TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
Bristol Motor Speedway
April 11-13, 2025
NASCAR’s second short-track event weekend of the 2025 season will see all three national touring series make the trek to Tennessee to Bristol Motor Speedway. The famed high-banked half-mile will welcome a pair of tripleheader NASCAR event weekends this season, with the Xfinity Series rejoining the spring date for the first time since 2020.
Chevrolet returns to “The Last Great Colosseum” with wins in two divisions at the track last season – entering the weekend as the defending winners of the Truck Series’ spring race (Christian Eckes – Mar. 2024), as well as the track’s most recent winner in NASCAR’s top division (Kyle Larson – Sept. 2024).
Chevrolet at “The Last Great Colosseum”
One of the most unique short-tracks on the NASCAR circuit, Bristol Motor Speedway has played host to NASCAR since July 1961 when the .533-mile Tennessee venue held the debut race for the sport’s top division. Over more than 60 years of competition at “The Last Great Colosseum”, Chevrolet has accumulated a series-leading 47 Cup Series wins and 37 Xfinity Series wins, as well as a record-tying 11 Truck Series triumphs.
Chevrolet’s first Cup Series victory at Bristol Motor Speedway came with Charlie Glotzbach in July 1971, with the triumph marking the first of seven-straight trips to victory lane at the Tennessee circuit – a record streak by a single manufacturer that still stands today. Highlighted on the Bowtie brand’s all-time Bristol wins list is a milestone feat that came in March 2007 when Kyle Busch delivered Chevrolet its 600th all-time win in NASCAR’s top division. To make it even more special, the milestone victory came in the competition debut of NASCAR’s fifth-generation race car known as the “Car of Tomorrow” and the return of the Impala SS to NASCAR competition. Only six past Bristol winners are entered in Sunday’s Food City 500, including Team Chevy’s Kyle Busch, who tops the list with eight career victories at the track – double the next leading competitor, Denny Hamlin, with four wins. Also on that elite list includes two-time Bristol winner, Kyle Larson, who collected his second win in the series’ most recent appearance at the track (Sept. 2024).
Among its 37 Xfinity Series wins at Bristol Motor Speedway includes a streak of 16-straight trips to victory lane (Aug. 1997- Apr. 2005) – a feat that holds the series’ record for the longest streak of triumphs by a manufacturer at the track. Just two past Bristol winners will compete in Saturday’s SciAps 300 – both of which come from the Chevrolet camp. The pair includes the Aug. 2018 winner, Kyle Larson, who will get back behind the wheel of the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet as part of his attempt at a tripleheader sweep. In addition, Chevrolet’s most recent Bristol winner, Justin Allgaier, has two Bristol wins on his resume – recorded in Mar. 2010 and Sept. 2023.
In the Truck Series, Chevrolet also owns the record for the longest streak of wins by a manufacturer at Bristol Motor Speedway with five-in-a-row. The streak started in June 1996 with a victory earned by Rick Carelli – marking Chevrolet’s first ever Truck Series triumph at the track. The Bowtie brand’s most recent trip to victory lane at the Tennessee short-track came one year ago in the series’ spring event with Christian Eckes and the No. 19 McAnally Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet team. The victory marked Chevrolet’s 11th all-time Truck Series win at Bristol – a record that tied its manufacturer competitor, Toyota, for the top position on the series’ all-time wins list at the track.
TENNESSEE TRIPLE
Team Chevy’s Kyle Larson came just short of a tripleheader sweep at Homestead-Miami Speedway a few weeks ago. The 32-year-old Elk Grove, California, native will make a second attempt at adding his name to the NASCAR record book by getting behind the wheel of a Chevrolet-powered machine in all three events at Bristol Motor Speedway.
His first of three races for the weekend will see the driver return to the driver’s seat of the No. 07 Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports in Friday’s Truck Series event. Larson last competed with the Chevrolet organization at his first attempt at a tripleheader sweep at Homestead – a race that ended with a trip to victory lane. Larson is a four-time Truck Series winner, two of which have come with Spire Motorsports. This weekend will also mark Larson’s second and final Xfinity Series start for the 2025 season. His most recent Xfinity Series triumph came at Circuit of The Americas in Mar. 2024 – a win that delivered the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet entry its first win in the series. In his most recent start at Homestead, Larson drove a near perfect race before a late-race restart ended with a fourth-place result. Jumping back into the seat for his full-time gig on Sunday, Larson will look for this third Cup Series win at “The Last Great Colosseum”.
