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| Chase Elliott is 8/1 to win at Las Vegas, Johnson is 12/1. |
“Yeah, I think so. I thought they had a good test from what I heard. I think as we get through this week and we start doing our race prep for next week we will definitely dive into his test a little more and kind of get into the details a little bit more instead of the general overview. I definitely think there will be some things we can lean on from it, but once we dive in more we will know.”
Elliott on Las Vegas:
“Vegas is kind of interesting. The track has become a little bit temperature sensitive and sunshine sensitive. It has a lot of speed when it’s cool and it has a lot of speed when it can be warm, but the fall-off is pretty massive. I think that was kind of a topic of conversation I heard from the test is how quickly the tires were falling off and so on. I’m curious to see where all that stacks up weather-wise next weekend.”
William Byron on Las Vegas:
“Vegas will be a fast-paced race. The weather looks like it’s going to be pretty cool, so the biggest challenge for us will be keeping up with the racetrack and making sure we can keep our pace up as the run goes because it’s probably not going to be a quick falloff with the tires – definitely a lot different than what we just saw in Atlanta. We should have good short-run speed like we did out there at the test. I felt like we were really competitive out there, so we can carry over that setup and what we did there at the test and apply it this weekend. We’d like to have a smooth weekend, and hopefully we’ll qualify really well. I’m looking forward to it.”.
Jimmie Johnson on moving forward:
“This Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is a brand new car to us. I am very proud of my team for all their efforts last weekend in Atlanta, they worked really hard. We all know it was not even close to the result we were looking for. The pit crew got some reps with plenty of four tire stops and we learned a lot. We have a lot of smart people on our team, so I’m not hitting the panic button. I posted this on Twitter: fear has two meanings – “Forget Everything And Run” or “Face Everything And Rise.” I’m ready to rise.”
Alex Bowman on Las Vegas:
“William (Byron) tested in Vegas earlier this year and it was the first time the Camaro ZL1 was on the racetrack, so I think we got some really good notes with it. I think it will definitely help this weekend. It’s a 1.5-mile track, but it’s got its own uniqueness to it. There are a lot of cool things too, like the garage is a really cool experience for the fans. Even though it is a 1.5-mile track, it’s different and a lot of fun. This weekend it is going to be important for our Nationwide team to get the car right, so we know what we have come playoff time.”
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT LAS VEGAS: In 20 races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports has earned five wins, two pole positions, 20 top-five finishes and 35 top-10s. Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers at the 1.5-mile oval with four victories.
WINNING DATE: Hendrick Motorsports won the only other NASCAR Cup Series race held at Las Vegas on March 4. Jeff Gordon started 24th on March 4, 2001, and went on to earn Hendrick Motorsports’ 98th Cup victory and the organization’s first of five wins at the track. It was the first of four times that a Hendrick Motorsports driver won at Las Vegas and went on to win the Cup championship in the same season.
WEST COAST STRENGTH: Hendrick Motorsports leads all teams in West Coast victories – including California, Nevada and Arizona – with a total of 34, 11 more than the next closest team, Roush Fenway Racing. Johnson and former teammate Jeff Gordon – both of whom hail from California – lead all drivers for most wins on West Coast tracks with 15 and 11, respectively.
1.5-MILE CHAMPS: Hendrick Motorsports has a NASCAR Cup Series record 57 total wins on 1.5-mile tracks, 15 more than the next closest team, Joe Gibbs Racing. Johnson also holds the record for most 1.5-mile track victories with 28 over Gordon (17), Tony Stewart (15), Dale Earnhardt (14) and Richard Petty (13).
250 ON THE HORIZON: The next points-paying win by a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet will be the organization’s milestone 250th in NASCAR Cup Series competition. With 268 Cup victories, only Petty Enterprises has more. Junior Johnson and Associates is third all-time at 153 wins, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing with 148 and Roush Fenway Racing with 137.
16 MAKES 249: Sixteen different drivers have contributed to Hendrick Motorsports’ total of 249 points-paying Cup wins. Only the Wood Brothers team, which has sent 19 different drivers to Victory Lane, has more. Junior Johnson and Associates won with 13 different drivers.
FIRST-TIME WINNERS: If Elliott, Byron or Bowman wins at Las Vegas, it will mark the ninth time a driver has recorded his first career Cup Series win while driving for Hendrick Motorsports. Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing share the all-time record, having each sent eight first-time winners to Victory Lane in Cup Series competition.
ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 12 championships, 249 race victories, 214 pole positions, 1,029 top-five finishes and 1,741 top-10 finishes in points-paying NASCAR Cup Series competition. Its teams have led 67,270 laps since 1984.
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