Category: NASCAR Cup PR

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
SOUTH POINT 400
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

BOWTIE BULLETS:
CHEVROLET’S STARTING FIVE IN PLAYOFFS
Five Chevrolet drivers qualified for the 10-race Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs that will determine the champion.
Seed Driver
7 Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Filters Camaro ZL1 (2 wins, 11 top 10s, 3 poles)
8 Kurt Busch, No. 1 Gearwrench Camaro ZL1 (1 win, 14 top 10s)
9 Kyle Larson, No. 42 Clover Camaro ZL1 (12 top 10s, 1 pole)
10 Alex Bowman, No. 88 Nationwide Camaro ZL1 (1 win, 7 top 10s)
13 William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 (4 poles, 9 top 10s)

Busch has qualified for the postseason in each of the six years of the current elimination format, with a best championship finish of seventh in 2016 and ’18. … Elliott, Bowman and Byron are Hendrick Motorsports drivers, while Busch and Larson drive for Chip Ganassi Racing. … At 21 years, 9 months, Byron is the youngest of the 16 playoff qualifiers. Elliott, 23, is the next youngest. Team Chevy drivers’ average age is 27.6; the other 11 qualifiers’ average age is 31.2 years.

RETURNING HOME
Las Vegas native Busch holds the MENCS qualifying record at Las Vegas Motor Speedway of 196.328 mph, set in 2016. Busch has two pole starts (March 2016, February 2010) and 13 top-10 starts in 19 races. In the March 3 race, Busch drove from the 28th starting spot to finish fifth. It was the second of four-consecutive top-10 finishes in early season races. Overall at the track, Busch has six top-10 finishes.

TAKING IT STAGE BY STAGE:
Team Chevy drivers have registered 17 stage victories. Elliott and Larson both have four stage wins to lead the way. Elliott has also 18 top-five finishes and is fourth among drivers with 189 bonus points. Larson has 13 top- five finishes and 166 points.

BACK IN THE DAY
Chevrolet recorded its first victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2001, when Jeff Gordon drove a Monte Carlo to the winner’s circle. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1, leads all drivers with four victories, including winning the March races in 2005-07. Overall, Chevrolet has seven wins at the racetrack.

TUNE-IN:
NBCSN will telecast the 267-lap race on the 1.5-mile oval live at 7 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 15. The NBCSports Gold app will stream the race and live coverage can also be found on PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

BY THE NUMBERS:
* Victories by current Chevrolet drivers at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1, has four wins (February 2010, March 2007, March 2006, March 2005), the most of any driver in the 23 races at the track.
* Johnson leads active drivers with 595 laps led at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (13.5%) and green flag passes (1,062) in 19 starts. He’s tied for most top-10 finishes (9).
* Team Chevy drivers have earned 12 pole starts this season, led by William Byron with four.
* Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1, is third among drivers with 99.72% (7,181 of 7,201) laps completed this season.
* A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole four times at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
* Team Chevy drivers have registered 48 top-five and 91 top-10 finishes at the track.
* Chevrolet has won 39 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA FILTERS CAMARO ZL1 – 7th IN STANDINGS
“Just hopefully having a nice, smooth, uneventful race at Las Vegas would be good. These past couple of weeks have been wild with just a lot of stuff happening. So, we just need to get out there and I have confidence that we can have good cars. We’ve just got to get going in find a little consistency and just get things started off, uneventfully, would be great.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CAMARO ZL1 – 9th IN STANDINGS
BOWMAN ON PLAYOFF OUTLOOK:
“I think consistency is the key improvement that we are going to need. We go to a lot of places that we are really strong at and there are a lot of good tracks for us in the playoffs. At the same time, we are hit and miss sometimes. We have a lot of work to do I think, but I think that the tracks that suit us can be very good. Starting at a place like Vegas, going back to Kansas and Dover, we are going to a lot of tracks that are good for us so we should be really strong.”

BOWMAN ON THE INTERMEDIATE PROGRAM:
“I think our intermediate program is our best program, other than our superspeedway program. Our cars are extraordinary every time we go to a superspeedway. But our 1.5-mile program is our strongest program right now. We have had some pretty good success on these tracks this year and I am really looking forward to getting back to Vegas and Kansas.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 – 11th IN STANDINGS
“I’m looking forward to the Playoffs getting going. It felt like for a good part of the regular season our team was hovering right around the cutoff line, but over the last 10-12 weeks we’ve been racing pretty strong and are much better than when we saw some of these tracks earlier in the season. I thought we were pretty good at the first Vegas race, but a late penalty cost us some spots. Overall, Vegas has been good for us, so we just need to focus on having a solid start to the Playoffs and not forcing anything. The tracks should be hot and slick, so that hopefully will play into our favor. I think right now we are equal to or better than we were in 2017, and we’re excited to be a part of the playoffs and having a chance to chase a championship.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 – 13th IN STANDINGS
“I think this weekend’s race will be a good one for us. This is the second time I’ll be going to Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Chad (Knaus) and this group on the 24 team. We had an okay showing in the spring race for just our third race as a team and I definitely think we have improved since then as a group. We’ll just approach this weekend like it’s any other weekend though. You don’t want to change anything up because that’s when mistakes happen. We had an almost flawless race last weekend at Indy, so if we can execute like that again for this race, it should be a good result.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 NATURAL LIGHT SELTZER CAMARO ZL1 – 20th IN STANDINGS
“I’m looking forward to getting back to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. We had a decent run, and I feel like our speed and cars have only gotten better since then. While it’s a returning track, the first Las Vegas race was a long time ago, and a lot has improved for our JTG Daugherty Racing team since then. We’re also fortunate enough to have a new Natural Light Seltzer paint scheme on the No. 37, and I love that we get to showcase the Aloha Beaches flavor. The Natural Light team always does a great job giving us paint schemes that embody Las Vegas, and this one is only fitting. It’ll be hot and slick, and a whole different setup from the spring race. I know we’re up to the challenge and can continue to finish out the year strong.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 – 23rd IN STANDINGS
WE GO TO LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY TO START THE PLAYOFFS AND IT SEEMS LIKE THAT TRACK IS GETTING MORE AND MORE WORN AS THE YEARS GO BY. HOW CAREFUL DO YOU HAVE TO BE WITH YOUR TIRES THERE NOW COMPARED TO YEARS PAST?
“You definitely have to take care of them. We took a car that was really good there last race and qualified well but didn’t really race as well as we would have liked. I think we had a penalty that got us behind. You have to keep track position and have a car that holds on for the long run. Las Vegas Motor Speedway is becoming much more similar to Chicagoland Speedway in terms of the amount of tire wear you see. Hopefully, we can take our package that we had at Chicagoland Speedway and apply it to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.”

