TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course / Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park
Indianapolis, Indiana
August 11-13, 2023
CHEVROLET SETS SIGHTS ON UNIQUE TRIPLEHEADER IN INDIANAPOLIS
For the third consecutive year, the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS), NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) and NTT INDYCAR SERIES will convene to compete at one of the most iconic venues in motorsports – Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). Located within the “racing capital of the world”, the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course first hosted the unique tripleheader weekend in 2021 and continues to be the only venue in motorsport’s history to see NASCAR’s premier series and North America’s top open-wheel racing series compete at the same track on the same weekend.
Chevrolet’s rich history at Indianapolis Motor Speedway dates back to the track’s early races which saw the manufacturer’s co-founder, Louis Chevrolet, and his brothers compete. Over 111 years later, Chevrolet is gearing up to compete in the NCS, NXS and INDYCAR series at the circuit – the only manufacturer that will be represented in all three events.
Chevrolet will head into the weekend as the circuit’s defending winners in both of NASCAR’s top series with victories recorded by Tyler Reddick (No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1) in the NCS and AJ Allmendinger (No. 16 Kaulig Racing Camaro SS) in the NXS. While falling one spot short of the triumph in INDYCAR’s spring appearance at the circuit, Chevrolet will make its return to the venue for the first time since Josef Newgarden drove Chevrolet to the victory in the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 earlier this year.
GOING FOR THREE-FOR-THREE
Since the NASCAR Cup Series made its debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in 2021, Chevrolet has been the only manufacturer to find its way to victory lane at the circuit. The inaugural NCS event (August 2021) at the circuit saw road course ace AJ Allmendinger drive Kaulig Racing to the organization’s first win in NASCAR’s premier series. One year later, the manufacturer found its way back to victory lane with Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1 team. The win capped off a Team Chevy weekend sweep in Indianapolis with Allmendinger taking the win in the NXS and GMS Racing’s Grant Enfinger scoring the win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ (NCTS) playoff opener at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP).
Momentum sits on the side of the Bowtie brand when it comes to making left- and right-hand turns. One month ago, Chevrolet swept the top-five finishing positions in the Chicago Street Race – led by Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen who took the victory in his first-ever NASCAR start. Drivers from four different Chevrolet teams accompanied van Gisbergen in the top-five including Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley (second), Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson (third and fourth, respectively) and Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch (fifth).
THREE DRIVERS TABBED FOR INDY TEAM CHEVY CROSSOVER
An elite group of Chevrolet drivers have made the crossover into the NASCAR national ranks in 2023 – with three different series in which the manufacturer actively competes in having been represented in NASCAR Cup Series competition thus far this season. Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard will once again feature a star-studded lineup, including three international superstars that will be behind the wheel of a Camaro ZL1:
Shane van Gisbergen etched his name into motorsports’ history after taking the victory in his NCS debut in the Chicago Street Race – becoming the first driver since 1963 to win in his first career NCS start. The three-time Supercars Champion will return to the seat of Trackhouse Racing’s No. 91 Camaro ZL1 this weekend for his second start in NASCAR’s top series. The Auckland, New Zealand, native competes full-time in the Supercars Championship in the No. 97 Camaro ZL1 for Triple Eight Racing Engineering – holding the title as the fourth-most successful driver in the series with 79 career wins and three championship titles (2016, 2021 & 2022). Van Gisbergen is also on the horizon of his first career start on a NASCAR oval with the Chevrolet driver also slated to compete in Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Brodie Kostecki will become the second Supercars Championship driver to make his NCS debut this season. The Perth, Western Australian, native will pilot the No. 33 Camaro ZL1 this weekend – a third entry for Richard Childress Racing. Kostecki currently competes full-time in the Supercars Championship in the No. 99 Erebus Racing Camaro ZL1 – currently sitting atop the series’ points standings with a 41-point lead. While new to the NASCAR national ranks, Kostecki has previous stock car experience in the United States – making 16 starts in the ARCA Menards Series East in 2013-14.
