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| Seven of first eight finishers at Michigan in June were Chevy's |
Chevrolet has enjoyed success at the 2.0-mile D-shape track located only 70 miles from their headquarters in Detroit, by taking the checkered flag here 21 times. Of the 23 current tracks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit, there are only five (5) venues where Chevrolet has not been the dominant brand in Victory Lane.
The Bowtie brand is working to change that statistic with hopes for another victory this weekend at this local stop on the circuit. Chevrolet drivers have been on a hot streak as of late, with Jeff Gordon winning at Indianapolis, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. celebrating at Pocono and AJ Allmendinger earning his first career victory last weekend at Watkins Glen. Team Chevy is looking for a fourth consecutive win this weekend in Michigan.
Not only is a win on the line this weekend at MIS, but also the coveted manufacturer trophy known at the Heritage Trophy, that the hometown track awards to the winning manufacturer. Team Chevy is working hard to help that piece of prestige remain with the Bowtie brand throughout the coming winter months.
As the Chevrolet SS drivers and teams focus on bringing home the trophy for Chevrolet, fans will have several opportunities to meet with their favorite drivers. Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex, Jr., Ron Hornaday, Jimmy Weller, Justin Allgaier and many other drivers make appearances at the Team Chevy stage throughout the weekend. As fans wait for their favorite driver to arrive on stage, fans can get an up-close look at a number of Chevrolet’s production vehicles including: Cruze Diesel, Malibu, Impala, Traverse, Tahoe, Suburban, Silverado, Silverado 3500 HD and Volt.
The 200 lap/400 mile Pure Michigan 400 is scheduled to begin on Sunday August 17th at 1:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage will be available on ESPN, MRN, Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 90 and NASCAR.com.
TEAM CHEVY IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (NSCS) COMPETITION:
Chevrolet has won 37 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Manufacturers’ Championships
Team Chevy drivers have scored 730 wins and 658 poles in NSCS competition
CHEVROLET ON THE TRACK—MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY:
Chevrolet drivers have won 21 of 90 races at Michigan International Speedway. Victories by current Team Chevy drivers are:
Kurt Busch, No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS, has two (2) victories at Michigan International Speedway (’03 & ’07)
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 National Guard/Superman Chevrolet SS, has made two (2) trips to Victory Lane at Michigan International Speedway (’08 & ’12)
Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet SS, has two (2) wins at Michigan International Speedway (’98 & ‘01)
Ryan Newman, No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS, has two (2) trophies from Michigan International Speedway (’03 & ’04)
Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet SS, has one (1) win at Michigan International Speedway (’10)
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS, has made one trip to Victory Lane at Michigan International Speedway (’14)
Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS, has one (1) victory at Michigan International Speedway (’06)
Tony Stewart, No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS, has one (1) trophy from Michigan International Speedway (’00)
A Chevrolet driver has won two (2) of the last five (5) races at Michigan International Speedway
A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole at Michigan International Speedway 24 times
Team Chevy drivers have scored 156 top-five and 318 top-10 finishes at Michigan International Speedway
A Chevrolet has led 6,610 laps (36.9% of possible 17,893 laps) at Michigan International Speedway
DRIVER FAN Q/A APPEARANCES:
Friday, August 15th – Four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday will stop by the Team Chevy stage at 11:15 a.m.
Saturday August 16th – Jimmy Weller will make an appearance at the Team Chevy stage at 9:00 a.m. followed by Rookie of the Year contender Justin Allgaier at11:00 a.m.
Sunday August 17th – Two-time Michigan winner Jeff Gordon will make an appearance at the Team Chevy stage at 9:45 a.m. followed by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. at 10:00 a.m. Martin Truex, Jr. will stop by the Team Chevy stage at 10:15 a.m. capped off by Kasey Kahne at 10:30 a.m.
Hours of operation: Fri. Aug. 15th – 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.; Sat. Aug. 16th – 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sun. Aug. 10th – 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
CHEVROLET SPOTLIGHT: Of the 23 tracks that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competes at there are only five (5) in which Chevrolet is not the winningest manufacturer. Those tracks are: Homestead, Kentucky, Las Vegas, Michigan and Texas.
BOWTIE BULLET: Chevrolet’s Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with five pole awards at Michigan International Speedway. 17 of the 90 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Michigan have been won from the Coors Light pole. The Coors Light pole position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (17) than any other starting position at Michigan International Speedway.
DID YOU KNOW? The Chevrolet Sonic, the only subcompact car made in America, is again one of the 10 Best Back-to-School Cars of 2014 chosen by Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com. For the third year in a row, the Sonic was recognized by the editors at KBB.com for its practicality, affordability, style, features and personality.
WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE THE CHEVROLET SS RACE CARS?
This weeks’ race is at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn Michigan. 23 Chevrolet SS race cars will attempt to qualify at the 2.0-mile, D-shaped oval. Fans can watch and/or listen to all the action on ESPN, MRN, Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 90 and NASCAR.com
TEAM CHEVY FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT:
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET SS – POINTS LEADER
“I feel pretty good going to Michigan. We ran well earlier this year and it is just an excellent race track. It really lends itself to a good motor – good power plant. I think you have to give the Hendrick Motorsports engine department a lot of credit. We’ve had some really good motors this year.”
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS – 2ND IN STANDINGS
“Michigan is a big, fast, two-mile racetrack – the fastest we have on the circuit – with no restrictor plates. The speed really gets your attention.