RYAN PREECE, NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 – 26th IN STANDINGS
“It took several months, but I think we’re finally on an upward swing for our No. 47 Kroger team. We’ve built up a great notebook since the spring race, and I think we’re really getting into a groove and bringing fast cars to the track that we can make better throughout the weekend. It’ll be really hot this weekend and we’ll be sliding around, but I think it’s going to make for a fun race. We’ve been slowly but surely improving, and I know we can build on that and improve since the first race and keep working towards that Rookie of the Year goal at Homestead-Miami Speedway.”

BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 VICTORY JUNCTION CAMARO ZL1 – 27th IN STANDINGS
“So, now we start our Playoff stretch and I’m excited to go to Vegas. It’s a fast track. It’s smooth. It’s fun, it provides some interesting characteristics with the tunnel-bump, through (Turns) 1 and 2 and how far the groove moves up from top to bottom. You’ve got some options there and it’s starting to become a little bit more racy than in years past. It’s Vegas. And, I like going to Vegas. It’s beautiful out there. But the time of year we go the second time is so hot. That race last year was 100 degrees outside. Luckily, it’s a dry heat. But for a person who likes Vegas and wants to have a little fun on Sunday, it’s a good time.”

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: 5
Poles: 12
Laps Led: 1,604
Top-five finishes: 34
Top-10 finishes: 81

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 784 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 711
Laps led to date: 233,859
Top-five finishes to date: 4,003
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,253

Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date

General Motors: 1,118
Chevrolet: 784
Pontiac: 154
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65

Ford: 783
Ford: 684
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4

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

Toyota: 137

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.

LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY (1.5-MILE OVAL)
LOCATION: LAS VEGAS
EVENT: NASCAR CUP SERIES (RACE 27 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 7 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, SEPT. 15 (NBCSN/PRN/SIRIUSXM)

​
​ ​ ​
​

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

2019 Season
7th in standings
26 starts
2 wins
3 pole positions
8 top-five finishes
11 top-10 finishes
531 laps led

Career
139 starts
5 wins
7 pole positions
41 top-five finishes
70 top-10 finishes
1,774 laps led

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

WELCOME TO THE PLAYOFFS: The 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs kick off this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Chase Elliott has made the playoffs in four consecutive seasons in his Cup Series career – he still remains the youngest driver to make his first playoff start (2016 – 20 years, 9 months, 21 days). Last season, he advanced all the way to the Round of 8 for the second consecutive season, and he finished only two positions away from advancing to the Championship 4. Elliott’s 10-race 2018 playoff run featured two wins, seven top-10s and 105 laps led. Those two wins are tied for the most among all drivers in the last eight playoff races run.

ELLIOTT AT PLAYOFF TRACKS: Elliott’s performance at playoff tracks is quite impressive. At the eight playoff tracks where he has already raced this season, the 23-year-old driver has one win (Talladega Superspeedway), four top-five finishes (tied for the most), two stage wins and an average finish of 7.88 – the best average of all drivers. He also garnered the most total points of all drivers (324) and the most stage points (87) at the eight tracks in the playoffs that the series has already visited in 2019. Last season, Elliott scored top-10 finishes in both of the tracks that the series has not yet visited this season (Charlotte road course and Homestead-Miami Speedway).

NAPA FILTERS: Last week, NAPA AUTO PARTS took to Instagram to reveal the No. 9 NAPA Filters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 that Elliott will pilot this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Click here for more info. Along with the new No. 9 ride, NAPA has a special promotion currently available. Cars have three filters – oil, air and cabin air. Fans that replace all three with premium NAPA filters anytime until Sept. 30 can claim a $20 prepaid Visa gift card.

GUSTAFSON IN THE PLAYOFFS: No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson will make his 12th appearance in the Cup Series playoffs this season – the second-most of any crew chief, behind only Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chad Knaus. Gustafson has eight wins in the playoffs, which ranks as the second-most of active crew chiefs.

THE FIRST 26: So far this season, Elliott has collected two wins, three pole awards, eight top-five finishes, 11 top-10s and four stage wins. He has led a total of 531 laps. Four times this season, Elliott has captured or tied his best career finish at a track – Martinsville (second), Talladega (first), Watkins Glen (first) and Indianapolis (ninth).

LAST FIVE: In the last five events of the season (Watkins Glen, Michigan International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway), Elliott is tied for the most top-10 finishes with four. He has the second-highest average finish of the last five races (8.6), behind only Denny Hamlin (8.2).

ELLIOTT’S VEGAS STATS: This weekend, Elliott is set to make his sixth NASCAR Cup Series start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In his previous five starts, he has collected one top-five finish and two top-10s. Elliott is currently tied with Martin Truex Jr. for the most stage top-10s at the Las Vegas track with eight. Earlier this season at the venue, he finished ninth – giving him and the No. 9 team their first top-10 finish of the season.

SEE ELLIOTT IN VEGAS: On Thursday, Sept. 12, Elliott and the other playoff drivers are scheduled to burn it down on Las Vegas Blvd. The NASCAR Burnout Blvd Driven by Goodyear event is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. local time. Fans are welcome to view the event all along the Las Vegas Strip, including the pre-event festivities outside the Planet Hollywood and the burnout location at Spring Mountain, just across from the Wynn Las Vegas. NBCSN will broadcast the event live beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

GIVE A HOOT: On Tuesday, Hooters revealed the No. 9 Hooters Give a Hoot Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 that Elliott will pilot at Dover International Speedway in October. The special pink and white scheme will promote their Give a Hoot campaign that supports the fight against breast cancer. Give A Hoot fundraising in October benefits the V Foundation for Cancer Research, one of the nation’s leading cancer research funding organizations, as well as other local beneficiaries through the Kelly Jo Dowd Breast Cancer Research Fund.

