NASCAR CUP SERIES
HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY
DIXIE VODKA 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 26, 2021

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Media Teleconference Transcript:

HOW IMPORTANT IS HOMESTEAD THIS WEEKEND GIVEN IT’S ONE OF YOUR BETTER TRACKS?
“Extremely. But unfortunately, because of how bad of a start we’ve had like we really can’t go for broke. We can’t be aggressive because the first two races I think we’ve pretty much gotten like two points or something like that. So, me and Matt DiBenedetto and Ross Chastain are all in a really bad spot right now in points. And we just can’t let this slide continue because if it goes on much further, we’re going to be in a deeper hole three races in than it was at my worst right at the end of the regular season stretch before the Playoffs started. And that’s no way to start what’s supposed to be an improvement on my rough year.”

MENTALLY, HOW IS RUNNING DOUBLE DUTY FOR YOU THIS WEEKEND AT HOMESTEAD?
“For me, I don’t know how much I translate what I learn inside the car from Saturday to Sunday. But what I know is going to happen, regardless of where I’m running on Saturday, is I’m going to have a lot of fun and I’m going to understand the changes the track has had since last June when we ran there. It really did change a lot from November 2019 to June 2020. I expect a very similar, another big step in progression of the track surface kind of shifting and changing and aging as it continues to get older and older. I don’t know if it’s necessarily going to be more abrasive than it has been just as the weather has changed and it’s gone through seasons, the track just kind of changes. New bumps form. Certain seams split apart a little bit more. Some of that stuff changes. So, I’ll have that and understand that going into Sunday. But above all else, I’ll have a lot of fun racing the Xfinity car on Saturday. I’m not really trying to get anything crazy out of it to help me on Sunday other than just having a lot of fun and enjoying one of my favorite race tracks.”

WITH ROAD COURSES AND DIRT THIS YEAR, HAS SIMULATOR OVER THE YEARS FOR YOU BECOME SOMETHING MORE TO REALLY USE AS A TOOL?
“Well, with practice and qualifying and the multi-day shows disappearing for the most part, aside from a couple of weekends this year that we haven’t really experienced before, yeah you have to tap into your notebook You have to rely more on simulation to really get any kind of preparation as a driver and as a team going into a race. Without that you really don’t have any on-track time of any kind. And truly, it’s still not on-track time. It’s all through simulation. I really enjoy being able to do that work. It’s very important to treat it as realistic as possible; understanding we go to a place like Atlanta. You can’t arc it in every single lap and do all these crazy things next to the bottom and be able to have any good speed, really, in your car after 10 or 15 laps. So, you’ve really got to just make it as realistic as possible when you work on it. When you do unrealistic things, you’re going to have unrealistic expectations when you get to the race track.”

YOU SAID ON SOCIAL MEDIA YOU DIDN’T WANT TO BE REMINDED OF THAT LAST LAP AT HOMESTEAD. WHAT WAS IT LIKE AFTER THAT FOR YOU? HOW DID YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN YOURSELF? I ASSUME YOU FELT EMBARRASSED.
“Yeah, it kind of stinks. We got very fortunate though that it didn’t cost me any spots, potentially. But definitely the move that I set-up on Blaney in what I thought was the final lap in (Turns) 3 and 4, I would have waited one more lap and got a little bit closer and maybe I could have gotten third out of it. Maybe I could have taken advantage of him and Chase racing and pass them both, who knows? But I didn’t lose any spots but yeah, it kind of was an unfortunate misunderstanding. It’s happened a few times. So that’s, I think, what bothers me more about it than anything. I think back to Bristol when I was racing with RCR on the Xfinity side, I thought the Stage ended a lap early and I let Justin Allgaier get by me and it cost me a Stage win. Eventually, it’s kind of in my mind what shifted our race and kept us from keeping and getting back to the lead. So yeah, it’s embarrassing when you do stuff like that, but fortunately I didn’t lose a spot and it could have been a lot worse. I could have pulled down pit road and finished last on the lead lap.”

