IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA
CORVETTE RACING DRIVER QUOTES – 18-HOUR REPORT
JANUARY 26, 2018
PAGE 6

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 28, 2018) – With just six hours remaining in the Rolex 24 At Daytona for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, both Corvette C7.R have maintained solid performances as the push to the finish quickly approaches.

Antonia Garcia relinquished the steering wheel of the No. 3 Mobil 1/Sirius XM Chevrolet Corvette to Mike Rockenfeller with just under seven hours left to race. As a result of great pit work and a subsequent perfectly timed yellow flag, the No. 3 got its lap back with the two lead cars in site.

Equaling its team car’s solid and steady run, Marcel Fassler took the cockpit of the No. 4 Mobil 2/Sirius XM Chevrolet Corvette C7 from Tommy Milner as the race headed into its final six hours. Fassler sits in fourth, one lap down to the three leaders, and six laps ahead of fifth place.

Weather was not an issue during this six-hour portion of the race, but the threat of rain exists in the forecast for the last two hours of the contest.

The final Corvette Racing update from the Rolex 24 will come after the checkered flag. Continue reading Chevy Racing–IMSA–Rolex 24 at Daytona–18 Hour Report →

IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA
CORVETTE RACING DRIVER QUOTES – HALFWAY
JANUARY 26, 2018

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 28, 2018) – The first half of the Rolex 24 At Daytona is in the books with Corvette Racing squarely in podium contention following the first 12 hours of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Both Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs were keeping pressure on the lead pair in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) category as late Saturday moved into early Sunday.

Mike Rockenfeller was just off the lead GTLM lap in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R that he shares with class pole-winner Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia. Each of the three drivers cycled through twice in the opening 12 hours with both Magnussen and Garcia triple-stinting in the darkness.

Marcel Fässler in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R ran fourth following a double-stint by Oliver Gavin and a triple from Tommy Milner. Those were Fässler’s first laps after a tense initial run in rainy conditions with slick tires.

Both Corvettes had a lap in-hand over the fifth-place entry. Continue reading Chevy Racing–IMSA–Rolex 24 at Daytona–Halfway →

IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA
CORVETTE RACING DRIVER QUOTES – FIRST SIX HOURS
JANUARY 26, 2018

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 27, 2018) – Corvette Racing spent the first six hours of the 56th Rolex 24 At Daytona in the thick of the fight for a GT Le Mans (GTLM) class victory as night fell Saturday on Daytona International Speedway. Both Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs ran in the top-three at multiple points in the first quarter of the opening round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Marcel Fässler ran third in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R at the six-hour mark, taking over from starting driver Oliver Gavin and then Tommy Milner. As the track dried from the brief downpour, Fässler was running the quickest laps of the GTLM contenders.

Class pole-winner Jan Magnussen sat two spots back in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R after solid runs by both Antonio Garcia and Mike Rockenfeller. Both Corvettes were less than 30 seconds from the race leader. Continue reading Chevy Racing–IMSA–Rolex 24 at Daytona–First 6 Hours →

IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA
CORVETTE RACING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JANUARY 26, 2018

JIM CAMPBELL, CHEVROLET U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, PERFORMANCE VEHICLES AND MOTORSPORTS; DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER; AND CORVETTE RACING DRIVERS OLIVER GAVIN AND JAN MAGNUSSEN, met with members of the media today at Daytona International Speedway to discuss the 20th season of competition for Corvette Racing. FULL TRANSCRIPT:

JIM, WELCOME BACK TO DAYTONA. I KNOW THIS PLACE IS VERY SPECIAL FOR YOU. THIS ONE MUST BE EVEN MORE SPECIAL.
JIM CAMPBELL: “It’s great to be with everybody. Daytona is special because this is where it started for this program in January of 1999. It was a special beginning of an amazing journey that is now going into its 20th year. We couldn’t have been prouder of the teamwork that has been demonstrated year after year and race by race by this program. We are extremely proud that this is the 199th event for Corvette Racing, and we have 106 victories including three wins here in seven times with Corvette. Obviously 2001 was uniquely special with Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell, Chris Kniefel and Franck Freon because they not only won the class but won overall. There has been a lot of success with this program with 12 Manufacturer Championships and 11 Driver Championships. What I’m really proud of are the back-to-back championships – Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen last year, and Tommy Milner the year before. So we begin the journey here again.
“Tech transfer… what we have learned on the racetrack has helped us for sure build better Corvettes and better Corvette powertrains for the showroom and street. Learning through this series has helped us tremendously. The Corvette customers and owners are the reason we do this program. We couldn’t do it without their passion and support.” Continue reading IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA CORVETTE RACING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT →

CORVETTE RACING AT DAYTONA: GTLM Pole Position for Magnussen, No. 3 Corvette
Defending series champions off to strong start; Gavin encouraged with potential in No. 4 Corvette

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 25, 2018) – Twenty years after its competition debut at Daytona International Speedway, Corvette Racing will start Saturday’s Rolex 24 At Daytona from pole position in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class. Jan Magnussen set the fastest time in qualifying Thursday in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R for the opening round of the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Magnussen set a class-record lap of 1:42.779 (124.688 mph) in the Corvette he will share with Antonio Garcia and Mike Rockenfeller. It is the first pole position for Magnussen at Daytona and comes as he and Garcia begin defense of their GTLM Championship from 2017.