​
​ ​ ​
​

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

2019 Season
13th in standings
26 starts
0 wins
4 pole positions
3 top-five finishes
9 top-10 finishes
181 laps led

Career
62 starts
0 wins
4 pole positions
3 top-five finishes
13 top-10 finishes
242 laps led

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

LOOKING BACK IN THE REAR-VIEW: Dating back to the end of June at Chicagoland Speedway, the last 10 races have been some of sophomore driver William Byron’s career best. In those races, he’s started from the pole once and collected three top-five finishes and five top-10s, resulting in an average finish of 11.9. In fact, all of his Cup Series top-five finishes and five of his 13 career Cup top-10s have come in the last 10 races leading into the 2019 playoffs.

PLAYOFF-BOUND: Solidifying his position in the Cup Series playoffs, Byron is the third-youngest driver in series history – at 21 years, 9 months, and 17 days – to make his first playoff start. In the 2019 playoffs, he is the youngest driver competing in the 16-driver field and became the ninth different driver that Hendrick Motorsports has taken into the playoffs, which leads all organizations in series history.

LIBERTY U RETURNS: For back-to-back weekends, Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will carry Liberty University on board, this time for the first race of the playoffs at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Returning as a primary sponsor of the No. 24 team in 2019 for 12 races, Liberty University has a long history with the sophomore driver starting back in 2014 in the late model ranks and is in the midst of 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 offers 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.

FEELING LUCKY: This weekend’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway marks not only the first race of the Round of 16 in the playoffs but also Byron’s fourth start at the 1.5-mile track. This race will be a repeat trip for the Byron-Chad Knaus pairing after scoring a 16th-place finish at the venue in just their third start together as driver and crew chief earlier this year. During that spring race, the No. 24 driver led 21 laps – the fourth-most laps he’s led during his career in a Cup Series race. Aside from his starts in the Cup Series, Byron has two previous starts in the “City of Lights,” one in the Xfinity Series where he raced to a 14th-place finish, and one in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series, qualifying 10th and ending the race with a fifth-place finish.

KNAUS’ POSTSEASON PROWESS: Gearing up for the start of the 2019 playoffs, Knaus is set to make his 16th appearance in the playoffs – the only Cup Series crew chief to make an appearance in every season of the playoffs’ existence. While it will be the veteran crew chief’s first time entering the 10-week stretch with Byron behind the wheel, Knaus is no stranger to playoff success, collecting 29 victories – the most of any crew chief by 20 wins – as well as seven championships, all coming with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.

INDY INSIGHT: Despite sustaining damage early on during last Sunday’s Brickyard 400, the No. 24 team made repairs and Byron went to work making up ground, finding himself back within the top-10 running order by the start of the second stage. Continuing to make progress on the handling of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, Byron continued his march to the front before ultimately crossing the finish line in the fourth position – his third top-five finish of the 2019 season.

​
​ ​ ​
​

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

2019 Season
18th in standings
26 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
3 top-five finishes
8 top-10 finishes
88 laps led

Career
641 starts
83 wins
36 pole positions
227 top-five finishes
360 top-10 finishes
18,791 laps led

Track Career
19 starts
4 wins
0 pole positions
6 top-five finishes
9 top-10 finishes
595 laps led​

BRICKYARD HEARTBREAK: Jimmie Johnson had a strong run going at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last Sunday until he was involved in a multiple-car incident while running fifth, ending his day and the opportunity to earn a playoff berth. This year is the first NASCAR Cup Series playoffs since its inception in 2004 that Johnson will not be a contender.

THE BEST IS YET TO COME: Although the No. 48 driver will not be eligible for the Cup Series championship in the 2019 season, his track record for the final 10 races of the season speaks for itself. He has recorded 29 wins in the playoffs, more than any other driver, en route to his record-tying seven championships.

MILE-AND-A-HALF WINS: Johnson has more 1.5-mile track wins than any other driver with 28. He also has the most wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with four.

SPOILER ALERT: Of the last five wins in playoff races scored by a non-playoff driver, two of them were scored by Johnson. He recorded wins at Texas in both 2014 and 2015 in the closing races of the season while he was no longer eligible to become the series champion.

THE DALE JR. DOWNLOAD: On Monday, Johnson sat down with longtime friend and former teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. and recorded an episode of “The Dale Jr. Download” podcast. Episode 273: “Jimmie Johnson: I’m Not Done Yet” features the No. 48 driver and Earnhardt’s discussion about missing the playoffs for the first time, spandex, crashing off of a mountain and much more. Click here to listen.

SEPTEMBER SUCCESS: As the NASCAR schedule enters the fall months, the seven-time champion has a history of success in the month of September. September is one of three months in which Johnson has earned 10 wins, trailing only the month of October, when he has won 14 total races. He has also won 10 races in the month of November.

ALLY SWAG(GER): Ally brand ambassadors will help fans get their “Ally Swag(ger)” on once again this weekend. Fans at the track will have the opportunity to update their Team 48 gear with the Ally colors if they find brand ambassadors in the campgrounds at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. Follow @AllyRacing on Twitter for exact locations and updates.

​
​ ​ ​
​

Alex Bowman
No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver Alex Bowman Hometown Tucson, Arizona
Age 26 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina

2019 Season
9th in standings
26 starts
1 win
0 pole positions
4 top-five finishes
7 top-10 finishes
182 laps led

Career
143 starts
1 win
2 pole positions
7 top-five finishes
21 top-10 finishes
456 laps led

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

YOU VOTED: Last month, fans had the chance to choose which Nationwide paint scheme the No. 88 team would run this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After 30,000 votes, the fans chose Kyle Sykes’ design as the winning scheme. In addition to Sunday’s race, the scheme can be seen during the NASCAR Burnout Blvd Driven by Goodyear event on Thursday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

ON BOWMAN’S SIDE: The primary blue-and-white colors of Nationwide will adorn the hood of Alex Bowman’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for this Sunday’s event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, albeit with a new fan-designed look. As the No. 88 team’s majority partner, Nationwide will be featured in 20 NASCAR Cup Series events in 2019. After this weekend’s race, the sponsor will be back on board the No. 88 machine at Richmond Raceway next week and at Charlotte Motor Speedway to close out September.