SINCE IT HAS HAPPENED A FEW TIMES, DO YOU HAVE TO DO ANYTHING MENTALLY TO PREVENT IT FROM HAPPENING OR FOCUS ON IT?
“I think I’ve just gotten more and more comfortable and done more of this asphalt and this NASCAR racing that the potential for is I’ve let my guard down a little bit. Running short tracks growing up you’d almost just run an extra half a lap, or you’d run even after you think you’ve taken the checkered flag until you hear race control come over and start calling cars that need to go to scales and whatnot. Sometimes I think I hear things I don’t and that was the case. Derek was just saying it was one heck of a night and everyone did a good job and bring it back in one piece. So, I thought okay, the race is over; but obviously that was not the case. And then when I keyed up, I talked so long that everyone was trying to scream at me to go-go-go. I wouldn’t shut up. I didn’t hear him until I let go of the button on the steering wheel there.”

ON GETTING COMFORTABLE TRANSITIONING TO THE NASCAR CUP CARS
“The length of the race was actually a benefit for me because a lot of Xfinity races I always felt like one more stop and I’d get where I wanted to be. Obviously if you go back and look at it though, we had a lot of races where mid-way through the race it just kind of became unhinged and we would like of almost go the wrong way. I didn’t feel like that was due to just not being acclimated to the longer races, we would just make simple mistakes trying to make our car better and we already had it really close to where it needed to be. But those longer races, that can creep in. You may be at the best of what you’re capable of that day but we’re always wanting more. And sometimes we go too far, or we go the wrong way just trying to get more out of what’s not really there. So, you’ve just got to understand that and then just try to be as efficient as you can on pit road to either maintain or gain spots on pit road that way. But the length of the races and understanding how important pit road is, I feel like you could be 80 percent in the Xfinity Series and with the great pit crew like I had when I ran that series, you could really maintain on pit road and still gain spots. So, those would be the learning curves, I say.

“But mentioning the bodies on these Cup cars, I really wasn’t really too worried about that at Homestead. Granted I absolutely killed the fence when Christopher passed me a couple of years ago and it was able to hold together. But aside from running into the fence down the straightaway for whatever reason I did when I was right behind Cole before we had that battle there at the end of that race, one and a half years ago, I never really hit the fence in the Xfinity car that year. And in the Cup car I think I only maybe minorly scraped it once and I think it was when I jumped up in front of Chase and I got a pretty aggressive push. Other than that, the fence at Homestead hasn’t really been a problem for me. I’ve gotten real comfortable in understanding what my limits are and knowing where the right rear quarter panel is. But definitely, I heard all about it. You hit the fence in these Cup cars you day is over. You’ll keep cutting tires and whatnot. I think like what consider hitting the fence, and when I like scrape the fence, there’s a difference there because I’ve found there have been a few times I’ve hit the fence and thought oh, our day is done. And we just pull it back out. Yeah, we lose spots on pit road, but the problem never really re-occurs unless you absolutely just destroy the fence and hit it a bunch and knock the right front and right rears off. Then you see the tire issues.”

WITH MORE GUYS COMING FROM DIRT, DO YOU EXPECT THEM TO FAVOR THAT HIGH LINE GOING AROUND AT HOMESTEAD?
“Well, I think a lot of people after watching the championship race that year and a half ago on the Cup side, not a lot of guys really could make the fence work. Kyle Larson was really the only one that had a lot of speed up there. I think people were just saying, well it’s just Kyle. He can find speed doing it. And last year when we went back in June it was pretty obvious right away that a lot more guys were comfortable running right up against the fence; you know Chase and Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin didn’t have to but if he needed to, then he can, obviously. He’s showed that at Darlington and some of these other tracks. Kyle Busch knows how to run the fence, it’s no secret. So, I think these guys with this race that isn’t the Championship finale race, you’ll see guys being more aggressive and willing to take more risks. They definitely saw in this race we had six or seven months ago how much speed there is up there. So, more and more guys are going to be up there. But that’s going to open up the bottom and the middle and I’m all right with that too. We had a pretty good car pretty much all over the race track here six or seven months ago.”

