Category: NASCAR Cup Series

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
TOYOTA OWNERS 400
RICHMOND RACEWAY
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
APRIL 13, 2019

BOWTIE BULLETS:
LEADER OF THE PACK:
Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 38 victories at the 0.75-mile, D-shaped Richmond Raceway. Chevrolet has powered 17 different drivers and teams with six different nameplates (Impala, Monte Carlo, Lumina, Monte Carlo SS, Impala SS and Chevy SS) to Victory Lane at the racetrack that hosted its first NASCAR race in 1953.

FRONT ROW THREE-PEAT?
Chevrolet drivers have occupied the front row the past two races, with Chase Elliott earning the pole and William Byron starting second at the .5-mile Bristol Motor Speedway and Jimmie Johnson claiming the pole and Alex Bowman starting alongside at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway. In 2018, the most recent Chevrolet sweep of the front row was August 18 at Bristol by pole winner Kyle Larson and Elliott on the outside.

SUCCESSFUL AT RICHMOND, JOHNSON SEEKS TO MOVE UP:
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1, is the only active driver with consecutive wins at Richmond Raceway (2007). Johnson has three career wins, seven top-five finishes and two poles in 34 races at the track. With his next win, Johnson will tie Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip for fourth on the all-time wins list.

RECORD-SETTER:
Chevrolet’s Jeff Gordon still holds the track qualifying record of 130.599 mph in his Chevrolet SS on Sept. 6, 2013.

TUNE-IN:
FOX will telecast the 400-lap/300-mile Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway live at 7:30 p.m. ET April 13. Live coverage can also be found on PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

BY THE NUMBERS:
Chevrolet has won 39 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships.
Team Chevy drivers have scored 779 wins and 703 poles in MENCS competition.
Chevrolet drivers have won 38 of 125 races at Richmond Raceway. Victories by current Team Chevy drivers:
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1, has three wins (’07 – twice, ‘08)
Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1, has two wins
Kyle Larson, No. 42 Credit One Bank Camaro ZL1, has one win (’17)

QUOTABLE QUOTES:
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AAA CAMARO ZL1 – 18th in Standings
In the past Richmond was not one of my best tracks. I’ve qualified well there and ran good for a little while, but always seem to struggle adjusting the car throughout the race. Last year, Richmond was a bright spot for us. We finished sixth at the second race there and raced inside the top 10 the entire race. So, I was really pumped after last year, to see what we were able to do because that was definitely an Achilles Heel for me. I had to get over it, mentally, because it beat me up pretty hard for a while. But, now I love going there. I’ve figured something out. We figured a set-up that works. So, I’ll be pumped to get to Richmond.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 – 20th in Standings
WHAT MAKES RICHMOND UNIQUE?
“Richmond is a very slick track. I think that will still be the case even with a different downforce level from the new package we’re running. It’s just very slick overall. It doesn’t seem to really pick up that much grip, even at night as the race goes on it doesn’t seem to pick up much. It’s just a very abrasive track that is just hard to get around.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CAMARO ZL1 – 21st in Standings
ON RICHMOND RACES AT NIGHT VS DURING THE DAY:
“I am not sure that it matters much if the race is at night versus during the day at Richmond. The track gets really slick and widens out whether its during the day or night. Either way, Richmond is a fun track and I think the improvements that they are doing at the track is really cool.”
ON THE UPCOMING OFF WEEK:
“It is going to be nice having a weekend off and everyone being able to reset. These 88 guys have been working day in and day out since before Daytona and I know are going to enjoy the weekend with their families for the Easter holiday. We will be working throughout the week on our Talladega car and strategy and be ready for the race the following weekend.”

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 – 22nd in Standings
“Richmond is one of my favorite tracks. I love short-track racing, so this race is always circled on my calendar every year. Our short-track program at Germain Racing has been strong this year. We’ve finished in the top 15 at every short track that we’ve been to this year, and we won a stage in Bristol. There’s still more building to do, but we’re excited and proud of the direction that we’re heading. I’m ready to get our GEICO Camaro ZL1 out there to see what it can do.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 SCOTT COMFORT PLUS CAMARO ZL1 – 23rd in Standings
“We’re excited to see if this new package is going to improve our Richmond Raceway performance this weekend. If you look at my stats, this is a track that has been really hit or miss for me, similar to ISM Raceway. This season at ISM Raceway, we had probably our best performance since I’ve joined JTG Daugherty Racing, and with the tracks being fairly similar, Richmond Raceway is one that we’ve had circled on our list. All of the hard work that has been done in the offseason at JTG Daugherty Racing, including setting up our cars with this new package has seen positive results so far this season and that’s just a testament to everyone at the shop. We have been helped by the rules changes, but I think we are also solidly around the next group of teams that we are racing around because of all of the hard work that we’ve done in our fabrication and engineering departments. I feel like Richmond Raceway is going to be something that’s really good for us this weekend and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can get out of our Scott Comfort Plus Camaro ZL1.”

RYAN PREECE NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 – 25th in Standings
“Heading to Richmond Raceway this weekend, I don’t think the draft and us bunching up will really come into play. When you go to a short track, you see close racing because it’s a half-mile, right? There is only so much you can get away from somebody. You go to a 1.5-mile and you’ve got a lot more distance. So, if you’re five car lengths behind somebody at a 1.5-mile, that’s basically being a car length and a half at a short track. Richmond is a short track and I think it’s going to be the same. It’s going to be racing. You’re going to have comers and you’re going to have goers, depending on what the tires’ attrition is. I think if there is some fall off in the tire, you’re going to see some guys go forward and certainly go backwards. To me, it’s really just going to be no different. Yeah, you’re going to have a higher downforce but you’ve got a harder tire, so it’s going to balance that. That’s our goal this weekend in the No. 47 Kroger Camaro ZL1.”

BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY CAMARO ZL1 – 27th in Standings WHAT MAKES RICHMOND UNIQUE?
“Our Richard Petty Motorsports team has struggled there in the past. I have a K&N Pro Series East win there, and ran okay in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. “The low grip, tire fall-off, and it’s cool to see how the groove moves up the fence – especially at a short track like that makes Richmond (Va.) Raceway unique. That would be like running Martinsville (Speedway) against the fence, so it’s cool, but we just struggle to get a handle on having speed. It seems like our speed is where guys fall-off, and our team is falling-off at the same time. It is a struggle. I always look forward to it. It’s another short track that I’m always a fan of.”

DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 8 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS CAMARO ZL1 – 29th in Standings
YOU HAVE A STRONG RECORD IN THE XFINITY SERIES AT RICHMOND RACEWAY AND MADE YOUR CUP DEBUT THERE LAST APRIL. WHERE DOES THAT TRACK RANK FOR YOU AND WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE SUCCESSFUL THERE?
“For me, you just chase grip at Richmond. Front grip, rear grip, overall grip is king. There is something that I have found there over the last few races that have caused us to not necessarily qualify well, but really comes on 20-30 laps into the run. It will be key to find that early in the weekend and maintain that throughout the weekend and Saturday night’s race. With this new package, it is going to be a challenge to get back to the gas and have good forward drive off the corners. If we can get that feeling I’m looking for, Richmond is my personal favorite track on the schedule that we go to and hopefully when we get there this weekend, we can start to turn some of this bad luck around and have a solid day with the No. 8 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet.”

Chevrolet Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2018): 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 (1949-2018): 31
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)

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

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

2019 STATISTICS:
Wins: 0
Poles: 4
Laps Led: 456
Top-five finishes: 5
Top-10 finishes: 18

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 779 (1949 – to date)
Poles won to date: 703
Laps led to date: 232,712
Top-five finishes to date: 3,974
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,190

Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date

       GM: 1,114
       Chevrolet: 779
       Pontiac: 155
       Oldsmobile: 115
       Buick: 65

       Ford: 780
       Ford: 680
       Mercury: 96
       Lincoln: 4

       Chrysler: 466
       Dodge: 217
       Plymouth: 190
       Chrysler: 59

       Toyota: 127

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with 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.

Like many a school kid returning to school after spring break, Paul Menard and the No. 21 Menards/Maytag team will be hitting the books this week as they prepare for Saturday night’s 400-lapper at Richmond Raceway.

Menard and the team are coming off their season-best performance in which they finished sixth in last Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

And while Richmond falls in the same short-track category as Bristol, the similarities pretty much end there.

“It’s a totally different track,” Menard said.

For whatever reason, both he and his Wood Brothers team tend to struggle at Richmond. Menard, who has seven career top-10 finishes at Bristol, has just one at Richmond. The Woods have 26 top-10s at Bristol and 19 at Richmond.

Menard said he and the team plan to spend the week looking over notes from previous races and processing other data in hopes of reversing their Richmond fortunes.

“Bristol is one of our better tracks and Richmond is one of our worse tracks, so we’re going do a lot of studying this week,” he said.

Menard is hoping track officials don’t complicate matters more by applying PJ1 traction compound to the racing surface as was done with success at Bristol this past week.

“I don’t know if they’re going to lay any PJ1 down for that track,” he said. “I hope they don’t for that track. It widens out as it is.”

Qualifying at Richmond is set for 5:40 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, and the 400-lap race is scheduled to start just after 7:30 p.m. on Saturday with TV coverage on FOX.

Menards

A family owned company started in 1958, Menards is headquartered in Eau Claire, WI. Menards has more than 300 retail stores located throughout the Midwest in the states of IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI and WY. Menards is known throughout the home improvement industry as the low price leader. It’s famous slogan “Save Big Money at Menards” is widely known and easy to remember. For more information, visit Menards.com, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.

Wood Brothers Racing

Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Paul Menard in the famous No. 21 racer.

RICHMOND RACEWAY (0.75-MILE OVAL)
LOCATION: RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
EVENT: NASCAR CUP SERIES (RACE NINE OF 36)
TUNE IN: 7:30 P.M. ET, SATURDAY, APRIL 13 (FOX/MRN/SIRIUSXM)

​
​ ​ ​
​

Chase Elliott
No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver Chase Elliott Hometown Dawsonville, Georgia
Age 23 Resides Dawsonville, Georgia

2019 Season
10th in standings
8 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
1 top-five finish
2 top-10 finishes
122 laps led

Career
121 starts
3 wins
5 pole positions
34 top-five finishes
61 top-10 finishes
1,365 laps led

Track Career
7 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
3 top-10 finishes
34 laps led

SHORT-TRACK PROWESS: In Chase Elliott’s last six short-track (Martinsville, Richmond, Bristol) finishes, he collected top-10 finishes five times, four of which were top-five finishes including two runner-up results. He currently holds the fourth-best average finish on short tracks this season (6.5) and has led the fourth-highest number of laps (87) on those tracks less than one mile in length. Elliott has led a total of 233 laps in the last six short-track races. Last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, he earned his first career short-track pole award.

GREAT PERFORMANCE: Throughout last season and so far in 2019, Elliott has had strong performances on non-aero tracks (ISM, Martinsville, Bristol, Richmond, Sonoma, New Hampshire, Watkins Glen). The 23-year-old driver has finished inside the top five in eight of the last 13 non-aero track races – five were top-three finishes.

LAST THREE: The No. 9 team’s performance has been trending upward over the last three races (Martinsville, Texas, Bristol). In the last three races, Elliott has led 122 laps and started in the top 10 in all three – two being top-three starts (one pole award). His average starting position over the last three weeks is 3.7 and average finishing position is 8.7.

THIS RACE LAST SEASON: Last spring, Elliott started on the outside pole at Richmond Raceway and ran inside the top five for much of Stage 1. In Stage 2, he slipped back inside the top 10 as a result of tire fall-off. He began the final segment in ninth and continued to push inside the top 10 for the remainder of the race. With the help of a few great restarts by Elliott and quick stops by the NAPA pit crew, the No. 9 team collected a runner-up finish when the checkered flag waved.

