NASCAR CUP SERIES
TOYOTA/SAVE MART 350
SONOMA RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 3, 2021

GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE Teleconference Highlight:

THIS WEEK, ALL THE TALK HAS BEEN ABOUT 269 WINS FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AND THAT GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT. YOU’VE BEEN WITH HENDRICK FOR QUITE SOME TIME. HOW MANY OF THOSE VICTORIES HAVE YOU PERSONALLY BEEN INVOLVED WITH?
“Yeah, I’ve been at Hendrick Motorsports since 2004; 17 years now. I took a little bit of time and went over to Junior Motorsports for two years but was still employed by Hendrick Motorsports. I don’t know how many of those wins I was part of but I’m fortunate to have my whole career be at one company and to be able to add to that total as a crew chief and engineer and a crewman, as well. It’s been a blessed career that I’ve had. Mr. Hendrick makes it a really great place to work. We hope not to stop at 269 and continue the success that we’ve had this year.”

HOW MUCH HAS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH ALEX BOWMAN DEVELOPED OVER THESE FEW YEAR? IT SEEMS LIKE YOU ARE HITTING ON ALL CYLINDERS THIS YEAR. TALK ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS. YOU ARE STILL ABLE TO SALVAGE TOP-5 FINISHES WITH A CAR THAT ISN’T UP TO HIS LIKING.
“As far as Alex goes, he’s a very easy guy to get along with. I don’t want to put simple as being a bad word to use because he loves race cars, he loves cars, and he likes driving cars and racing them. So, whether it’s a Sprint Car or a Cup car or whatever he has in his garage from a classic truck or whatever he has. Understanding that and being able to connect on that level is very easy for me. I do like cars. I love racing. Generally, in that relationship, you don’t have to work very hard to make it happen and to communicate on a level that we both understand. I really enjoy the progress and the relationship we’ve been able to grow over the course of the last three or four years. I know when he filled in for Dale (Earnhardt, Jr.) there and was kind of maybe thrown in there and maybe forced a little bit in a situation where he might have not maybe been as comfortable as he is now. I’m very thankful for our relationship as it continues to grow.

“On our race cars, we’ve been able to take cars that maybe weren’t race-winning cars; maybe not even top-5 cars and be able to finish in the top-5 with them and/or go out there and win with them. And that’s truly Alex Bowman coming into his own as a driver and understanding his capabilities and where the limits are with our equipment. Charlotte, I don’t think we could have won that race. We didn’t have a top-5 car due to certain circumstances, but we took a 10th place car and finished fifth with it, and that’s a credit to the team, the pit crew, and Alex saying hey man, that’s okay. I’ll get it from here. And we’ve been trying to work on that over the course of him becoming the leader of the team. You kind of know when he’s there when we had a penalty at Richmond and he says hey, it’s okay. We’re going to drive to the front and pass them all again. That’s his maturity and that’s him growing as a driver and the leader of this No. 48 Ally team.’

WITH NO RACE AT SONOMA LAST YEAR AND THE HIGH DOWNFORCE, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT TO PREPARE?
“We’re kind of going back a little bit to 2018. Even back to the days when we had Dale and had some success there at that track. The ROVAL, the Daytona Road Course, COTA, we all kind of ran really well there. I think Sonoma adds a different dynamic to what road courses we’ve been running on. I wouldn’t say we’re adjusting the set-up differently, but we have a different concept going to Sonoma that we think is going to work for that place. The high falloff. The change to the course. Adding the carousel adds a different dynamic we have to adjust on, and we only have notes on that from the high downforce. So yeah, I look forward to getting out there. Alex sometimes doesn’t give himself enough credit as a road course driver, but I feel like he does a great job and gives the feedback he needs for me to make adjustments to get him where he can win the race.”

THIS WILL BE YOUR THIRD ROAD COURSE RACE OF THE YEAR. WILL YOU BE ABLE TO PREDICT WHAT HAPPENS IN THE NEXT THREE ROAD COURSES?
“You never really can predict the unfortunate circumstances. But what I do see, is that we have a great foundation of set-ups at Hendrick Motorsports. We have a great team of drivers that lean on each other to extract speed and you never want to be the fourth guy at the company crossing the finish line. And we were that at the 600. Even though it was fifth, we didn’t feel too good about it. That little self-driven determination is sometimes worth more time than an adjustment on a race car. Looking at the Pro-Invitational at Chicago yesterday, it’s looking like more and more road courses are on the horizon. And whether you’re good at them or not, you had better figure out how to get better at them. I’m looking forward to just keeping improving.”

