TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
POCONO 400
POCONO RACEWAY
LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA
JUNE 2, 2019
BOWTIE BULLETS:
TAKING THE CHECKERED FLAG:
Chevrolet leads all MENCS manufacturers with 32 victories in the 82 races on the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway tri-oval, including a streak of six in a row from August 2102 (Jeff Gordon) to June 2015 (Martin Truex Jr.). Benny Parsons gave the Bowtie brand its first win at the racetrack in 1977; Darrel Waltrip, driving a Buick, was the pole winner. GM brands Buick, Pontiac and Oldsmobile have contributed 11 victories.
AT THE TOP, LOOKING FOR MORE:
Kurt Busch, driving the No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1, leads active drivers with 14 top-five finishes at Pocono. He and Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1, are tied for the most top-10 finishes with 20. Johnson is also the leader among active drivers with 740 laps led in 34 races at the track.
ROOKIE ROCKET:
Kyle Larson set the MENCS track qualifying record during his rookie season (2014) by posting a lap of 183.438 mph in his Chevrolet Camaro SS. The record still stands. It was Larson’s first career pole award. Larson, who will drive the No. 42 Credit One Bank Camaro ZL1 this weekend, was runner-up in last June’s race at the track.
TUNE-IN:
FS1 will telecast the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway live at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, June 2. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
BY THE NUMBERS:
- Pocono 400 wins by current Team Chevy drivers:
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1, has three wins.
Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1, has three wins.
Chris Buescher, No. 37 Kroger Thrill of the Grill Camaro ZL1, recorded his first MENCS win in 2016 at the track. - A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole 33 times at the track.
- Career Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon leads all drivers with six wins and 1,040 laps led at Pocono Raceway. He’s tied for the most top-five finishes at 20.
- Chevrolet has won 39 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships.
- Team Chevy drivers have scored 781 wins and 706 poles in MENCS competition.
- Team Chevy drivers have scored 165 top-five and 350 top-10 finishes at Pocono Raceway.
- A Chevrolet has led 6,603 laps at Pocono Raceway.
Chevrolet will be pacing the field at Pocono Raceway, with a Camaro SS leading the NASCAR Xfinity Series in the Pocono 250 and a Camaro ZL1 leading the NASCAR Monster Energy Series in the Pocono 400.
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 – 10th IN STANDINGS
“I love Pocono. We got a third-place finish there last year and ran really strong throughout the entire race. Pocono is very unique, and it is different from the tracks we typically go to. The Tunnel Turn is pretty challenging at times, especially since they paved it.”
“We have been running pretty well the last few weeks. We definitely didn’t start out great in the 600, but got better toward the end and was able to salvage a seventh-place finish. Greg (Ives) and the guys have worked really hard on this 88 car and it’s is showing on track. We have made up a lot of ground in the point standings and we need to continue having weeks like we have been.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 HENDRICK AUTOGUARD CAMARO ZL1 – 15th IN STANDINGS
IT SEEMS YOU HAVE MOMENTUM GOING YOUR WAY LATELY. ARE YOU A BELIEVER IN THAT STUFF AS A DRIVER?
“Definitely. I think there’s a lot of merit to momentum and confidence. As a driver and as a team, when you’re in an upward swing a lot of times bad situations don’t seem as devastating or race-ending as they usually would. I think we have a lot of momentum on our side right now. The cars have been faster, which is something everyone has been working hard to improve. That always helps the success on-track for sure. I’m really excited for what we can do in the upcoming races, especially since this is a stretch of really good racetracks for myself and the team starting at Pocono.”
“Pocono has always been a really fun track for me. It’s a really tricky track and it’ll be even trickier this year with the downforce and straightaway speeds being a little slower. I think it’s going to make it a little more similar to the Truck Series race there and that was one of my best races.”
ARE YOU A DRIVE WHO WANTS TO BE GOOD IN ONE CORNER OR SEMI-GOOD IN ALL THREE AT POCONO?