The only driver in NASCAR history to successfully complete a tripleheader weekend sweep is one of the sport’s most decorated drivers – Kyle Busch. The two-time Cup Series Champion was able to accomplish the feat twice in his career (2010 and 2017) – both of which took place at Bristol Motor Speedway.
LOVE LOCKED-IN FOR CUP SERIES DEBUT
At the young age of just 20-years-old, Jesse Love will make his first career start in NASCAR’s top division at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend – piloting the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. The young Chevrolet driver has made a quick climb up the NASCAR national ranks. After becoming the youngest champion in NASCAR history by earning the title as the 2020 ARCA Menards Series West Champion, the Menlo Park, California, native later spent just one season in the ARCA Menards Series in 2023 – recording 10 wins and collecting another championship title.
In 2024, Love joined Richard Childress Racing and made the jump into the Xfinity Series for his rookie campaign in the NASCAR national ranks. To no surprise, Love continued to take the NASCAR world by storm – becoming a first-time winner (Talladega Superspeedway), recording a series-best five pole wins and the ‘Rookie of the Year’ title. Love has continued to build onto that success by starting his sophomore season the best way possible – taking the win in the 2025 Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway and the first ticket into the playoffs.
BYRON BUILDS IMPRESSIVE EARLY SEASON STATS
William Byron was well on his way to a near perfect race at Darlington Raceway last weekend – leading the first 243 laps of the race en route to a sweep of the stage wins. But varying strategies during the final green flag pit cycle didn’t play into favor of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team, with Byron ultimately taking home a runner-up finish. Despite falling just short of his second trip to victory lane this season, the 27-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, native put together yet another impressive points day – collecting a race-high 56 points to continue a strong hold onto the points standings lead for the seventh consecutive week. In addition, Byron continues to lead the series in a variety of statistical categories including stages wins (three) and laps led (354), as well as five top-10s in eight points-paying races thus far.
ALLGAIER AIMING FOR THREE IN TENNESSEE
The reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, Justin Allgaier, heads to Bristol Motor Speedway on a hot streak of four consecutive podium finishes – dating back to his first of two wins of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 38-year-old Riverton, Illinois, native is one of just two repeat winners in the series thus far this season, with his series-leading sixth top-five finish continuing to build his points lead to now 71-markers over second-place Sam Mayer. Tennessee’s high-banked half-mile holds a special place in Allgaier’s NASCAR career as the site of his first career Xfinity Series victory. Just two former Bristol winners will compete in Saturday’s 300-lap race, with Allgaier being the series’ only full-time competitor with a Bristol win on his resume. Allgaier is also Chevrolet’s most recent Xfinity Series winner at “The Last Great Colosseum”, with the JR Motorsports driver collecting his second career victory at the track in Sept. 2023.
HEMRIC HITS EARLY PLAYOFF BERTH
Sitting idle for a weekend, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is back in action this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway to kick off the tripleheader event. Chevrolet is coming off its series-leading third win of the 2025 Truck Series season – courtesy of a victory by Daniel Hemric and the No. 19 McAnally Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet team. The victory came in just his fifth start with the team, with the 34-year-old Kannapolis, North Carolina, native becoming just the second driver to earn an early ticket into the playoffs.
Chevrolet will head to Bristol Motor Speedway with the opportunity to become the series’ winningest manufacturer at the Tennessee short-track – entering the weekend with 11 all-time Truck Series wins at the venue. The Bowtie brand is the defending winner of the series’ spring event at the track – a triumph earned by the No. 19 McAnally Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet team with now full-time Xfinity Series driver, Christian Eckes, behind the wheel.
Chevrolet’s season statistics with eight NASCAR Cup Series races complete:
Wins: 2
Poles: 4
Laps Led: 715
Top-Fives: 16
Top-10s: 36
Stage Wins: 5
Chevrolet’s season statistics with eight NASCAR Xfinity Series races complete:
Wins: 6
Poles: 5
Laps Led: 1,027
Top-Fives: 26
Top-10s: 50
Stage Wins: 13
Chevrolet’s season statistics with five NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races complete:
Wins: 3
Poles: 2
Laps Led: 292
Top-Fives: 11
Top-10s: 21
Stage Wins: 3
BOWTIE BULLETS:
· Chevrolet will serve as the official pace vehicle for the tripleheader weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, with the Corvette Stingray pacing the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series and the Silverado RST pacing the Craftsman Truck Series.
