39-TIME MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPION – NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
QUAKER STATE 400
SPARTA, KENTUCKY
JULY 9, 2016

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CHECKING THE LAST ONE OFF THE LIST
Team Chevy Heads to Kentucky with One Goal in Mind – TO WIN

DETROIT – (July 5, 2016) – Chevrolet is synonymous with top performance. The Bowtie Brand has 758 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins and 683 poles, more than any other manufacturer competing at NASCAR’s top level. Out of the 23 tracks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule Chevrolet has recorded a victory at every single venue, but one – Kentucky Speedway.

Since the 1.5-mile track was added to the schedule in 2011 Chevrolet drivers and teams have amassed three poles, eight top-five and 23 top-10 finishes, but have yet to hoist the trophy in the Bluegrass state.

Following the conclusion of the Quaker State 400 last July, workers removed the old, bumpy asphalt that had endured multiple hot Kentucky summers and harsh winters. They laid down a new racing compound that is slick and smooth.

A handful of drivers and teams tested at the venue in June including Team Chevy’s Kevin Harvick, Paul Menard, Jamie McMurray, Michael Annett, AJ Allmendinger and Kasey Kahne.

“I think it’s too early in the process to know what the character of the track is going to be, but it’ll be your typical new asphalt type race,” said 2014 Sprint Cup Series champion Harvick after making laps on the new surface. “You’re going to want to stay in the groove and the restarts are going to be challenging. New tires are going to be challenging. I think you’re going to have all of those same characteristics. It’s a pretty big difference in how you enter Turn 1 and how you enter Turn 3, so just getting the balance between the two corners is definitely going to be the hardest part.

Not only will teams have the challenge of a new surface, but NASCAR has deemed Kentucky as one of the tracks to use a more reduced downforce package than what the racecars have competed with primarily in 2016. The first test of that configuration came back in June at the 2.0-mile super-fast Michigan International Speedway and now will be used this weekend under the lights at the 1.5-mile track.

“I think the total downforce numbers are getting closer, said Ryan Newman. “I think the aero balance is still a little too far forward. I think we need more rear downforce, less front downforce and I think we need tires that have some fall off because running the same pace at the beginning of a run and at the end of a run just doesn’t lend itself to the best racing. I think that’s what we need to work on now and that’s having a tire that’s a little racier than what we had the last time.”

With the combination of these two unknowns, previous notes will go out the window and the field will be equal once again; as if this were an inaugural race at a new venue. Team Chevy engineers are hoping to take advantage of both the new package and surface, and turn those variables into a winning equation. If the strategy works out, Chevrolet will be able to place a check mark beside Kentucky Speedway and notch a victory for the Bowtie Brand at all 23 tracks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit.

Can a Chevrolet SS driver and team earn the victory? Find out on Saturday night July 9 beginning at 7:30 pm ET. Live coverage will be available on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), PRN Radio, Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 90 and NASCAR.com.

TEAM CHEVY IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (NSCS) COMPETITION:
· Chevrolet has won 39 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturer Championships
· Team Chevy drivers have scored 758 wins and 683 poles in NSCS competition

CHEVROLET ON THE TRACK—KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY:
Following the first five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held at Kentucky Speedway, Team Chevy drivers have recorded eight top-five and 22 top-10 finishes
Team Chevy drivers, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Larson have all recorded poles at the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway.
A Chevrolet has led 222 laps (16.6% of possible 1335 laps) at Kentucky Speedway

ENGINEER EXPERTISE FROM THE GARAGE AREA – ALBA COLON, CHEVROLET RACING – PROGRAM MANAGER – NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES:
“Team Chevy is looking forward to head to Kentucky Speedway this weekend, and we are looking forward to some exciting racing on Saturday night on this newly repaved 1.5-mile Tri-Oval. We have all been looking forward to this race. We will get the opportunity to race a lower downforce aero package on a newly repaved/reconfigured racetrack. It is true that several teams had an opportunity to test several weeks ago, but with the last-minute changes with tires, the teams are welcoming the unusual three practice sections.

“For sure it will be a very busy weekend for the teams. All of us (NASCAR, the teams, Goodyear, and the manufacturers) are going to spend time learning about set-ups, tires, understanding the track, the new downforce package, etc. It will be a golden opportunity to learn and build our simulation models and other tools for the future. We welcome the challenge!

