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.