YOU ARE STARTING IN THE BACK FOR BOTH RACES. HOW DIFFERENT IS YOUR APPROACH CONSIDERING THE DIFFERENT BODIES OF THE CARS AND THE WAY THEY DRIVE?
“Not much different. I think clean air is very important in these cars. And in the Xfinity cars you can run much closer to someone’s rear bumper, especially on the fence, than you can in a Cup car. It’s something that, you can run the fence by yourself, but you definitely have to be careful in dirty air. The car is just so much more unpredictable and has a lot less air pushing on the front of it to keep it stuck to the race track. So, obviously I think you can get away with a couple of scrapes, you know, light contact. With the Xfinity cars, you really see it. They’re really hung out a lot more. And when I do get in the fence, the right rear kind of sucks them in and then the right front gets stuck on the wall and people tell you it’s stuck and that’s because cars are so hung out going around the race track. The Cup cars are a lot more straight in light and so you can make slight contact with the wall and not get stuck on it, but you don’t want to hit it too much because when you take off on sticker tires or you have short runs and you need to run off the wall, any damage you do to the right side is going to take away from that 10 or 15-lap run speed that you have. So, you’ve really just got to keep it in one piece. There’s a lot of speed up there but you can hit it, but you don’t want to. It’ll hurt you in the beginning of the run, which could be the way the race ends, or it could be a caution at the end. You may get stuck behind and lose too much ground on a restart setting up for a green flag run if you do too much damage to your car over the course of a longer run.”

YOU ARE RIGHT NOW THE LAST OF THE BIG THREE TO NOT HAVE SCORED A VICTORY WITH CHRISTOPHER BELL GETTING HIS WIN LAST WEEK. DOES THAT PUT EXTRA PRESSURE ON YOU MOVING FORWARD?
“No, I don’t think it does. I knew that they were going to be very capable of winning races. We’ve had our opportunities last year. And, you know, so far this year if we ran cleaner races and made smarter decisions who’s to say? But you know, it’s a process. Yeah, you want to do as good as the other two that were a part of that. But everyone’s learning curve is different. They have different strengths and weaknesses. We’re all different and that’s kind of what shaped up our great battle going into Homestead. Christopher was really good at short tracks and road courses and Cole was outstanding on the 1.5-mile and the high-banked tracks. It was a good little mix and seeing them win is not a surprise, for sure. They’re all very good drivers. They’re in the right equipment to go out there and win and I believe that I’m in the right equipment to go out and win too. It’s just it’s very important to execute. There are three or four things that I should have done differently that were mistakes, in my opinion, last year in this race at Homestead. One spot on one re-start or one choice, one decision, and really shake-up how the whole race goes. So, you’ve just got to make the right decisions in those very critical times in a race and that could be the difference between finishing fourth or being up there and battling for the win. So, I’m just trying to learn that and understand that and keep learning from these new lessons that pop up and try not to make the same mistakes going forward. Through that learning process we’ll find ourselves in more opportunities to capitalize hopefully and go for those wins.”
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 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. 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 www.chevrolet.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Homestead Media Availability | Friday, February 26, 2021

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang — YOU WON AT HOMESTEAD LAST YEAR IN NXS.  WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT RACING THERE?  “To me, Homestead is just the perfect racetrack.  There’s a lot of tire falloff.  There are multiple grooves.  You obviously run on the fence.  You can run the dead bottom.  You can run the middle.  It has a lot of options.  It also changes a lot.  It reminds me a lot of dirt racing because I feel like every 5-10 laps it’s constantly changing — what groove is a little bit better.  If your car is a little too tight or a little too loose you as a driver can do a lot at Homestead to change the balance.  You can try different lines and do different things with the car.  It’s just a really, really well-built racetrack.  I wish we went there more than one time.  It’s a great facility.  Like I said, it’s a great racetrack.  It’s really the perfect racetrack, in my opinion.”

WHAT HAVE THESE FIRST TWO WEEKS BEEN LIKE FOR YOU?  “I think, for me, the biggest thing is just how many guys are competitive.  The Truck Series and the XFINITY Series it seems like there are almost three or four different races within the race, just on the equipment side of things.  In the Cup Series, it’s just very eye-opening how good everybody is and just from a driver’s standpoint everybody that’s there, I would say 90 percent of the field has all won their entire career.  They’re just good race car drivers, so that’s been the biggest thing is just how hard you race for 20th versus racing for the win in past series and things like that.  I got a little bit of experience in the Cup Series.  This past week getting to start up on the front row and kind of running up near the top five on those last couple restarts and, honestly, it felt like it was easier to race up there than it was for 20th or 25th.  So I think that’s been the biggest thing is just how many guys are just really, really good.  How many cars are really good and everybody that’s there is there for a reason and that’s been pretty eye-opening to me is just how tough it is to gain track position.  The XFINITY stuff you could start in the back and you were gonna be able to be up front fairly quickly.  The Cup Series there’s still guys that can do that, but it’s a lot tougher, so that’s been the biggest thing I would say has been most eye-opening to me.”

