CHEVROLET ENTERS SEASON FINALE AT HOMESTEAD WITH THREE OPPORTUNITIES TO SECURE SERIES TITLES
Jimmie Johnson Looking to Win Historic Seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Title
Elliott Sadler and Justin Allgaier Ready to Battle for Xfinity Series Championship
Johnny Sauter in Contention for Title in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
DETROIT – (November 15, 2016) – In the immortal words of rap superstar Eminem: “If you only had one shot or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment, would you capture it or just let it slip away?”
This weekend Chevrolet has one opportunity to capitalize on the chance to win the brand’s 31st NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) driver’s title. Jimmie Johnson is the lone Chevrolet SS driver headed into this weekend’s Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a shot at winning this season’s
NSCS championship. The six-time series title holder and his Chad Knaus-led No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS team are looking to make history by winning a record-tying seventh championship. If Johnson gets the title, he will join the elite ranks of Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, Sr. as only the third driver in the history of the Sprint Cup Series with seven championship rings.
“I couldn’t have dreamed this big,” said Johnson as he enters what could arguably be one of the biggest races of his career. “I never even thought I could win one race or one championship, and here we are poised for a shot at a seventh title. Nothing is guaranteed in this sport and you never know when your last win will be. It’s incredible to be in this position with this No. 48 Lowe’s team and to have a shot at it. We have some serious competition, and we know what we need to do. I’ve never had to go to Miami in the position to win it. With the other formats I either knew what I needed to gain points or defend a lead. This Chase format is intense and we are focused on the goal.”
The odds might be against Johnson this weekend, who has never won a race at the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway, one of only four tracks on the current Sprint Cup Schedule that the 79-time series victor remains winless. In the last three seasons under the current Chase format the eventual series champion has won the 267-lap/400.5-mile contest. However, he will have all the support and tools from the Chevrolet Racing engineering staff that he, Knaus and the team will need in order to score his first victory at the southern Florida venue and earn his seventh series title.
Chevrolet also enters the weekend with an opportunity to collect driver championship trophies in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In the Xfinity Series, veteran driver Elliott Sadler and his JR Motorsport teammate Justin Allgaier will be the two Chevrolet representatives vying for a title. Sadler has three victories this season in the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro, while Allgaier is looking for his first win of the season. Both drivers are in search of their first championship titles in a NASCAR national touring series. A championship victory by either of these drivers will earn Chevrolet the brands 19th driver’s championship title in that series.
In the Camping World Truck Series, Johnny Sauter will pilot his No. 21 Chevrolet Silverado in the season finale looking for his first career championship. Sauter has three wins to his credit this season and will battle it out under the lights at Homestead hoping to repeat the same success he had in 2011 when he went to Victory Lane in the season finale race.
No matter what happens on the track over the weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, all of the driver’s, teams, owner’s, pit crews, team personal who represent the Chevrolet brand in all of NASCAR’s three national touring divisions have never given up this season. They all have one final opportunity to get to victory lane and four drivers who will climb behind the wheel of a Bowtie branded machine will have the opportunity to expand their racing legacies and become NASCAR champions either for the first time or a record-tying seventh.
The final race of the 10-race Chase playoff from Homestead-Miami Speedway is scheduled to begin Sunday, November 20 at 2:30 p.m., ET Live coverage will be available on NBC, MRN, 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 764 wins and 687 poles in NSCS competition
CHEVROLET ON THE TRACK—HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY:
Chevrolet drivers have won four of 17 races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Victories by current Team Chevy drivers are:
Tony Stewart, No. 14 Always A Racer/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS, has three wins at Homestead-Miami Speedway (’99, ’00 & ’11)
Kurt Busch, No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet SS, has one victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway (’02)
Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS, has one victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway (’14)
A Chevrolet driver has won two of the last four races at Homestead-Miami Speedway
A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole at Homestead-Miami Speedway five times
Team Chevy drivers have scored 33 top-five and 75 top-10 finishes at Homestead-Miami Speedway
A Chevrolet has led 1,132 laps (25.0% of possible 4,544 laps) at Homestead-Miami Speedway
ENGINEER EXPERTISE FROM THE GARAGE AREA – PAT SUHY, CHEVROLET RACING GROUP MANAGER, NASCAR PROGRAMS:
“Heading into Homestead, Chevrolet is represented by four great drivers across the three NASCAR National Touring Series. This weekend we’ll get to watch Johnny Sauter see if he can bring home his first driver’s championship in the Camping World Truck Series. Justin Allgaier and Elliott Sadler will represent Chevrolet in a bid for the the Xfinity Series title, and on Sunday Jimmie Johnson will be going for a historic seventh driver’s championship in the Cup Series finale. Congratulations to all four drivers for making it to the last round in each of their respective series.