Two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller will fill the seat of the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Camaro ZL1 for the next two NCS road course races. A veteran sports car racer, Rockenfeller has a history with LMC co-owner Jimmie Johnson – competing together in IMSA with Action Express for two seasons and, most recently, teammates in the Garage 56 program. An integral part in the development of the Garage 56 program, Rockenfeller was one of three drivers that piloted the Camaro ZL1 NASCAR Cup Series stock car at the French endurance classic.
GARAGE 56 CAMARO ZL1 TO MAKE FIRST APPEARANCE SINCE LE MANS COMPETITION
For the first time since competing in the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Garage 56 Camaro ZL1 will be making a special appearance during the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course race weekend. Situated at the Chevrolet Racing Display in the facility’s fan plaza, fans will have the opportunity to view the actual stock car that recently competed in the French endurance classic.
Chevrolet partnered with NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports, IMSA and Goodyear to develop a modified version of the Camaro ZL1 NASCAR Cup Series stock car to compete as a Garage 56 entry. The effort marked the first time a NASCAR stock car competed at Le Mans since 1976 – with the Camaro ZL1 running 285 laps and taking the checkered flag in the prestigious endurance race. Three legendary drivers of multiple sport disciplines shared the driver’s seat of the entry including Mike Rockenfeller, who is set to compete in the NCS event at the IMS Road Course this weekend.
Chevrolet played an integral part in the Garage 56 project, including being the heart of the Camaro ZL1 with the NASCAR R07 cast-iron V8 engine – utilizing the same block, castings and pistons used in current NCS competition. Engineers and designers from Chevrolet also worked with the project’s partners to integrate working headlights, taillights, aerodynamic devices, cooling ducts for the brake system and other accessories for the car.
PLAYOFF HOPEFULS WITH ROAD COURSE SUCCESS
Three opportunities lie ahead for drivers to clinch a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs – two of which come in back-to-back road course races. Of the drivers on the playoff bubble include three Team Chevy drivers that have found success in road course racing and will go into the next two races as early favorites to be the next driver to ‘win and advance’ into the 16-driver NCS playoff field.
Sitting 19th in the points standings, AJ Allmendinger knows his way to victory lane at both of the next two circuits. The 41-year-old California native has two career NCS wins to his name – his first coming in August 2014 at Watkins Glen International with JTG Daugherty Racing, and most recently, in August 2021 when he drove his Kaulig Racing Chevrolet to the win in the NCS’ debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. On top of his two career NCS road course wins, the Chevrolet driver has also amassed 11 career road course victories in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – making him the only driver in series’ history to hit a double-digit win count on road courses.
Chase Elliott – who sits 22nd in the points standings – leads the series with seven career road course victories in NASCAR’s premier series. The 27-year-old Georgia native also ranks third on the NCS’ all-time road course wins list behind NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon (nine) and Tony Stewart (eight). Two of his series-leading road course victories came at Watkins Glen International, including his first career NCS triumph (August 2018).
Following a top-10 finish at Michigan International Speedway, Daniel Suarez continues to inch his way closer to the playoff picture with the Chevrolet driver now sitting in the 18th position in the points standings and only five points below the cutline. Suarez became a first-time winner in NASCAR’s premier series on a road course circuit – taking the victory at Sonoma Raceway in 2022.
DEFENDING ON NXS ROAD COURSES
One year ago, Chevrolet collected its first NASCAR Xfinity Series win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course – a victory by road course phenom AJ Allmendinger and the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Camaro SS team. The manufacturer’s first trip to victory lane in the series at the circuit was celebrated by a top-four sweep – recorded by drivers from four different Chevrolet teams.
The Bowtie brand is also the series’ most recent winner when it comes to making left- and right-hand turns – courtesy of JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer’s victory at Road America just two weeks ago. The victory marked the manufacturer’s second NXS road course win of the season – the first coming at Circuit of The Americas in March (AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Camaro SS).