WHAT HAS JOHNNY TRIED TO DO TO KEEP YOUR SPIRITS UP?  “I think the 500 to finish 19th wasn’t obviously what we were wanting, but for the day that we had I think we were lucky to get out of there with a 19th with how our day went.  And then the road course, truthfully, for how much damage we had I felt like at the end if I didn’t get into the back of Denny I could have probably ran seventh or eighth, so I know from a speed standpoint we’ve been really strong.  The road course is really the only time we’ve been able to even kind of see where we stack up, but I felt like we were able to drive from the back to the front a couple times or at least the tail end of the top 10.  I feel like Johnny has still been super pumped up.  He’s been kind of keeping me in the game as far as telling me — for the amount of damage we had we were still really, really good last week.  We were still up in the mix there at the end and I felt like last week was really our first attempt for me and Johnny to work together and actually make adjustments and do all these things.  I felt like he did a really, really good job of making our car better throughout the race even with the damage we had.  I felt like it drove really, really good and I think we’re both excited for this week.  We’re just trying to stay focused on continuing to try and learn as much as we can about each other and build that notebook.  This is gonna be our first real test all year long of what we’re gonna do for the majority of the year, so I think Johnny has done a good job of keeping me motivated and just telling me that it’s gonna be hard at the beginning and we understand there’s gonna be challenges at the beginning and just learning curves to get over.  I think not only Johnny but my entire team has done a really good job of understanding that it’s gonna take a little bit of time to be consistently running up front and it’s gonna take time of probably tearing up race cars and just making mistakes to learn not to do those anymore and that’s been the big thing for me in the Cup Series just in these first two weeks is learning that you really have to take care of your race car because with this body that’s something I haven’t had the last two years.  With the XFINITY car we’d kind of beat it around a little bit and still be OK, where on the Cup side it really kills you and this week is gonna be another example of that.  I think we’ll be good this week.  We’re starting 30th, so we need to just run the race in segments, that’s what Johnny and the engineers told me all week leading up to this is, ‘We’re starting 30th, let’s try to be by lap 20 in the top 20.’  Every pit stop, every restart we just need to try and gain two or three spots and by the end of the race we’re gonna be up in the front hopefully.   That’s what we kind of have in our gameplan going into this week.  It’s just a matter of executing it.”

KEVIN HARVICK HAS BEEN A MENTOR WHILE YOU WERE IN XFINITY.  HAS THAT CONTINUED?  “I feel like Kevin has still been nothing but great to me and all of the SHR teammates, whether it’s Cole, Kevin or Aric have all been great.  At Daytona I was using all of them quite a bit.  Last week, I didn’t use them as much just because I felt like that it was gonna be pretty similar to the XFINITY car.  I still talked to Cole a little bit, but Kevin has always been absolutely great to me.  Anytime I have a question or a concern or just anything he’s been a wide-open door and a wide-open book for me to be able to use.  It’s been great to be able to have a resource like that and I feel bad, I kind of wait until the race weekend to even go talk to him just because I’m sure he’s really busy in the week.  I don’t want to bother him.  That’s a big thing for me is I don’t want to wear him out, so I’ve been kind of waiting until the racetrack, which is pretty late to go get answers, but he’s just such a busy guy and I don’t want to wear him out during the middle of the week.  But he’s been great so far through these first two weeks and I’m sure as the year goes on he’s gonna continue to be.”

