Chevrolet Well-Positioned Heading into Eliminations of Gatornationals
· Jason Line leads Chevrolet top-three sweep in Pro Stock qualifications
· Courtney Force qualifies second in Funny Car for second consecutive event
· Robert Hight sets Funny Car track record with 327.43 mph pass
· Brittany Force qualifies fifth in Top Fuel

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 19, 2016) – Chevrolet swept the top three positions in Pro Stock qualifications for the third consecutive event of the young National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) season, and Courtney Force recorded a career-best pass to qualify second in Funny Car for the second consecutive event heading into eliminations of the 47th Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.

Jason Line (Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS) will lead a Pro Stock field into Sunday’s eliminations for the 42nd time in his career. Line, who will have a first-round bye, recorded passes of 6.584 seconds in the third round of qualifications and 210.44 mph in the fourth round — the best elapsed time and fastest speed to date with the new Pro Stock technical package. He is a four-time Gatornationals winner. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NHRA–Chevrolet Well-Positioned Heading into Eliminations of Gatornationals →

CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: Red Flag Halts Race Near Three-Hour Mark
Corvette C7.Rs, Corvette DPs in the hunt for repeat victories

SEBRING, Fla. (March 19, 2016) – Corvette Racing and four Corvette Daytona Prototypes are in contention for their respective class victories today as a red flag for unsafe weather brought a halt to the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida. The event was stopped near the three-hour mark with the cars brought to pit lane until the threat of lightning and standing water passed as the race clock continued to run.

Tommy Milner drove the first two hours, 50 minutes in Corvette Racing’s No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R and was third at the time of the stoppage. Milner had led the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class midway through the opening quarter thanks to a strong first pit stop by the Corvette Racing crew and being able to take on wet tires 90 minutes into the race just before the pit entry closed due to a crash on track. Continue reading Chevy Racing–CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: Red Flag Halts Race Near Three-Hour Mark →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB 400
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
MARCH 18, 2016

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL CHEVROLET SS – POLE WINNER
YOU WERE DAYTONA 500 POLE WINNER TWO YEARS AGO, YOU HADN’T HAD A POLE SINCE WHAT DOES THIS ONE MEAN TO YOU?
“It means everything. That is what I said down the backstretch. A Daytona 500 pole sitter, now I got a pole somewhere else. To do it at a drivers race track like this at Fontana it means a lot to me. Just proud of this American Ethanol team we’ve had fast cars all year long. I knew going into that third session if I didn’t make mistakes I would have a shot. I just stayed with it off of (Turn) 4. I kept my locker locked as much as I could with the gas just keeping as much fuel to the car as I could. It worked out for us.”

YOU WEREN’T THE FASTEST CAR IN THE FIRST OR SECOND ROUND HOW MUCH STRATEGY WENT INTO TAKING CARE OF THOSE TIRES SO YOU HAD IT WHEN IT COUNTED IN THE THIRD ROUND?
“Well me and my engineers just talked about it. We wanted to be from 13th to 24th in that first one. We were 13th on the front side of that. On the second run I was a little tight. We just kept freeing the car up a little bit there to help ourselves in that third run and it all worked out.”

ON WINNING THE POLE:
“Very cool just huge for RCR. We’ve wanted to get our cars back to this moment in time to put ourselves in a shot to win a race. We’ve got fast cars this year and I’m proud of our guys, they just keep working hard. Hopefully, we can turn this into something on Sunday.”

WHAT WAS THE FINAL QUALIFYING LAP LIKE?
“Well just kept talking to my engineers about driving style and what I needed to do on that last run. I entered really hard the run before in (Turns) 1 and 2 and I think it hurt me. I just lifted and pumped the brakes a little bit earlier and coasted into 1 and it really got to the gas good. When it came to (Turns) 3 and 4 I just tried to keep my gas foot in it as much as I could and use the whole track. I felt like we had a good pull to the start/finish line. It felt like it kicked up and was running well. Just proud to put that No. 3 back where it needs to be. Hopefully, we can do this a few more times this year.”

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 JIMMY JOHN’S CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 2nd
DID YOU CHANGE YOUR LINE DURING THE THREE ROUNDS?
“Well each round was a little bit different. The second round I had a little traffic getting onto the race track. The first round was pretty clean. I didn’t really change anything. I think I caught the inside of that seam with the right-side tires a little more than I wanted to through (Turns) 1 and 2 and it just started to step out and I had to pedal it three or four times down there because it was loose. Pretty good through (Turns) 3 and 4, but all-in-all a good day for our Jimmy John’s/Busch team and hopefully we can cap that off with a win when we get done on Sunday.”

ON HIS CHANCES SUNDAY:
“Yeah, this is the first qualifying/practice and then going from practice to qualifying that I think we have all felt like the car did exactly what we thought it was going to do. Our goal was to run the same lap time all three rounds usually that is going to put you in a spot to have a chance, but all-in-all it’s been a good start to the weekend and really looking forward to the race on Sunday.”

