TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
FORD ECOBOOST 400
HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY
HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA
NOVEMBER 19, 2017
BOWTIE BULLETS
FINAL RACE FOR CHEVY SS:
As the 2017 season comes to a close, so does the time on the track for the Chevy SS. The SS made its on-track debut in 2013 during speed weeks in Daytona, winning the first points paying race as Jimmie Johnson took the SS to winner’s circle in the season-opening Daytona 500. Since then, the SS has gone on to win 72 more races, making it the most successful Generation-6 NASCAR race car over its competitors. The SS has carried two drivers to season-ending championship titles including Johnson to his record-tying seventh. With its stylized features and authentic showroom to race track rear-wheel drive, the SS will hold special memories over its six-year run as Chevy’s flagship in the NASCAR Cup Series. Its successor, the all-new 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has big shoes to fill as it makes its way into the Cup Series next season.
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.’S LAST RIDE:
This weekend at Homestead, career-long Chevrolet driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will climb behind the wheel of a Chevy SS emblazoned race car for the last time at the Monster Energy Cup Series level. Earnhardt, Jr. earned 26 Cup Series victories for Chevrolet throughout his career; and as 14-time most popular, driver helped elevate the brand both on and off the track. Chevrolet has been fortunate to have Earnhardt, Jr. represent one manufacturer throughout his esteemed career.
During the speech in which he announced his retirement, Earnhardt, Jr. said, “It’s an honor to carry the Chevrolet bowtie on my cars. And I don’t just mean that on the race track — I’m Chevrolet for life.” Everyone at Chevrolet wishes Dale and Amy all the best in the future.
Quotes from fellow Team Chevy Driver’s on Dale, Jr.:
CHASE ELLIOTT: “Obviously I feel like in a lot of ways Dale and I have had some similarities over the years with both of our dads racing and our dads having a lot of success over the years. So, I think it some ways he’s been a great person to lean on just because I think he’s been through some of the same things I’ve seen and dealt with over the years. To have a guy like that as your teammate that you get to work with on a weekly basis that also may have seen some of the same things I have, I think it helps a lot. I’m proud to call him a friend, most importantly, and certainly a teammate.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON: “I’ve known Dale a long time, well before he joined Hendrick Motorsports and even before I was a stock car driver. To have him as a teammate I’ve been able to get to know him behind the scenes and behind the steering wheel – our friendship has gone to deeper levels. I really have enjoyed my friendship with him, it will be sad to see the No. 88 go away, but I’m so proud of him for everything he has accomplished. I can’t wait to see him as a Dad, to compare notes (laughs) and am just so happy for he and Amy. I’m excited to see what this next chapter has in store for him.”
AUSTIN DILLON: “I want to congratulate Dale, on a wonderful career. We have been Chevrolet teammates my entire career and I’ve had a blast getting to know him. He has done so much for this sport. I know that even though he won’t be driving full-time in the Cup series past this weekend at Homestead, we will still see him a lot. I know we will see him at the Xfinity races driving a time or two and being an owner, as well as at the Cup races doing a lot with our sport. I just want to thank him for everything he has done and I look forward to seeing him in his new role next season.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY: “It’s been so much fun getting to race with Dale, Jr. over all the years and to have the friendship that we have been able to build. I wish him the best in his journey from here on out.”
KASEY KAHNE: “It has been great being a teammate with Dale, Jr., but most importantly I value him as a friend. I wish him well with everything he does from here on out. And I want to thank him for always being himself and treating all of us with respect. It has been a lot of fun hanging out with him and getting to know him over the years.”
RYAN NEWMAN: “I just want to tell Dale, Jr. thanks for being such a big inspiration for so many people in our sport and all the fans. What he and his family have done for our sport has been huge. And we appreciate it. I know he is not leaving, you are just retiring from driving full-time in the Cup Series, but I just appreciate him for being him and look forward to see what’s next for him.”
TUNE-IN:
The Ford EcoBoost 400 is scheduled to begin on Sunday, November 19th at 3:00 pm, EDT. Live coverage can be found on NBC, 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 775 wins and 694 poles in MENCS competition
Chevrolet drivers have won five of 18 races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Victories by current Team Chevy drivers are:
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS has one trophy from Homestead (’16)
A Chevrolet driver has won two of the last three races at Homestead-Miami Speedway
A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole at Homestead-Miami Speedway five times
Team Chevy drivers have scored 38 top-five and 80 top-10 finishes at Homestead-Miami Speedway
A Chevrolet has led 1,376 laps (25.0% of possible 4,812 laps) at Homestead-Miami Speedway
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA CHEVROLET SS – 5TH IN STANDINGS
ON HOMESTEAD’S PROGRESSIVE BANKING:
“Yeah, you know, we have other tracks that have progressive banking and they don’t quite work like Homestead. I think one thing people overlook is the straightaways are actually straight we don’t’ have a dogleg there. I think that makes a big difference in how the track is shaped and what allows you to run some different lanes. I think that plays a bigger factor than people think.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK/DC SOLAR CHEVROLET SS – 9TH IN STANDINGS
“It’s kind of hard to believe the season wraps up this weekend. We’ve had a rough four week stretch, but hopefully that’ll turn around at Homestead. I really like that place, and I think it’s one of the most fun tracks we race all year. We tested there a few weeks ago with the Credit One Bank Chevy, and we had a fast car. I’ve been close the last two years to getting a win there, and to end our season in victory lane would be awesome. We’ve accomplished a lot this year, so hopefully we’ll go out on a high note this weekend.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – 10TH IN STANDINGS
I hate it for this team that we won’t be competing for an eighth championship this year. They’ve worked so hard all year long and I’m very proud of their efforts. It’s obviously not the result that we want, but we’re Hendrick strong and I’m proud of Team 48 and very thankful for this sport and all the opportunities Lowe’s, Kobalt and Chevrolet give us. We will make some changes in the off season, get those new Camaro’s built and come back next year strong.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S CHEVROLET SS – 12TH IN STANDINGS
“I am looking forward to closing out our season with a strong run. We have had really good cars on mile-and-a-half tracks this year and I expect Homestead to be the same. Coming of a strong run at Phoenix last weekend, helps to lift the morale after a few bad races before that. Homestead is a pretty wide track, so you’ll see a lot of guys running different lines to find the fast way around. It’s hard to believe that we are already at the final race of the season, its like the last day of school. Everyone is kind of excited about finishing the year and before you know it we will be talking about getting back to Daytona”.