I ALSO ASKED CLIFF DANIELS THIS QUESTION. AFTER THE COKE 600, KYLE BUSCH WAS ASKED WHERE HE THOUGHT JOE GIBBS RACING STACKED UP AGAINST HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS. HE SAID IF KYLE LARSON AND THE NO. 5 TEAM ARE A 10 RIGHT NOW, WE’RE A SEVEN. HOW DO YOU THINK THAT’S BEING RECEIVED AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS?
“Yeah, it’s pretty funny how we race in circles and sometimes that’s a trend of performance, right? You look back a couple of years ago and Joe Gibbs won a multitude of races, probably half of them in a year. I remember the No. 24 and No. 48 doing that back in the mid-2000’s. You think that’s going to carry on for the rest of your life and it doesn’t. At some point, Hendrick Motorsports isn’t going to be as dominant, and it was that in the near past. A fifth place at the Coke 600 for the No. 48 team would have been a win a couple of years ago. I’ve been in the situation before of winning races and a lot of races and championships and many in a row. It’s tough being on top because your mind wants to tell your body and your heart that it’s okay to just be complacent. Not that anybody is in that state, but when things become easy sometimes you take the easy road. I know, as the leader of our company with Chad (Knaus) and guys like Cliff and Alan (Gustafson) and Rudy (Fugle) and myself, that’s generally not going to be the case.”

WITHOUT AS MUCH PRACTICE NOW, DO YOU THINK IT’S HARDER TO CATCH WHERE YOU GUYS ARE?
“By the time you get 50 minutes of practice to adjust here and there, I don’t think it’s necessarily makes you deficient on how you catch up, or more efficient, however you want to say it. It can help a little bit. Any time the drivers are in the car and going around the race track, you’re going to learn. But so are we, so it comes down to your resources, which are your people, your tools, and how you execute, I can argue either way if you want to take one side, I’ll take the other and we can debate it out. But I think with practice we’re going to be fine and without practice we’re going to be fine. We’ve just got to go execute it, make mistakes, and learn from them.”

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF SONOMA RACEWAY FOR A CREW CHIEF?
“Well, the new one is the carousel, right? Ultimately, the carousel is a high-speed left-hander that Sonoma really never had. You had Turn 1. You maybe had something in the ess. You had those higher speed lefts were minimal. Now you have the carousel, where it’s kind of off camber. It’s just kind of an awkward turn for the drivers to navigate and getting tight-off there and setting up for a really big braking and passing zone has definitely added some more difficulty to Sonoma. It has taken away some heavy braking zones into Turn 4 and Turn 7, where you typically get wheel-hop and those types of things. It gets a little wide, and then quickly narrow going into Turn 7. So, there’s just a lot of different nuances. And then you need to worry about the tire fall-off, right? You don’t need to stop before a Stage. You really just are playing that tire strategy game the whole race. The whole thing. Yes, it’s difficult to win at Sonoma. I remember when Jimmie (Johnson) won his first time there. It took a mistake by another driver for him to win. So, no matter if he did everything right, it comes down to one guy making a mistake, maybe not yourself, to win that race. So, it’s a difficult race track and a fun place to go. Flying out there is difficult sometimes, too, just how long it is. But generally, Sonoma is unlike most places we go as far as road courses. You can only tie in a very small amount of set up from other tracks that we’ve been at already.”