HOW MUCH COULD YOU SEEN WHEN THE HOOD CAME UP ONTO YOUR WINDSHIELD?  “I actually had that similar experience before.  In 2018, the XFINITY race at Bristol, my dash came up — the flat panel above where our dash lays, but the flat part flew up and I drove around Bristol for probably 20-25 laps just by looking at the catchfence.  That’s all I could see, so I had a little bit of experience with it.  But the hood deal, it was hard.  It was easier than the dash, I felt like, but it was hard because all of the power-steering fluid, when I hit Denny, sprayed up on the windshield, so that was the hardest part of the whole thing was I just couldn’t see through the windshield itself, and then with the hood flying up, plus no power-steering, it was kind of chaotic.  Once the hood flew up I knew our day was pretty much over.  I ran one lap trying to see kind of where I could stack up and then it got to where it was almost impossible to see and then just the steering was getting so stiff that it was hard for me to do anything, but it was tough.  I was just trying to look out the left side and the right side.  The biggest thing is I was ducking my head so I could see below the hood a little bit, so definitely wasn’t easy and it wasn’t ideal, but it was still doable.  I think if I would have had power-steering I felt like I could have hung on quite a bit better, but that was the biggest thing is just no power-steering.  It was really hard for me to do all those chicanes and what-not.”

YOUR ODDS ARE 80:1 TO WIN THIS RACE.  DOES THAT GIVE YOU EXTRA MOTIVATION?  “I don’t know.  I think no matter what the odds are, if they were 3:1 or 100:1 I’m trying just as hard to win the race, but I do feel like Homestead is a great racetrack for me.  Statistically, it’s my best racetrack, so I’m hoping this week we can go and have a good run.  I think winning the race is gonna be tough, obviously, still being pretty early in this deal, but I do feel like this is a place where out of any racetrack on the schedule I feel like this is the one place I really know what to look for in the car.  I feel like no matter what I have I can make up for a little bit, and I feel like Homestead is one of those places where it seems like the guys that run good there typically always run good there.  You look at Reddick, he was always really good there and then in the Cup Series it was no different — Kyle Larson and all those guys.  I’m confident going into this week just because I do feel like I understand how to get around the racetrack well.  It would be a nice look for somebody if I did end up winning at 80:1, but it doesn’t matter what the odds are I’m gonna try to win and do my best no matter what.”

ARE THERE CERTAIN CONCEPTS IN THESE CUP CARS YOU’RE STILL TRYING TO GRASP?  “I think the biggest thing is, like I was saying earlier, the XFINITY car — a perfect example this weekend at Homestead.  You could hit the fence a couple times and there’s gonna be no issues.  The body just bounces right back.  The Cup Series it seems like if you just literally scrape the thing you’re gonna have a tire going down and it just kills your aero platform and everything else.  So, for me, looking back at Daytona last weekend I felt like in the XFINITY car I would have early in the race dove in under Bubba like that and once I realized he was not gonna give me the room, if I would have spun out it would have been no problem.  It wouldn’t have even really torn up the car, but then with this body it just kills you and I think just knowing that risk vs. reward early in the race is something to definitely keep in mind and something that in the past I haven’t really worried about.  And it’s gonna be the exact same this weekend.  Going back and watching video from the last couple Homestead races, the wall is gonna be faster, but none of the Cup guys really run the wall until the last 30-40 laps just because it’s not worth it up until that point.  Reddick was able to run up front for a large majority of the race because he was willing to risk that.  You see guys in the past, they’ll be the fastest car all day long and then they get in the wall one time and their day is kind of over.  I think that’s the biggest thing that’s been a challenge for me is just learning that risk vs. reward and not that you can ride around, it’s just knowing when to try to push a little bit harder and maybe run closer to the wall or dive in under somebody with a chance of potentially damaging your car.  That’s been something that’s been hard for me because in the past if there’s a hole, go for it, where in the Cup Series you kind of have to keep in mind you need your car for the end of the race.  Every little dent or ding on it is really gonna affect you from a balance standpoint and a speed standpoint.”

IS PANDA EXPRESS SPONSORING YOU YET?  “No, not that I’m aware of.  They haven’t reached out to do a gift card or anything, so I think my Panda days might be over for a little while.  Nothing yet, and, truthfully, the last two weeks I’ve gone to Panda I’ve had terrible luck in the race, so I better take a break for a little while.”

HOW WAS THAT EXPERIENCE GETTING BACK IN THE CAR AFTER EATING THAT?  “I was all good on that side.  I just feel like my luck has been terrible.  Both times I went I’ve crashed out of the race, so better take a break from Panda for a while.”