SECOND TIME’S A CHARM: After last weekend’s event at Indianapolis, the regular season is now complete. Bowman locked the No. 88 team into the playoffs after his win at Chicagoland Speedway in June. It marks the second year in a row that the Tucson, Arizona, native has clinched a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. So far this season, Bowman has captured one win, four top-five finishes and seven top-10s. The No. 88 team has led 182 laps since April and has completed 98.2 percent of the total laps completed.

TAKE THE LEAD: The No. 88 team has a great record on 1.5-mile tracks this season. Bowman has led 159 laps on tracks that length in 2019 and is third on the list of drivers leading over 100 laps thus far. Bowman led 63 laps at Kansas Speedway, eight laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway and 88 laps en route to his win at Chicagoland Speedway.

BOWMAN AT LAS VEGAS: The driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has five previous starts in the Cup Series at Las Vegas. The driver’s best qualifying effort of ninth came in the fall race in 2018 and his best finish of 11th came earlier this season at the speedway. In his lone start at the track in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2013, Bowman finished eighth after qualifying 18th for the 200-lap event.

YOUNG GUNS: Bowman is one of the five youngest drivers to make the playoffs this season. Bowman is the oldest of the young guns at 26 years old, with teammate William Byron coming in as the youngest at 21 years old.

1.5-MILE TRACK SUCCESS: Bowman captured his first career win in NASCAR at the 1.5-mile track in Charlotte in 2017 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. His first Cup Series victory came at 1.5-mile Chicagoland earlier this season after leading 88 laps. The driver is one of four at Hendrick Motorsports to capture his first career Cup Series victory at a track that length. In the last four races on 1.5-mile tracks, Bowman has one win, one second-place finish (Kansas) and one seventh-place finish (Charlotte).

VEGAS STATS FOR IVES: No. 88 team crew chief Greg Ives has called the shots six times at Las Vegas with two different drivers. The Bark River, Michigan, native earned his best finish of fourth with Dale Earnhardt Jr. back in 2015 at the track. The crew chief has one active win in the playoffs with Earnhardt in 2015 at ISM Raceway. Ives has two starts in the Xfinity Series at Las Vegas, which include one top-five with Chase Elliott in 2014 and one top-10 with Regan Smith in 2013. From 2006-2012, Ives was a race engineer for the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team. During that time, he was a part of three wins and four top-five finishes at Las Vegas.

BOWMAN’S RUN AT THE BRICKYARD: Bowman qualified 13th for the 400-mile event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last Sunday. Early into the race, the driver of the No. 88 machine relayed that his car was running well. By Lap 11, he had made his way into the top 10. After a two-tire stop under caution before the stage ended, Bowman reported his car was too tight. Stage 1 ended under yellow and the 26-year-old driver crossed the line ninth, earning valuable stage points. The team was handed a speeding penalty after pitting during the Lap 88 caution and Bowman finished Stage 2 in 22nd. The driver advanced one position by the end of the 160-lap race and finished 21st.

​
​ ​ ​
​

Hendrick Motorsports

PLAYOFF POSITIONING: Hendrick Motorsports currently has three drivers competing in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, marking a series-best 12th season in which the organization has sent at least three to the playoffs. It is also the 14th consecutive year that Hendrick Motorsports has at least two drivers in the playoffs, which is also the most of all organizations. William Byron, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman are the first-, second- and fifth-youngest drivers competing in this season’s playoffs.

CROWNING A CHAMPION: Hendrick Motorsports is no stranger to winning championships. In seven of the 15 seasons with a playoff system, the organization has won the race. In addition, a driver for the organization has made the Championship 4 in two of the five seasons with the elimination format. Hendrick Motorsports owns 43 wins in the playoffs, which is just one win shy of doubling the second-most wins of 22 by Joe Gibbs Racing, and accounts for 29 percent of the playoff races run.

PLAYOFF DRIVERS: Byron became the ninth different driver Hendrick Motorsports has taken to the playoffs, the most of all organizations in series history. He joins a list that includes Elliott, Bowman, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch and Mark Martin.

LEADING ON 1.5-MILERS: The playoffs commence at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this season, a 1.5-mile track. At venues that length in 2019, Hendrick Motorsports owns the third-most laps led with 432, trailing only Joe Gibbs Racing’s 465 and Stewart-Haas Racing’s 551.

PILING UP POLE POSITIONS: After securing just two poles in 2018, Hendrick Motorsports has amassed eight poles this year with 10 races remaining in the season. It’s the sixth-highest total the organization has earned in a single season, tied with the 1998 campaign. Hendrick Motorsports’ record for poles came in 1986 with 16, followed by 12 in 2007 and 2009, 11 in 2008 and 2012, 10 in 1995, and nine in 1996 and 2004.

LEADING THE WAY: In 2019, Hendrick Motorsports has nearly doubled its total of laps led from a season ago. Last season, the organization’s drivers tallied 497 laps led, while this year they have already totaled 982 laps up front with 10 races remaining.

ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 12 championships, 255 race victories, 223 pole positions, 1,063 top-five finishes and 1,822 top-10 finishes in points-paying NASCAR Cup Series competition. Its teams have led more than 68,700 laps since 1984.

​
​ ​ ​
​

QUOTABLE /
Chase Elliott on his Las Vegas expectations:
“Just hopefully having a nice, smooth, uneventful race at Las Vegas would be good. These past couple of weeks have been wild with just a lot of stuff happening. So, we just need to get out there and I have confidence that we can have good cars. We’ve just got to get going in find a little consistency and just get things started off, uneventfully, would be great.”

Elliott on tracks he is looking forward to:
“The next one, really. I think you have to have the ability to win all of them, or the majority of them, to have a shot at Homestead. We just need to have that mindset going in. This first round is going to be tough. Richmond and Charlotte haven’t been our best two racetracks, so it’s important for us to not overlook it and put some emphasis on the first round and not just think we’re going to breeze right through.”

