TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
KC MASTERPIECE 400
KANSAS SPEEDWAY
KANSAS CITY, KANSAS
MAY 12, 2018

BOWTIE BULLETS
CHEVROLET PERFORMANCE:
Chevrolet leads all other manufacturers with 11 victories at Kansas Speedway. Five different drivers piloting four different nameplates have taken their Chevrolet race cars to Winner’s Circle at the 1.5-mile track.

CHEVY CHART TOPPER:
Chevrolet holds the Kansas Speedway track qualifying record of 197.733 mph set on October 3, 2014.

CHEVY MILESTONE:
Did you know? Career Chevrolet drivers, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are tied for the most wins at Kansas Speedway with three wins each to their credit. If Johnson were to win this weekend, not only would he surpass his former teammate in wins at Kansas, but he would collect his 84th career victory putting him in a tie for fourth with Bobby Allison and Darrel Waltrip on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list. It would also mark the 250th victory for Hendrick Motorsports.

TUNE-IN:
The KC Masterpiece 400 is scheduled to begin on Saturday, May 12 at 8 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 776 wins and 696 poles in MENCS competition
Chevrolet drivers have won 11 of 24 races at Kansas Speedway. Victories by current Team Chevy drivers are:
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s For Pros Camaro ZL1, has three victories at Kansas Speedway (’08, ’11 & ‘15)
Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, has visited Victory Lane at Kansas Speedway once (’03)

A Chevrolet driver has won one of the last three races at Kansas Speedway
A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole at Kansas Speedway 10 times
Team Chevy drivers have scored 51 top-five and 107 top-10 finishes at Kansas Speedway
A Chevrolet has led laps 2,165 (37.2% of possible 5,824 laps) at Kansas Speedway

FOR THE FANS:
Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway area at Kansas Speedway
Fans can check out great a great assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: Silverado 2500, Silverado Crew, Silverado Crew 4WD, Colorado ZR2, Tahoe, Equinox, Traverse, Trax, Malibu, Cruze, Camaro, Grand Sport
At the Chevrolet Display, fans can view the 2018 Camaro ZL1 race car show car and matching Camaro ZL1 pace car, as well as, a fully accessorized Camaro 2SS 1LE.
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, May 11th
1:00 p.m. – Dalton Sargent
1:30 p.m. – Johnny Sauter
1:45 p.m. – Justin Haley
2:00 p.m. – Cody Coughlin

Saturday, May 12th
3:25 p.m. – Jamie McMurray
3:45 p.m. – Austin Dillon

Chevrolet Display Hours of operation: Sat. May 11th – 10:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. and Sun. May 12th – Noon – 7:00 p.m.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 – 10TH IN STANDINGS
“This weekend will be the first time at track as a father of two, so that’s pretty exciting. We’re all doing well, and I’m really glad we didn’t have any weather issues last weekend and I was able to be at home on Monday. Heading into Kansas, I’m hoping for a good weekend. Outside of Texas, we’ve had pretty good races on the mile and a half tracks this year, and I think our setups for Kansas got a lot better last season. Even though we had a bad finish in the fall race after an engine issue, we were having a strong run before the early exit, so hopefully we’ve got another fast car for this race.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S FOR PROS CAMARO ZL1 – 12TH IN STANDINGS
“We have to get better on Friday’s to put ourselves in better positions on race days. Starting closer to the front would help us a ton. We are still making gains and I think within the next few weeks we will be where we want to be running. I look forward to Kansas this weekend, it’s been a great track for the No. 48.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 – 14TH IN STANDINGS
“Kansas is cool because it’s newer pavement, but it’s widened out a lot. You can run from the bottom to the top. That is one of the only newer paved places that you can do that right now. I enjoy going there as much as it widens out.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – 15TH IN STANDINGS
“Kanas, the repave a few years ago I think probably the best repave that NASCAR has had in the past five or six years, don’t know why or the reason, but the race track has widened out and allowed people to move around. For a track that is as freshly paved as it is, you don’t see that very often. That is what makes it different to me.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 – 18TH IN STANDINGS
“I like Kansas just because that weekend a couple of years ago was when I got my first national (series) win in the Truck Series. The track was good for us last year in the Xfinity car and that’s the only time I’ve raced there since the Truck win. It’s a fun racetrack; I enjoy it. It’s really smooth and hopefully the top groove comes in – especially at night, I think it will – so there will be some good options there, and I’m looking forward to a good weekend. It’s a good Saturday night race and then I can spend Mother’s Day with my family.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 SYMBICORT CAMARO ZL1 – 19TH IN STANDINGS
ON RUNNING DOUBLE DUTY AT KANSAS:
“Well, Kansas City is one of those places that I don’t know if you can really relate any of the series to the Cup Series because you are going so fast in the Cup Series there. The Cup Series seems to gain more rubber faster on the track, so you run up by the fence after a couple of laps. I love the race track. It’s probably one of my favorite 1.5-miles they have rebuilt because of the banking the way it is. It has that progressive banking and you can run from the top to the bottom and really move around and find speed. I really enjoy going to Kansas.”

