-old California native became the seventh different Chevrolet driver to reach victory lane in NASCAR’s top series this season. In only the organization’s second season in the series, Kaulig Racing is the fifth different Chevrolet organization to contribute to the manufacturer’s series-leading 16 NCS wins this season, continuing to prove the strength across the Bowtie brigade.
MAYER CAPITALIZES ON MUST-WIN
Entering the Round of 12 elimination race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course below the playoff cutline, JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer was faced with a must-win situation in order to keep his title hopes alive. Unphased by the pressure-packed weekend, the 20-year-old put his No. 1 Camaro SS on the pole – going on to lead 50 of the 67 laps completed to earn the victory and the final position in the Round of Eight. The walk-off win marked Mayer’s third career NXS victory – each recorded on a different road course this season. With 29 NXS races complete, Chevrolet now sits at 15 victories – more than its two OEM competitors combined.
LOOKING BACK ONE YEAR AGO
One year ago at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, JR Motorsports’ Josh Berry drove Chevrolet to a memorable trip to victory lane. The win marked Chevrolet’s 500th all-time NASCAR Xfinity Series win, with the milestone victory also clinching the manufacturer’s sixth consecutive – and 24th all-time – NXS manufacturer’s championship. Returning to the Nevada oval one year later, Chevrolet is trending towards keeping its title streak alive with the manufacturer heading into the weekend with an 81-point lead in the series’ manufacturer points standings.
BOWTIE BULLETS:
· Active Chevrolet drivers with a NASCAR Cup Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
William Byron – 1 (March 2023)
Alex Bowman – 1 (March 2022)
Kyle Larson – 1 (March 2021)
Kyle Busch – 1 (March 2009)
· Chevrolet’s two NASCAR Cup Series playoff contenders are the series’ most recent winners at each of the four tracks remaining on the postseason schedule:
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1
Las Vegas Motor Speedway (March 2023)
Phoenix Raceway (March 2023)
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1
Homestead-Miami Speedway (October 2022)
Martinsville Speedway (April 2023)
· In 31 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Chevrolet has recorded 11 victories. Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at the track with eight, recorded among five drivers: Jeff Gordon (2001), Jimmie Johnson (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010), Kyle Larson (2021), Alex Bowman (2022), William Byron (2023).
· In 32 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race this season, Chevrolet continues to lead the series in wins (16), top-fives (69), top-10s (136), stage wins (22) and laps led (3,038).
· Chevrolet leads the series in wins across all three NASCAR national series this season with 16 victories in 32 NASCAR Cup Series races, 15 victories in 29 NASCAR Xfinity Series races and 12 wins in 21 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races – all with a winning percentage of at least 50 percent.
· Chevrolet’s series-leading 16 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 22 of the 64 NASCAR Cup Series stage wins this season: William Byron (eight; series-leading), Ross Chastain (five), Kyle Larson (five), Kyle Busch (two) and Chase Elliott (two).
· Chevrolet continues to sit atop the manufacturer points standings in all three NASCAR national series, leading by 76 points in the NASCAR Cup Series, 81 points in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and 60 points in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
· 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’s Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver’s Championships, and 849 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title of winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.
TUNE IN:
NASCAR Cup Series: South Point 400
Sunday, October 15, at 2:30 p.m. ET
(NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 302
Saturday, October 14, at 3:30 p.m. ET
(USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1
Now that you’re not in the playoffs, how do you approach the remaining races?
“The prep is the same every week whether or not we are in the playoffs. Everyone works hard every week to put the best prepared car out there, the engineers and Phil (Surgen) work hard on the setup and I continue the work with all of the different things I do. So even though we aren’t in the playoffs, we’re all still working very hard to finish out the season strong and go for wins.”
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1
Larson on racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
“I’m looking forward to the next Round (of 8). It has some good tracks (Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway) for us. We really hope to have a solid next few races that can advance us into the Championship 4 and then I feel like we could have a really good shot at Phoenix (Raceway). Thank you to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. It’s the best organization in NASCAR and I’m very grateful to be at such a great place.”
Cliff Daniels, Crew Chief, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1
Daniels on racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
“The No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM team is headed to (Las) Vegas (Motor Speedway) looking for a really solid weekend. Our intermediate package has been close lately and the Hendrick Motorsports cars have had speed. Our team has been doing a really good job on pit road and a lot of things have been coming together. Our focus is making sure that we put the good things that we have together to execute a good race. You’re never out of it as long as you are able to execute and put the right things in the right place at the right time.”
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Camaro ZL1
“Las Vegas is your traditional mile and a half racetrack. Both ends are a little bit different, it’s a very smooth racetrack through (turns) three and four, a little bit of bumps through (turns) one and two. We’ve had good speed there and ran near the front, earning a top-10 finish in the fall race last year. I think we can go there, be competitive and keep building on the speed that we’ve had in our cars. We have the potential to have a strong finish to the year and Vegas is one of those races I have circled as an opportunity to run upfront and put ourselves in position to have a solid run.”
Carson Hocevar, No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Camaro ZL1
“I like running at Las Vegas. We’ve been quick there and have had some speed in the truck. With that race being at the start of the year for us in the Truck Series, it’s been a tougher race balance wise to try and win the race or go for stage points. It’s always a fun track, one that you can move around a little bit. The Cup cars look like they can be a lot of fun there. Luke (Lambert) and this No. 42 group feel pretty confident about going back to Vegas after their spring outing, the post-work they’ve done, and everything that the team has put together on their mile-and-a-half package. We’re all excited to go there and excited to get to work.”
Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1
“I am really looking forward to Vegas. Our mile-and-a-half stuff has been really good most of the year, but especially in the last half of the season. Texas was a good day for us with a lot of speed, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out for us in the end. I think our Vegas car has been given a lot of extra effort and preparation to make sure that we are bringing a really good piece. So, I am excited to get out there and see it play out. I like the track a lot as well, so I am really looking forward to Vegas.”
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Camaro ZL1
“We certainly deserved a top-10 and maybe a top-five at Charlotte. But you forget about last week and focus on this week. We have four races remaining in the season and we want to win as badly now as we did when the season started in Daytona.
We have run better the last three races and I expect that to continue Sunday. There is a lot of racing left in 2023.”
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: 16
Poles: 8
Laps Led: 3,038
Top-five finishes: 69
Top-10 finishes: 138
Stage wins: 22
· Ross Chastain – 5 (Daytona), (Auto Club x2), (Dover), (Darlington)
· William Byron – 8 (Las Vegas x2), (Phoenix), (COTA), (Richmond), (Dover), (Charlotte), (Watkins Glen)
· Kyle Larson – 5 (Phoenix), (Bristol Dirt), (Pocono), (Kansas), (Texas)
· Chase Elliott – 2 (Talladega), (Charlotte RC)
· Kyle Busch – 2 (WWTR), (Sonoma)
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 849 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 742
Laps led to date: 248,582
Top-five finishes to date: 4,290
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,850
Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:
General Motors: 1,183
Chevrolet: 849
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: 179
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.