Oliver Gavin in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R qualified sixth at 1:43.453 (123.876 mph) after providing a nice tow for Magnussen in the first half of Thursday’s qualifying. He is teaming with Tommy Milner and Marcel Fässler; the trio teamed to win the Rolex 24 in 2016. Continue reading CORVETTE RACING AT DAYTONA: GTLM Pole Position for Magnussen, No. 3 Corvette →

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Corvette Racing At 20 Years
Celebrating the success, longevity of endurance racing’s premier program

DETROIT (Jan. 22, 2018) – A lot can happen in 20 years. Just ask anyone on the Corvette Racing program.

Sports car racing’s premier GT program readies to complete its second full decade in the 2018 season. It’s unchartered territory in the modern era of North American endurance racing. No other factory program can claim the number of victories and championships during the last 20 years as Corvette Racing – 106 worldwide victories, 12 Manufacturer and Team championships, and 11 Driver titles. All of this by the same program competing with the same manufacturer and same model. Continue reading IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Corvette Racing At 20 Years →

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CHARLOTTE MEDIA TOUR
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JANUARY 23, 2018

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at the Charlotte media tour and discussed his outlook for the season, the life changes that come with being a father and how he plans to engage fans. Full transcript:

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT BRISTOL?
“Bristol has been a good track for me. In all my careers, I probably have one of the bets average finishes at that racetrack. I look forward going back. The second race in the Cup series wasn’t really strong for us but look forward to capitalizing on it as it is one of my favorite tracks to go to.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Charlotte Media Tour–Ty Dillon →

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TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JANUARY 24, 2018

KASEY KAHNE, NO. 95 PROCORE CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at the Charlotte Media Tour and discussed being his expectations of being with a new team, winning at the Brickyard last year, his World of Outlaws team, and more. Full Transcript:

(NO MICROPHONE) QUESTION ON THE OFF-SEASON
“It was pretty normal but it was a little different. I didn’t go to Australia this off-season, which I have for the last couple of years. I had (his son) Tanner a ton. We went to Washington. We did a lot of stuff together and I really enjoyed that. And just starting over with a new fresh start with the team and a group of people learning that. But, it’s been a little different. But, it’s still two months kind of off, which in our racing season for 15 years, it’s all pretty similar. Those two months are usually pretty similar.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Charlotte Media Tour–Kasey Kahne →

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JANUARY 24, 2018

CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at the Charlotte media tour and discussed his outlook for the season, and his relationship with JTG. Full transcript:

DID YOU ENJOY WORKING WITH AJ (ALLMENDINGER)?
“I really enjoyed working with AJ. I had a blast last season and getting to know each other with fresh people. I think only two or three of our guys had worked with any of the others before. It was a tough start. Everybody has meshed really well. We have a good team and we’ve kept almost everybody in the off-season. We’re really excited about getting 2018 started with that group and I feel like we don’t have to go through the relationship building early on like we did last season. Overall, I think last season went decent. A little bit of a slow start. We had a lot of really good races, but we had a lot in between that was not something to brag about. I think the goal would be to get to a level where we could run what our good weeks were last year, make that our every week.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Charlotte Media Tour–Chris Buescher →

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JANUARY 24, 2018

CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 COTTONELLE CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at the Charlotte media tour and discussed his outlook for the season, his success on the dirt and thoughts about road courses. Full transcript:

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR 2018?
“I’m going to focus on making the final four at Homestead. If we can win races, compete for wins every week and make the final four at Homestead, that’s a win for us. It’s the same goal I had going into last year, and really as long as you’re competitive and can capitalize on that and win some races, that sets you up for the year. That allows you to – if you win one race you’re in the Chase and if you win multiple races you can start building on those points – get to Homestead a lot easier.”

HAVE YOU GUYS TALKED ABOUT ANY EXTRACURRICULAR NASCAR STUFF?
“With the Xfinity schedule, it’s going to be a lot tougher to run as many races as I did last year. Last year I got to race a lot, but I will still be able to race some. I probably won’t be making a dirt schedule, just because off-weekend see what’s racing where, what rides I could get. I won’t make a dirt schedule, but I’ll still be able to run some dirt races. Last year, I think I ran 35 to 40 races. I won’t do that many. I’ve already done Chili Bowl, Turkey Night, and will sprinkle in a few more during the year. I don’t think I’ll be doing any more dirt racing before Daytona. Once the season starts, we go pretty hard till the middle of March, which would be my next opportunity.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Charlotte Media Tour–Chris Buescher →

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JANUARY 23, 2018

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 met with members of the media at the Charlotte Media Tour and discussed his outlook for 2018, having a teammate in Chris Buescher, running the Rolex 24, and more. Full Transcript:

(NO MICROPHONE) QUESTION REGARDING BUBBA WALLACE
“If those four or five races that Bubba ran last year are any sign of what he’s going to do, I think he’s going to be really strong. Obviously they’re making a switch to Chevrolet and the RCR alliance but I felt like Bubba probably exceeded a lot of people’s expectations. He was smart on the race track. He finished every lap. He ran strong. In Kentucky he was really fast. I don’t see, with more races, why that’s going to be different.”