“You try to be good in all three, but Turn Three is really important though I think. The way you get through there seems like it’s been most important the last couple years. The race we were good there last year, we started in the back and finished sixth, but we were able to get through Turn Three pretty well which definitely helped I think. So, I look at that as the place you need to be the best during the race.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CAMARO ZL1 – 16th IN STANDINGS
“I’m looking forward to getting to Pocono and seeing how this newer package races there. I’m guessing we’ll be doing more drafting, but like it’s been at just about every other track we’ve been to, we won’t really know until Friday what the racing will be like. Our team usually brings fast cars to Pocono, so we always have a shot to contend for a win, and I think that will be the case again this weekend. I enjoy racing there and appreciate the unique nature of the track. It’s fun to race somewhere that’s a bit different from where we usually compete.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CAMARO ZL1 – 21st IN STANDINGS
WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON POCONO RACEWAY AND ITS UNIQUENESS?
“Pocono is definitely unique. It’s helps get drivers ready for the road courses on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule because shifting comes into play. I enjoy Pocono Raceway. It’s a high speed, high paced track. Turn Two at Pocono is always tough. You’ve got to carry some speed to set-up your entry to Turn Three, but the long straightaways are what matter. So, if you can get off the corners with the long straights you will be running well.”
EXPLAIN A BAD TURN THREE. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST YOU GOING DOWN THE FRONT STRETCH?
“Just think of it like running a mile and losing a shoe. It’s not fun when your car is not turning off that corner and you are tight and you can’t get back to the gas. Since there is no Turn Four at Pocono Raceway, Turn Three is pretty key.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 KROGER THRILL OF THE GRILL CAMARO ZL1 – 22nd IN STANDINGS
HOW DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS HAVE GIVEN YOU SOMETHING TO BUILD OFF ON GOING INTO A RACETRACK THAT YOU’VE WON AT IN THE PAST?
“For us, we really look at the last five weeks or so. We’ve had some pretty awesome runs. Bristol, we should have been top five, but had a little mishap there. Richmond, I had much better speed than I have in my career in the past. Dover was a place where we had our work cut out for us, but the last two races we have been able to pull off a finish along with the speed that we had for the weekend. It is nice to have that added confidence when you go back to Pocono; a place where we have been able to grab a trophy from. It’s a different world now; we won’t be shifting and we won’t know what to expect with the corner speed. I would imagine that the Tunnel Turn should be pretty easily wide open now, but one and three still have some big unknowns to them. We’ll go there and learn like the rest of them. Everyone is on the same page here; we’re all learning every time we go to these places for the first time what it’s going to be like with this year’s rules.”
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 – 23rd IN STANDINGS
“Pocono is called the tricky triangle for a reason. The three corners are tough. It takes a while to find a setup that will work in all three corners because they are all so different from each other. This will be my third year at the track with the GEICO Racing team, so I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of what our Camaro ZL1 needs. This new package will make it challenging to build off of previous notes, but I love the racetrack so I’m feeling confident. My favorite corner is Turn 3. It’s fairly flat and reminds me a lot of Loudon, which is one of our best tracks as a team. I think that we will perform well this weekend.”
Chevrolet Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Statistics
Manufacturers Championships
Total (1949-2018): 39
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)
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 (1949-2018): 31
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, 2016
Event Victories
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 – (2007)
2019 STATISTICS:
Wins: 1
Poles: 7
Laps Led: 922
Top-five finishes: 15
Top-10 finishes: 43
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 780 (1949 – to date)
Poles Won to Date: 706
Laps Led to Date: 233,177
Top-Five Finishes to Date: 3,984
Top-10 Finishes to Date: 8,215
Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date
GM: 1,114
Chevrolet: 780
Pontiac: 155
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65
Ford: 781
Ford: 680
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4
Chrysler: 466
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 190
Chrysler: 59
Toyota: 130Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
