TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
STP 500
MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA
APRIL 2, 2017

BOWTIE BULLETS

LEADER OF THE PACK:
Did you know that Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 56 wins at Martinsville Speedway? Chevrolet has gone to Victory Lane more than any other brand at the oldest track on the circuit. Buck Baker took Chevrolet to Winner’s Circle for the first time in 1957. The winning tradition of the Bowtie Brand and Martinsville Speedway continues on; last year’s winner was Jimmie Johnson proudly driving a Chevy into the famous Winner’s Circle at the paper clipped-shaped track.

NINE-TIME:
Jimmie Johnson pilot of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS is a nine-time winner at Martinsville Speedway, leading all other active drivers in wins at the half-mile of mayhem. Another victory would put Johnson ahead former Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon and place him third on the all-time Martinsville wins chart. Only Richard Petty (15) and Darrell Waltrip (11) have more victories than the seven-time series champion at Martinsville.

CHEVY HISTORY MINUTE:
Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports have more victories than any other organization at Martinsville Speedway. Hendrick Motorsports earned their first victory at the half-mile venue in 1984 with Geoff Bodine behind the wheel of a Chevrolet. Since that day, Hendrick Motorsports has gone on to record 23 more victories at Martinsville Speedway – all under the Chevrolet Banner.

RACE RECAP:
Last weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, Kyle Larson picked up Team Chevy’s second victory of 2017 and 767th win overall for the manufacturer. Larson made it two in a row for Chevrolet following up a win behind Ryan Newman who took home the checkered flag a week earlier at Phoenix. This weekend at Martinsville the Bowtie Brand looks to make it three in a row for the first time since late in 2015 when Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. earned the trio trifecta for the brand taking home wins at Texas, Martinsville and Phoenix to round out the season.

TUNE-IN:
The STP 500 is scheduled to begin on Sunday, April 2nd at 2 pm, ET. Live coverage can be found on FoxSports1, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

BY THE NUMBERS:
Chevrolet has won 39 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships
Team Chevy drivers have scored 767 wins and 689 poles in MENCS competition
Chevrolet drivers have won 56 of 136 races at Martinsville Speedway. Victories by current Team Chevy drivers are:
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS, has nine victories at Martinsville Speedway (’04, ’06, ’07 – TWICE, ’08, ’09, ’12, ’13 & ‘16)
Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet SS, has visited Victory Lane at Martinsville Speedway once (’12)

A Chevrolet driver has won two of the last three races at Martinsville Speedway
A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole at Martinsville Speedway 53 times
Team Chevy drivers have scored 257 top-five and 465 top-10 finishes at Martinsville Speedway
A Chevrolet has led laps 27,015 (43.5 of possible 62,102 laps) at Martinsville Speedway

FOR THE FANS:
Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Zone at Auto Club Speedway
Fans can check out great a great assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: Impala 2LZ, Silverado, Equinox, Camaro 2 SS, Colorado LT Crew, Volt, Silverado 2500 High Country, Malibu 2LZ, Corvette Stingray, Suburban, SS and Cruze Hatchback
At the Chevrolet Display, fans can view the No. 3 DOW Chevrolet SS and No. 7 Brandt Chevrolet Camaro Xfinity Series show cars
Also on display is a Chevrolet R07 racing engine complete with electronic fuel injection. Fans can also see a sample of engines, parts and accessories available for purchase from Chevrolet Performance at their local Chevrolet dealer
Other activities at the Team Chevy Racing Display include a variety of interactive games for adults and kids

TEAM CHEVY QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSIONS AT THE DISPLAY:
Friday, March 31st
2:30 p.m. – Austin Dillon

Saturday, April 1st
9:30 a.m. – Joe and John Hunter Nemecheck
12:15 p.m. – Stewart Friesen

Sunday, April 2nd
11:00 a.m. – Kyle Larson
12:20 p.m. – Ryan Newman

Chevrolet Display Hours of operation: Fri. March 31st – 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; Sat. April 1st – 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Sun. April 2nd – 8:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – POINTS LEADER
“Martinsville is definitely my worst race track and probably my least favorite race track. But, we did have a good run there last year. We finished third and maybe just outside the top 10 the second time we were there. So, a lot better than I’ve ran there in years before. I’m actually excited to get to Martinsville. I feel like I have become a better short, flat track racer. I think I maybe understand kind of what I need throughout practice to help me in the race a little bit better than I had in the past. Just got to wait and see. We’ve got to get through this week, hopefully get another solid run, hopefully a win and go into Martinsville and just be mistake free.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 SUNENERGY1 CHEVROLET SS – 2ND IN STANDINGS
“I never really raced at a place like Martinsville. Just the way it’s shaped and how much braking you use, you just don’t see race tracks like that around the southeast, other than Martinsville. I’m looking forward to getting back. I do feel like I’ve made some gains personally; and I do think that myself and Alan (Gustafson) and our team have worked in a better direction for me at Martinsville.”

JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 CESSNA CHEVROLET SS – 6TH IN STANDINGS
“Martinsville is always a track that I look forward to visiting. After the three-race West Coast swing, it will be nice to only be a two-hour drive from home. I think like most drivers in our series, we all grew up racing short-tracks like this, so it is like returning to your roots. Our team has had some success at Martinsville Speedway and we have had really fast cars to start the season, so I am really looking forward to racing here this weekend.”

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CHEVROLET SS – 11TH IN STANDINGS
“Martinsville to me is one of the best short tracks, if not the best short track we go to. One of the keys is really keeping your tires underneath you. You do that by keeping your brakes underneath you. You have to have good cooling, but how you apply the brake can really change your day for the good or bad.”

KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS CHEVROLET SS – 13TH IN STANDINGS
“Martinsville is a neat track because it is so different from all of the other tracks we go to. It’s a really challenging place and I feel like I keep getting better each year. Our speed keeps improving each time we go there, and now we just need to put a whole weekend together.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – 17TH IN STANDINGS
“Martinsville is about keeping the fenders on it and being around at the end. The track has changed quite a bit with the tire that they’ve brought. It seems that our strategies continue to change more and more every time. I’m not really sure what to expect. I think weather will play a big role if it’s cool. I think we can expect to see more tire wear and tire fall off because the track won’t take rubber. If it is a warm day, then you kind of race the track in a different way as the rubber lays down. I’m glad I’ve been successful at Martinsville and feel that I can adjust to whatever weather conditions or tire conditions are thrown at us. But there is not a standard answer for Martinsville anymore.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL CHEVROLET SS – 20TH IN STANDINGS
“I do. It’s some of my favorite stuff to do. Martinsville is a challenge. Qualifying has always been an issue there for me, but I race really well. I don’t know what it is. I have never started well there and we have always raced well. Probably work on qualifying a little bit and see what we can do to be better and as far as race trim we do a pretty good job each and every year there.”

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS – 21ST IN STANDINGS
“I love the short tracks and short-track racing. We don’t get to do a lot of it, so that makes you love it more. Being able to come to these tracks and knowing you are only going to get to run here a few times, it makes you really appreciate it and work hard. You have to really try to take care of the car to run all the laps and get everything out of it you can. As far as racetracks go, Martinsville looks pretty straightforward, but there are little things about each corner – the exit of (Turn) 4 is so different than the exit of (Turn) 2. It looks identical, but inside the car they are two different corners. It’s fun.”

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CHEVROLET SS – 23RD IN STANDINGS
“It’s the home track for my crew chief, and, it’s really a home track for me and much of my team. For a lot of us in NASCAR, there’s definitely a ‘hometown bragging rights’ feel to Martinsville Speedway with it being so close to Charlotte. This will be my first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville, and the first weekend I’ve been on track there in over three years. I can’t wait to get there. With the changes, we’ve been able to work through on the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS this season, I think Bootie and the guys, we’re ready for the challenge of Martinsville racing.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, NO. 95 WRL GENERAL CONTRACTORS CHEVROLET SS – 26TH IN STANDINGS
“Martinsville is where I made my first start in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series. It’s always fun to go back to where you made your debut. It was a great race for us last year, and short tracks are typically good for us at Leavine Family Racing. Tracks like Martinsville, Bristol and road courses, we circle on our calendar. We have a legitimate shot at running in the Top-15 and Top-10 this week, so that’s really exciting for us.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CLICKLIST CHEVROLET SS – 30TH IN STANDINGS
“I just love Martinsville. It’s for sure a place where we’ve had some great runs. We almost won there last year. It’s such a good place for us. We’re hoping to have some good fortune there.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 BUSH’S BEANS CHEVROLET SS – 32ND IN STANDINGS
“The goal will be to keep the fenders on it the best you can with the stage racing. Only getting five minutes to repair a car in the middle of focusing on stage races at a true short track will be a challenge. It’s easy to get frustrated at Martinsville (Speedway) too, so I think trying to keep a level head while keeping your car in one piece will be key. We’ve got to make sure we can make repairs quickly if we get in a situation like that, which is very easy to do at Martinsville.”