“In Turns 1 and 2, you drive into the corner deep but then get back on the throttle early. It’s a flatter entry into (Turn) 3, so you have to be a little more careful with how hard you drive into that corner.
“In June, we qualified well, ran well and had a strong car. But it was all about track position, track position, track position. We lost it, and it was tough to get back.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/JIMMIE JOHNSON FOUNDATION CHEVROLET SS – 7TH IN STANDINGS
“We have had some really bad luck these past few weeks. I’m looking forward to getting back on track this weekend. The team needs a good run and I really like the track in Michigan – it’s in Chevrolet’s back yard – and it would be nice to get a sweep.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 WIX FILTERS CHEVROLET SS – 9TH IN STANDINGS
“To me, the second race is so much better because of the track in keeping some of the rubber laid down during the first race. It’s like we start the weekend at least halfway through what we experience the previous race weekend. This race is so much more fun to drive because the track is racier.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – 10TH IN STANDINGS
“Our team is really looking forward to Michigan this weekend. The next four tracks before the Chase are ones where I think we can run really well, so we’re excited to start off that four race stretch at a track where we ran pretty well the last time there. The team is really excited about the Target Chevy we have for this weekend, and I’m looking forward to continuing the momentum from last weekend at Watkins Glen. We’re still pushing for a win, and will do what we can to get into victory lane soon.”
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS CHEVROLET SS – 13TH IN STANDINGS
“My team continues to work well, and we have fast cars so we are building there. Things are getting better on all fronts so I’m really happy about that. In the past, we have run really well and also won at Michigan, Bristol, Atlanta and Richmond, so I’m looking forward to each one of those tracks because I feel like we can definitely still make the Chase.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL CHEVROLET SS – 14TH IN STANDINGS
“It’s go time. The dynamics of the Chase have changed a little bit, now that we’ve added another new winner to the mix and we are closing in on the Chase cutoff point. Making the Chase is a goal we’ve set for ourselves as a team and even though I am a rookie, I feel like it’s a good pressure to be under. We thrive under the pressure. Michigan International Speedway is a fast track and I’ve had success there in the past. I’m looking to perform there. It’s Dow’s home track and we’ll have a large group from American Ethanol there, too. We had some bad luck in the June race, but I think we’ll be fine this time around. It’s one of my favorite tracks.”
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 CERTAINTEED/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS – 17TH IN STANDINGS
“We had a good run in June at Michigan. The track is widening out for sure. The first couple of races after the repave were treacherous and now the groove is widening so you can make your car do different things as the run goes on.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S CHEVROLET SS – 19TH IN STANDINGS
“The one word that I think comes to mind for everyone at Michigan is fast. Our cars carry a lot of speed down the straights and the track has several different grooves to race in the corners, so it is fun to race on a track that is big and wide open like that. We had a pretty solid run back in June and finished 12th. I think we can improve on that and hopefully put ourselves in position to take the McDonald’s Chevy to victory lane”.
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KINGSFORD CHARCOAL CHEVROLET SS – 24TH IN STANDINGS
“Horsepower never hurts and that doesn’t matter if you are on a short track or road course or Michigan (International Speedway) or Daytona (International Speedway) or whatever, but it’s all about handling at Michigan. If it’s a warmer races, it gets slicked up. The groove is not very wide there. Even after running all weekend and having the other races there, the groove only widens to out a groove and a half or maybe two grooves. Handling is just really important. It doesn’t matter how much horsepower you have, if you can’t get to the throttle off the corners, it’s going to make the straightaways really long. You really have to get your car digging center off and you’ve got to be in the throttle to make that horsepower work.”
CASEY MEARS, NO. 13 GEICO CHEVROLET SS – 25TH IN STANDINGS
“We’re looking forward to getting to Michigan this week and continuing the momentum we’ve built over the last couple of weeks. The No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS was strong at Pocono and again at Watkins Glen, so team morale is high and we’re focused on having a solid run at Michigan. It’s a beautiful part of the country, especially this time of the year, and we always enjoy going to the track.”
MARTIN TRUEX, JR., NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW CHEVROLET SS – 26TH IN STANDINGS
“The last race at Michigan (June) we didn’t learn a whole lot — we got wrecked early (8th lap). It was another one of those weekends to forget. Because of the new pavement at Michigan the asphalt is so much smoother. There are no rocks and pores in it. That makes it hard to lay rubber down on these newly paved tracks, which also makes it hard for the second groove to come in. The Michigan track is not as bad as last year with the groove getting a little bit wider. You now have a little wiggle room there.”
JUSTIN ALLGAIER, NO. 51 BRANDT PROFESSIONAL AGRICULTURE CHEVROLET SS – 29TH IN STANDINGS
“I’m excited to get back to Michigan [International Speedway]. We’ve had a great couple of weeks at HScott Motorsports and we did really well at Michigan earlier this season. It’s important weekend for everyone, but there’s a little extra pressure since it’s Chevy’s backyard.”
MICHAEL ANNETT, NO. 7 PILOT FLYING J/ ALLSTATE PETERBILT GROUPCHEVROLET SS – 30TH IN STANDINGS
“I was encouraged with our race last time out at Michigan. We finished 21st. It was a good day for us, and considering how many teams seemed to struggle with a slick racetrack, I was pleased with how we progressed during the race. I’m sure there are teams that have improved upon their speedway packages for this place. We have too. I’m eager to see how we stack up.”
About Chevrolet:
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.9 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design, and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
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