BRISTOL REWIND: After earning the pole position for last weekend’s event at Bristol Motor Speedway, Elliott and the NAPA AUTO PARTS team crossed the finish line in 11th despite being involved in multiple on-track incidents and losing power steering for the majority of the race.

​
​ ​ ​
​

William Byron
No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver William Byron Hometown Charlotte, North Carolina
Age 21 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina

2019 Season
20th in standings
8 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
0 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finish
83 laps led

Career
44 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
0 top-five finishes
5 top-10 finishes
144 laps led

Track Career
2 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finishes
0 laps led

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media on Friday, April 12, at 4 p.m. local time in the Richmond Raceway media center.

FRONT ROW FEAT: After collecting his first career NASCAR Cup Series pole for the Daytona 500 this year, William Byron has followed up that effort by qualifying on the front row two additional times. In consecutive weekends, the 21-year-old driver has qualified the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the outside pole, marking track-best starting efforts at both Texas Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway. Byron has now been a part of all three Hendrick Motorsports front-row sweeps in qualifying this season and his three front-row starts are the highest among the Cup field in 2019.

RETURN TO RICHMOND: Set to make his third Cup Series start at Richmond Raceway this weekend, Saturday will mark Byron’s sixth national series start at the 0.75-mile oval. Last season, Byron had one of his best races during the spring Richmond race, qualifying ninth and running within the top five most of Stage 1 and within the top 10 for over half of the event before ultimately finishing just outside the top 10 in the 12th position. Aside from his two Cup Series starts at the track, Byron has made two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Richmond, both in 2017, earning a best starting position of sixth and finish of seventh in the fall. He also has one other start under his belt at Richmond Raceway in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East in 2015, winning the pole and finishing sixth.

LIBERTY IS BACK: After making its debut in 2019 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February, Liberty University will return to Byron’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for this weekend’s race at Richmond Raceway. Returning as a primary sponsor of the No. 24 team in 2019 for a total of 12 races, Liberty University has a long history with Byron starting back in 2014 in the late-model ranks and embarks on its fifth season of sponsoring the 21-year-old driver. Liberty University has been Training Champions for Christ since it was founded in 1971. Located in the mountains of central Virginia, Liberty is a liberal arts institution with 17 colleges and schools that offer more than 600 degree programs from the certificate to the doctoral level, on campus and online. Working on an undergraduate degree in business communication, Byron is now in his junior year at Liberty University through its online program.

KNAUS’ KNACK: Continuing to make gains with Byron and the No. 24 team, crew chief Chad Knaus will return to Richmond Raceway to call the shots on top of the pit box for the 38th time in his career. With three previous wins at the short track, Knaus leads all active crew chiefs for most wins at Richmond. He also has collected two pole awards, seven top-five finishes and 15 top-10s at the 0.75-mile oval.

BATTLE AT BRISTOL: After qualifying a track-best second for consecutive weekends, an incident on Lap 3 changed the No. 24 team’s race strategy early on last Sunday. Having to fight through adversity for the entirety of the 500-lap race, Byron was able to capture a lead-lap finish and a track-best 16th-place finish at Bristol last weekend.

KNAUS IN THE BOOTH: For the first time in 2019, Knaus will make a quick transition after Cup Series qualifying Friday night from crew chief of the No. 24 team to on-air analyst when he joins Adam Alexander and Kevin Harvick in the FOX Sports booth for the NASCAR Xfinity race at Richmond Raceway. It was announced earlier this year that Knaus would join the FOX Sports booth for two races, and while originally slated for Talladega, his broadcast debut has been expedited by one weekend. To watch Knaus during his inaugural race broadcast, tune to FOX Sports 1 this Friday at 7 p.m. ET.

​
​ ​ ​
​

Jimmie Johnson
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 43 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina

2019 Season
13th in standings
8 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
1 top-five finish
4 top-10 finishes
64 laps led

Career
623 starts
83 wins
36 pole positions
225 top-five finishes
356 top-10 finishes
18,767 laps led

Track Career
34 starts
3 wins
2 pole positions
7 top-five finishes
15 top-10 finishes
461 laps led

BRISTOL REWIND: Jimmie Johnson scored his fourth top-10 finish of the season this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Johnson, who was the fastest Chevrolet in final practice on Saturday, overcame significant right-rear damage and a pit road speeding penalty to finish 10th. After eight races this season, Johnson’s average start is 10.6 and average finish is 14.5.

SHORT-TRACK WINS: Johnson has a total of 11 wins at half-mile tracks – Bristol Motor Speedway (two) and Martinsville Speedway (nine) – and three wins at the 0.75-mile track of Richmond. His last win at Richmond came in September 2008. Johnson has 14 total wins on short tracks throughout his career, second only to Kyle Busch, who has 16.

RICHMOND PERCENTAGE: In the 10 races run since 2014 at the 0.75-mile track in Richmond, Johnson has accumulated seven top-10 finishes, finishing in the top-10 70 percent of the times he has raced. Last season, Johnson finished sixth and eighth, respectively, and has not finished outside the top 11 at the track since September 2014.

BOSTON READY: So far in 2019, according to his Strava app, Johnson has logged close to 800 miles of training in preparation for Monday’s 26.2-mile Boston Marathon. Johnson’s longest single run was 22 miles and he was averaging 80 miles a week at the peak of his training before he’ll take on the 26.2 miles in Boston.

ALLY AT MILE 17: Ally, the digital financial services company, is pulling together a “pit crew” of approximately 100 fans to support Johnson as he runs the Boston Marathon. The Ally pit crew/cheering squad will be stationed at mile 17 at the iconic Newton fire station to help runners and encourage Johnson to power through the “Seven Hills of Newton” and Heartbreak Hill to finish his first-ever 26.2-mile marathon.

APP TRACKER: To follow along with Johnson on the day of the marathon, the Boston Athletic Association has an app where you can track his progress. The app is available on iTunes or Google Play Johnson will wear bib No. 4848 during the race.