William Byron on Las Vegas:
“I think this weekend’s race will be a good one for us. This is the second time I’ll be going to Las Vegas Motor Speedway with (crew chief) Chad (Knaus) and this group on the 24 team. We had an OK showing in the spring race for just our third race as a team and I definitely think we have improved since then as a group. We’ll just approach this weekend like it’s any other weekend, though. You don’t want to change anything up because that’s when mistakes happen. We had an almost flawless race last weekend at Indy, so if we can execute like that again for this race, it should be a good result.”

Jimmie Johnson on the rest of the season:
“Ten races to go and we are as determined as ever.”

Alex Bowman on his playoffs outlook:
“I think consistency is the key improvement that we are going to need. We go to a lot of places that we are really strong at and there are a lot of good tracks for us in the playoffs. At the same time, we are hit-and-miss sometimes. We have a lot of work to do, I think, but the tracks that suit us can be very good. Starting at a place like Vegas, going back to Kansas and Dover, we are going to a lot of tracks that are good for us, so we should be really strong.”

Bowman on the intermediate program:
“I think our intermediate program is our best program, other than our superspeedway program. Our cars are extraordinary every time we go to a superspeedway. But our 1.5-mile program is our strongest program right now. We have had some pretty good success on these tracks this year and I am really looking forward to getting back to Vegas and Kansas.”

Michael McDowell on Las Vegas
11 Starts
Best Finish: 18th
“It’s typically pretty hard to pass at Las Vegas. You’ve got to find the right speed in the car both in traffic and running by yourself. Back in March, we had a good car but made some mistakes that we couldn’t recover from. We’ve made a lot of progress on our No. 34 Ford Mustang since then and I’m ready to show our partners at Love’s Travel Stops and International Trucks what we are capable of at this track.”

FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: LAS VEGAS PLAYOFF ADVANCE

Two Playoff races and a regular-season finale highlight a NASCAR tripleheader this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  The Gander Outdoors Truck Series will conduct a first round elimination race on Friday as their Playoff field gets trimmed from eight to six.  That’s followed by the final regular-season race for the NASCAR XFINITY Series on Saturday, and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff opener on Sunday.

FORD IN THE MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES AT LVMS
·         Ford leads all manufacturers with 12 series wins in 23 all-time events.
·         Roush Fenway Racing tops all organizations with 7 victories, including the first three.
·         Ford has won three straight at LVMS (Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano).

FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT LVMS
·         Ford has 9 NASCAR XFINITY Series wins at LVMS.
·         Jeff Burton and Mark Martin lead the way with 2 wins apiece.
·         Jack Roush leads all car owner with 6 series victories at LVMS.

FORD IN THE NASCAR GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES AT LVMS
·         Ford has 5 series wins at LVMS.
·         Grant Enfinger won last year’s Playoff race at LVMS.
·         Joe Ruttman, Greg Biffle, Travis Kvapil and Tyler Reddick also have one Ford win each.

CUP PLAYOFF FIELD SET

Ford has a manufacturer-best seven drivers competing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs for the second year in a row.  Stewart-Haas drivers Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola join the Team Penske trio of defending champion Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney as Ford drivers who have made the 16-driver field for the second straight time.  The only change is Roush Fenway’s Ryan Newman filling the spot that Kurt Busch had last season.

NASCAR XFINITY REGULAR SEASON FINALE

The final regular season race for the NASCAR XFINITY Series is scheduled for Saturday with all three Ford drivers knowing they have spots in this year’s Playoff field.  Cole Custer, Chase Briscoe, and Austin Cindric all clinched spots after winning at least once earlier in the year.  Custer is tied for the most individual victories in 2019 with six while Cindric has two wins and Briscoe one.

ELIMINATION RACE ON TAP FOR TRUCK SERIES

A year ago, Grant Enfinger punched his ticket to the second round with a win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and ThorSport is looking for a similar result this time around as all three of their post-season drivers look to stay in contention for the series championship.  Friday’s elimination race will trim the field from eight to six and the point standings couldn’t be closer.  Ford driver’s Matt Crafton (4th), Enfinger (6th) and Johnny Sauter (7th) are part of a group of five drivers separated by only six points.

FORD’S CUP PLAYOFF SUCCESS

Ford is coming off its best postseason performance a year ago when it led all manufacturers with six MENCS Playoff victories in 10 events.  That culminated with Joey Logano winning his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title after taking the checkered flag at Ford Championship Weekend.  Ford has 41 all-time Playoff victories by 12 different drivers and Logano is the manufacturer’s all-time leader with nine.  Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle are second and third on that list with eight and seven victories, respectively.

MARTIN LEADS FORD CHARGE IN INAUGURAL VEGAS CUP EVENT

Ford took the checkered flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the inaugural race at the 1.5-mile facility on March 1, 1998 as Mark Martin led a manufacturer runaway that saw 13 of the top 14 finishers driving a Taurus.  The win was the first for Taurus, which became the first full-time four-door entry in NASCAR, after Ford decided to use it in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starting with the 1998 season.  Martin bested Roush Fenway teammate Jeff Burton by 1.605 seconds to win the Las Vegas 400 with Rusty Wallace, Johnny Benson and Jeremy Mayfield rounding out the top-five.  The only non-Ford to finish in the top-10 was the late Dale Earnhardt, who was eighth.

SWEEP DELIGHT FOR KESELOWSKI

Brad Keselowski completed a weekend sweep in 2014 after taking the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series events on consecutive days.  Even though Keselowski led the most laps in the MENCS race, he needed a little bit of luck and got it on the final lap when Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was in conservation mode, ran out of gas on the back straightaway.  That enabled Keselowski to win going away and post the first of his six victories that season.

ROUSH RULES

There have been two Roush Fenway Racing drivers who have posted consecutive Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Jeff Burton won in 1999 and 2000 while Matt Kenseth did it in his championship season of 2003 and 2004.  In fact, Roush Fenway Racing has been a force in both the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and NASCAR XFINITY Series at the 1.5-mile facility.  The organization has posted seven MENCS wins and six NXS victories for a total of 13 overall, which includes back-to-back weekend sweeps in 1999 and 2000.  In addition, RFR has three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series triumphs.