GREEN FLAG ON THE NCTS TITLE RUN
Five drivers from five different Chevrolet teams are set to compete for the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship title with the first of three races in the Round of 10 taking place Friday night at the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. The NCTS has competed at the 0.686-mile short-track 18 times with Chevrolet collecting a series-leading 10 victories at the venue. The manufacturer’s most recent triumph at the track came one year ago – a race that saw GMS Racing’s Grant Enfinger take the win and the first spot in the NCTS’ Playoffs Round of Eight.
Heading into the series’ title run, Chevrolet’s Carson Hocevar, Christian Eckes and Grant Enfinger – each already making repeat visits to victory lane this season – sit in the third through fifth positions, respectively, in the playoff standings. NCTS rookie Nick Sanchez (eighth) and Matt DiBenedetto (ninth) were two of four drivers that pointed their way into the post-season.
BOWTIE BULLETS:
· Chevrolet will pace the field during the tripleheader race weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course:
NASCAR Cup Series: Camaro ZL1
NASCAR Xfinity Series: Camaro SS 1LE
NTT INDYCAR Series: Corvette Stingray Z51 convertible
· Chevrolet has won both NASCAR Cup Series races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course with AJ Allmendinger (No. 16 Kaulig Racing Camaro SS) in 2021 and Tyler Reddick (No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1) in 2022.
· Chevrolet has made its way to victory lane in 16 of the past 20 NASCAR Cup Series road racing events – dating from Chase Elliott’s victory at Watkins Glen International in August 2019 to Shane van Gisbergen’s victory at the Chicago Street Race in July 2023. Within that time span, the manufacturer notched a streak of 11 consecutive road course wins in the series – a run that started with Elliott’s victory in NASCAR’s debut at Circuit of The Americas in May 2021.
· An elite group of Chevrolet drivers that have made the crossover into the NASCAR national ranks this season including Shane van Gisbergen and Brodie Kostecki (Supercars Championship), Mike Rockenfeller (Garage 56), Jordan Taylor (IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Corvette Racing) and Conor Day (NTT INDYCAR Series).
· Three of the six repeat winners in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season come from Team Chevy:
William Byron: series-leading four wins (Las Vegas, Phoenix, Darlington & Atlanta 2)
Kyle Busch: three wins (Auto Club, Talladega, WWTR)
Kyle Larson: two wins (Richmond & Martinsville)
· In 23 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race this season, Chevrolet continues to lead the series in wins (12), top-fives (50), top-10s (97), stage wins (18) and laps led (2,398).
· Chevrolet leads the series in wins across all three NASCAR national series this season with 12 victories in 23 NASCAR Cup Series races, 11 victories in 21 NASCAR Xfinity Series races and 10 wins in 16 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races – all with a win percentage of at least 50%.
· With William Byron’s win at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports now sits at 297 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories – all recorded with Chevrolet.
· Chevrolet’s series-leading 12 NASCAR Cup Series wins this season have been recorded by drivers from four different Chevrolet teams: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (JTG Daugherty Racing), Kyle Busch (Richard Childress Racing), William Byron and Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports) and Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen (Trackhouse Racing).
· Chevrolet drivers have recorded 18 of the 46 NASCAR Cup Series stage wins this season: William Byron (seven; series-leading), Ross Chastain (five), Kyle Larson (three), Kyle Busch (two) and Chase Elliott (one).
· Chevrolet continues to sit atop the manufacturer points standings in all three NASCAR national series, leading by 53 points in the NASCAR Cup Series, 56 points in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and 51 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 Grant Enfinger’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win at World Wide Technology Raceway, GMS Racing is now the winningest Chevrolet organization in NCTS’ history with 44 all-time wins in the series.
· With its 41 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer’s Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver’s Championships, and 845 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 Plaza at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
· Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles at the Team Chevy Racing Display including: Silverado 2500HD, Silverado 1500 ZR2, Tahoe Z71, Blazer RS, Corvette E-Ray Coupe, Colorado Trail Boss, Trailblazer ACTIV, Camaro ZL1.
