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| A.J. Allmendinger and Kevin Harvick should represent the bow-tie well. |
DETROIT – (August 2, 2016) – Next up on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule is the newly repaved, high speed, 2.45-mile, 7-turn, Watkins Glen International Raceway located in upstate New York. Part of the Finger Lakes region, this historic road course has played host to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars since the late 1950’s and continues to be one of the most challenging venues on the circuit.
Since the inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event in 1957, in which Buck Baker driving a Chevrolet took home the win, one thing has remained the same – Chevrolet drivers and teams find Winner’s Circle at ‘The Glen’ more than any other brand. Over the course of 33 events at the infamous twisty course a Chevrolet driver has earned the spoils of victory 17 times.
Two weeks ago, nine Chevrolet Sprint Cup Series teams traveled to Watkins Glen to take their first look at the newly paved surface. From that test, drivers and teams learned of the new curbing that was put in, how fast the track was going to be and the characteristics of the tire Goodyear was planning to bring for the race.
“The surface was getting old and some of the patch work that they had to do was starting to rip up over the years,” said Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Chevrolet SS, who took part in the two-day test session. “So, brand new asphalt surface, brand new curbing all the way around the race track and so with something new it is going to create a whole different environment for us to race on.
Our team spent two days testing working on brakes, working on new transmission ratios, just trying to get a feel for the new surface. The Goodyear tires are very conservative tire with a new surface. They are lasting a long time, but it is like you are on ice the first few laps. There is going to be a lot of things that the drivers have to balance this time around.”
The first road course race of the season at Sonoma Raceway in June ended in a fierce battle between Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. Stewart earned his first win since October of 2013 at the California road course and amplified his career-long prowess on road courses. Stewart enters Watkins Glen firmly in the Chase for the championship conversation. As the most successful NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to lay tire to pavement at the 2.45-mile track, Stewart looks to cap off an 18-year long career at NASCAR’s highest level as a 6-time winner at ‘The Glen’.
New pavement, new tire compound and new curbing lead to new challenges for all 22 Chevrolet SS drivers and teams. The Chevrolet engineering staff has been hard at work with simulation tools to collect as much data as possible to help all Bowtie branded teams prepare for success at the New York road course.
All questions will be answered when the stars of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series take to the track. The Cheez-It 355 at The Glen is scheduled to beginAugust 7th at 2:30 p.m., ET. Live coverage will be available on USA, MRN, Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 90 and NASCAR.com.
TEAM CHEVY IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (NSCS) COMPETITION:
Chevrolet has won 39 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturer Championships
Team Chevy drivers have scored 758 wins and 684 poles in NSCS competition
CHEVROLET ON THE TRACK—WATKINS GLEN:
Chevrolet drivers have won 17 of 33 races at Watkins Glen International. Victories by current Team Chevy drivers are:
Tony Stewart, No. 14 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS, has five victories at Watkins Glen International (’02, ’04, ’05, ’07 & ’09)
Jeff Gordon, Interim Driver, No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS, has four wins at Watkins Glen International (’97, ’98, ’99 & ‘01)
AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Kroger/Kingsford Chevrolet SS, has one win at Watkins Glen (’14)
Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Beer Chevrolet SS, has one trophy from Watkins Glen International (’06)
A Chevrolet driver has won one of the last three races at Watkins Glen International
A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole at Watkins Glen 14 times
Team Chevy drivers have scored 59 top-five and 118 top-10 finishes at Watkins Glen
A Chevrolet has led 1,376 laps (47.8% of possible 2,888 laps) at Watkins Glen
TEAM CHEVY FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT:
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 BUSCH BEER CHEVROLET SS – POINTS LEADER
“Watkins Glen is really fast, so the biggest thing there is to get your car good under braking so you can make passes during the race. Usually, where you can gain the most time is in the braking zones.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 41 HAAS AUTOMATION/MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET SS – 3RD IN STANDINGS
“Watkins Glen repaved the race track. The surface was getting old and some of the patch work that they had to do was starting to rip up over the years. So, brand new asphalt surface, brand new curbing all the way around the race track and so with something new it is going to create a whole different environment for us to race on. That is why the fans are ready to come to the track to see the different action that is going to happen this time around.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – 7TH IN STANDINGS
“We certainly have a lot of data to look at (from his teammates Chase Elliott and Kasey Kahne who tested at Watkins Glen) and lots of new going on with the repave. I’m anticipating fast speeds. I think it’s going to be real hard on the brakes with the higher speeds. I don’t know what else until I get on the track and kind of feel it. Sometimes repaves can be a little tricky and not a lot of grip, but I understand things went well at those two test sessions and there was plenty of grip. It should just be a fast paced race.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CHEVROLET SS – 11TH IN STANDINGS
“We will be fighting some of the same things we fought at Kentucky Speedway, which was also recently paved. It’s just about trying to get the rubber laid down at the track. Since a road course is a little bit of a different place, braking will be a factor. It seems to be the same Watkins Glen, just with a lot of grip. There’s a lot of speed out there, and it’s just how bad you want to go get it.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS – 12TH IN STANDINGS