BOSTON COVERAGE: Johnson will be featured in the Boston Marathon pre-event show, which airs Sunday, April 14, at 4 p.m. ET on the Olympic channel. The 123rd running of the Boston Marathon will broadcast on NBC Sports Network from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET on Monday, April 15.

#CHASING8 TV SPOTS: Johnson’s partnership with Ally has now gone to a new level. A TV spot appropriately titled “Chasing 8” premiered during the Bristol race broadcast on Fox Sports 1. The 30-second clip was created to energize fans and Johnson, as he relentlessly works toward a record eighth NASCAR Cup series championship. The spot can be seen here.

​
​ ​ ​
​

Alex Bowman
No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver Alex Bowman Hometown Tucson, Arizona
Age 25 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina

2019 Season
21st in standings
8 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finishes
0 laps led

Career
125 starts
0 wins
2 pole positions
3 top-five finishes
14 top-10 finishes
274 laps led

Track Career
6 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finish
0 top-10 finishes
1 lap led

NATIONWIDE ON BOARD: The primary blue-and-white colors of Nationwide will be featured on the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in 20 NASCAR Cup Series events in 2019. Nationwide will adorn the hood of Alex Bowman’s Chevrolet for this weekend’s event at Richmond Raceway and at Talladega Superspeedway later this month. Last August, Hendrick Motorsports and Nationwide extended their primary partnership with Bowman and the No. 88 team for an additional two years beginning in 2019.

BOWMAN IN VIRGINIA: Bowman will make his seventh start in the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond Raceway this Saturday night. Last spring, the No. 88 Nationwide team finished 18th after starting just outside the top 10 in 11th. Bowman brought home a 12th-place finish after earning two top-10 finishes in the stages during the 400-lap event in the fall. The 25-year-old driver has completed 99 percent of the total laps run over his six starts at the 0.75-mile Virginia-based track. Bowman has three previous starts at Richmond in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where he has an average start of 6.7 and an average finish of 17.0. In 2016, the driver started in the outside pole position in the fall event and finished ninth. Back in 2011, the Tucson, Arizona, native started fourth in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Richmond and finished fifth.

IVES AT RICHMOND: Crew chief Greg Ives will call the shots for the eighth time for the No. 88 team in Richmond this weekend. The Michigan native has one top-five finish at the track, with a fifth-place result coming in 2015 with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ives’ drivers have an average finish of 15.4 and an average starting position of 16.9 at the Virginia-based track. Ives was a race engineer for the No. 48 team at Hendrick Motorsports from 2006 until 2012. During that time, he was a part of three wins, one pole award and seven top-10 finishes at Richmond.

THE OTHER SIDE OF BOWMAN: Be on the lookout for Bowman’s fourth diary piece on Motorsport.com that will be published on Tuesday, April 16. In the entry, Bowman talks about the season so far, his plans for the off weekend and his thoughts on going to a superspeedway at the end of the month. You can find Bowman’s March diary piece here.

​
​ ​ ​
​

Hendrick Motorsports

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT RICHMOND: At Richmond Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports has 10 wins, 17 pole positions, 59 top-five finishes and 109 top-10s – the organization’s third-most top 10s at a single track. Jimmie Johnson earned the three most recent wins for the organization at Richmond: a sweep in 2007 and another trip to Victory Lane in 2008. Since then, the organization has earned six runner-up results at the 0.75-mile oval, bringing its total to 19 second-place finishes at Richmond – the team’s most at any track.

QUALIFYING MOMENTUM: Hendrick Motorsports has swept the front row in Richmond qualifying five times. This season, there have been three front-row sweeps in qualifying, all of which have been earned by Hendrick Motorsports. The organization has achieved the feat in each of the last two races (Texas, Bristol) in addition to a historic one-two-three-four qualifying effort in the Daytona 500.

RUNNING UP FRONT: Hendrick Motorsports is the only organization to have all four drivers start on the front row in the 2019 season. William Byron has three front-row starts, Chase Elliott has two, and Johnson and Alex Bowman have one apiece. Hendrick Motorsports currently holds the record for most pole awards in 2019 with three. The average start for the organization this season leads all teams at 11.7.

SHORT-TRACK SHINE: The organization leads all active teams in short-track wins with 50, 14 ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing in second place. The wins are spread across a total of 10 different drivers. The record for the most drivers to win on a short track for one team is 11 by Junior Johnson and Associates.

4,000 CLUB: Hendrick Motorsports has lead over 4,000 laps at five different tracks. Richmond is fifth on the list with 4,032 laps led. The list is comprised of Martinsville (9,290), Dover (6,689), Bristol (5,902), and Charlotte (5,037). Richmond made the list last September with Bowman’s one lap led and Elliott’s 34 laps led.

TEN-PLUS: Richmond Raceway is among the list of active NASCAR Cup Series tracks where Hendrick Motorsports has earned double-digit wins. The organization’s 10 wins at the 0.75-mile track are tied for 10th on that list. A win this weekend would move Richmond into a tie with Bristol Motor Speedway, where Hendrick Motorsports has visited Victory Lane 11 times.

FIRST-TIME WINNERS: Hendrick Motorsports holds the record for the most first-time Cup Series winners with nine. If Byron or Bowman win at Richmond, it would extend the record to the 10th time a driver has recorded his first career Cup Series win while driving for Hendrick Motorsports.

ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 12 championships, 252 race victories, 218 pole positions, 1,047 top-five finishes and 1,794 top-10 finishes in points-paying NASCAR Cup Series competition. Its teams have led more than 68,000 laps since 1984.

​
​ ​ ​
​

QUOTABLE /
Chase Elliott on racing at Richmond:
“Richmond has a lot of character and is just a different place, and I think that is what makes it so tough. You really have to be superior to show your strength because it seems like everyone knows how to drive that racetrack, so it’s hard to be different. That may be what makes the racing pretty good.”