DoorDash Accelerates Presence in Sport with Wide-Ranging Official Partnership and Commitment to Supporting Local Businesses

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 26, 2021) – NASCAR announced today a multiyear partnership with DoorDash, the nation’s leading last-mile logistics platform, that will designate it as the “Official On-Demand Delivery Platform of NASCAR.” The wide-ranging agreement will span across the sanctioning body and 11 NASCAR-owned facilities.

Over the course of their partnership, DoorDash and NASCAR, two of the fastest-growing brands with Gen Z consumers*, will collaborate meaningfully to empower local communities. Additionally, DoorDash will look to deepen its connection with race fans by bringing the DoorDash experience to NASCAR tracks over the coming years through highlighting local restaurants within racing communities.

“DoorDash is a category leader and one of the fastest growing brands in the country, their expanded presence in NASCAR underscores the incredible momentum being generated around this historic season,” said Frank Kelleher, senior vice president and chief sales officer, NASCAR. “Together, NASCAR and DoorDash are committed to giving back to the communities in which we race while drastically improving the fan experience at our facilities.”

DoorDash entered the sport in 2020 by announcing a partnership with NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace and a founding partnership of 23XI Racing. The DoorDash logo is prominently featured on the hood of the No. 23 DoorDash Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing, seen during the first two points races of the season at Daytona International Speedway.

“This partnership enables us to expand our engagement and build a further connection with the racing community, while activating against our values of diversity and empowering local communities,” said Kofi Amoo-Gottfried, DoorDash’s VP, Marketing. “We are committed to leveraging our platform and resources to create a more inclusive environment for racing fans in the coming years and look forward to working with NASCAR to create unique and authentic experiences for fans and food-lovers alike.”

As part of the relationship, DoorDash will also activate across NASCAR’s rapidly growing social and digital platforms. Additionally, eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series broadcasts will integrate DoorDash branding throughout the remainder of its season. DoorDash also joins the NASCAR Fuel for Business Council, bringing together an exclusive group of Official NASCAR Partners to construct business-to-business opportunities and co-marketing programs.

*Source: Morning Consult, 2020

Tune-in to the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, Feb. 28 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and MRN.

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series™), three regional series, one local grassroots series, three international series and the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

About DoorDash

DoorDash is a technology company that connects consumers with their favorite local and national businesses in more than 4,000 cities and all 50 states across the United States, Canada, and Australia. Founded in 2013, DoorDash enables local businesses to address consumers’ expectations of ease and immediacy and thrive in today’s convenience economy. By building the last-mile logistics infrastructure for local commerce, DoorDash is bringing communities closer, one doorstep at a time. Read more on the DoorDash blog or at www.doordash.com.

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
DIXIE VODKA 400
HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY
HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA
FEBRUARY 28, 2021

RACE #3: HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY
The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series will contest in Florida for the third consecutive week, and for the third time, compete on a different circuit to start the 36-race schedule. The 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway oval, which hosted its first NASCAR race on November 19, 1999, welcomes NASCAR’s premier series as 17 Chevrolet drivers are entered to compete for a trip to victory lane in the Dixie Vodka 400 on Sunday, February 28. The 267-lap race will be telecast at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

Last June on the variably-banked oval, Chase Elliott led four Chevrolet drivers to top-10 finishes in the runner-up position. Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick finished third and teammate, Austin Dillon, crossed the line in seventh. Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron rounded out the Team Chevy top-10 in the ninth position. In five career races at the track located 38 miles south of Miami, Elliott has two top-five and three top-10 finishes.

The Contender Boats 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race will be telecast at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday, February 27, on FS1. Reddick drove a Chevrolet to victory in 2018 and 2019 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Series.

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.

Here are Team Chevy’s Top-20 Starters:

5th Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE
8th Ryan Preece, No. 37 Slim Jim Camaro ZL1 1LE
11th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE
13th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE
15th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Tide Power Pods Camaro ZL1 1LE
17th Kyle Larson, No. 5 NationsGuard Camaro ZL1 1LE
18th Erik Jones, No. 43 Amor All Camaro ZL1 1LE
20th Justin Haley, No. 77 Diamond Creek Water Camaro ZL1 1LE

TAKING IT IN STAGES
Reigning NASCAR Cup Series Champion, Chase Elliott, won the first stage on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course event and has accumulated 22 stage points through two races. Elliott, who led a field-high 44 of 70 laps on the 3.61-mile circuit, was challenging for his fifth consecutive road course victory late in the race before his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE was forced into the grass. He was relegated to 21st place finish, but currently stands fifth in the driver standings.