· Fans will also have a special viewing of the Garage 56 Camaro ZL1 – the first public appearance of the race car since competing at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Team Chevy Driver Appearances at the Display:
Friday, August 11
· Josef Newgarden, Will Power, Scott McLaughlin: 3:05 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.
Saturday, August 12
· Nick Sanchez: 10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
· Brodie Kostecki: 10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
· Rinus VeeKay, Ryan Hunter-Reay: 11:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
· Callum Ilott, Agustin Canapino: 11:45 a.m. – 12 p.m.
· Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi, Tony Kanaan: 12:30 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Sunday, August 13
· Shane van Gisbergen: 10:50 a.m. – 11:05 a.m.
· Alex Bowman: 11:05 a.m. – 11:20 a.m.
· Kyle Busch: 11:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
· Chase Elliott: 12 p.m. – 12:15 p.m.
· William Byron: 12:30 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation:
· Friday, August 11: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
· Saturday, August 12: 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
· Sunday, August 13: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
TUNE IN:
· NASCAR Cup Series: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
Verizon 200 at the Brickyard
Sunday, August 13, at 2:30 p.m. ET
(NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
· NASCAR Xfinity Series: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
Pennzoil 150 presented by Advance Auto Parts
Saturday, August 12, at 5:30 p.m. ET
(USA Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
· NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park
TSport 200
Friday, August 11, at 9 p.m. ET
(FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
· NTT INDYCAR Series: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
Gallagher Grand Prix
Saturday, August 12, at 2 p.m. ET
(USA Network, INDYCAR Radio and SiriusXM Channel 160)
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1
Now looking back on it, do you think Shane (van Gisbergen) was maybe sandbagging a little (laughs) going into Chicago?
“No, I don’t think so. Shane was the new guy going into Chicago so he didn’t get first pick of the simulator times for that weekend. He went Thursday night to the simulator when the haulers were already gone and they couldn’t change the car. I got to see some of the stuff once we got to the track, and obviously after practice and qualifying we saw that he was good and looked through some of his stuff.”
You’ve won at COTA; do you feel like your road course game is pretty good going into the next two weeks?
“It’s a constant evolution and labor of love. I had never turned right before until I was in the Truck in 2013 at Mosport. I realized that weekend I had a lot of work to do. I’m not satisfied with how I turn right at all. Shane opened our eyes to a lot of things and we’ve looked at that. Going to tracks without walls everywhere like Chicago and tracks that I’ve been to before like the next two coming up will help. It’s constant work for me though. I’ve been putting in the work so we’ll see if it pays off.”
Will you feel less like a pinball going into Turn 1 at Indy since NASCAR has altered restart zone at Indy road course?
“I didn’t feel like one last year because I took the other way which is now a stop and go penalty. It’s trying to help make us look like the incredible race car drivers that we all are so I think it will be good.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 THE COWBOY CHANNEL CAROLINA COWBOYS CAMARO ZL1
How do you approach the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course race given the points situation you are in?
“At this point, we can’t make it into the NASCAR Playoffs on points. We have to win. That gives us the opportunity to be aggressive, and to make moves and strategy calls that maybe you otherwise wouldn’t if you were racing for points. We’re going to be aggressive. Anybody can win right now, including us, so we have to really focus. We’ve had moments throughout the season where we’ve been really fast. Things have to line up and we have to have a perfect day in order to get to Victory Lane. That means I have to do my job; the pit crew has to do their job and the strategy has to play out. In the SIM, I’ve been pretty good at the Indianapolis Road Course. It was a little surprising, actually, how the track came to me right away. I’d like to surprise some people at a road course.”
You have the Cowboy Channel and the Carolina Cowboys on your car this weekend. What does that mean to you, to be able to represent the western lifestyle at a NASCAR race?