“Being in a position to win a championship in any of these very competitive series is a significant accomplishment in the current Chase format. It takes a commitment from the team’s entire organization to provide the best hardware and technical resources to make the most of the racing product they put on the race track week-in and week-out. Chevrolet and our Team Chevy engineers are committed too, bringing tools and capabilities that complement our team’s strong engineering groups.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how things play out this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. We’ve got a great shot at crowning more Chevy drivers champions in what should be a great weekend of racing.”
TEAM CHEVY FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT:
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR CONTENDER
“I couldn’t have dreamed this big. I never even thought I could win one race or one championship, and here we are poised for a shot at a seventh title. Nothing is guaranteed in this sport and you never know when your last win will be. It’s incredible to be in this position with this No. 48 Lowe’s team and to have a shot at it. We have some serious competition, and we know what we need to do. I’ve never had to go to Miami in the position to win it. With the other formats I either knew what I needed to gain points or defend a lead. This Chase format is intense and we are focused on the goal.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 41 HAAS AUTOMATION/MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET SS – 7TH IN STANDINGS
“Homestead is a fast, mile-and-a-half racetrack. It’s a sister racetrack to Texas, to me. It’s an older racetrack, the worn-out asphalt is similar to Texas and, if you ran well at Texas, you’ll run well at Miami. There’s a lot that carries over from one to the other. I believe the tire codes might even be the same. Since 2004, there’s been a nostalgic feeling when I get to Homestead. Winning the championship in the first year of the Chase was a magical time for me.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET SS – 10TH IN STANDINGS
“I would say the biggest thing about Homestead is just trying to stay disciplined. It seems like over the past couple of years it’s easy to jump that line and make a mistake. Obviously running around that close to the wall, like you do there, produces a lot of lap time and I think if you can do it correctly that makes for a fine line of jumping it and hitting the wall. Once you hit the wall in these cars it’s really hard to recover. It’s definitely going to be a learning process never having run a Cup race there before. I think it will be interesting. The XFINITY Series cars are a little more forgiving when it comes to hitting the wall and being able to continue. The way the Cup cars are and the way the fender curves around the tire, a lot of times you get tire rubbing issues as soon as you hit it. It’s a big risk versus reward but I think it will be fun. I watched the race from the spotters’ stand down there last year and I got to see Jeff (Gordon) run his last race, at the time, which was really cool. I’m excited to get back and give it my best shot.”
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 JIMMY JOHN’S CHEVROLET SS – 11TH IN STANDINGS
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – 12TH IN STANDINGS
“I’m really excited to get back to Homestead; it’s one of my favorite tracks and a place I always look forward to running. We’ve been closing out the season pretty strong in the Target Chevy, so I’m looking forward to another good race this weekend. I felt like we were really close to being in a position to win this race last season, so hopefully we can run upfront again on Sunday and be in a position to win. I’m also running the truck race and XFINITY race, so it would be awesome to end the year with three trips to victory lane.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S CHEVROLET SS – 13TH IN STANDINGS
“I think one of the best things about racing at Homestead is that the track is so wide and has multiple grooves. You’ll see a lot of guys trying different lines to find some speed. Hopefully we can put the McDonald’s Chevy in position for a strong run in the final race and close out the season on a high note. The race season is so long, but goes by so fast. It’s hard to believe this is the final race of the season. Of course, the goals that we set for our team before the season starts come to realization this time of year. We made the Chase again and hopefully we can be in position to accomplish one of our other goals of winning a race come Sunday afternoon.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CORNING CHEVROLET SS – 14TH IN STANDINGS
“I feel like Homestead is probably one of the coolest tracks we have. I wish we could cookie cutter it at a couple of other tracks because it really is an awesome racetrack to run on. We tested there a couple of weeks ago and had a very solid test. As a group we are looking forward to getting back there.”
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 ALWAYS A RACER/ MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET SS – 15TH IN STANDINGS
“Well, this year’s my 18th year but, you know – I think it’s – I turned 45 this year and you know I still have unfinished business in dirt-track racing that I want to do and, yeah, winning three championships on the Cup side, and I never won the Daytona 500 but I won the Brickyard 400 twice. So I’ve had a really good run there and there are a lot of things in the sport that are changing. But something that’s important to me is I don’t want to lose track of where I came from, and I’m ready to go back to dirt racing. I’m really craving it. I think the stress of trying to be an owner and driver at SHR, I mean, it’s hard to have that much weight on your shoulders and try to compete at that high of a level as a driver and, at the same time, be an owner. So, stepping away from the driver side and being able to do a better job of focusing on the four drivers we’ll have next year. That’ll make my life a lot easier. And then, at the same time, it gives me the opportunity to play two roles. I get to be the boss of SHR but, in the evening, I get to go race and have fun myself and get my fix that way. So I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be – I can already tell – it’s going to be a lot of fun. I mean, Jeff Gordon and I are great friends and he’s in his first year of retirement, so he’s already told me what to look forward to for the next year. So I’m excited about that.”