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW WEATHERTECH CHEVROLET SS – 13TH IN STANDINGS
“Yeah, I love Homestead. It’s cool how the tires wear and kind of run right against the fence. We had a really good long run car, we’ve just got to try and get a little bit faster at the beginning of a run and we will have something to compete with this year.”
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS CHEVROLET SS – 14TH IN STANDINGS
“You have to be able to run the wall, it seems like, for a lot of that race, because the speed is up against the fence. So, just being confident with that, confident with the grip of your car and then you also have to move around late in the race. It seems like the wall kind of goes away a lot of times. I’ve always liked Homestead. I’ve won one race there in XFINITY and ran well in Cup races, led a lot of laps. But it’s a track that’s really tough to win at. To me, the pace falls off a ton and it’s rough in spots. I think it’s one of our tougher tracks throughout the season.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS – 16TH IN STANDINGS
“I think it has such a great layout and design. The biggest difference are the ends of the track. Usually the way the sun hits it, Turns 3 and 4 are a big rougher than Turns 1 and 2. It makes it really fun to drive.”
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS – 21ST IN STANDINGS
“I am not sure that I’m ready to be going through all of the emotion that I will have in Homestead, but it’s coming. I hope that I can handle it well, but it’s definitely going to be interesting to see how that feels. All these videos and all these things that our partners are creating, this content has just been incredible. It makes you feel so good in your heart. The comments from fans … it is more than you can process and I’m sure that Homestead is just going to be like the cork coming out of the bottle. I’m lucky that Amy (Earnhardt) is going to be there, I’m lucky my family will be there, and my team. I will have so much support and I want to support them. It’s going to be emotional for them and our fans.
“I’m trying to run hard, trying to do well, trying to figure out our cars and get as good a finish as we can. We’re going to have a lot of things going on this week. Going in there and trying to do as well as we can is at the top of the list, but there are a ton of other things happening. We will just take it one day at a time. It’s going to be a busy weekend.”
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 RICHMOND/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS – 23RD IN STANDINGS
“I have to thank Richard Childress, everyone at RCR and all of the guys that have been on this No. 27 team over the years. We have had some good runs during that time and winning the 2011 Brickyard 400 is one of the highlights of my career. This year has been up-and-down, but we have had strong performances at times and hope to finish it off with another this weekend in the Richmond / Menards Chevrolet.”
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CHEVROLET SS – 24TH IN STANDINGS
“This has been a crazy rookie year. I’ve learned a lot about myself as a driver and what my strengths and weaknesses are. We’ve had a lot of highlights this year with shots to win in Dover and Daytona. Even on the tough weekends, though, this team has never given up. We had a solid showing in Phoenix this past weekend, and we’re looking to carry that momentum into Homestead to finish the season with another strong run in the GEICO Chevrolet for this team and all of our partners at Germain Racing.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 CLOROX CHEVROLET SS – 25TH IN STANDINGS
“Going into Homestead for the final race of the season. We’ve got Clorox on board our No. 37 Chevrolet SS to close out the final race. It’s been a great first season with JTG Daugherty Racing, we’ve had a lot of learning experiences throughout the year, a lot of ups and downs, and we’re hoping to end this one on a high note. Homestead is one of my favorite intermediate tracks. We’ll be running right up against the fence, and meanwhile we’ll have that ‘Darlington stripe’ on most of the cars there. We’re just going to go out there and have some fun and end this first season on a high note.”
MICHAEL MCDOWELL, NO. 95 JOLT CHEVROLET SS – 26TH IN STANDINGS
“This will be a bittersweet race weekend for a lot of reasons – probably more so this year than ever. Last year we finished Homestead so strong as a team with my first Top-10 there. It was a big weekend for us, and it was so cool to go into the off-season with our best result and that momentum. This is the last race, and we want to finish strong. It will be a special race for us.”
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 FRY’S CLICKLIST CHEVROLET SS – 28TH IN STANDINGS
“Homestead. It’s always a little bit bitter sweet. Last race of the year, ready to end the year, but really look back on the past season and thank Kroger and all of our partners for what you have done for us. I have to thank all my team members at the shop, here at the race track, for all the hard work and countless hours that has been put in to make this season where we are at. No what we really wanted to have for a season, but we go to Homestead finish strong and go into 2018 stronger than ever, be ready to go and have the best year we’ve ever had.”