BRIAN VICKERS, NO. 14 JANSSEN ARNIE’S ARMY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 24th
WHAT WERE YOU LACKING IN THAT SECOND ROUND?
“We just got really tight. It’s funny we fought loose in qualifying practice and just got really tight out of (Turn) 2 in qualifying there. We didn’t really see that coming, didn’t expect it, so we are going to go back and look at everything. I felt really good about the car in race trim this morning. I think we were faster in race trim than qualifying trim. I’m not worried about it at all tomorrow or the race we’ve got a little work cut out for us, but it’s easy to pass here. It’s a great race track, a lot of fun. It’s a special weekend for me being back on the race track after everything that happened last year, especially being here with Treatmyclot.com and raising awareness about blood clots. It’s blood clot history month so, it’s an important month for me and then having Arnie’s Army on the car. How cool is that? Mr. Palmer he is a legend. So being partners with him is great.”

CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: Corvette C7.Rs in the Thick of GTLM Fight
Saturday victory would be 10th in class at Sebring for Corvette Racing

Garcia fifth, Milner sixth in ultra-tight GTLM qualifying
Corvette Racing going for fifth consecutive Triple Crown victory
Action Express Racing Corvette DPs fill out second row of Prototype grid

SEBRING, Fla. (March 18, 2016) – Corvette Racing will find itself right in the middle of another victory in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida on Saturday following GT Le Mans qualifying session. After finishing 1-2 in class to open the 2016 season in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the team’s two Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs were part of a tight fight in the class Friday with all 10 cars within 0.768 seconds.

Antonio Garcia, part of last year’s Sebring-winning lineup in the No. 3 Corvette C7.R, qualified fifth with a best lap of 1:58.856 (113.280 mph). Right behind was Tommy Milner with a 1:58.878 (113.259 mph) in the No. 4 Corvette C7.R, which was the class-winning car at the Rolex 24.

Corvette Racing is aiming for its 10th class win at Sebring and third in four seasons. The team also has won four straight events as part of sports car racing’s Triple Crown: the 2015 Rolex 24, Sebring 12 Hours and 24 Hours of Le Mans plus this year at Daytona.

Milner, Oliver Gavin and Marcel Fässler are back together after winning the Rolex 24 by 0.034 seconds in a 1-2 finish for Corvette Racing. Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Mike Rockenfeller are sharing the sister Corvette. Things remain razor-thin between the two Corvettes with only 0.022 seconds separating them on their best qualifying laps.

Between the six Corvette Racing drivers, the group has 13 class victories. Gavin has five wins, Magnussen four, Garcia two, and Milner and Fässler one each; the latter’s was an overall win 2013. Magnussen and Garcia were part of the winning lineup a year ago.

The Corvette brand has long been a force at Sebring since its racing debut 60 years ago. Of Chevrolet’s 27 class victories in America’s oldest sports car race, 22 have been by a production-based Corvette including nine for Corvette Racing since 2001. In all, Corvette Racing has 98 victories worldwide.

Cameron Leads Corvette DP Qualifying Efforts
Action Express Racing paced the Corvette Daytona Prototype contingent in Prototype qualifying Friday as Chevrolet power goes for its second straight overall Sebring victory. Dane Cameron qualified third at 1:51.943 (120.275 mph) in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP that he will drive with Eric Curran and Scott Pruett.

Cameron was 0.262 seconds quicker than reigning Sebring co-champion Christian Fittipaldi in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP. He set a lap of 1:52.205 (119.995 mph) in the Corvette DP he will share with Joao Barbosa (with whom he won Sebring in 2015), Felipe Albuquerque and Pruett.

Marc Goossens will start behind Fittipaldi in Visit Florida Racing’s No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP after a 1:53.185 (118.956 mph), with Rubens Barrichello lining up behind Goossens in Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP.

The 64th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring is set for 10:40 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 19. It will air on FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2 and FOX Sports Go. Live audio coverage from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED FIFTH IN GTLM: “(The times in qualifying) open up the race for everybody. We are all in six or seven tenths, at least the majority of us. Except for the first two cars, the rest of us are within three tenths. It is a classic, tight GTLM grid. It was difficult to judge what the track would be like in qualifying. It’s way different from this morning definitely. Based on how everything went in practice and how the car was, I think we are in good shape. I wouldn’t say I had a clean run at all, so looking back at how we did in practice and how the car behaved there, we just need to look at how good the car will be in the race. We just need to look and analyze how the car is and see if we can get anything toward the race, but if not, I still think we are pretty good.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED SIXTH IN GTLM: “That is kind of where we sort of expected to be. From testing here we thought we had good race cars. We made some changes since we’ve been here this week. The conditions are different so we have adjusted to that, and you see that the two cars are within a couple hundredths of each other. We are all pretty equal. I think coming in here we kind of knew we weren’t going to get on pole, but we always have great race cars. This track is really rough. There are lots of new cars in the class. We just need to keep our nose clean and just be there at the end. We will come away with good points no matter what. If it rains, everything else might change.”