Elliott on Bristol pole award:
“I definitely think when you run good or have good Fridays or good Sundays, I think that’s a product of hard work, regardless of how you get to that point. It doesn’t happen by slacking off and being lazy, that’s for sure. So, I think there’s a lot of hard work and effort going on at our shop at Hendrick Motorsports. This is a place where if you get your car driving good, you can have a chance. It’s a great racetrack and a fun racetrack.

William Byron on Richmond:
“Richmond is a very slick track. I think that will still be the case even with a different downforce level from the new package we’re running. It’s just very slick overall. It doesn’t seem to really pick up that much grip, even at night as the race goes on, it doesn’t seem to pick up much. It’s just a very abrasive track that is just hard to get around.”

Jimmie Johnson on racing at Richmond before the Boston Marathon:
“I’m looking forward to racing this weekend in Richmond and am ready for Boston. This weekend I will be focusing on nutrition and final preparations for the event Monday. We have had some small victories over the last few weeks on track, and I’m really proud of the effort (No. 48 team crew chief) Kevin (Meendering) and the team have put in. There are a lot of people putting in a lot of hours back at the shop, and it’s starting to pay off. Once we complete the 300 miles Saturday night, we will be flying to Boston. On Sunday, I plan to drive the course and make some mental notes along the way. I will be resting and recovering as much as possible so I’m at my best on Monday morning. This is something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve heard it’s the best day in Boston, and I’m focused on accomplishing my goals. It’s been a long road, and I am stoked it’s finally here.”

Alex Bowman on Richmond races at night versus during the day:
“I am not sure that it matters much if the race is at night versus during the day at Richmond. The track gets really slick and widens out whether it’s during the day or night. Either way, Richmond is a fun track and I think the improvements that they are doing at the track are really cool.”

Bowman on the upcoming off week:
“It is going to be nice having a weekend off and everyone being able to reset. These 88 guys have been working day in and day out since before Daytona and I know are going to enjoy the weekend with their families for the Easter holiday. We will be working throughout the week on our Talladega car and strategy and be ready for the race the following weekend.”

Toyota Racing
This Week in Motorsports – April 8 – 14, 2019

Toyota Racing On-Track this Week

· MENCS/NXS: Richmond Raceway (Richmond, Virginia) – April 12-13

· NHRA: Houston Raceway Park (Baytown, Texas) – April 12-14

· ARCA: Salem Speedway (Washington County, Indiana) – April 14

NASCAR National Series – MENCS | NXS

Toyota Speeding Through 2019… Toyota Racing continued its incredible start to the 2019 season at Bristol Motor Speedway – sweeping the NASCAR national series weekend for a third time (ISM Raceway, Texas Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway) in just an eight-week span. Toyota drivers have earned 15 victories of a possible 20 NASCAR national series events this season. Toyota also leads the manufacturer championship standings in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS), NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) and NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS).

It’s all about Toyota Owners… This weekend’s races at Richmond Raceway will serve as a thank you to Toyota owners. In its seventh-consecutive year partnering with Richmond Raceway, Toyota will sponsor both the MENCS Toyota Owners 400 and NXS ToyotaCare 250. Toyota has several fan activations and special opportunities for Toyota owners on-site including the Toyota Racing Experience, Toyota Owners Hub, Toyota Thrill Ride, Toyota Owners Parking, Toyota Owners Express Lanes and a Toyota Green Space. Plus, a handful of Toyota owners will be paired with a MENCS Toyota driver and one lucky owner will win $10,000 when their driver finishes highest among the Toyota contingent.

Richmond Ready… Toyota drivers have dominated at Richmond Raceway as of late with Toyota MENCS drivers winning five of the last seven events. Kyle Busch swept both MENCS Richmond races in 2018 and has six career wins at the 0.75-mile track. Busch is off to a blazing start in 2019 and has three MENCS wins in eight races this season. Just last weekend Busch earned his 50th MENCS win in a Toyota at Bristol. Fellow Camry teammate Denny Hamlin considers Richmond Raceway a home track as he grew up in nearby Chesterfield, Virginia. Hamlin has three career MENCS wins at Richmond and has 1,659 laps-led. Hamlin will make his 400th Toyota MENCS start at Richmond on Saturday night.

Bell wants the Ball… Christopher Bell earned his second victory of the 2019 season at Bristol Motor Speedway and the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash prize. Through seven races this season, Bell has won twice and has placed inside the top-10 five times. As the NXS heads to Richmond Raceway this weekend, Bell is eyeing a repeat. He swept both NXS races at Richmond in 2018. In three career NXS races at Richmond, Bell has never finished outside of sixth place. With his finish at Bristol, Bell also qualified for the opportunity to win the Dash 4 Cash event at Richmond as well.

NHRA

Todd Looks to Go Back-to-Back at Houston… Fresh off repeating his 2018 victory at the Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas, J.R. Todd looks to do the same in Houston this weekend after Todd defeated Robert Hight in last year’s final round. After winning at Vegas this past weekend, the reigning Funny Car world champion has driven his DHL Toyota Camry to the winner’s circle five times in the last 11 NHRA events and advanced to eight final rounds during that span. Since winning his first Funny Car race at the Toyota Nationals in Sonoma in July 2017, Todd has won nine of 38 races – the most by any Funny Car driver during that time.

Kalitta Holeshots to Top Fuel Points Lead… Doug Kalitta continued his dominance at the starting line in Las Vegas, registering two more holeshot victories on his way to the Four-Wide finals. Six of his nine round wins this season have come on holeshots, propelling him into the Top Fuel points lead where he currently holds a 33-point advantage after four races. Kalitta is a three-time winner at Houston Raceway Park, taking top honors in 2003, 2015 and 2016.

Houston Holds Fond Memories for Brown… Antron Brown’s 50 Top Fuel wins have been spread out over 20 different tracks on the NHRA circuit, but few hold as fond a memory for him as Houston Raceway Park. Brown earned his first-ever Top Fuel win in Baytown, Texas in 2008, when he defeated Larry Dixon in the final. With that win, he became the first driver in NHRA history to win in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle. The long-time Toyota driver also won at the track in 2014. His 50 wins in the class ranks him fourth all-time, just two behind Joe Amato for third.