WHAT HAS THE RELATIONSHIP BEEN LIKE WITH CHAD KNAUS AS COMPETITION DIRECTOR?
IT SEEMS LIKE THESE PAST FEW WEEKS THAT HE HAS REALLY HELPED GET HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS TO ANOTHER LEVEL WITH THESE TOP-5 RESULTS.
“There’s no doubt that Chad has a high influence in racing, right? That’s his passion. Anybody that has a passion is going to make an impact, especially when they go from the track to the shop. That’s usually the highest disconnect as far as when you go into the shop area is, what do the race teams endure when you get to the race track. Chad has been able to help the guys at the shop to be able to say hey, this is what we need to do to get better. This is what the guys need when they show up t the shop on Monday, the state that the cars are in, and what they need to be able to work on. They don’t need to be completing race cars. They need to be detailing them out. There’s a lot of things that definitely go into it all. He always has a plan and executing a plan is one of his biggest assets and we’re very thankful for that.”
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.

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
TOYOTA/SAVE MART 350
SONOMA RACEWAY
SONOMA, CALIFORNIA
JUNE 6, 2021

RACE #16 – SONOMA RACEWAY
Chevrolet will aim for a fourth consecutive NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) victory – and 1-2 finish – as drivers attempt to tame the 2.52-mile, 12-turn California road course of Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, June 6, in the Toyota/Save Mart 350. The winner of the 90-lap/226.8-mile race will be the final driver invited to compete in the NASCAR All-Star Race the next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

Chevrolet has registered 11 victories and 62 top-five finishes in the 31 NCS races at Sonoma Raceway. Career Chevrolet driver and California native Jeff Gordon earned five of his NCS-record nine road course wins at the circuit. The NCS is making its first appearance at the natural-terrain California road course since June 23, 2019. The 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Elk Grove, California, native Kyle Larson, who led 327 of the 400 laps to win in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in last weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, has earned the pole the past three races at Sonoma. He will start from the pole again Sunday – this time under NASCAR’s metrics system. Larson was runner-up to Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott in the series’ last stop on a road course at the Circuit of The Americas.

Team Chevy NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers, led by fourth-place finisher Brandon Brown, occupied five of the Top-10 last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway. AJ Allmendinger is third in the Driver Standings, with Chevrolet remaining atop the Manufacturer Standings. Up next is the 75-lap race Saturday, June 5, on the 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) drivers are off until the SpeedCash.com 220 on Saturday, June 12, at Texas Motor Speedway. Reigning NCWTS champion Sheldon Creed is fourth in the Driver Standings.

CHEVROLET TOPS IN STANDINGS
Coming off a third-consecutive victory and six of the Top-10 in the Coca-Cola 600, Chevrolet retained the top spot in the NCS Manufacturer Standings. Team Chevy drivers have recorded six victories in 15 races thus far in the 2021 season, as well as swept the pole wins in all three events that have held qualifying.

Kyle Larson advanced one position to second in the Driver Standings, with Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron in third and Chase Elliott moving up from fifth to fourth. Heading into the Sonoma race weekend, Austin Dillon sits 11th, Alex Bowman is 12th and Tyler Reddick is 13th to round out Team Chevy’s Top-16 of the Playoff standings.

ELLIOTT PICKS UP PURSUIT OF GORDON
Reigning NCS champion Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE for Hendrick Motorsports, seeks his seventh career road course victory. Career Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon is the NASCAR Cup Series leader with nine, including five at Sonoma Raceway.

Elliott won at Circuit of The Americas to break a tie with Bobby Allison, Richard Petty, Rusty Wallace and Ricky Rudd. Tony Stewart is second on the all-time list with eight road course wins. Elliott has two top-10 finishes in four NCS races at Sonoma Raceway.

269 AND COUNTING FOR HENDRICK, CHEVROLET
Larson’s recent triumph at Charlotte Motor Speedway gave Hendrick Motorsports its record-breaking 269th all-time NASCAR Cup Series win. The feat topped Petty Enterprises’ NCS all-time win record and gave Car Owner, Rick Hendrick, and Hendrick Motorsports the prestigious title as the winningest team in NCS history, one of stock car racing’s greatest achievements. Every trip that Hendrick Motorsports has made to Victory Lane in the NASCAR Cup Series has been in a Chevrolet.

“On behalf of everyone at Chevrolet, congratulations to Kyle Larson, the No. 5 Camaro team and Hendrick Motorsports on this monumental victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President of Performance and Motorsports. “This milestone is a testament to the talent, hard work and dedication by everyone, past and present, that have contributed to Hendrick Motorsports’ success in becoming the winningest organization in NASCAR Cup Series history. We are so proud of our partnership with Hendrick Motorsports, and that all 269 wins have been in a Chevrolet. We look forward to many more.”