TEAM PENSKE ON VEGAS ROLL

Team Penske has dominated the NXS and MENCS events at LVMS in recent years with three drivers combining for seven wins.  Sam Hornish Jr. started this streak with his win in the NASCAR XFINITY Series race in 2013 before Brad Keselowski swept the NXS/MENCS weekend in 2014.  Keselowski won Cup events in 2016 and 2018 while Joey Logano claimed an NXS victory in 2017 and Cup triumph earlier this year.

FORD MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS AT LAS VEGAS
1998 – Mark Martin
1999 – Jeff Burton
2000 – Jeff Burton
2003 – Matt Kenseth
2004 – Matt Kenseth
2008 – Carl Edwards
2011 – Carl Edwards
2014 – Brad Keselowski
2016 – Brad Keselowski
2018 – Kevin Harvick (1) and Brad Keselowski (2)
2019 – Joey Logano (1)

FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS AT LAS VEGAS
1999 – Mark Martin
2000 – Jeff Burton
2002 – Jeff Burton
2005 – Mark Martin
2009 – Greg Biffle
2012 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2013 – Sam Hornish Jr.
2014 – Brad Keselowski
2017 – Joey Logano

FORD NASCAR GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES WINNERS AT LAS VEGAS
1997 – Joe Ruttman
1999 – Greg Biffle
2007 – Travis Kvapil
2016 – Tyler Reddick
2018 – Grant Enfinger (2)

Team:                          No. 17 SunnyD Ford Mustang
Crew Chief:                 Brian Pattie
Twitter:                        @Stenhouse17Team @stenhousejr and @roushfenway

ADVANCE NOTES

Stenhouse Jr. at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Stenhouse has eight-career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at Las Vegas with an average starting position of 14.8 and average finishing position of 21.1.

In 2012, Stenhouse Jr. cleared veteran Mark Martin with 54 laps remaining and built a six-second lead going on to claim his first victory of the 2012 NASCAR Xfinity season and his third Xfinity career win.

Last time at Vegas

After earning his third straight top-10 qualifying position, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drove his Ford to a sixth-place finish collecting stage points in all three stages at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon..

On the Car

Iconic brand and thirst quenching favorite SunnyD will return to the No. 17 this weekend as the primary partner on the No. 17 Ford Mustang.

Race To Vegas Sweepstakes

For the second year, Sunny D ran a sweepstakes for a lucky winner to attend the race this weekend in Las Vegas. The lucky winner will get to meet Stenhouse and the No. 17 team.

Stenhouse Jr. on racing at Las Vegas:

“Earlier this year, we had a strong run at Vegas so I’m looking forward to getting back there this weekend. The track is going to be slick with the high temperatures so should definitely be a good show for the fans. After our past few weeks, we are looking to kick off the final 10 races with a solid finish.”

Matt DiBenedetto – No. 95 Barstool Sports Toyota Camry Preview
South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

No. 95 Barstool Sports Toyota Camry Notes:

DIBENEDETTO BY THE NUMBERS: In five Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Las Vegas, Matt DiBenedetto has an average start of 29.8 and an average finish of 24.8 with his best finish of 21st coming in March’s event earlier this season.  He’s completed 1,327 of 1,340 (99.0 percent) career laps at the 1.5-mile track.

DIBENEDETTO SIGNING APPEARANCE: DiBenedetto is scheduled sign autographs on Sunday, September 15th starting at 12:30pm PST for those who have wristbands.  Wristbands for the session may be obtained at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series merchandise hauler for the first 50 customers who purchase the new DiBenedetto and Barstool Sports t-shirt.  The merchandise trailer will open for the weekend starting at 10:00am PST on Friday, September 13th.

RACE INFO: The South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile) begins at 7:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 15th. The race will be broadcast live on NBCSN, Sirius XM Channel 90 and PRN Radio.

DiBenedetto’s Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Las Vegas:

Date                Event:                         S          F         Laps                 Status
03/06/16          Kobalt 400                   34        31        263/267            Running
03/12/17          Kobalt 400                   31        26        265/267            Running
03/04/18          Pennzoil 400               32        22        264/267            Running
09/16/18          South Point 400          26        24        269/272            Running
03/03/19          Pennzoil 400               26        21        266/267            Running

Races     Wins     Top 5s    Top 10s       Poles
Cumulative         5            0              0               0               0

DiBenedetto’s 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats:
Starts         Wins        Top-5’s     Top-10’s         Poles        Laps Led            Avg. Start       Avg. Finish
26               0                 3                 6                   0                 143                      21.0                 19.2

DiBenedetto’s Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stats:

Starts         Wins        Top-5’s     Top-10’s         Poles        Laps Led            Avg. Start       Avg. Finish
166                0                 3                6                   0                  166                      29.5                27.4

From the Driver’s Seat:

Matt DiBenedetto: “I’m really looking forward to this weekend at Vegas and having Barstool Sports sponsoring us because I’ve been a big fan of theirs for a long time.  This is going to be a cool and fun partnership! It’s been awesome to see this deal take shape while bringing in a lot of interest and people into our sport.  So much has changed since the last time we raced at Las Vegas earlier this season.  We’ve learned where we need our Camry to be set up, how much speed we need in it versus downforce, and so many other things that will make us better at these 550 spec tracks.  We’ll look to apply what we’ve learned so far in the season and try to finish the best we can.  We’ve learned a lot since March, and we’ve been improving at the 550 tracks, so we’re hoping to perform better this weekend and we’re aiming for another top-10 finish.”

From the Pit Box:

Mike Wheeler: “Las Vegas was the third race of this season, and since then, we’ve been through a lot of 550 spec tracks and have learned a various number of things that will pertain to this weekend.  Vegas has some rough spots on the track surface, which is something that we need to pay attention to, but it’s also a halfway banked track compared to other 1.5-mile tracks that we race at.  Obviously, we’ll focus on the balance of the car both in clean and dirty air, having appropriate speed by our self and also in traffic, as well as making our Camry perform well in all those aspects.  Vegas is one of those tracks where it is its own entity because of those rough spots on the surface, but platform control is also a huge aspect there.  Tire falloff isn’t as big of a deal at Vegas as it is at some other tracks that we go to.  It’s a whole different story that we’ll have to look at because pit strategy can come in where you can do the opposite and try to get track position.  Las Vegas has widened out in the past, which is a good thing for racing, but it’s also slated to be 100 degrees this weekend so that will make it quite a different animal than what we experienced there in the spring.  Vegas to me is somewhere between Kansas and Chicago if I’m looking for other tracks on the circuit to compare it to.”