“The lower downforce package we will use at Kentucky is the same that we used in Michigan last month. The main difference is the tire change. Our engineers have been working hard in testing how the tire will behave with this package. Aside from this, our teams have had time to understand this racing package in more detail through CFD runs and wind tunnel test sessions. It should be a fun race to drive and watch, for sure.

“This race marks the halfway point of the season, the 18th of 36 points races on the circuit. Still, Team Chevy has a lot of work to do. Consistency is vital in order to succeed. The perfect combination of the right teams, finishes, and technology will make us succeed and obtain the coveted Manufacturers’ and Driver’s Championship trophies at the end of the season.

“Team Chevy is looking forward to its first win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Kentucky. All our teams are focused on that goal Saturday night.”

TEAM CHEVY FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT:
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 BUSCH LIGHT CHEVROLET SS – POINTS LEADER
ON THE REPAVE AND WHAT CAN BE TAKEN AWAY FROM PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE AT KENTUCKY:
“None. And you won’t leave with a headache. That’s the best part about it in my opinion. Before the drainage was probably the biggest issue in terms of drying the racetrack, not losing track time and making the fans sit around for no reason. I think that part of it is important and they did a great job with that and fixed that. Really putting in the effort and the money to do something like this is really exciting and show the commitment that Kentucky Speedway and (Speedway Motorsports Inc.) have. It’s different. We run in a lot places that have new asphalt – Kansas being one of those places and Michigan being one of those places, especially since we just ran there with this same aero package – where you figure out what you can do. It’s going to take a little time for everyone to get a handle on it.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 41 MONSTER ENERGY/HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET SS – 3RD IN STANDINGS
“Yeah, that is going to be pretty wild. Not a lot of time for the asphalt to cure at Kentucky after a repave. I’m hearing they are going to do different banking in Turns 1 and 2 versus 3 and 4. Yeah, it will be fast, smooth, but when you have repaves usually Goodyear brings a harder tire and it puts the fine line, it’s like a razor blade edge of when you have grip versus when you don’t. The new asphalt will definitely be treacherous this time around. Trying not to over think it. We will take our Kansas/Michigan style set-up there, but we will worry about it the week of. I think there is going to be an extra practice day and we will see how things progress throughout the weekend.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET SS – 8TH IN STANDINGS
“It’s hard to believe we’re already halfway. It seems like the year has gone by pretty quick. I think the repave is going to be a little bit of a question mark for everybody so I’m excited to check that out. I’ve heard some good things so I hope that they’re true.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – 9TH IN STANDINGS
“It’s been a tough stretch for the No. 48 Lowe’s Racing team. We have had fast cars but not the finishes we’ve been looking for. It will turn around; we just need to be patient. We’ve had really fast cars and made some progress in that direction. I’m looking forward to Kentucky this weekend, it’s one of the tracks I’ve not been able to win at yet, and we would like to check that off the list.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CHEVROLET SS – 12TH IN STANDINGS
“We’re all heading into the race with a bit of uncertainty since the track was recently paved, but I’m anxious to get to the track and see what it’s like. Kentucky Speedway has always been one of my favorite tracks, mainly because of the bumps, so I hope there is still character with the repave. The new package makes the cars pretty free, so it will be interesting to see how the race plays out. Downforce is king.”

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL CHEVROLET SS – 13TH IN STANDINGS
“The bumps were extremely bad at Kentucky – it was rough. The corners were great, and I think a lot of drivers would have liked to keep the corners ‘as is,’ just because they were aged and slick, and provided a lot of opportunity and different lines to run. But, the front straightaway was pretty severe and no amount of grinding was really going to improve things. I’m sure it’s a great surface. All of the tracks that have been repaved recently have been very smooth and very well-done. They also used a new process to develop a coarse asphalt to increase the aging process, or at least the track will hopefully age quicker. I’m excited to go there and check it out. For the first couple of races, the asphalt is going to have a lot of grip, so the cars are going to run in a narrow groove and passing may be a bit of a challenge, but as the track ages, it should be incredible.”