· Active Chevrolet drivers with a NASCAR Cup Series win at Bristol Motor Speedway:
Kyle Busch: Eight wins (2019, ’18, ’17, ’11, ’10, ’09 sweep, ’07)
Kyle Larson – two wins (2024, ’21)
· Chevrolet is the winningest manufacturer in both of NASCAR’s top two divisions at Bristol Motor Speedway, heading into the weekend with 47 Cup Series wins and 37 Xfinity Series.
· Chevrolet is the only manufacturer to accomplish a tripleheader sweep across all three NASCAR national divisions this season – earned at Homestead-Miami Speedway courtesy of victories by Kyle Larson (Cup and Truck Series) and Justin Allgaier (Xfinity Series).
· In 116 points-paying races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 54 victories – a winning percentage of 46.6%.
· With its 43 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 868 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title as the winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.
FOR THE FANS
Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway at Bristol Motor Speedway, which will feature an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles.
Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation:
· Friday, April 11: 12 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
· Saturday, April 12: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
· Sunday, April 13: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
TUNE-IN:
NASCAR Cup Series
Food City 500
Sunday, April 13, at 3 p.m. ET
(FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
NASCAR Xfinity Series
SciAps 300
Saturday, April 12, at 5 p.m. ET
(CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Weather Guard Truck Race
Friday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m. ET
(FS1, NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
How’s your outlook on Bristol?
“I’m looking forward to Bristol this weekend. It’s such a unique and challenging track for a driver and the fans love it. It’s short track and we’ve run well at the smaller tracks this year so hopefully that trend will continue. Hopefully we’ll head into the off weekend with a strong run.”
Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
What is your outlook for Bristol?
“Bristol is always a fun track and atmosphere. I enjoy racing there and I hope the No. 7 team and I can rebound this week and have a great run before the bye week.”
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
What is it like to race at Bristol?
“Bristol’s one of my favorite tracks, if not my favorite. I love going there, it’s obviously a great place. It reminds me of the local short track atmosphere that you get on Saturday nights, growing up racing late models and things like that. It’s a lot of fun, I love the banking, I love the concrete and just the nature of that place. It’s gotten a little bit tougher over the years to be as good as I once was there. Everybody’s kind of picked up on it. It’s definitely one of the coolest tracks that we get a chance to go run on. And obviously, the speed that you carry there and the close nature to action, whether you run the bottom or whether you run the top, there’s just a lot of options.”
What is it like having to navigate the top and the bottom? Selecting a line multiple times, you may run the top, you may run the bottom, each lap. What’s it like to just navigate through all of that, every lap at that track?
“Yeah, every scenario is different at Bristol. The biggest thing is restarts. You’ve got to be ready to get down to the bottom. It seems like the bottom really fires off and takes off early. And then as the pace progresses and falls off, then you’ve got to get to the top. You want to be one of the first ones up to the top so that people don’t get up in front of you and block you and not allow you through traffic. It’s just really a challenging race. It’s more of a chess game a lot of times, too, rather than just trying to figure out all raw speeds.”
What are the differences for a day race there versus a night race? Are there any differences with the concrete?
“I really don’t notice much difference with day race or night race at Bristol. Honestly, it’s just whether you’re wearing a tinted visor or a clear visor, the racetrack being concrete surface and the temperature of the surface doesn’t really change as much as asphalt does. So, it lends itself to being more similar.”
Pit road there can be tricky. Green flag stops only going down once or yellow flag stops you’re going through the whole pit road. What is it like managing your lights there with the multi-speed zones in that pit road?
“Yeah, Bristol’s really tough with pit road speeds. You’re up and down on your speeds and managing your lights and things like that as you go through the turns and on the straights. We’ve kind of found over the years the hot sections of the sections that read a little bit faster than you think you’re going. You try to pick in those to eliminate those and knock them out. But also for me, the multiple pit lane thing, getting confused on which one to come in. I always like picking on the back stretch so that it’s just always enter off of turn two. And whether you have to run the full pit road under yellow or you just can exit into turn three on green flag scenario, it just makes it so much simpler.”
A lot of strategy goes into selection of pit stalls there. Is pitting on the back stretch versus the front stretch, is there an advantage to one or the other? You just mentioned you like to pit on the back stretch. What do you see in that that really helps you there?
“Obviously, the four corner spots are probably the most advantageous spots. Whether it’s spot number one, I think it’s 15, 16, and then 43. Those are the ones that you want. Everything in between, there’s no openings there. It’s really tough to have any sort of advantage besides those four. It really doesn’t make a whole lot of difference at Bristol on pit road. It’s just how you navigate your sections.”