No. 95 Barstool Sports Toyota Camry Team:
Driver: Matt DiBenedetto                   Crew Chief: Mike Wheeler
Car Chief: Greg Emmer                     Spotter: Doug Campbell
Engineer: J.R. Houston                     Engineer: Etienne Cliche
Mechanic: Bill Mares                         Mechanic: Matt Kimball
Shock Specialist: Sean Studer         Mechanic: Zach Marquardt
Tire Specialist: Tony Ramirez          Jackman: Charles Thacker
Fueler: Bailey Walker                         Rear Changer: Deven Youker
Front Changer: Jason Charles         Tire Carrier: Chris Hall
Hauler Driver: Damon Lopez            Pit Support: Brian Eastland

About Barstool Sports:

Barstool Sports is one of the most influential lifestyle brands in America. With a rich 16-year history, Barstool Sports has one of the most highly coveted, fiercely loyal and incredibly engaged audiences, which has put Barstool at the top of the charts.

Barstool Sports is the preeminent digital sports media brand that has established an extremely influential and deeply authentic voice. Barstool Sports creates innovative content with massive distribution on multiple platforms including web, apps, podcasts, radio, video, social, events, pay per view, subscription and TV to an incredibly engaged audience. Barstool reaches over 80 million 18-34 year-olds on a monthly basis. They are home to the #1 sports podcast, “Pardon My Take,” and #1 female podcast, “Call Her Daddy.”

Team:                   No. 6 Oscar Mayer Bacon Ford Mustang
Crew Chief:         Scott Graves
Twitter:                @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @RyanJNewman

South Point 400 – Sunday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

Newman at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
·         Newman makes his 21st MENCS start at Las Vegas on Sunday. In 20 prior events, he has an average finish of 15.9 with nine top-10 and four top-five finishes.
·         Newman’s best finish at the 1.5-mile track came four seasons ago when he finished third after starting seventh. He also has two fourth-place results (2002, 2012) and finished fifth back in 2011. He has crossed the line 13th or better in five of the last seven races at LVMS, including a ninth-place finish in this race last fall.
·         Newman holds an average starting spot of 14.8 at LVMS with one career pole (2005). He has four starts of third or better (2002, 2003, 2005, 2010) with the last top-10 qualifying effort coming in 2015 (seventh).

Scott Graves at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
·         Graves will call his fifth MENCS race at Las Vegas on Sunday. In four prior events he has an average finish of 19th atop the pit box.
·         He led Daniel Suarez to an eighth-place finish in this race last fall after starting 19th. He also qualified seventh back in 2013 with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., before going on to finish 18th.
·         Graves also has three starts in the Xfinity Series at the 1.5-mile track, where he finished runner-up with Suarez back in 2016. He also has a top-10 with former RFR driver Chris Buescher in 2014.

QUOTE WORTHY
Newman on racing at Las Vegas:
“We’re excited to have made it to this point and secure our well-earned spot in the playoffs. Now the plan is simple: go have fun and continue to put our best foot forward during this three-week stretch and the results will take care of themselves. We were able to test at Las Vegas back in the preseason with the new package, so we have some good notes heading into the weekend. We’re looking forward to the challenge in our Oscar Mayer Ford.”

Tracking the #NASCARPlayoffs

·         Newman heads into the weekend with a fresh start after racing his way into the NASCAR Playoffs in Indy. Las Vegas kicks off the first of three races in the opening round, which will culminate with the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Sept. 29).

On the Car

As part of the season-long rollout celebrating Oscar Mayer’s quality meat offerings, Oscar Mayer is back in Las Vegas with the bacon scheme across Newman’s No. 6 Ford.
·         Oscar Mayer bacon is hand-trimmed, naturally hardwood smoked and naturally sugar cured — it’s no surprise that it’s on more family tables in the America than any other bacon out there. The Oscar Mayer team is proud of the quality taste and flavors featured in their line of bacon products.
·         In addition to the best-selling Naturally Hardwood Smoked Original Cut, the Oscar Mayer bacon line includes a variety of different cuts, from thick cut to center cut, flavors such as Cracked Black Pepper and Maple, as well as Turkey and Fully Cooked bacon products.

About The Kraft Heinz Company
The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC) is one of the largest food and beverage companies in the world. A globally trusted producer of delicious foods, The Kraft Heinz Company provides high quality, great taste and nutrition for all eating occasions, whether at home, in restaurants or on the go. The Company’s iconic brands include Kraft, Heinz, ABC, Capri Sun, Classico, Jell-O, Kool-Aid, Lunchables, Maxwell House, Ore-Ida, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Planters, Plasmon, Quero, Smart Ones and Velveeta. The Kraft Heinz Company is dedicated to the sustainable health of our people, our planet and our Company. For more information, visit www.kraftheinzcompany.com.

Recapping Indy
Ryan Newman locked up his place in the NASCAR Playoffs this past weekend, finishing eighth at Indy. He finished fifth in the opening stage, before going on to hold off the No. 41 in the closing laps to earn the first playoff berth for the No. 6 team in 13 years.

Richard Childress Racing’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series History at Las Vegas Motor Speedway … In 66 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolets have earned 10 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes.

RCR in the MENCS … In 2,973 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts dating back to 1969, RCR has amassed 51 pole awards,108 wins, 489 top-five finishes and 1,074 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 17.7 and an average finishing position of 16.2. RCR has earned 15 total championships (six Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championships with Earnhardt in 1986, ’87, ’90, ’91, ’93 and ’94, six NASCAR Xfinity Series titles, two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series titles and one ARCA Menards Series title) and was the first organization to win titles in NASCAR’s three national series.