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS – 14TH IN STANDINGS
“I absolutely have no clue right now as to what to expect when we go to Kentucky. I’ve never won there and now, they have changed the track. They have changed the tires and the race package so I really have no idea of what to expect. I plan to go around a circle as fast as I can in my Caterpillar Chevrolet on a 1.5-mile radius. It sounds funny, but I am serious. Who knows what to expect? It should be fun, though!”

JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 CESSNA CHEVROLET SS – 16TH IN STANDINGS
“I think this weekend’s race will be interesting to say the least. We were able to test at Kentucky Speedway a couple of weeks ago. Following the repave and all the work that has been done, the track was really just one groove during the test. Turns one and two seemed a lot like Las Vegas (Motor Speedway) to me with the changes that have been made. I think the track has been doing a lot of work since the test to try and help get a wider groove, so having a little bit of extra practice time on Thursday will be important for all of us.”

KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS CHEVROLET SS – 18TH IN STANDINGS
“I think they did a good job with the repave, so I’m looking forward to racing there. As the rubber gets put down we will be able to move around more, and as the weekend goes it will get better and better. They changed Turns 1 and 2 in a good way, and as time goes on we’ll definitely be able to run wider and side-by-side. It will not be so one-groove prone like I feel it has been there. Turns 3 and 4 are very similar to how they have been in the past.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER/CLOROX CHEVROLET SS – 19TH IN STANDINGS
“I haven’t found it yet – – the secret to success on this track. I don’t think anybody knows now with the re-pave. It will be interesting. I was fortunate enough we got to test at Kentucky Speedway. I thought the two day test went really well and I was quite happy. It was the first time that Randall Burnett (crew chief) and I were able to actually go out and test together so I was very pleased with it.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – 20TH IN STANDINGS
“Our team is looking forward to getting to Kentucky and hopefully keeping up our string of good races. We’ve done a pretty good job of qualifying at Kentucky in the Target Chevy, but haven’t been as lucky during the races. We had a really good race at Michigan with the lower downforce package a few weeks ago, so I’m excited to run that same package this weekend. I’m also looking forward to getting on the repaved track and checking out the new banking. Jamie tested there a few weeks ago, which should give us a little leg up in setting up the car when we get there.”

PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 SYLVANIA/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS – 23RD IN STANDINGS
“It’s going to be interesting. By yourself the cars were pretty grippy. Turns 1 and 2 have more banking than Turns 3 and 4, but Turns 3 and 4 are pretty slippery compared to Turns 1 and 2. There’s definitely a single groove, but I think you’re going to see Turns 3 and 4 widen out before you see it in Turns 1 and 2. I think we’ll go into Turn 3 and a lot of guys will slip up and accidentally burn in the second groove, then in Turns 1 and 2 we’ll be locked into the bottom groove where there’s more grip. I’m not really sure how the race is going to play out.”

DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 NATURE’S BAKERY CHEVROLET SS – 26TH IN STANDINGS
“It’s one of those tracks where I have experience but, obviously, not a lot of it in a stock car. I’ve been there a lot, but I’ve only run a handful of stock-car races there. I ran a lot of IndyCar races at Kentucky but, obviously, those aren’t really going to benefit me this weekend. In the past the track has had a lot character to it with the bumps. However, with the repave, preparing for the new track surface combined with this year’s new aero package presents a whole new set of challenges.”

CASEY MEARS, NO. 13 GEICO MILITARY CHEVROLET SS – 27TH IN STANDINGS
“This GEICO Chevrolet SS team has been so strong this season. We have had indescribably bad luck and results that have had nothing to do with how fast our cars have been. After running so well at Daytona, we are all anxious to get chassis 543 on track at Kentucky Speedway. With the new track configuration and surface, new tires, our GEICO Chevy is about the only ‘known’ heading into the weekend. We raced it last at Charlotte. We know what this Germain Racing team is capable of and we hope to see it in the results at Kentucky.”

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 RUSH TRUCK CENTERS/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET SS – 30TH IN STANDINGS
“Winning a race at Kentucky and winning the Southern 500 in Darlington, that would absolutely cap off everything that – if we win at Darlington and Kentucky – would cover every track we currently have on the schedule. Winning a Southern 500 is big and, while Kentucky doesn’t sound like a big deal, when you want to try to win at every track on the schedule, that would make it a big deal. No matter what happens in the championship, I could say that was perfect.”