DANE CAMERON, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP – QUALFIED THIRD IN PROTOTYPE: “Some days all you do is be the best of what you are. That is what we did today and we are quite happy with that. I think we have a really good race car. Track conditions at Sebring change so fast with the weather and the amount of cars in other series that are running here. After the Continental Tire race the track was really different so I wasn’t quite as happy with the car as I was in the morning…but the car is still very good, and very well-prepared for the race. We are starting in third, up near the front and down on the inside so it will be a good view going into Turn One. It is going to be a long 12 hours tomorrow but the Action Express boys have us well prepared.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB 400
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 18, 2016

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed the team’s positive progress this year, the new race package, and more. Full Transcript:

YOU’VE HAD A GOOD START TO THE SEASON WITH THREE TOP 10’S AND AN 11TH PLACE IN THE FIRST FOUR RACES. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS COMING INTO THIS WEEKEND’S RACE IN FONTANA?
‘The biggest thing is to just to keep it rolling. We did that this first practice. I was proud of the guys. We kept getting better every run. I’m excited. We’ve got a really fast car. Hopefully we can back it up this evening in Qualifying.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Auto Club Speedway–Austin Dillon →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB 400
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 18, 2016

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Auto Club Speedway and discussed his progress thus far this season, how the new rules package has affected his driving style and many other topics. Full Transcript:

ON PRACTICE AND THE FEEL OF THE CAR:
“All of Cup practice we spent in qualifying trim there. We ended up fifth that was because we were one of the first cars out there in qualifying trim, the track had more grip and all that. I thought we struggled a little bit there in practice to try and get the right feel. Both ends were quite a bit different feel wise for me. (Turns) 1 and 2 would be close and then we would get down to (Turns) 3 and 4 and be terrible. Then we got 1 and 2 better and we were still too tight in 3 and 4. Then finally we got too loose in 1 and 2 and were okay in 3 and 4. So, we tried getting the balance better throughout all of practice. There at the very end I changed up a little bit of what I was doing and thought we gained a little bit more speed, but still we were a couple of tenths off. We will probably still qualify good here in a little bit. In Xfinity practice there obviously Kyle Busch is really fast, but I thought once he fell off we were just as good, if not better than him. It’s a track I like a lot. That run we had in 2014 was really good in both races. Hopefully, we can come here tomorrow and Sunday and do just a little bit better than we did in 2014.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Auto Club Speedway–Kyle Larson →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB 400
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 18, 2016

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 JIMMY JOHN’S CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed the new downforce package, his approach to the Fontana track this weekend, the upcoming break this week in the schedule, and more. Full Transcript:

TALK ABOUT THE PHOENIX RACE AND HOW THAT PLAYED OUT. HAVE YOU WATCHED IT ON TV SINCE THEN?
“Yeah, I’ve definitely seen it. And obviously, you wonder how things that play out like that actually happen. But now that I know more of the situation and how the guys behind us obviously had tires and we were more of a defensive position than I have asked about or was told. At that point, it really didn’t matter. So, it wound up being a great finish. We had a great car. We had the dominant car for the last 150 laps, or so. And it wound-up being really close with the strategy call. But, I think in the end, that’s really what the soft tires and low downforce and when you pit, you want it to matter and make a decision to see the strategies play out. In the end it was a great day and I’m glad to get the win out of the way.”

CAN YOU GIVE US A SENSE OF THE NEW DOWNFORCE PACKAGE SO FAR THIS YEAR, AND TELL US WHAT YOU THINK THE RACING WILL BE LIKE THIS WEEKEND IN FONTANA? HOW HAS THE PACKAGE IMPACTED THE RACING?
“As a driver, especially last week; when you look at myself and Dale (Earnhardt) Jr., and you look at the way you could go through traffic, it seems like the cars were affected a lot less by the aero push and being around each other. They seemed a lot less dependent on where you are in the field. Obviously they are still not going to be as good as they were if you were the lead car, but I think we’ve definitely made some headway. I think there’s obviously a lot of notes that have been gathered and from a driver’s standpoint, I think this is the race we’ve all been looking forward to the most just because of the fact that you have some high speeds and lots of racing lanes and the cars are going to slide all over the place. So, it’s definitely a weekend that we’re all looking forward to. This has probably been one of our better races over the past several years, so it’s going to be a fun weekend.”