Regional Stock Car Racing – ARCA Racing Series

Toyota Aims to Defend Salem… Toyota drivers have won both ARCA Racing Series events to start the 2019 season, including Harrison Burton winning at Daytona International Speedway and Michael Self capturing victory in Pensacola, Florida. Toyota drivers swept both races at Salem Speedway in 2018 with Christian Eckes winning in the spring and Chandler Smith taking the victory in the fall. Now Toyota looks to make it three-for-three in 2019 this weekend at Salem.

Team:                          No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang
Crew Chief:                 Brian Pattie
Twitter:                        @Stenhouse17Team @stenhousejr @FifthThird and @roushfenway

ADVANCE NOTES

Stenhouse Jr. at Richmond Raceway

·         Stenhouse has 12 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at Richmond with an average starting position of 15.4 and average finishing position of 19.8.

·         Stenhouse has scored one top-five and two top-10 finishes in 12 starts at the .75-mile track.

·         In 2013, Stenhouse scored his first career MENCS top-10 finish as a rookie at Richmond.

Last time at Richmond

With the race going green for a majority of Saturday night’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Richmond Raceway, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drove his Ford to a 13th-place finish.

On the Car

Fifth Third Bank who served as the primary sponsor for Stenhouse’s two wins in 2017 will return to the No. 17 Ford this weekend.

Points Ranking

Stenhouse Jr. currently sits in the 16th position in the driver point standings. In eight starts, he has scored one top-10 finish and led 23 laps.

Stenhouse Jr. on racing at Richmond:

“We had some misfortune at Bristol, but I thought overall our Ford was decent last weekend so I’m looking forward to Richmond. Richmond has been a decent track for us in the past so hopefully we can get back on track this weekend. We practice during the day but race at night so that can be struggle sometimes with handling.  We will keep adjusting on our Fifth Third Ford as the track changes and hopefully leave Richmond with a top-10 finish.”

Michael McDowell on Richmond
16 Starts
Best Finish: 12th
“I’m ready to regroup at Richmond. The track is usually pretty fast after the sun goes down, but it’s also a track that requires good tire management. We will need to be smart and execute well throughout the whole weekend. We know we can do that and have a solid run.”

Team:                   No. 6 Roush Performance Ford Mustang
Crew Chief:         Scott Graves
Twitter:                @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @RyanJNewman
Toyota Owners 400 – Saturday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

Newman at Richmond Raceway

·         Newman will make his 35th Cup start at Richmond on Saturday. In 34 prior events, Newman has 18 top-10s with seven top-fives and one win (2003). He’s led 483 laps at the .75-mile track with an average finish of 12.6 overall.

·         Newman’s win came in the fall race back in 2003 when he went on to capture eight victories that season. He started fourth that race and went on to lead the final 124 laps, holding off Jeremy Mayfield and Ricky Rudd for the checkered flag.

·         Overall Newman has six finishes inside the top-three at Richmond, including runner-up results in 2002 (twice), the win in 2003, and third in 2005, 2013 and 2017. Newman earned two top-10s at the track in 2017 crossing the line seventh in the spring and third that fall.

·         Newman has one pole at Richmond back in 2004, and hold an average starting position of 13.3.

·         He also has five starts in the Xfinity Series at Richmond, recording two top-fives with a best finish of third in 2007.

Scott Graves at Richmond Raceway

·         Graves will call his seventh MENCS race at Richmond on Saturday. In six prior events, he has a best finish of seventh with Daniel Suarez in 2017. He also finished top-10 with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., in 2013 and 10th with Suarez in 2018.

·         Graves has also called seven Xfinity Series events from atop the box at Richmond, earning five top-10s and one top-five. He led Suarez to fourth and eighth in 2016, and finished seventh once and 10th twice with Chris Buescher in 2014 and 2015.

QUOTE WORTHY

Newman on racing at Richmond:

“I’ve always enjoyed going to Richmond and racing at night is an added bonus. I’ve had some pretty good success there over the years with a win early in my career and a couple strong finishes as of late. We had a really strong weekend in Bristol so I’m looking forward to seeing that carry over into Richmond.”

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
RICHMOND RACEWAY
TOYOTA OWNERS 400
TEAM CHEVY ROUNDTABLE TRANSCRIPT
APRIL 9, 2019

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AAA CAMARO ZL1 met with media and discussed the upcoming Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway. Full Transcript:

AFTER MARTINSVILLE HEADING INTO RICHMOND, HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT THE CHEVROLETS ARE MOVING FORWARD, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF WHAT WE SAW IN TEXAS WITH THE HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CARS?
“We feel like the Chevrolets are in a better spot than we were last year. We’ve had speed in our camp, at RCR and ECR in lot of the qualifying sessions, but we haven’t been able to turn it into finishing results that we’d like. Some of the Hendrick cars had some good speed last week. That’s good to see. And, Kurt Busch has also been pretty good all year. So, it’s moving in the right direction. I hope that we can continue the same path that we’re on and keep building on it. But, every week seems to be a different challenge, so we’re still progressing.”

INAUDIBLE QUESTION ABOUT FONTANA AND STAGE POINTS
“I thought Fontana, getting the pole, was really a great part of this year so far. We had a car capable of running in the top 5. I hit the wall early at the end of the first Stage. That was depressing, but we were able to come back and finish 10th with it. So, that was a good day. And then getting Stage points at Martinsville, we’ve gained more Stage points this year than we have, I feel like, last year for sure, just on average early in the year. We didn’t gain a lot of Stage points last year and that was a point of emphasis for us. At Texas we got a fourth place finish in that Stage. That was big. So, we’re happy with where we are right now as far as the progression of things and doing better when it comes to Stage results. We’d like better finishes, but the speed in the cars has allowed us to be up front more often than past years.”