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS CHEVROLET SS – 17TH IN STANDINGS
“Homestead is the last race of the season and we’ve had fast cars the last several races. We want to finish the season strong and this race gives us another opportunity to get a win before we head into the offseason. All of the guys on the team have been working really hard and we just need to capitalize on it this weekend.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS – 18TH IN STANDINGS
“The key to Homestead is really maintaining momentum. It’s a unique track and it is so important to keep your car rolling because the banking progresses as you go through the corners. When you pick up the throttle it is more rewarding at that track than any other track because you can keep building speed as you exit. Having a car that’s good on entry because it is fairly flat, you are able to run up to the wall and it seems as if that’s one of the most important things. The race there doesn’t necessarily finish up at the wall but being good at the wall to get yourself up in good position to finish the race in the middle of the track or even the bottom is really important.”
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER/CLOROX CHEVROLET SS – 19TH IN STANDINGS
“It’s a track that for 400 miles I feel like I’m always learning and getting better at each time we visit. It’s the same deal where we are fortunate to take a brand new race car. I think that will make us pretty good. I’m looking forward to it and it’s always a fun place to end the year. There are a lot of Kroger guests, just a lot of sponsors coming out throughout the weekend. We want to finish on a strong note for them.”
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 TAXACT CHEVROLET SS – 24TH IN STANDINGS
“It’s a mile and a half, but it’s unique in that it doesn’t have the dogleg. I’ve only run a few Sprint Cup races there but ended up with a couple of solid finishes, and I’ve run well there in the Xfinity Series, also. I ended up second in my last IndyCar race at Homestead, so I’ve got some experience at the track, just not a ton in Sprint Cup.”
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 RICHMOND/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS – 25TH IN STANDINGS
“I think Homestead is an underrated racetrack, for sure. When you think about all of the great racetracks that we run on every year, Homestead-Miami doesn’t really come to mind because it’s at the end of the season. There’s so much hype about the end of the year and the Chase that you lose sight of the track we’re actually racing at. It’s a great racetrack. It’s a true oval. The way the sun hits the racetrack in Turns 3 and 4, it makes them a lot slipperier than Turns 1 and 2.”
CLINT BOWYER, NO. 5-HOUR ENERGY CHEVROLET SS – 27TH IN STANDINGS
“I can’t believe we’re already heading to Homestead. This year has been a great experience for me— a season where I’ve learned a lot. The 5-hour ENERGY guys have worked hard for me all year and I can’t thank them enough. I’m looking forward to some good racing this weekend and spending time with my growing family this offseason.”
CASEY MEARS, NO. 13 GEICO CHEVROLET SS – 28TH IN STANDINGS
“Being the last race of the year, Homestead is your last opportunity to go out there and have a good performance and end the season off strong. There’s a lot of focus that goes into the race since it’s the last race of the year. Homestead-Miami Speedway has been one of my favorite tracks to go to. We, at Germain Racing, have struggled with getting a good balance at the track. There’s definitely frustration, but, I think the focus and how much effort that’s put into this race is huge because everyone wants to end the season strong. We’ve had some good cars this season and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish with our No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS this weekend at Homestead.”
MICHAEL MCDOWELL, NO. 59 THRIVENT FINANCIAL CHEVROLET SS – 30TH STANDINGS
“Miami is always an exciting end to the season. Even though we aren’t in the championship, there’s still a level of excitement for everyone, and you want to finish out the year strong. Two years ago, we had one of our best runs at Homestead, and it was fun going into the off-season like that. It always feels good to put in one of your best runs at that last race, because it gives everyone back at the shop a lot of motivation and confidence moving into 2017.”
TY DILLON, NO. 95 ADVIL CHEVROLET SS:
“Last year we showed a lot of speed and I think we progressed in the right direction. This track can sometimes be pretty difficult to get around, so I hope to just gain some experience and continue to learn about these Cup cars. Homestead is definitely different than any other 1.5-mile race track on the circuit, so the more seat time, the better. I hope that driving the Cup car will help me out in the XFINITY Series, too.”
ALEX BOWMAN, INTERIM DRIVER, NO. 88 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS:
“We are going to go to Homestead and try our best to win both races between the XFINITY car and the Cup car. If not, we’re going to give them everything we’ve got. I’m really thankful to have built the relationships that I have with Hendrick Motorsports and the friendships with everyone there. Really it’s been a big learning process on how Hendrick Motorsports works – the process on doing things, how they operate as a team. It’s been incredible to be a part of it, and I feel like I’ve learned a lot doing it. It’s been a lot of fun and a huge blessing in my life to do this. I’m trying to make the most of it but at the same time trying to have as much fun as I can. You never know when this is going to end or if you’re ever going to get an opportunity like this again.”