WHAT AREAS DO YOU WANT TO IMPROVE THIS YEAR?
“We got behind on the aero side of it last year and it was hard to catch up. But that’s what Tad and Jodi (Geschickter) and (crew chief) Ernie Cope have really focused on is to go out there and just give us everything that we need. The Hendrick Motorsports alliance, for sure, is going to be a huge help in the sim-side (simulated) of it with what they’re doing. We’ve been to the wind tunnel a lot this off-season, which is way more than we ever have. With what Kroger has done to step-up for our whole organization for myself and Chris (Buescher ). We’ve got a lot of great partners but to have Kroger on every race; I might be wrong, but I might be the only team that has that, right? The point being, they’ve been huge to kind of unite us as one team right now and make both of our race cars a lot faster. You want to be cautiously optimistic with what everything that’s been done in the off-season, I think we’re going to be a lot stronger.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Charlotte Media Tour–AJ Allmendinger →

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
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JANUARY 23, 2018

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at the Charlotte Media Tour and discussed his expectations for the 2018 season, and more. Full Transcript:

Q. (No microphone.)
CHASE ELLIOTT: There’s a lot of youth, for sure. Within that youth, there’s a lot of guys that have been doing it for a long time. I think the guys coming in will do just fine.

Q. (No microphone.)
CHASE ELLIOTT: He doesn’t drink, so… I might have beer while he has a water or something.
But, no, we have talked about it some. Actually there’s some similarities in how he got started. He finished second a lot before he won a race, too. Kind of weird. But I think I’ve run second almost as many times as he has before he won his first race. I think that’s probably the biggest similarity we’ve had so far. I’d have to start winning a lot and do really good before we can talk about any other similarities from this point forward.
Definitely a similar start, although he got started at an older age. That whole dynamic was different than how it is now. So yeah, a little bit. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Charlotte Media Tour–Chase Elliott →

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
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JANUARY 23, 2018

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CAMARO ZL1, met with media at the Charlotte Media Tour and discussed the debut and his expectations of the new Camaro ZL1, stage racing, younger teammates coupled with his desire to win, and more. Full Transcript:

Q. Already consulting with Fernando?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, I’ve been a huge Alonso fans for a lot of years. Just mentioned to him out there that the way he came and ran Indy, I mean, certainly did an amazing job in the car, but outside of the car. The friends that I have on the IndyCar circuit, just handled himself so well, did a great job. I think really brought a lot to the table when he raced here.
Worldwide exposure on motorsports is really good for us here stateside.

Q. (No microphone.)
JIMMIE JOHNSON: Okay, that’s a little bit better. So I guess I’m going to have to put him in timeout or something the way that’s going.
No, we’re definitely having a lot of fun together. It’s so wild. I went from the young gun. Every time I’d see my name written, it was Rookie Jimmie Johnson. Now I’m grandpa. It’s gone fast. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Charlotte Media Tour–Jimmie Johnson →

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
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CHARLOTTE MEDIA TOUR
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JANUARY 23, 2018

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at Charlotte Media Tour and discussed his adventures at the Chili Bowl, the pressure he is feeling going into 2018, keeping JR Nation happy and many more topics. Full Transcript:

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CAR AT THE CHILI BOWL?
“So, we fought fuel system issues all day on Thursday and then Saturday we were going through alphabet soup there and somehow the shift linkage bracket on the chassis side bent and it wouldn’t stay in gear in the B-main. I don’t know if the in out box in rear-end broke or if the bracket bent first, but either way it wouldn’t stay in gear.”

ARE YOU FEELING ANY PRESSURE?
“Not really. I have a pretty strong desire to go win races and I’m really hungry for wins. I think that really matters more to me than any pressure anybody is going to put on me.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Charlotte Media Tour–Alex Bowman →

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JANUARY 23, 2018

JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 CESSNA/MCDONALD’S CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at the Charlotte Media Tour and discussed the new race car, his first marathon, the age differences of drivers in the sport, and more. Full Transcript:

IS THERE ANYTHING FROM THE XFINITY CAMARO THAT WILL HELP YOU GUYS WITH THE CUP CAMARO ZL1?
“I don’t think so. I think it is different. I think the bodies are different. I don’t know to be honest with you. I am pretty sure they are different so I wouldn’t say that if there is anything to correlate between the two.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Charlotte Media Tour–Jamie McMurray →