THIS TRACK HAS SEAMS THAT AREN’T AT MOST TRACKS. HOW DO YOU ATTACK THE SEAMS? DO YOU TRY TO STAY IN BETWEEN THEM? DO YOU PUT YOUR TIRES IN BETWEEN THEM? AND, WHAT IS THE PENALTY WHEN YOU CROSS ONE ON A RESTART OR IN A RACING SITUATION?
“A lot of it just depends on how this particular package reacts to where the groove is going to go; straight to the wall….the left side is going to lay a lot of rubber. I was watching the race from 2011 and the left sides would actually keep the race track clean. So, right on the seams seemed to be pretty good because the race track was cleaner there. So, you just have to see how the race track rubbers-up. With this particular tire, the hardest part about the seams is just getting hung on one. That’s really what you don’t want to do. You want to have the tires just below or just above it and split it. But, if you have the tire right-on, it just grabs it like glue and it goes in the direction that you don’t really want to go in. So, you definitely have to try to split the seams and be off of it with the tire itself in order to make time.”

AFTER THE END OF THIS WEEKEND WE WILL HAVE FIVE RACES IN THE BOOKS. IS IT GOOD FOR TEAMS TO BE ABLE TO GO AND REGROUP? HOW WILL THAT HELP YOUR TEAM GOING FORWARD TO EVALUATE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE AND CONTINUE WITH THE SEASON?
“I think it’s definitely good for everybody to have a chance to recharge their batteries. The West Coast swing is hard and everybody as I’m sure a lot of you guys know. Just the travel and the way that the schedule is now you either have to stay out here or you are traveling back and forth. So, you are going back and forth in between time zones, but the logistics of the race cars are the hard part because there are six race cars that have to be prepared and ready to go when you take off from Atlanta. These aren’t any of the race cars that you can basically race at Atlanta. I guess you could race them here (at Auto Club Speedway), but you basically have to have 10 race cars ready because you have to go to Daytona. Probably 12 because you’ve got to go to the Shootout (Sprint Unlimited), so you’ve got to go to the Shootout, you’ve got to go to Daytona, you’ve got to go to Atlanta and you have to have everything ready for your West Coast swing. You are looking at 10 or 12 race cars that have to be prepared at the beginning of the year way in advance. Then the logistics of getting everything out and getting hundreds of people back and forth across the country wears on everybody. It will be a much needed break in order to kind of get into the meat of the season to not have to stay out west and do the things that it takes to run this West Coast swing.”

HOW MUCH DIFFERENCE DOES THE SPEED AND THE LAYOUT MAKE AS FAR AS LIFTING GOING INTO THE TURNS OR ARE YOU REALLY NOT GOING TO HAVE TO? HOW IS THAT GOING TO PLAY INTO THIS WHOLE PACKAGE?
“Oh you are going to have to lift a lot. You are probably going to have three seconds of fall off, maybe more, as you go through the run because the tires just fall off so fast. You are going to have a lot of straightaway speed because of the low drag, so yeah, there is definitely going to be a lot of off throttle time. I think the amount of time is going to change dramatically from the first lap to lap 30. It’s going to be a huge pace swing.”

RON HORNADAY WON A CHAMPIONSHIP FOR YOU GUYS WHEN YOU WERE A TEAM OWNER. HE IS ON THE LIST OF 25 NOMINEES FOR THE NASCAR HALL OF FAME THIS YEAR. WHAT DID HE MEAN TO YOUR ORGANIZATION WHEN YOU GUYS HIRED HIM AND BROUGHT HIM IN?
“I’ve known Ron (Hornaday) a long time. For me Ron was kind of one of my racing heroes as I grew up watching him race at Mesa Marin and in the Southwest Tour up and down the state. He has been very successful at what he has done. He did a lot of that on his own to start with. Obviously, he wound up with DEI (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.). I think as you look at where we were as a company he brought a lot of… he made our company legitimate from a racing standpoint. Because you brought in a champion, a winner and he continued to win. We won a couple of championships with Ron there. I think we won 40 or 50 Truck Series races. I think as you look at what he brought, he brought that instant approval of a winner and a proven champion and proven winner in himself. We knew we just had to get our stuff right and we were able to be successful together. I was fun to see him be successful at the end of his career.”

WILL YOU AND YOUR TEAM SET UP THE CLOCK SUNDAY NIGHT TO SEE WHAT YOUR SISTER TEAM IS DOING IN F1 IN AUSTRALIA?
“Man, that time change is so much different. I was watching the Twitter feed and they were out there practicing and doing all the sliding into the gravel pit, I saw one time. We are definitely keeping up with it. It will definitely probably be on the DVR though. I don’t think it will be live. We will definitely be watching.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB 400
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 18, 2016

BRIAN VICKERS, NO. 14 JANSSEN ARNIE’S ARMY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Auto Club Speedway and discussed his battle with blood clots, driving the No. 14 Chevrolet SS at Martinsville and beyond and many other topics. Full Transcript:

CAN YOU SHARE YOU’RE FEELINGS BEING HERE LAST YEAR AND GETTING OUT OF THE CAR AND HOW YOU FEEL GETTING INTO THE CAR THIS WEEKEND:
“I’m glad I made it to the stage this time in a firesuit. It has been a challenging five or six years for me. As many of you know. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, in a weird way I’m very thankful for those experiences. I’ve grown a lot as a person and a lot of good things have come from it. The opportunity to raise awareness as we discussed up here, on an issue… I was lucky to win my battle with blood clots, many people are not. The first time I went I was misdiagnosed as well. They felt I had pneumonia. I was taking antibiotics. Luckily I stuck around to find out that wasn’t the case because that would have been really bad if I had left the hospital. I understand exactly very much what we are talking about. It’s a serious issue. It’s interesting when it first happened to me I had so many people, fans and crew members and truck drivers that came up to me and said they have had or do have blood clots and they are on this medication or that. It’s interesting that story just kind of keeps coming to me. I didn’t know a single person before I had my first blood clot that has blood clots. Then all of a sudden I had my first blood clot and I knew all these people that had blood clots. They just never told me. No one ever really talked about it. It was so interesting. Now I feel like because of what we have done here and what we have been doing for the last three years, more and more people are talking about it. More and more people are discussing it amongst themselves and with other people and it really does make a difference. I’m really proud of that. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Auto Club Speedway–Brian Vickers →

CHEVROLET AT GAINESVILLE

What:
47th Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals
When:
Friday, March 18-Sunday, March 20
Where:
Gainesville Raceway, Gainesville, Florida
TV:
FS1: Qualifying – 9 p.m. ET, Friday (taped highlights)
FS1: Qualifying – 6:30 p.m. ET, Saturday (taped highlights)
FS1: Eliminations and finals – 1 p.m. ET, Sunday (live)

Chevrolet Heads to Florida Ready for Competition at Gatornationals
Drivers poised for success in third round of NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series at historic Gainesville Raceway

DETROIT (March 16, 2016) – Chevrolet seeks to carry momentum gained from the first two events of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) season to the East Coast this weekend at the 47th Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. Continue reading Chevy Racing–Gatornationals →

CORVETTE DPs AT SEBRING: Another Podium Sweep in the Works?
1-2-3 finish in 2015 capped Chevrolet’s first overall victory at Sebring in 50 years

· Barbosa, Fittipaldi and Action Express Racing defending race winners

· Wayne Taylor Racing, Visit Florida Racing started 2016 with Rolex 24 podiums

· Thirty victories for Corvette DP program since launch in 2012

DETROIT (March 16, 2016) – Corvette Daytona Prototype teams return to Florida this weekend for another chance at history as part of the 64th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida. Recreating the magic from last year’s race will be top of mind for the four Corvette DP teams entered as they try to put Chevrolet on the top of the podium for the second straight season. Continue reading CORVETTE DPs AT SEBRING: Another Podium Sweep in the Works? →

CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: Speeding Toward More History
Corvette Racing with nine Sebring class wins and last four Triple Crown victories

First event for Corvette Racing since dynamic 1-2 finish at Daytona
Garcia, Magnussen part of GT Le Mans-winning Corvette in 2015
This year’s Sebring marks the 60th anniversary race for Corvette brand

DETROIT (March 15, 2016) – Sebring and Corvette. They go together like America and apple pie. In fact, they have for 60 years now – America’s longest-running endurance race and America’s sports car. The relationship continues in 2016 as Corvette Racing returns to Sebring International Raceway for this weekend’s 64th annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida.

Corvette Racing is the defending winner in IMSA’s GT Le Mans class. It was the second leg of a Triple Crown season for the team, which became the first in 15 years to win the world’s three biggest endurance races in the same year: Sebring, the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Continue reading CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: Speeding Toward More History →

CHEVROLET’S KEVIN HARVICK WINS AT PHOENIX
Team Chevy Earns Sixth Consecutive Win at PIR

· Chevrolet’s Kevin Harvick won the Good Sam 500 at PIR
· Eighth career victory at PIR for Harvick
· Win was sixth consecutive victory for Chevrolet at the 1.0-mile track
· Chevrolet has now gone to winner’s circle twice in 2016 (Jimmie Johnson, Atlanta; Kevin Harvick, Phoenix)

Avondale, Ariz. (March 13, 2016) – Kevin Harvick earned the victory in the Good Sam 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) in an exciting overtime finish. The driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS pulled his car into Victory Lane at the 1.0-mile track for a record-setting eighth time in his NSCS career, and has now won five of the last six races at the Arizona venue. A gutsy call by crew chief, Rodney Childers, to stay on-track while most of the leaders pitted, resulted in the closet margin of victory in PIR history. Harvick took home the win by 0.010 seconds ahead of Carl Edwards (Toyota).
Continue reading CHEVROLET’S KEVIN HARVICK WINS AT PHOENIX →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOOD SAM 500
PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
MARCH 13, 2016