The No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE that Kyle Larson drove to victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway is the same number as the Chevrolet Monte Carlo that Geoff Bodine drove at Martinsville Speedway on April 29, 1984, to deliver team owner Rick Hendrick’s first win. Larson also produced the 801st win for Chevrolet – most of all manufacturers in NCS history.

ON THE WAY TO THE GREEN
With no practice or qualifying for the race, the starting lineup is determined by NASCAR’s metrics system that was introduced to the series last year and incorporates results from both individual races and season-long results.

Team Chevy’s Top-20 starters:
1st Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 1LE
2nd Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE
3rd Willian Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE
6th Austin Dillon, No. 3 Congressional Sportsmen’s Camaro ZL1 1LE
7th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE
10th Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Childress Vineyards Camaro ZL1 1LE
14th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 SunnyD Camaro ZL1 1LE
16th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Commscope Camaro ZL1 1LE
18th Erik Jones, No. 43 Black Entrepreneur Initiative Camaro ZL1 1LE

BOWTIE BULLETS
· Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 68 Top-10 finishes this season.
· Chevrolet drivers Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick and Kyle Larson have earned the pole for races this season. Chevrolet has 720 total pole starts.
· Chevrolet paces all manufacturers with 1,709 laps led of the 4,199 total.
· Chevrolet tops in laps led on road courses with 68.
· Kyle Larson paces all drivers with 1,105 laps led (26.3%).
· In addition to 11 wins at Sonoma Raceway, Chevrolet has accumulated 118 Top-10 finishes in the 31 races.
· Kurt Busch is tied for most starts among active drivers at Sonoma Raceway with 19.
· Kurt Busch has an NCS-best 11.1 average finish among active drivers at Sonoma. He won in 2011 and has seven top-five finishes.
· Austin Dillon has completed 99.9% (4,195) of the 4,199 total laps.
· Tyler Reddick’s ninth-place finish at Charlotte was his eighth Top-10 of the season – one off his 2020 total.
· Chase Elliott has recorded five consecutive Top-10 finishes.
· Hendrick Motorsports – the winningest team in NASCAR Cup Series history with 269 victories – has claimed six wins at Sonoma Raceway.
· Chase Elliott (Daytona road course), William Byron (Homestead-Miami Speedway) and Kyle Larson (Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway 2, Kansas Speedway, Dover International Speedway 2, Charlotte Motor Speedway 3) have scored stage wins.

TUNE IN
FS1 will telecast the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 live at 4 p.m. ET Sunday, June 4. Live coverage can also be found on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. FS1 will telecast the NASCAR Xfinity Series B&L Transport 170 live at 1 p.m. ET Saturday, June 5.

QUOTABLE QUOTES
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 2nd IN STANDINGS
LARSON ON THE DRIVING STYLE AT SONOMA:
“Sonoma is a finesse track, but you still have to be aggressive. I’ve had a lot of success there with three poles but I seemed to struggle during the race, so I’m really looking forward to going there in Hendrick Motorsports equipment. Hendrick Motorsports’ road course program is really good, especially the 9 team. It seems like Chase Elliott has won every road course race the last four years.”

CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE
DANIELS ON RACING AT SONOMA WITH NO PREVIOUS CREW CHIEF EXPERIENCE AT THE TRACK:
“It’s definitely a challenge for us in that regard – from not having my own crew chief notes, and even our past notes at Hendrick Motorsports we have not been where we needed to be the last few trips there. Luckily, we have a great road course foundation from the 9 car (driven by Chase Elliott) with their wins on road courses and what that package looks like. The magic is translating that to Sonoma. We have a new aero package since the last trip there, and we have a new tire this weekend so we have a lot of challenges, but our company has momentum right now and hopefully we can close the gap.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 3rd IN STANDINGS
BYRON ON HOW SONOMA RACES DIFFERENTLY THAN OTHER ROAD COURSES:
“Sonoma is probably the most different out of all the road courses we go to on the circuit. It has more of a short track feel almost because there’s no big braking zones; you’re moreso always turning. It’s all about how you turn and navigate the apex of the corners and get a good run off the corner. It’s not as much about braking and high speed, it’s more about finesse and exiting the low speed corners. It’s just a different challenge and you set up your car differently because of it. I’m excited for it, though. I think we have a good package this year and I feel like I’ve really done my homework for this weekend.”

RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FUGLE ON HAVING LESS EXPERIENCE AT SONOMA:
“Sonoma is a racetrack that I haven’t been to in my career, not just in the Cup Series, but in any series. That doesn’t really concern me, though. I’ve been watching a lot of video of past races and we have a good notebook here at Hendrick Motorsports. From what I can tell, if you get buried in traffic, it’s hard to make up positions, even with pit strategy. Sonoma is a track where you either have to go for the win or go for maximum points. It doesn’t seem to be like most road courses where you can go for stage points in one stage and give up the points in another. You have to pick one strategy or the other, which is a challenge. I’m almost happy that we don’t have practice this weekend for that reason. That means we show up and race. I can’t overthink things. I just have to make a decision and go with it.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 4th IN STANDINGS
ELLIOTT ON RETURNING TO SONOMA:
“Sonoma has been a place that I haven’t done a very good job at in the past. It’s been a pretty big challenge for me. It’s been a couple years since we’ve been there so it’s been a while. When we were there in 2019, I feel like we were doing a great job and in a good position before we had our mechanical issue so I’m looking forward to getting back and having another shot at it.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 CONGRESSIONAL SPORTSMEN’S CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 11th IN STANDINGS
WE’RE IN THE MIDST OF A HEAVY STRETCH OF POINTS-PAYING RACES ON ROAD COURSES IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES. DO YOU FIND THAT PARTICULARLY CHALLENGING?
“I think it’s definitely challenging. The Circuit of the Americas race kicked off the stretch and we were able to earn our career-best road course finish, so that gives us some confidence heading into Sonoma Raceway. We’ve worked really hard on preparing for these races.”

“We’ve been solid all year long. The Daytona Road Course was a positive for me, as a road course racer. I got stage points in both stages and we were on our way to earning a top-10 finish. We just have to go out there, attack, be aggressive, and try to take the things that I’ve learned in the off-season and use them to my advantage. We’re going to try to get better at each and every road course that we go to. We know that there’s going to be some challenges ahead, but we’ll do the best with what we have.”

HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR SONOMA RACEWAY?
“A lot of simulator time. Get in the simulator and run a lot of laps. We’ve been finding some time to do that within the busy schedule. This winter we put in a lot of time on the road courses and getting ready for them. It’s a lot of fun. Road courses haven’t been a strong suit for us, but both the Daytona Road Course and COTA were good for us. At Daytona, we ran in the top-10 in the first two stages, and then barely missed finishing in the top-10. We got caught up in some other peoples’ mess there. Then we went to COTA and earned our best road course finish. There’s a lot of beating and banging at the end of those road courses. It seems like they’ve become rougher and rougher as we go. I’m looking forward to those challenges. I did put in a lot of work this off season.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR TEAM HAS DONE SO FAR THIS YEAR?
“We’ve been pretty consistent week in and week out. We’re just showing up and doing our job; keeping all four tires on the ground and working hard to make the car better throughout the race. Hopefully we will have a win soon, but for now we are just doing the best we can to be consistent and earn stage points. That’s what you have to do.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 12th IN STANDINGS
BOWMAN ON BEING A PART OF HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS HISTORY:
“Being a part of Hendrick Motorsports’ 269 milestone is so cool. To be a small part in this historic record-breaking number means so much to me. Mr. Hendrick and everything at the shop deserves this honor and as much as I wish it was the No. 48 to take the win in Charlotte, we are so pumped for Kyle (Larson) and the No. 5 team.”

BOWMAN ON ROAD COURSE PREPARATION:
“Over the last few years, I feel like our road course program on the No. 48 team is getting stronger. Having a teammate like Chase (Elliott) to lean on for some road course advice has been extremely helpful. We didn’t go to Sonoma last season, so this week is going to consist of watching old races and simulator work. Hopefully we can go out this weekend and keep our streak of top 10s and continue moving up in the point standings.”

GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
IVES ON BREAKING THE ALL-TIME WIN RECORD:
“Mr. H always says it is always about the people. He treats the people first, one with respect and two they all matter to his success. We went through a hard time last year going through quarantine last year and he was a rock. We came up a little short on being the ones to break that record for Mr. Hendrick last weekend, but I couldn’t be more proud of what Cliff (Daniels) and Kyle (Larson) have done this year. Everyone’s wins add up to a great year so far and the record-breaking night on Sunday was really special to be a part of.”

IVES ON RETURNING TO SONOMA:
“We haven’t been to Sonoma in a while. We have a lot of high expectations for us. Alex (Bowman) is continuously growing confidence on road courses. Coming out of COTA with an eighth-place finish, he really doesn’t give himself a lot of pats on the back for how well he does at road courses. He loves the challenge and will rise up when needed, which will show at the end of Sonoma. We are looking forward to it.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHILDRESS VINEYARDS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 13th IN STANDINGS
“I’ve never seen or step foot on property at Sonoma Raceway, but I’m really excited about this weekend. Obviously, the road courses are something myself and my team have worked really hard on being better at. I feel like the things we made gains on and I made gains on as a driver at COTA will help if we get into a tire management on a road course situation. I’ve also got a lot more sim time planned and scheduled for this week, but we’ve been working on Sonoma for quite a while now. AJ Allmendinger has been a big help as well, coming over and sharing some of his knowledge with me on how to approach the course. He has really helped me on the road courses over the past few years and changed the way I approach them. I have zero laps of experience, so it’s going to be a learning process on Sunday but I’m ready for it with the No. 8 Childress Vineyards team.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 COMMSCOPE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 23rd IN STANDINGS
ARE YOU READY FOR ANOTHER ROAD COURSE?
“We spent a lot of time and effort on the simulator for COTA and we had a really good car in practice and qualifying there. We were so disappointed that we were behind the wall so early. We think we will be good again Sunday in Sonoma and hope we have better luck.”

YOU HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE GO-KARTING. HOW DOES THAT TRANSLATE TO THE ROAD-COURSE RACING YOU DO NOW?
“Well, I grew up racing go karts all of the time. I know I’m really good in road-course go karts, but stock car road-course racing is so different because the cars are so heavy. The basics are the same, but the way you have to take care of the brakes, take care of the tires and things like that is a totally different game. It’s very hard to make these cars change directions so quickly because they are so heavy. Most of the time, road-course racing is pretty good to me, so we’ll see how it goes this weekend.”

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 BLACK ENTREPRENEUR INITIATIVE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 26th IN STANDINGS
“I think it is good to stay sharp on road-course racing. We have not been to the Sonoma Raceway for over a year, but we have been doing a lot of other road course racing. I feel like I have stayed up-to-date. Sonoma is a place where I have been enough times where I feel pretty comfortable. Getting on the simulator before this weekend is going to help keep me sharp and keep me ready to go on that front, as well.”

“I am excited to get back to Sonoma. I really enjoy racing there during this time of year. It is always super nice out there. A little warm, but definitely a cool part of the country to be in.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2020): 39
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

Drivers Championships:
Total (1949-2020): 32
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)
Most Recent: Chase Elliott (2020)

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

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

2021 STATISTICS:
Wins: 6
Poles: 3
Laps Led: 1,709
Top-five finishes: 32
Top-10 finishes: 68

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 801 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 720
Laps led to date: 238,414
Top-five finishes to date: 4,097
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,470
Stage wins: 11 Chase Elliott (Daytona RC), William Byron (Homestead), Kyle Larson (Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Atlanta x2, Kansas, Dover x2, Charlotte x3)

Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date

       General Motors: 1,135
       Chevrolet: 801
       Pontiac: 154
       Oldsmobile: 115
       Buick: 65

       Ford: 808                                                         
       Ford: 708
       Mercury: 96
       Lincoln: 4

       Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
       Dodge: 217
       Plymouth: 191
       Chrysler: 59

       Toyota: 157

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.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
TOYOTA/SAVE MART 350
SONOMA RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 3, 2021