And sometimes people say the first time you go there, you kind of forget to breathe for a couple of laps. What are the G-loads and the forces like going into those corners with such steep banking?
“Bristol is tough when you get there for practice. First time you get there and you’re in practice, it’s kind of like a cardio session. You’re trying to breathe and you’re trying to work through your breathing and everything, but you kind of hold your breath a little so you become out of breath. But it’s just a cool place. Being able to go somewhere like that that gives you those G-loads and that feeling is cool.”
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
“Bristol has been fairly good for us in the past; we’ve had some good results there. I feel like we have a lot more speed in the race car this time around so I’m optimistic that we can go out there, execute and have another solid run. Over the last few weeks, we have been getting closer to where we need to be, and Bristol is a track we can go to and take advantage of the opportunity.”
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
What Makes Bristol so special and unique for the Cup Series?
“It’s amazing, it’s a special feel, you can feel the energy and atmosphere. I always tell fans that if they have never been to a race or if they have never been to Bristol, I tell them to go to Bristol. It is the coolest event you can take in as a fan and as a driver at the same. It is a really special place. Recently, it has been really good to me. I missed the top 10 by one position last year. I finished 11th. I have three-five races like that over the last four of five NextGen years, and it’s been really nice to us. So, it is a place we look at and we have circled to get out there and do some work.”
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Describe what makes Bristol such a unique short track.
“I think first off just the look of the track. When you’re walking in, it’s a little intimidating. The track sits down inside the ‘stadium’ surrounded by seats and then you see the banking. Every track we go to, you see hard racing at some point, but at Bristol it starts on Lap 1. You have to be reasonably aggressive from the start and do your best to get track position or keep it. Once you start to drift toward the back and lose a lap, it’s so difficult to get it back. But that’s why there is a lot of satisfaction in getting a win at Bristol. You work hard to get there and that’s why it’s top of the list for a lot of guys to want to win there. I would love for Bristol to be where things turn around for the No. 77 team. The guys work hard and we’ve had really fast cars, so hopefully this is the weekend it pays off and they get the ultimate reward. Then we can celebrate with Triple Dippers and Presidente Margaritas at Chili’s.”
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
You own one Xfinity series start at Bristol (Motor Speedway), are you looking forward to making your first Cup Series start there this weekend?
“Bristol is such an epic track. I finished mid-pack last fall in the Xfinity Series and still had so much fun racing there (laughs). But it’s going to be tough, I’ve never been there in a Cup car and we are limited on practice time. Bristol is such a fast track so just learning and getting better every lap is going to be important.”
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Suarez on his outlook for Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend:
“This will be a good test for us. Last fall we really struggled at Bristol. It was a playoff race and we advanced but we didn’t run as well as we wanted to run. I know Trackhouse Racing and my team have put a lot of work in to prepare for Bristol and I hope we see the results on Sunday.”
Do drivers like Bristol?
“I think so. I love it. There is nothing like it. It’s challenging, but fun and rewarding if you run well there. I know the fans love it. You are so close to the fans that you can hear them when the cars aren’t running. That makes it fun as well.”
Connor Zilisch, No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
“Bristol is such a cool racetrack, high banked, high grip. I won the pole for the truck race back last fall and had one of the fastest trucks all day. We had a really good race going until we got spun out. I feel really confident going back to Bristol. The Xfinity cars have a little bit less grip and are going to be a little bit tougher but I’m excited to see what that’s like and how it’s different. It’s tough to pass at Bristol and running behind guys is tough because there is a lot of dirty air. Sometimes you have to be aggressive to get by people and that can make or break your race as well. I’m confident that we’ll have a good Axalta Chevrolet and I feel like we’ll be really fast.”
Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics
Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2024): 43
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)
Most recent: 2024
Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Drivers Championships:
Total (1949-2024): 33
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)
Most recent: Kyle Larson (2021)
Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021
Event Victories:
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)
2025 STATISTICS:
Wins: 2
Poles: 4
Laps Led: 715
Top-Fives: 16
Top-10s: 36
Stage Wins: 5
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 868 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 757
Laps led to date: 253,426
Top-fives to date: 4,385
Top-10s to date: 9,043
Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:
General Motors: 1,202
Chevrolet: 868
Pontiac: 154
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 841
Ford: 741
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 191
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 194
About General Motors
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.