“Man, I love having the Carolina Cowboys and the Cowboy Channel on our Chevy this weekend. It’s really the intersection of my two favorite things. Racing, obviously, takes up a lot of my time, but so do my western interests. I’m always watching the Cowboy Channel and the Cowboy Channel Plus app, so I really want to thank Patrick Goetsch and everyone on his team for this opportunity. I also can’t wait to highlight the Carolina Cowboys on the car. I hope everyone is able to come out to our home event at the Greensboro Coliseum Sept. 22-24. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster.”
KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1
What challenges arise with competing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course?
“I would say the challenges at the Indy Road Course are the visuals, especially braking visuals in traffic. It’s so flat and a lot of corners are so slow that when the track gets hot and it gets slick it really slows down a lot. Trying to keep the tires on the car under braking and also under acceleration is a challenge. It’s really flat and you’re always trying to make sure that you can go as fast as you can, carry as much speed as you possibly can, but keep the brakes on the car because there’s a lot of heavy braking areas at the Indianapolis Road Course.”
The restarts going into Turn 1 at Indy are chaotic. How do you protect your position and stay out of trouble?
“Restarts going into Turn 1 are chaotic. The best way to protect yourself is to stay all the way to the inside to the right-side of the racetrack and not let anybody to your inside. You can be the guy that kind of forces everybody off into Turn 1 and puts them in the grass because if you’re on the outside and get put off in the grass then you’re losing spots. That happened to me last year, but hopefully moving the restart zone a little bit will kind of help that calamity and calm everything down.”
There are no stage cautions on road courses this season. Do you think that’s a good move?
“No stage cautions at road courses I think is a smart way to go. Last year everybody would always pit before a stage caution would come out. Then when the caution came out nobody would pit or guys would actually flip the stages where they would run it long and not pit and take the points then they’d have to come in and pit. It just makes it a heck of a lot more simple to run it out and allows there to be more strategy within the race for when guys want to pit, if they want to make it a two-stop race or a three-stop race. I think that’s a good move.”
You have two wins at Indy on the oval. How special would it be to win on the road course?
“I’ve got two wins on the Indy oval so it would be really cool to win on the Indy road course to have won at multiple layouts at the same venue. I look at the Charlotte Roval as kind of the same thing there too, with winning on the big track and I would love to be able to win on the Roval there. The Indianapolis Road Course is still sacred ground and what that place means history-wise with everything from the Pagoda to celebrating by kissing the bricks. It would certainly be cool to chalk up another win there and have it be on the road course.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1
Elliott on racing on the Indianapolis Road Course:
“For me personally, I feel like it is one of the harder ones, if not the toughest for me. Most road courses that we go to have a little bit of character at some point, little bit of banking or a little bit of something. That place is just flat. Not really a lot of character to the road itself. Imperfections, bumps. Things like that. Just a very flat road course, which I find challenging because it’s hard to find ways to be different.”
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1
Gustafson on the team’s outlook for the remainder of the regular season:
“Our goal is the same as it’s always been. Go out and execute to the best of our ability, minimize mistakes and be in position to battle for the win at the end. We have three great opportunities coming up to be able to do that and Chase (Elliott) is one of the best at being able to tune out all the noise and focus on the task at hand.”
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 KAULIG RACING CAMARO ZL1
“The last two years at Indy have been really special. To be able to kiss the bricks in the Xfinity Series and Cup Series has been a dream come true. Our road course stuff hasn’t quite been where we need it to be, but we are definitely working hard on it. We were close last year on the Cup side and if we get to Indy and unload well, we can have a shot to go win the race.”
JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1
“I’m really excited to go back to my home track at Indianapolis. I’ve had some really great finishes in both the Xfinity Series and Cup Series since we started running the road course, so I’m looking forward to hopefully another great run with my friends and family there.”