A Celebration of 50 Years … Help Richard Childress Racing celebrate their golden anniversary at RCR Fan Day at our campus in Welcome, North Carolina on Friday, October 25. The unique, one-day event is will include driver/owner autograph sessions, panel discussions with key personnel, a kids’ interactive area, pit crew demos, military interaction, shop tours and even a hauler parade to help send off our teams as they head to Martinsville Raceway. Follow RCR’s social media channels for updates regarding Fan Day and all 50th Anniversary events.

Interactive RCR … For up-to-date news and exclusive content, visit RCR’s corporate Twitter page – @RCRracing – along with the RCR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team Twitter page – @RCRCup, and driver Twitter pages @austindillon3, @TylerReddick and @DanielHemric. Information about the 15-time championship winning organization can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardChildressRacing and at www.RCRracing.com along with official driver pages –  http://www.facebook.com/austindillon3 and www.facebook.com/DanielHemric.

Catch the Action … The South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be televised live Sunday, September 15, beginning at 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network and will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

This Week’s Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway … In eight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Dillon’s best finish is fifth in 2016.

Welcome, Tracker Off Road … Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 prominently features TRACKER ATVs, a game-changing new line of all-terrain vehicles and side-by-sides offering breakthrough performance, service and value in the off-road industry.

TRACKER OFF ROAD was born out of a powerhouse partnership formed between Bass Pro Shops and TRACKER founder Johnny Morris and Textron Specialized Vehicles, bringing together the undisputed world leader in boating with a global leader in innovation and technology.

Meet Dillon … Dillon will join his RCR teammates and several other drivers in the Brendan Gaughan Celebrity Bowling Classic to kick off the South Point 400 NASCAR weekend at the South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa on Thursday, September 12. Fans in town for the races can purchase spots in the bowling tournament for $250, a fee that includes the chance to meet and bowl with NASCAR drivers and industry celebrities while raising money for a great cause. To register, visit:

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:
It seems like Las Vegas Motor Speedway is getting more and more worn as the years go by. How careful do you have to be with your tires there now compared to the past?
“You definitely have to take care of them. We took a car that was really good last race and qualified well but didn’t really race as well as we would have liked. I think we had a penalty that got us behind. You have to keep track position and have a car that holds on for the long run. Las Vegas Motor Speedway is becoming much more similar to Chicagoland Speedway in terms of the amount of tire wear you see. Hopefully, we can take our package that we had at Chicagoland Speedway and apply it to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.”
Daniel Hemric and the No. 8 Cessna Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway … Hemric will be making his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in this weekend’s South Point 400. The Kannapolis, North Carolina, native started fifth and finished 23rd in his first Cup start at the 1.5-mile track earlier this year. He also has three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at LVMS.

About Cessna … Textron Aviation offers the industry’s broadest product portfolio and most capable global service network supporting the Cessna, Beechcraft and Hawker brands. Leveraging unparalleled speed-to-market, Textron Aviation delivers unrivaled innovation, performance and leadership to the industry, and offers an unmatched value proposition rooted in the total ownership experience. Visit txtav.com.

DANIEL HEMRIC QUOTE:
What was your main takeaway from your first Cup Series start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March?
“The biggest thing we were able to take away from the March race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was that we approached that place not very effectively. We really struggled in the race. We had a lot of speed by ourselves but could not really use it in the race. It is always fun to go to Las Vegas. I have inherited a lot of the Gaughan family fans and have a lot of support from the Gaughan family and everyone at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa, so it has really felt like home there over the past few years. So, I’m looking forward to going back there this weekend to enjoy that experience, but also to take what we learned in March as a race team and organization and apply it to the No. 8 Cessna Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in this weekend’s race. We may not be in the Playoffs, but we still have our goals of going out, contending for race wins and running better at these tracks than we did earlier in the year, plus winning that Rookie of the Year title at the end of the season.”

Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Ground Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: South Point 400
Date/Time: September 15/7:00 p.m. ET
Distance: 267 laps/400.5 miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Track Shape: Tri-Oval
Banking: 20 degrees
2018 Winner: Brad Keselowski

Express Notes:

Indianapolis Recap: Denny Hamlin drove a back-up car from the rear of the field to a sixth-place finish in NASCAR’s regular-season finale Sunday at Indianapolis (Ind.) Motor Speedway. A Saturday practice crash forced the team to qualify a back-up car, which lined up 33rd for Sunday’s Brickyard 400. Hamlin then had to drop to the rear during the pace laps, per NASCAR rules. Despite a tight-handling condition in his FedEx Express Toyota, and some damage from multiple on-track and pit-road contact incidents, Hamlin was able to make up a lot of ground from the rear of the field. He climbed into the top 10 by the end of Stage 1 and was 15th at the end of Stage 2. The car was the tightest it had been all day in Stage 3, preventing him from making a charge all the way to the front, but he maintained a spot in the top 10 until the checkered flag to cross the line in sixth. Hamlin finished the regular season fourth in championship points and second in the Playoff ranks.

Las Vegas (South Point 400) Preview: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs kick off Sunday, Sept. 15, at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway. With four wins in the 2019 regular season, Hamlin and team will look for a strong start to Playoff racing.

Hamlin Las Vegas Statistics:

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Races: 15

Wins: 0

Poles: 0

Top-5: 2

Top-10: 7

Laps Led: 15

Avg. Start: 17.0

Avg. Finish 13.7

Hamlin Conversation:

What does your team’s performance at Indianapolis tell you about what your team is capable of?

“Passing isn’t very easy at Indy. We did make a lot of progress from the back, but not enough to get all the way to the front. I’m proud of this FedEx team for all we’ve accomplished so far this season, and we’re excited to get the Playoffs started and keep working our way towards a championship.”

Do you feel any different this year heading into the playoffs, or think you have a better chance of winning your first championship?

“I’m really proud of what my team has shown this year, but now our focus is all on Playoff racing and aiming to win that championship. We have come a long way, but there are still areas of improvement that we are working hard to correct to put us in the best position to win in the playoffs.”

FedEx Ground Gulf Coast District Along for the Ride at Las Vegas Motor Speedway: The FedEx Ground Gulf Coast district will be recognized for outstanding service and quality with its district code GCST on the B-post of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.