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 JIMMY JOHN’S CHEVROLET SS – RACE WINNER
YOU WON BY A HUNDREDTH OF A SECOND, THE CLOSEST FINISH IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP RACING HISTORY. HOW DID YOU HOLD OFF CARL EDWARDS?
“Well, I knew he was better through (Turns) 3 and 4. That was not the car that I wanted to see behind me. I knew I could beat him down there and I tried to protect the bottom in (Turns) 3 and 4 and I just missed the bottom with all the rubber build-up on the tires and everything. But, all in all, I knew I was going to be on defense down there. I got up too high and wasn’t able to stay on the bottom like I wanted to and then he got into me, like he should have, and I needed to get a good run off the corner and I was going to have to get into his door and it worked out, just barely. I just want to thank Jimmy John’s, Busch, Chevrolet, Mobil 1 and everybody at Stewart-Haas for everything that they do.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Phoenix–Post Race →

CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG
STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG (FLORIDA)
POST RACE RECAP
SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 2016

Juan Pablo Montoya Scores Second Consecutive Victory on Streets of St. Petersburg
· Simon Pagenaud gives Team Chevy 1 – 2 finish in opening race of 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series Season
· Chevrolet IndyCar drivers claim three of top-four finishing positions and six of top-10 to kick off 16-race season
· Victory is fifth consecutive win for Chevrolet on the Streets of St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 13, 2016) – Juan Pablo Montoya has a pattern that works on the Streets of St. Petersburg. Starting fourth for the second consecutive year brought the driver of the No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet to a repeat appearance at the top of the victory podium for the opening round of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season. Continue reading Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–St. Petersburg–Post Race Recap →

CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG
STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG (FLORIDA)
POST RACE DRIVER QUOTES
SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 2016

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 2 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, RACE WINNER: HOW WAS THE VIEW FOR YOU FROM THE COCKPIT?
“It was good. Our Verizon Chevy was great and it’s exciting with this new paint scheme and to come out and win with it. I want to thank everybody on the team and all of our supporters because they do an amazing job. No, it’s all good, it’s just awesome. You know, we started the year last year like this and I thought this morning that we had a really good car and it paid off.”

THE DISAPPOINTMENT YOU HAD LAST YEAR IN NOT WINNING, HAS IT TURNED INTO NEW FOUND DETERMINATION FOR THIS YEAR?
“No, last year we did what we had to do and it just didn’t happen. This year, we came here not thinking about it and just tried to be as fast as possible and see what it does.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–St. Petersburg–Post Race →

CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG
STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG (FLORIDA)
QUALIFYING RECAP
SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 2016

Will Power Puts Chevrolet on Pole for Verizon IndyCar Series Season-Opening Race on Streets of St. Petersburg
· Five Chevrolet IndyCar drivers transfer to Firestone Fast Six for season-opening race
· Team Chevy drivers claimed top five starting positions, and six of top-10
· Will Power broke his own track record lap of 1 minute, 0.6509 seconds set in 2015 with Saturday time of 1 minute,0.0658 seconds to capture his sixth St. Petersburg pole and 43rd career Verizon P1 Award
· Power’s pole is the fourth for Chevrolet at St. Petersburg, second consecutive at St. Petersburg for the Chevrolet IndyCar Aero Kit with fully integrated 2.2 liter direct injected twin turbo charged V6 engine fueled by E85 Continue reading Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–St. Petersburg–Qualifying →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOOD SAM 500
PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRACTICE NOTES
MARCH 12, 2016

MICHAEL ANNETT, NO. 46 PILOT FLYING J CHEVROLET SS – Involved in an accident during the first practice session on Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway.

WHAT HAPPENED?
“I really don’t know yet. That was our first time on the track, first lap. I haven’t seen a replay yet, but definitely got down there and the car just didn’t want to turn. I don’t know if we were on the splitter or if we cut down a right-front (tire). I just have to be able to see it to have a little better idea. I cranked on the wheel and it wouldn’t go straight. We changed a lot of stuff last night. We weren’t happy at all with where we were, we made a bunch of changes. I don’t know if we just missed it a little bit, but I will have to see a replay.”

DOES THIS AFFECT THE REST OF THE WEST COAST SWING FOR YOU GUYS?
“I’m not sure. I know our Las Vegas car was planning to be the California car and I’m pretty sure that is the one we are going to have to unload now. If we need to get another car out here tomorrow, we will.”
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NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOOD SAM 500
PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 12, 2016

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PRO SERVICES, met with members of the media at Phoenix International Raceway to discuss yesterday’s qualifying incident. Full Transcript:

HOW DO YOU FEEL?
“I feel good, just very thankful that I drive in an era with such safe driver compartments, softer walls, HANS device all those things. Years ago that would have probably been a concussion at a minimum and to feel as good as I do and no sore spots or aches or pains is really good. It’s a good time for the drivers of today.”

CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED?
“Yeah, as I came into Turn 1 just working my way through the center of the corner and jumped in the gas and as I jumped in the gas, I guess I pull on the wheel when I do that. As I pulled on the wheel it just came off in my hands. So, I was just sitting there with no steering and holding the steering wheel staring at the blue wall and I was along for the ride at that point.”

DID YOU TRY TO BRAKE OR WHAT DID YOU DO?
“I got to the brakes briefly. I remember looking down at the steering shaft and seeing it spinning and I knew there was no way I could get the wheel back on. It was all happening so quick. The interesting thing is I made it all the way down pit lane, got out on the track, made a lap and a half around the race track and then it came off where it did. So, just proves to me that it can happen anytime, anywhere. I would assume it would have happened leaving pit road pretty soon. But we’ve just got to make sure we get these wheels locked on. I’m going to make some small changes in my routines in getting in the car. We have lines in the steering shaft to make sure that your steering wheel is straight; I’m going to have an additional line to make sure that the steering wheel is on far enough and hopefully it is locked at that point. To be honest Jeff Gordon gave me that suggestion last night when I was talking with him. I’m going to put that into effect right away.”

WAS THIS AN ERROR ON YOUR PART OR WAS THIS A PART FAILURE?
“No, this one is one me. Last night with the chaos and the guys trying to get the back-up car out, they didn’t have a chance to look at things closely. This morning coming in they have and this one is one me.”

ARE YOU SURPRISED STUFF LIKE THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN MORE OFTEN? IS THAT SOMETHING YOU KIND OF TAKE FOR GRANTED?
“I’ve always believed that my belts, my HANS, my helmet being buckled and my steering wheel are my responsibility. Members on the team say ‘hey this one is on me’ that is not the case it’s the driver’s responsibility to make sure he is safe. Those three or four connection points are my life line. This is on me. I am completely shocked that is happened to me. Out of racing on four wheels my entire life I’ve always had a wheel that has come on and off, I’ve never had this happen. I’ve seen it happen to others and I’ve thought ‘how in the world does that happen’, well it just happened to me. It’s just a freak thing.”

IS THAT ONE OF THE MOST FRIGHTENING MOMENTS YOU’VE EVER HAD IN A RACE CAR BEING OUT OF CONTROL LIKE THAT?
“Yeah, I was just talking with Brendan Gaughan and that sensation is… the last time I had it was at Watkins Glen with no brakes. There are only very few moments in my racing career I have had that moment where you are just totally helpless and along for the ride. It’s not a fun position to be in.”

YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE STEERING COLUMN SPINNING AND THE STEERING WHEEL IS IN YOUR HAND WHAT IS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND?
“Hold on. Maybe a four letter word or two crossed my mind as well. When I saw the blue and the angle that I was at and the speed I was at, I knew it was going to be a big impact. I was just so thankful when I came off the wall that feet, legs, arms, wrists, head was all fine and nothing was hurting. Again, just thankful for the world that I drive in today with all the safety improvements.”

WHY COULDN’T YOU SAY IMMEDIATELY WHAT HAPPENED?
“I didn’t want to falsely blame something or someone or whatever the situation may be. Honestly, it’s such a delicate topic I just wanted to be able to talk to my crew guys and look through everything first before it became national news. Even last night it was very difficult to find out what the cause was because of the tight time frame trying to get the back-up car out. This morning the picture is crystal clear what happened. I just didn’t get the wheel locked on.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOOD SAM 500
PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
MARCH 11, 2016

CHEVROLET QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES

· Kurt Busch leads Team Chevy in qualifying with a fourth-place effort
· Four Chevrolet SS drivers advanced to the final round of knock-out qualifying and will start Sunday’s race as follows:
o Kurt Busch, No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS – 4th
o Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Pro Services Chevrolet SS – 5th
o Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS – 7th
o Jamie McMurray, No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet SS – 11th Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Phoenix Post Qualifying →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOOD SAM 500
PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 11, 2016

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Phoenix International Raceway and discussed his fast start to the season, making gains throughout the off-season, his relationship with crew chief Slugger Labbe, the first practice session and many other topics. Full Transcript:

TALK ABOUT IMPROVING AS A RACE TEAM AND YOUR OUTLOOK FOR THIS WEEKEND AT PHOENIX:
“It’s been a good start to the year for our Dow team. We have just been plugging along trying to eliminate mistakes each and every week. Things have been going well for us. Hopefully, we can continue this streak and continue our run to the front of the field.”

SITTING TOP 10 IN POINTS WITH TWO TOP 10 FINISHES IN THREE RACES, WHAT DO YOU CREDIT TO YOUR TEAM’S FAST START?
“Hard work in the off season is one thing. I think if you look back to last year, we have kind of had this streak going to the end of last year. I really enjoy working with Slugger (Labbe, crew chief) and my group of engineers that are with me. We have just tried to eliminate mistakes and make me a better driver and our team better race cars. The work is paying off we just have to keep plugging along and never stop working.”