MIKE ROCKENFELLER, NO. 42 SUNSEEKER RESORTS CAMARO ZL1
“I’m looking forward to this weekend at Indy in a NASCAR Cup car. I have been at the LEGACY M.C. shop all week working with Luke (Lambert) and the team trying to accomplish everything we need to do to get ready for this weekend – it’s been busy. It’s a short week and this came together very fast but we are feeling good about things. I’m excited to drive for Jimmie Johnson and Maury Gallagher and hope we can get a great finish in the No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 ALLEGIANT CAMARO ZL1
“Indy has been different the last couple of years since it’s now a road course, but still going to the track itself and having the chance to be there is always a lot of fun. Last year, we ended up being in a spin that cost us track position at the end of the day, and we didn’t come home with the finish we wanted. However, we still felt like it was an okay day with a decent car that got up there. Regardless of that outcome, I feel like our road course performance has been improving. In Chicago, I believe we didn’t get the finish we deserved, but our car had a lot more speed than our previous attempts at road courses. So, I am excited to get there and hopefully secure a top-10 finish at a road course.”
SHANE VAN GISBERGEN, NO. 91 ENHANCE HEALTH CAMARO ZL1
“It (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course) will certainly be different than the Chicago Street Course. I’ll need to get up to speed quickly, but we plan a lot of simulator time and I know (No. 91 Crew Chief) Darian (Grubb) will be thoroughly prepared for Indy.
We have got to come in and do our best, but you also have got to race with respect, as well. These guys are fighting for their championship every week, so I have got to come in and stay out of trouble.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY.COM CAMARO ZL1
What are your thoughts going to Indianapolis?
“We just have to be smart. We need to do what we do and stay out of trouble and get good finishes. When we are in sync we are a team that is hard to beat.
Our goal at Michigan was to have a good execution race, and build some momentum heading into Indianapolis where we know we are going to be good. I think we did that and are in a pretty good spot.
You have to keep in mind, with two road courses and a superspeedway, anything can happen. Sometimes with the strategy and the way people push and move around at the end of these races on road courses it can be a wild card. Obviously, anything can happen at Daytona as well. We just have to maximize every day and continue to work.”
CHASE PURDY, NO. 4 BAMA BUGGIES SILVERADO RST
With not being in the playoffs, how do you approach the rest of the season?
“Honestly, more than ever we are hungrier, and our only goal is to go out and win races. At Richmond, I felt like we were on the wrong end of a judgement call and if we weren’t then we probably had the fastest truck there and had a good shot at the win. We need to move on from it and take it and let it fuel us for the rest of the season. We need to finish strong. We’re going to chase wins — we have nothing to lose now.”
IRP has a unique configuration. How do you attack that track?
“I’ve raced there two times before and had a shot at winning there a few years ago. It’s a track that I’m familiar with and have been able to be fast at. You need to have a truck that will keep turning and have good drive up off the corners. It’s just like every other worn-out short track; you have to take care of your stuff and be there at the end. Short tracks are my specialty, and we have a lot of them coming up on the schedule, so I’m really, really excited and hungrier than ever to try and get this Bama Buggies Silverado in victory lane.”
CHRISTIAN ECKES, NO. 19 NAPA AUTOCARE SILVERADO RST
Eckes his outlook for his third playoff run:
“Our NAPA Auto Care team is looking forward to the challenge of racing for a championship. This week at IRP will definitely be a tough test for sure. I didn’t run the way I wanted to last year at IRP, but I’m confident in our No. 19 team and the effort everyone’s been putting in at MHR. We’ve adjusted our goals a little bit as the year has gone and we’ve won some races, been more consistent lately, and we know we’re capable of getting to Phoenix and racing for a championship. We’re focused on this week though and putting a solid night together at IRP.”
GRANT ENFINGER, NO. 23 CHAMPION POWER EQUIPMENT SILVERADO RST
You’ve got to feel good about returning to IRP after last season, so what did you learn during that race last year that will help your team be even better this time?
“I’m excited to get the playoffs started, and I feel good about starting it out at IRP. Our GMS Racing guys are working hard to bring us just as good of a Champion Power Equipment Chevy as we had last year. I think that IRP is a great track for the Truck Series. It has multiple grooves we can choose, but it’s still a tough short track with a lot of character.”
RAJAH CARUTH, NO. 24 WENDELL SCOTT FOUNDATION SILVERADO RST
You’ve said that IRP is going to be one of the more challenging races for you personally, so can you say why that might be the case?