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 BASS PRO SHOPS/CABELA’S CAMARO ZL1 – 20TH IN STANDINGS
“The key to being successful at Kansas is all about carrying good corner speed because it seems like even with the front straightaway being so round and the transition getting into Turn 1, you need to be able to keep the car in that arc. You also need good horsepower and the ability to move around when you can. The track has continually gotten better each time we’ve gone back there since it was repaved a few years ago.”

DARRELL ‘BUBBA’ WALLACE, NO. 43 WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY CAMARO ZL1 – 22ND IN STANDINGS

JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 CESSNA CAMARO ZL1 – 23RD IN STANDINGS
“Kansas has changed since the repave. It wasn’t but three or four years ago we ran really and high some guys would run the bottom. Then the last couple of years it seems like we have gravitated back towards the bottom with the different rules packages. I think it is just about getting your car to work on the bottom and the most successful guys can run down there.

“Because of the repave Kansas is really fast. It has got a lot of grip. But with the tire that they take there it is one of those tracks and tire combinations that has a ton of grip and when you lose a little you wreck or you spin out. Those are really hard to figure out. Some of the slicker race tracks you can slide the car around and catch it, places like Texas and Kansas with the repaves you have a lot of grip until you don’t have any.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CLICKLIST CAMARO ZL1 – 24TH IN STANDINGS
“The toughest thing at Kansas (Speedway) is really the degree of banking in the turns. Whether it’s Turns 1 and 2 or Turns 3 and 4, both ends of the racetrack drive a lot different. Turns 1 and 2, to me, always feel a lot faster. So, as you drive off in it, you are going to feel really loose getting into the corner. There’s not as much banking that feels like it grabs the race car. The way you enter Turn 1 is a little bit different than Turn 3. Turns 3 and 4 is more of your usual banking feel – like a Charlotte Motor Speedway or Texas Motor Speedway – old Texas at least. Both ends of the racetrack drive a lot different. Kansas Speedway has definitely started widening out the last couple of years. During the fall race, there were guys running next to the fence and running the bottom. It’s gotten enough age on it that you have multiple grooves.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 BREYERS CAMARO ZL1 – 25TH IN STANDINGS
“Any of these repaves are a work in progress, but it’s definitely coming around. I like Kansas Speedway. Within a year or two of the repave, I’ve really enjoyed that track. We seem to have decent speed when we go there. It’s starting to get a little bit of character to it. It’s starting to wear out and create a little bit of wider lanes around there. It’s just a fun racetrack and a really cool area out there. It’s always nice to go out there and see everything they’ve got going on. It’s constantly getting built up. It gives us and fans plenty to do while there’s no on-track activity. We’ll have Breyer’s on board our Camaro ZL1 and have free ice cream samples for everyone we can find! The 1.5-mile tracks are all different in their own ways. There’s no two that are the same. At the end of the day, there are definitely some that have their similarities and Kansas, I don’t know what it is about that place that’s different to me, but it just seems like it’s a little bit smoother. The grip is still up right now from the repave, but it’s definitely going away. Our aero packages have changed the last few times I’ve been there, so I’m still trying to get a feel for it and see where we’re going to be this year. It’s just a place that has a good, smooth racing line around there without some of the real choppiness that you get at some of these other places that makes it hard to race or hard to get a handle on.”

KASEY KAHNE, NO. 95 TOMMY WILLIAMS DRYWALL CAMARO ZL1 – 27TH IN STANDINGS
“I think to be successful at Kansas you have to be good in both corners of the track. Turn 4 is really tight on the exit compared to Turn 2 where it opens up a little bit more. Having your car work well through both of those spots and turn really well, while also being able to run the top lane as well, is important for Kansas. A lot of times there on the long run you do a lot of laps up along the wall and can carry just a lot of momentum and speed. The exit to Turn 2 is a long exit, so if you can get your car turning really well, that can really help you with your day. It’s very easy to be lose in that corner where you can’t put the throttle down like you need to in order to go fast. Turn 2 is just such a different corner than Turns 3 and 4. Turn 4 is open getting into it, but then it just gets really tight off the corner. The varied corners make Kansas a fun and tough track to really get right. I’ve just always enjoyed racing at Kansas before the repave and after the repave because you’ve always been able to move around on that track and the bottom is usually the preferred spot. Kansas throws a lot at you between the two different corners and the way the backstretch is that I’ve always liked the challenge of it.”

TY DILLON, NO. 13 TWISTED TEA CHEVROLET SS – 28TH IN STANDINGS
“Kansas is getting very exciting the further out we get from the repave. It is still an incredibly fast racetrack, and, as the surface is wearing out, we are running right next to the wall. It’s fun. It’s fast. Kansas is the first track that we’re seeing the payoffs of a repave with great racing. The groove is getting wider and the change in banking angles has made it more interesting. Our team had solid runs there last season, so I’m looking forward to getting our Twisted Tea Camaro ZL1 out there and seeing what we can do.”