HOW MUCH DOES IT HELP THE RCR TEAM TO HAVE THE PETTY TEAM THERE? DO YOU GET A LOT OF FEEDBACK FROM THAT TEAM AS WELL?
“Well, any time you can join forces with another organization to help make your notebook thicker, it’s good, you know? Bubba (Wallace) has been working really hard with those guys to get that organization pointed in the right direction. It’s nice just hearing his feedback on Mondays when we have our debriefs. We’re all in the same room together and just talking about what our cars are doing and the input that he’s brought has been helpful. And we’ve all kind of leaned on each other at different times. So, it’s nice to have him.”

WHAT DOES RICHMOND MEAN TO YOU? IS IT A FAVORITE TRACK OR A TOUCH TRACK? WHAT DO YOU THINK?
“Are you talking about the additions that the track made?”

NO, NOT TOO MUCH THAT BUT JUST RACING ON IT
“Okay. Well, I think the track did a really good job moving the facility forward and what all of our tracks are kind of doing is nice to see. It puts us in a great competition with other sports that have great venues. Richmond is one of those venues that I enjoy going to now because of the additions that they made to the track, facility-wise. As far as racing on it, in the past Richmond was not one of my best tracks. I’ve qualified well there and ran good for a little while, but always seem to struggle adjusting the car throughout the race. Last year, Richmond was a bright spot for us. We finished sixth at the second race there and raced inside the top 10 the entire race. So, I was really pumped after last year, to see what we were able to do because that was definitely an Achilles Heel for me. I had to get over it, mentally, because it beat me up pretty hard for a while. But, now I love going there. I’ve figured something out. We figured a set-up that works. So, I’ll be pumped to get to Richmond.”

ON THE SCHEDULE OVERALL, AND THE UPCOMING CHANGES FOR 2020, DO YOU FEEL LIKE IT’S ADDRESSING MAYBE SOME OF THE COMPETITION ASPECTS OF RACING VERSUS THE ENTERTAINMENT ASPECT OF IT?
“I’m not that deep into it. I look at it as just change. It’s good to try a different schedule. I’ve always thought the first thing I saw was moving us out to the West Coast after Daytona, and I thought that was a really smart move because we always struggle with weather in Atlanta. So, I feel like they’ve put a lot of thought into the process of moving these races around. Pocono would be the one that I say as far as trying to give the fans more, that could be something looking to the future. If you’re looking at something futuristic to help competition or the fans and get more bang for their buck, I see that with the doubleheader. Other than that, I think it was just trying something new. Ending at Phoenix is nice. It’s just a change from Homestead. That Homestead track really is an awesome track to go to, but it’s not what we race on every weekend. So, it’s nice to change it up to go to Phoenix. Short tracks are dominant in the Playoffs ending these Stages. I feel that’s an excitement people want to see in the Playoffs. So, I’m pretty pumped about the schedule and direction they’ve gone with it. Hopefully Mother Nature is too, with some of the changes they made.”

WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE DONE SO FAR THIS YEAR, IS THERE ANY CONCERN ABOUT 1.5-MILE TRACKS OR ARE THERE PLACES THAT STAND OUT?
“The 1.5-mile tracks have never really concerned me because I feel like with enough practice time, I can get my car pretty competitive. Now, when you’re at a lack of downforce, we’ve had times and periods where that is no fun because all you’ve got is what you’ve got when you get there sometimes. As far as like picking one track out that I worry about, I feel like I’ve got to be better at road courses. That’s where I need to do my job better at. Other than that, I’m pretty comfortable everywhere now. I’ve had decent runs at every place; not as many of them as I’d like to have but we seem to be able to find places and set-ups to the cars to get them close enough to where we’re competitive in a lot of places.”

ARE YOU DOING ANYTHING TO IMPROVE ON ROAD COURSE RACES?
“Yeah, we’ve got a plan moving forward. I didn’t grow up road course racing. So, I’ve found places where I’ve been fast on road courses. It’s more that racing part and racing around other people and understanding why someone turns in the corner two car-lengths earlier just to position themselves for the middle of the corner. I didn’t understand that for a long time. I’m getting better at it. I probably need to get on a Go-kart more. You see a lot of guys going to Go Pro and using that place as a tool. So, I’ll probably use that sometime before we get to the road course races.”

CHEVY STILL HASN’T WON A RACE AND IT WAS A STRUGGLE FOR CHEVY LAST YEAR. IS CHEVY ANY CLOSER TO WINNING? IS THIS NOW A CHEVY PROBLEM OR THE INDIVIDUAL TEAMS OR A COMBINATION OF ALL?
“It’s hard to blame it on the individual teams off of past history. I feel like all the teams that are in the Chevy camp have shown that they can compete and win races. For me, we’re not where we need to be. We’re headed in the right direction. I do feel like we made steps this off-season. It’s cool to see some of the processes that were going forward, but we definitely can improve I feel like. There’s still improvement there and we need to see what other people are doing and do it better. That’s what this garage is all about is to see and look at it and try and recreate it and make it better. And, I’m proud of the effort that we’re putting in and bringing to the track. I think we’re halfway there. We’ve got still another half to get to where Chevy is winning and winning consistently like some of the other manufacturers are doing right now.”

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE FORDS AND THE TOYOTAS, WHAT ARE THEY DOING RIGHT? LIKE, WHERE ARE WE SO OFF?
“I don’t really look at it….. Because it’s so competitive in the garage, I look at it more as a team. I don’t really see manufacturer as much, myself, personally, because that’s what I have to focus on. I have to focus on beating the competition. And I have to hope that our manufacturer does it’s job to want to beat the other manufacturers each and every weekend and spend more money than them and do a better job in the wind tunnel and do a better job with any kind of support that they can do. It’s kind of like trusting the process, right? Like patriots believe in that same kind of mentality. Let everyone do their job and hopefully it all works out. So, that’s kind of where I’m at with it. But, I guess that’s all I have to say about it because I want Chevrolet to be on top and I think everybody does in all the organizations because we want to go get wins and put Chevy back up top where they’ve been for so long. It’s unusual to not see a Chevy win. That’s why you’ve got guys really pushing to figure out what we’re missing as a whole.”