“It’ll be a challenge for me mostly because short tracking isn’t something I consider myself to be exceptional at, meaning I’ve got to put twice as much emphasis on it as an oppose to my big track skill set, which I feel like I’m solid on so far. Certainly my expectations shift from the short to the big tracks. However I know that our team has race-winning pace at this track, as shown last year, so having that knowledge is going to be invaluable. Our Wendell Scott Foundation Born Driven paint scheme has one last ride with us this season, so I’m looking forward to running it again and hopefully we can finish off what we started in Nashville with this truck.”
JAKE GARCIA, NO. 35 QUANTA SERVICES SILVERADO RST
Garcia on his recent momentum entering IRP:
“To get at top-five at Richmond felt great. That was probably the best complete weekend we’ve put together with our Quanta Services Chevrolet this season. It felt great to race in and around the top-five all night and we want to do the same thing this week at IRP. It’s a fun but challenging place. There are some different options with the variable banking but can make it difficult to pass too. Hopefully we can qualify well again like we have been recently and that’ll give us a good opportunity to race towards the front all night.”
DANIEL DYE, NO. 43 BETTENHAUSENAUTO.COM SILVERADO RST
Does having a strong finish at this track last year give you an extra boost of confidence heading back to IRP?
“We were pretty fast last year at IRP in the ARCA race. The GMS guys brought us a really fast car, but it was a tricky place to figure out. As the race went on, I figured out how to pass other drivers as we had to kind of come up through the field from where we started. So I’m looking forward to getting back there knowing what I know now. It’s going to be cool to go there with Bettenhausen Automotive and have them on our truck with that cool sprint car throwback paint scheme. Hopefully we can have a good run; the trucks are a bit different than the ARCA cars, so they’ll probably turn a little bit better than how we were last year. Just got to be ready for that and make sure we can finish it off with a good result. Our speed has been building over the last couple of months, but we have to make sure that we can put it all together and finish the race where we run. It’s all going to be about building on it little by little, and continuing to improve on how we unload.”
JACK WOOD, NO. 51 ROWDY MANUFACTURING SILVERADO RST
How hard is it having breaks in your schedule behind the wheel of the No. 51 truck?
“It has its ups and downs; it was nice to have time to kind of travel a little bit and spend time with friends and family. I’ll go to the simulator before the race this week and knock some of the rust off and try to get in some other vehicles before the race this weekend.”
IRP has a unique configuration. How do you attack that track?
“It reminds me a lot of a track that I grew up racing at in Southern California — Irwindale (Speedway). It’s a cool track to go to with the trucks and I think that it will race really well. Last year it was a struggle for me to get that place figured out, but the KBM stuff was really fast there last year and the short track program this year in general at KBM has been really strong, so I’m excited to go there with the 51 guys.”
Do you approach this race differently with the 51 team being in the owner’s playoffs?
“You think about it, but in the end, I just have to go out there and do my job. The trucks obviously have speed — Kyle’s been able to win the two races and bring home the 100th win for KBM. We are going to do our best to get the 51 team as far as we can in the owner’s playoffs and if we can just go out and execute, I think that we will be just fine.”
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: 12
Poles: 7
Laps Led: 2,398
Top-five finishes: 50
Top-10 finishes: 97
Stage wins: 18
· Ross Chastain – 5 (Daytona), (Auto Club x2), (Dover), (Darlington)
· William Byron – 7 (Las Vegas x2), (Phoenix), (COTA), (Richmond), (Dover), (Charlotte)
· Kyle Larson – 3 (Phoenix), (Bristol Dirt), (Pocono)
· Chase Elliott – 1 (Talladega)
· Kyle Busch – 2 (WWTR), (Sonoma)
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 845 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 741
Laps led to date: 247,942
Top-five finishes to date: 4,271
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,809
Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:
General Motors: 1,179
Chevrolet: 845
Pontiac: 154
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 824
Ford: 724
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 191
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 177
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.