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHILDRESS VINEYARDS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Teleconference Highlights:

HEADING TO YOUR HOME STATE OF CALIFORNIA, TELL US ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO BACK OUT WEST
“It’s been a while since I’ve been really close to home. Every time I go back out there it’s crazy how much Northern California seems to change from how I remember it when I was younger. Something gets moved or changed. The area just changes. Just in the seven years I’ve been living in the Charlotte area, it’s crazy how much the area has changed here. So, I can only imagine what has changed since the last time I was there. But I’m excited to get back out there. I was looking at the weather. It’s going to be like 100 degrees, which sounds really bad if you live in North Carolina but for some reason it feels like 85 degrees here in Charlotte in the Summer. I’m looking forward getting back out there and seeing the West Coast again.”

WITH NO RACE AT SONOMA LAST YEAR, JUST HOW DIFFERENT DO YOU THINK THIS RACE IS GOING TO BE? WHAT RACES HAVE YOU BEEN WATCHING TO PREDICT HOW THINGS WILL GO?
“It’s really hard to go back and put a lot of faith in past races because the tire continues to change quite a lot from the last time they raced there. They weren’t running the layout that they are right now. There are some things to take away from it. The falloff is probably going to be more, obviously, with less downforce. But it’s still a road course in Sonoma, so it’s one that you can kind of prep for without having to go through a lot of race footage. It’s still a road course and the fact that it lays up to make passes and how you want to make lap times and the most visual markers and everything you can kind of gather through manufacturers’ simulator or iRacing. So, I’m just trying to prep and be better with just road racing in general, and Sonoma just happens to be the one that we’ve been focusing on the last couple of weeks. COTA was one we focused on, as well.”

SINCE YOU ARE BORDERLINE ON POINTS, DO YOU HAVE TO USE STRATEGY TO GET STAGE POINTS AND THEN POTENTIALLY WORK YOUR WAY THROUGH, OR WILL IT JUST DEPEND ON HOW YOUR CAR IS?
“Yeah, there are a lot of factors that play into that. If we are as good as we are hoping we are, it gives me some hope that we can go into Sonoma and yeah, I’ve never seen it, right? It seems like we’ve been hitting it pretty good on the road courses here lately. There’s a good chance we can roll in there and be pretty quick. It’s just going to depend on how the race plays out. If we feel like we have a shot at winning, I know we’re not going to get caught-up on those Stage points. But yeah, there are so many factors that go into all that. We’re just going to have to see what happens. I’m excited and we’re going to go for it when we get to Sonoma.”

LOOKING AHEAD TO THE ALL-STAR RACE, YOU’LL BE IN THE OPEN. TALK ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF RACING SHORT BURSTS TO MAKE YOUR WAY IN. YOU ONLY HAVE TO WIN A STAGE IN THE OPEN TO MAKE THE ALL-STAR ITSELF. AND WHAT’S IT GOING TO BE LIKE TO HAVE THAT RACE AT TEXAS INSTEAD OF CHARLOTTE?
“It is kind of funny to think that the aero package we have at superspeedways is basically what we’re going to have at Texas. I hope we don’t have that chaotic of a race. The track is a little bit shorter. Turns 1 and 2 are definitely a lot more challenging. Even in a Cup car with a little bit more power, I really don’t know how it’s going to go. Yeah, it’s not a points-paying race, so I’ve tried to not really think about it too much right now, because of COTA, the 600, and Sonoma. Obviously, it’s right around the corner. We don’t have that much horsepower. I know that preparation-wise and how our race is going to go. It’s going to really be dictated by did we bring the right body build, do we have the right aero balance to race with that little bit less horsepower in an open field, if you will. So, it’s kind of a guessing game and I leave that to my guys to do the best job to bring a car that we hope is going to be good on a 1.5-mile. Obviously, the Coke 600 and the last couple of 1.5-miles, we’ve had good speed. But what’s that going to mean with less horsepower. What does that mean for us? We’ll see when we get there.”