IS JIMMIE JOHNSON CRAZY TO BE DOING A MARATHON TWO DAYS AFTER RICHMOND?
“Jimmie Johnson is a seven-time champion and he still tries to come out here every week and kick everybody’s butt. He’s a different animal and I respect him for that. I think that’s what’s cool about Jimmie Johnson. He’s a GOAT. There’s not many GOATs in certain areas of sports. He can probably do whatever he wants. If you’re a seven-time champion and want to go do a marathon the day before we race, more power to you. I hope he’s tired.”

IT’S THE DAY AFTER
“Oh, oh. Well good. He can do whatever he wants. I think he’s a freak (laughter), he’s a beast. He told me a long time ago, I would bounce ideas off him from time to time when it comes to nutrition or anything because I feel like he’s been there and done that when it comes to everything health-wise. So, I talked to this off-season about diet and getting into diets; and it was funny just listening to him. He’s done them all, right? And what he felt was the best diet for him and we talked about that process. And before, I used to talk about fitness with him. And he was like yeah, I think if you can take six miles in 36 minutes or something, that’s a pretty good pace, when I first started talking to him, on a treadmill. And, I tried to do it the first time and I was like oh, yeah. Okay (laughter). He’s a beast. It might have been a little bit more than that like five miles in 36 minutes or something like that. I don’t remember quite the process that he had. But, I did it. You see him all the time running and sweating out here and doing his thing. I’m trying to stay as hydrated as I possibly can and he has his process and he obviously makes it work. More power to him.”

WHEN YOU LOOK AT CHANGE IN THE SPORT, IF IT’S A RULES PACKAGE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR ORGANIZATION IS ABLE TO GET OUT IN FRONT OF IS AS QUICKLY AS ANY OF THE OTHER ONES ARE? OR, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT MAYBE TAKES YOU A LITTLE LONGER?
“Well, I like to think we’re really pro-active and I kind of like change for us because I feel like it gives us a chance to try and outsmart people with the brains that we have at our shop. I feel like we’ve got some really smart people there. And we tend to utilize them pretty good compared to the resources that some of the other teams have. I feel like we’re a big team, but we don’t have the resources some of the other teams have. But we seem to be able to compete quite often with them. And, I think that goes back to the people. I feel like we do have some good people at RCR and we keep doing a good job of figuring things out we’ll hit it, you know? Hit it first.”

WAS TEXAS REALLY THE FIRST TIME YOU GUYS HAD A CHANCE, LOGISTICALLY, BECAUSE YOU HAD TO GO OUT WEST TO APPLY WHAT YOU LEARNED WITH THE NEW PACKAGE SO FAR WITH THOSE CARS? OR, IS THAT JUST OFF-BASE?
“No, it’s not at all. Texas is one of the most difficult places we go with that package because as far as getting the most out of your body, there’s two different directions you can go. Less-drag, like speedway racing or more-downforce; which we all wanted when we were 1.5-mile racing in the past. But overall, you have more downforce than you had last year. So, in that track is (Turns) 3 and 4 it was like speedway racing and (Turns) 1 and 2, is weird. It’s like a short-track. It’s a messed-up shape. It doesn’t look right. I really don’t understand the process of how they thought that track up. But, it is what we have to race on. So, (Turns) 1 and 2 is really difficult to balance your car for and I saw different cars that I felt like got better throughout that race that weren’t that great in qualifying or in practice because they hit on something that helped them enough through (Turns) 3 and 4 that (Turns) 1 and 2 didn’t matter. We tried to apply what we thought going there we had the best car capable of winning the race. And when we turned back, all of our cars qualified in the top 12 and the best finish with us was 14th. So, we didn’t do some process right going into race day. I say that. I ran fourth that whole first day. So, track position was really key. And we got our track position back, but the car didn’t drive good the second half of the race. I lost grip and lost time because of that. And that hurts your track position each time.

“So yeah, we’ve got some work to do. But the process isn’t a failure yet. We’re getting there. We’re doing the right job. We’ve just got to fine-tune. And, I feel with (crew chief) Danny Stockman behind me, looking at our past history as a duo together, we get better throughout the summer months. This is our first half with each other. So, he’s really looking back at old notes that we’ve raced on in the past. And he’s one of those guys that really wants to move forward and innovate and so, he’s doing a good job of kind of trusting the process at this point; but he keeps coming to me like look. I’m learning so much so fast. Like, when we come back to these places a second time, we’re going to have a little different process about how we’re going to go about it. So, I’m pumped for that. And, our notes are good. The competition in the shops is good between the two teams, the No. 8 and the No. 3. We really want the No. 8 car to get the finishes that he (Daniel Hemric) deserves. At Atlanta, he had a really fast car and we learned a lot from that. So, it’s positive right now.”

YOU ARE REALLY GOOD AT RESTRICTOR-PLATE TRACKS. HOW DO YOU FEEL GOING INTO THAT? IS IT LIKE A HUGE UNKNOWN? OR DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU RUN WELL AT THAT STYLE OF TRACK THAT IT WILL BENEFIT YOUR TEAM?
“I feel like my grandfather has always wanted fast speedway cars. I don’t know what it is. It’s just RCR in general. They build a fast speedway car. So, for us; Hemric did that test at Daytona after the race. I haven’t had a time to look at what all he did in that test. I saw some of the speeds were really fast and they kind of tried to slow them down throughout the day. And, they got it kind of where they wanted it. So, I’m optimistic because I feel like the speedway racing can be better than what it was in our last package. I was able to win Daytona with the last package, but it’s not the racing I’d like to see at speedways. I’ve enjoyed tandem racing in the past. I’ve enjoyed the Xfinity races in the past because you can kind of make moves by pushing guys to the front or getting in line and making moves that way. So, I’m optimistic that this package allows you to make more aggressive moves than we were able to make with the old package because you saw a lot of big crashes with the old package just because the cars were a bit out of control when people got too close together.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with 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.