BOWTIE BULLETS:
· Chevrolet leads all manufacturers in top-10 finishes through the 2021 season’s first two races.

· Ryan Preece, No. 37 Slim Jim Camaro ZL1 1LE for JTG Daugherty Racing, has scored back-to-back top-10 finishes to start the season.

· AJ Allmendinger drove the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Camaro ZL1 1LE to seventh place after starting 34th on the Daytona Road Course. He is competing in the team’s Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE in the Xfinity Series race this weekend.

· Five different Chevrolet drivers have won at Homestead-Miami Speedway (Jimmie Johnson, 2016; Kevin Harvick, 2014; Jeff Gordon, 2012; Tony Stewart, 2011; Bobby Labonte, 2003). Stewart also drove GM brand Pontiac to victory in 1999 and 2000.

· Chevrolet has also totaled 1,596 laps led, 42 top-five and 90 top-10 finishes at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

· Chip Ganassi Racing driver Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, is one of just two active drivers to compete in 20 of the 22 NASCAR Cup Series races at Homestead-Miami Speedway (1 win, 4 top 5, 7 top 10, 2 poles, 97 laps led).

TUNE IN
FOX will telecast the 267-lap/400-mile race live at 3:30 p.m. EST Sunday, February 28. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 5th IN STANDINGS
“I think the biggest thing that everybody likes is running up by the wall. That’s the thing that’s kind of cool and not a lot of tracks let you do that. A lot of times, the track isn’t symmetrical enough to run that close to it for that period of time. It might have little sections of the wall that dip in or out, and when that happens it makes it really hard to run right by it because it’s hard to follow a curve in the wall. But Homestead is a place where the wall is super symmetrical and the track is symmetrical. And progressive banking, too, which I think all those things kind of give you options on lanes to run and something a little different from the normal.”

RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 SLIM JIM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 7th IN STANDINGS
“I think our weekly goal heading into Homestead-Miami Speedway is to be consistent. As long as we execute little details, we’ll show up and outperform in our No. 37 Slim Jim Chevrolet. The Daytona 500 and Daytona Road Course are two difficult tracks in themselves to survive and have strong runs, and now that we’ve gotten over that hurdle, we’re in a great position to keep it going on some of these 1.5-mile tracks we have coming up. Homestead-Miami Speedway and I have a love/hate relationship. It’s a fun track, I would rank it as one of the higher intermediate tracks for me because there are a lot of ways to make speed with the multiple grooves. I’m a bottom feeder running the bottom lane rather than running the high line, but at the end of the day we’re going to do what we need to do to put ourselves in contention and running up front.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 9th IN STANDINGS
WHAT EXCITES YOU MOST ABOUT HOMESTEAD?
“First of all, it’s an oval; getting back on an oval that’s not a speedway. The first 1.5-mile of the year, everybody’s excited, I think, when it comes to seeing what kind of speed you’re going to have on your program and where you stack up because it can be a long year if you don’t have your stuff together. Homestead, we ran good there last year. I think I got a tire outside the box penalty and we came from the tail-end of the longest line to the top-10. I think we finished seventh. It was fun; we had a really fast car, so I can’t wait to get there. And obviously Tyler Reddick is solid there and I think that’s pushed our program to another level when it comes to running at Homestead. People really put an emphasis on that track for him because they know it’s a place where he can show up and run really well. I feel like we’ve learned off of our cars the last couple of years.”

COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 MARWIN SPORTS APPAREL CAMARO ZL11 LE – 15th IN STANDINGS
“The Marwin Sports Camaro looks awesome heading into the first true evaluation of our equipment in Miami. I’m ready to get to the 1.5 oval to see what kind of speed we’re going to have for the majority of the Cup season. We’ll have a new, but familiar voice on the radio in Steve Letarte, filling in for Ryan Sparks, who’s adhering to COVID protocols. We’ll miss him this week, but we’re in good hands. We’re going to have a strong run this weekend.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER/TIDE POWER PODS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 16th IN STANDINGS
“I feel really good about the preparation everyone at JTG Daugherty Racing has put into our No. 47 Kroger/Tide Chevrolet for this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. We had a decent race there last year, but I know we have speed in our intermediate track program and we have some good notes from last year to build off of. Homestead is one of those tracks where practice really pays off in terms of testing how high to run the groove against the wall. Not having that practice, we have to use the beginning of the race to test that line and not make any mistakes. The key for us is keep up with the changes on the race track, since we’ll start during the day and most likely end under the lights, and making no mistakes on pit road.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 23rd IN STANDINGS
“Getting a top-10 finish last week on the DAYTONA Road Course was a good redemption from the week prior. Greg (Ives) and the No. 48 Ally team made great adjustments on pit road and put us in a good position at the end for a solid finish. Going to Homestead this weekend gives us a good opportunity to show what our 1.5-mile program looks like this season. We had a really solid end to the 2020 season and I know that we will have a fast Ally Camaro this weekend.”

GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
“We are really looking forward to getting back to Homestead. We have a strong 550 program at Hendrick Motorsports and that showed at the end of last year. Looking forward to getting to the track and having another solid race. Knowing that the start of the season didn’t go our way in the DAYTONA 500, we just need to crawl back to where we need to be.”

“I expect the high line to be very inviting at Homestead, especially as the run goes on. The car gets a little snug and you can get the air cushion on the wall. The later start is going to potentially have the sun going down and the grip going up. You are going to have to be able to rip the bottom to sling shot. It has the tendency to widen out the groove a lot once grip comes into the track. It’s going to be a fun race and tire strategy is definitely going to come into play.”

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 ARMOR ALL CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 26th IN STANDINGS
HOW DOES HOMESTEAD COMPARE TO OTHER 1.5-MILE TRACKS WE GO TO?
“I would say Homestead-Miami Speedway is probably the most unique 1.5-mile track, or at least one of them, on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. The way it’s shaped – it really kind of lends itself to run the topside and really right up against the wall. There is a really high level of risk versus reward. Obviously, there’s a lot of speed up top against the wall, but there’s also a lot of risk with that – damaging your car and getting yourself in trouble before the race is over and sacrificing a good finish. It is a really fine balance. As far as 1.5-mile tracks go, I really think it is kind of on its own island with the way you have to approach it from a driver’s standpoint.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 29th IN STANDINGS
“Last year we got our first taste of running Homestead in the summer verses the season finale like it used to be. The heat was more extreme, but you could still run right against the wall like before. Last year’s race was definitely one of our most-consistent races of the year too as a team. It was a good feeling to be able to run well there and have the finish to show for it. Hopefully we can do that again this weekend and get momentum building on our side for the start of the season.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 33rd IN STANDINGS
“I’ve been very fortunate to have some great vehicles at Homestead-Miami Speedway, whether it be in the trucks, Xfinity or Cup cars, so that helps a lot with just overall confidence and feeling comfortable there. Going there with such strong cars really has allowed me to play into my strengths around that track. Homestead-Miami Speedway is a place where you can move around and change up your line almost every lap to find more speed. So, I think just having a feel for that, the tire fall-off there, and how much you can move around suits my driving style. It’s just something that came rather quickly to me from the start. I had a rookie test there in the NASCAR Truck Series, so I’ve had a lot of on-track time there too. We need to go into the race on Sunday with that confidence and just maintain it during the entire day in order to hopefully get our No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet into Victory Lane and win all race fans a free No. 8 Special on Monday.”

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: 0
Poles: 1
Laps Led: 72
Top-five finishes: 3
Top-10 finishes: 11

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 795 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 718
Laps led to date: 236,777
Top-five finishes to date: 4,068
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,413

Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date

       General Motors: 1,129
       Chevrolet: 795
       Pontiac: 154
       Oldsmobile: 115
       Buick: 65

       Ford: 805                                                         
       Ford: 705
       Mercury: 96
       Lincoln: 4

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

       Toyota: 153

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 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. 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 www.chevrolet.com.