FOR THE FANS THAT DON’T KNOW WHAT THIS IS LIKE, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT SETTING UP A PASS AND THE FEEL OF RACING A TRACK LIKE SONOMA?
“I’ve never seen it (laughs). I don’t know. I’ve ran it plenty on Zoom and iRacing and whatnot with friends. I don’t even know what airport we fly into out there. But if you drop me off and they said go to the race track, without a GPS I’d be in trouble. I wouldn’t know where I’m going. I don’t really know. It’s still a road course, thought, like the technique and how you set-up to pass somebody, you don’t complete a pass in one corner. The 1.5-mile racing is kind of getting that way now with the less horsepower in these cars, right now, on the 1.5-miles. So, it’s kind of a chess match. You poke your nose in there a little bit. Maybe you get the guy thinking oh, is he going to drive in here and wreck me? Well, he didn’t. Now the guy misses the apex and now maybe you have an opportunity to pass him down the next straightaway. It’s kind of a chess match. A lot of these road courses are with the elevation gain and loss. That just amplifies the amount of give and take and it’s just all about carrying momentum. You’ve got to have a trade-off somewhere if you’re trying to gain an advantage and gain momentum in another part of the race track. The passes take a while to set up and I’m excited for how fun it’s going to be. It will be definitely challenging for me and the other drivers, obviously, as well. They haven’t run this aero package at Sonoma on this layout.”

WHAT DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT YOU ARE MOST INTERESTED IN FINDING OUT?
“It’s just the understanding of what the tire falloff feels like and what options I’m going to have in front of me to kind of manage that better. The 1.5-mile race tracks, the short tracks, the ovals, even COTA, you kind of understand okay, this is kind of how I can manage my tire falloff better. But I haven’t had a lot of experience with it or good experiences with it. My understanding now it a lot different than what it was a couple of years ago.

“Those in our sport that have run there for many years like Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex; yeah, the tires change, but they understand how the characteristics of the track are. And they probably have an understanding of okay yeah, I’ve got to give up this lap after lap after lap to be able to sustain well over a long run. Where a guys like me, where I’m coming in, I think I’m going to have to wing that because yeah, I can look at lap times and understand the pace falloff from years previous; but again, it’s a different layout and downforce package, so it would be really hard to do that. So, I’m going to have to wing it at the beginning of the race and hopefully my level of winging it is good enough to be able to improve it throughout the course of the race and getting better by the end.”

FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO ELEVATE FROM THE SEVENTH TO 10th PLACE FINISHING RANGE TO ENTERING THE TOP-5?
‘There are a couple of areas. Probably the biggest one has been here in the last two or three weeks is I’ve got to continue to get better on pit road. Charlotte was a very challenging one for us. With the nature of that race and the lack of comfort that I had running really close to the maximum speed limit allowed, like Kyle Larson could all night, I was very off in that regard, but I was absolutely terrified of having a speeding penalty and completely derail what could be a very manageable and realistic top-10 day, even with those little crumbs left on the table. We have to find ways to get better at all the little details. And then just avoiding the little mistakes along the way. The last month or so there’s been one restart a race, I’d day where I’d choose the wrong lane, anticipating where the car ahead of me is going to go, and it puts us back two or three spots. It’s just little details, especially in the Cup series. You can’t just be really fast on the race track to win races. All these big teams are really calculated to know how much to push at any point in the race. But for me, it is nice to see how much better we’ve been able to get in about a year’s time. We still have a lot of room to go.”

ON THE MOMENTUM YOU ARE CARRYING RIGHT NOW, HOW WOULD YOU RATE THAT PERFORMANCE? IF YOU TAKE OUT DARLINGTON AND RICHMOND YOU WOULD HAVE SEVEN STRAIGHT TOP-10’S.
“It’s crazy to hear potentially that number of top-10 straight considering how the year started. It’s even crazier to hear that the two where we don’t break through and get those great runs are two of my better tracks that we go to throughout the year. We’ve been better about managing our expectations there. Going to Sonoma, I think it’s important to manage our expectations as well. I’m very excited about Sonoma. But I’ve got to again remember I’ve never seen this track. I have not logged a single lap around this place once in my life. I can’t help but be confident because we’ve been able to improve a lot at the road courses. We didn’t have a good run at the Daytona Road Course race, but at the Clash we were really quick. My expectations are high but still there’s a lot of uncertainty going into it.”
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