“Watkins Glen is definitely the faster of the two road courses, so the speed there is definitely up compared to what we felt at Sonoma Raceway. The speed is the biggest adjustment we have to make. I think for our trip this time, it’s all about getting adjusted to the new asphalt, the new grip level and the new tire combination.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 SUNENERGY1 CHEVROLET SS – 13TH IN STANDINGS
“We were the car that was picked to go do the Watkins Glen tire test. The repave is a change in some aspects, but it’s also the same Watkins Glen. It still has a lot of grip – the place has not lost that character. I’m just going to try to focus on the fundamentals of road course racing and do that correctly. The rest should take care of itself. We have SunEnergy1 on the car again this weekend too, so I’m looking forward to having those guys back as well. Kenny will be in the same colors on the XFINITY side so that will be neat.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S CHEVROLET SS – 14TH IN STANDINGS
“I’m looking forward to getting back to Watkins Glen this week. We were able to test there last week we had a pretty good visit. I really like road racing and this track offers a few more opportunities to pass compared to Sonoma. They did a really nice job with the new repave, so it will be fun to get back there this weekend.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – 15TH IN STANDINGS
“I didn’t really run any road courses before I got to NASCAR, but I really look forward to coming to places like Watkins Glen now. In my two previous races at the Glen we’ve run pretty good and I think we should be in for another solid race there. With Jamie being able to test there a couple weeks ago, we should have some good data on the repaved track to help us with our initial setups on Friday. Watkins Glen is a fun track to run, and we’ll be looking forward to a good day there on Sunday.”
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS CHEVROLET SS – 16TH IN STANDINGS
“It’s smoother, but to me it’s the same Watkins Glen. The transitions and things are a little smoother but that’s just new pavement compared to old pavement. The curbing is different on some of the corners. On the new curbing, it’s understanding those curbs and exactly how much you can get on them and how much you can’t. Just driving around the track it doesn’t feel much different than it has in the past.”
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER/KINGSFORD CHEVROLET SS – 21ST IN STANDINGS
Watkins Glen is a fast racetrack for a road course. There’s a couple of passing opportunities. If you compare it to Sonoma (Raceway), tires are really important to Sonoma. Aerodynamics is probably not that important at Sonoma and that’s why there is beating and banging on each other there. Sonoma is like a short track. Watkins Glen, I look at it like a mile-and-a-half to two-mile racetrack where you can’t mess the fenders up. Fuel mileage always plays a key factor in that race. Now, with the repave I think strategy is going to be even more important. Tires don’t fall off a lot. It’s going to be an interesting race for sure.”
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 RICHMOND/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS – 23RD IN STANDINGS
“I really enjoy road-course racing and wish we had more than two road-course races on our schedule. Watkins Glen is fun because you can pass anywhere. If you can out-brake the car in front of you you’ve got a good opportunity to make some passes. The bus stop is probably the toughest spot on the track to pass someone because if they don’t let you go in single file and you drive through two-wide, you’re going to make contact at some point. Usually, people give and take a little more through the bus stop than they do in other parts of the track. I’m really looking forward to going to Watkins Glen this weekend.”
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 NATURE’S BAKERY CHEVROLET SS – 24TH IN STANDINGS
“Well, with the repave, it’ll be interesting to see how the first few laps are on track. Then the first real tough turn where the car is definitely on edge at Watkins Glen is when you’re coming up the hill to the back straight. It’s critical because it leads onto the back straightaway, so you want to carry as much speed as you can through there. Having a car with a good high-speed balance is really important there. In general, it’s very important that the car turns. It’s kind of the same thing everywhere we go – the car has to turn, but it can’t turn so much that you can’t use it because you’re loose. Then you go through the bus stop and, if you have to wait on the front (of the car) a lot, then you can’t really get back to the throttle. That carries to a very long high-speed right-hand corner, so there’s a lot of exit that you can use if you’re sliding on whatever end that might be. But getting the car to turn through all of that is really what’s going to allow you to be able to attack the throttle.”
CASEY MEARS, NO. 13 GEICO CHEVROLET SS – 28TH IN STANDINGS
“I know everyone on this GEICO Chevrolet SS team is looking forward to getting back to Watkins Glen after our test last week. We are taking RCR-392, which is a completely updated road course chassis. We tested it last week and set the fastest time of the test. A big difference for this race is that this year’s tire is harder and has less grip and the aero package makes less downforce than last year. We could have some surprises racing in traffic and fuel mileage may end up coming into play at the end. I can’t wait to get back to The Glen.”
Chevrolet NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics
Manufacturers Championships
Total (1949 – 2015): 39
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-2015)
Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Drivers Championships
Total (1949 – 2015): 30
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005 – ’11)
Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014
Event Victories
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 – (in 2007)
2016 STATISTICS:
Wins: 5
Poles: 6
Laps led: 1,719
Top-five finishes: 50
Top-10 finishes: 110
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