RATE YOUR PRACTICE THIS MORNING AND WHAT ARE YOU HOPING YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH IN QUALIFYING?
“This morning’s practice went pretty well off the truck, I thought. We were third on the board right there in race runs. Once everybody switched to qualifying runs we were probably about fifth and then we backed up to 14th at the very end. I think we have a little bit of speed we can get out of the car. These tires are quite a bit different, I feel like, than last years. Overall the balance has been looser for me the whole weekend long in Xfinity and Cup. Kind of working with that and seeing what we can figure out. I think as we have run here the track has gotten tighter like our rubber has laid down. I don’t know if the IndyCar rubber had something to do with why it was so free. But the track is definitely starting to rubber back to where I normally can run. We will see what we’ve got right here. Hopefully, we didn’t over tighten from this morning’s practice to qualifying. If we did our jobs we should be in the top 12. That is our goal every week is to make it to that final round and give ourselves a shot at a pole.”

DRIVERS OFTEN TALK ABOUT BEING ABLE TO FEEL THE TIRES IF THEY ARE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM THE LAST RACE. CAN YOU DESCRIBE THAT FROM THE LAYMAN’S PERSPECTIVE? DO YOU FEEL THAT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY OR IS IT HOW THE CAR ACTS IN THE TURN?
“For our car it’s just … and another thing I haven’t accounted for is the lack of downforce. I’m trying to get to the same braking points that I got to last year and it’s been difficult to get to those same braking points. I find myself struggling a little on entry. I’ve got to take into account that the spoiler is a lot smaller and just kind of getting used to that. But the tire on both sides seems to be freer and our overall balance. So, just working around it and as far as the differences I can help you a little bit. Last week we were at Charlotte doing a tire test all week. Every compound you chose if it was a softer one you went faster. If it was a harder one you went slower. Some tracks that is different, but most of the time you want the softest you can get and usually if you have a soft tire it falls off into a run. Soft means a lot of grip for a shorter period of time. Hard means not as much grip, but hold on for a long period of time.”

WHEN YOU HAVE AN ANIMATED EXCHANGE LIKE YOU DID WITH SLUGGER LAST WEEK AT LAS VEGAS HOW DO YOU GUYS GO ABOUT HASHING THAT OUT AFTER THE FACT? ALSO, WHAT WOULD YOU CHALK YOUR GAINS UP THIS YEAR TO? MORE OF A COMFORT WITH SLUGGER OR THE LOW DOWNFORCE PACKAGE BEING TO YOUR LIKING?
“Our best finish last year came on the high downforce package at Michigan. I wouldn’t account it to just the downforce switches or what not. I think it’s just better race cars overall and then also working better as a team. When it comes to communication with Slugger, I’ve been kind of answering this question all week; we are like two brothers a little bit. We are both very aggressive personalities. He is not afraid to tell me when he thinks I’ve messed up and I’m not afraid to tell him when I think he has messed up. The good thing about that is when you leave you can go home and drink a beer or Coke or whatever you wanted to after the race.

“It’s a part of being intense. I’ve been intense in all the different levels of racing I’ve come up through here. I felt like we lacked a little bit of that intensity that I’m used to when we got to the Cup Series. Slugger kind of brought that back to me. If you listen to Danny Stockman (Austin’s crew chief in the Truck and Xfinity Series) and me in our previous championship runs we were pretty aggressive with each other on the radio. We are not afraid to tell each other ‘hey this sucks’ or ‘we have to do something different.’ Slugger is really good at being blunt with things and I’ve learned to be able to take it and he can take it too. That is what I love about him. I can tell him right to his face, ‘hey this is no good’. He will go to work on it. Same with me, if he thinks I’m not driving right I will go to work too. We’ve got a pretty good understanding throughout our team that we are a family on and off the track. If we get into each other it’s like the big brother/little brother rule – you can mess with him all you want, but no one else can. When it comes down to it we’ve got each other’s backs. It’s just we want the best, we want to win.”

DO YOU THINK THE GAINS HAVE BEEN MADE ACROSS THE BOARD AT RCR? DO YOU THINK IT’S PRIMARILY YOU AND SLUGGER JUST HITTING IT OFF?
“I think it’s been across the board. Our team’s averages are pretty good right now. It’s still early in the season, but I like the speed that we are showing as a group. I think, obviously, our communication, Slugger and I’s have been pretty good so far. As a whole at RCR I think we are going to be better throughout the year because of the connection between all the crew chiefs and drivers. I think as a group RCR has gotten better in the off season. We still have areas that we have a lot of work to do in. I think as the year goes on we will get better. I really enjoyed the Charlotte test. I felt like we went about it, probably one of the best tests that we have had as a group as far as just trying to make our cars better through at test. Instead of just adjusting on what we had, I think we did some things that were kind of out of the box to try and see if there was anything there juice wise. Just trying to get our cars better.”