CHEVROLET NCS: Chase Elliott Advances to Round of 8 with Triumph at Talladega

·       Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team scored their series-leading fifth win of 2022 at Talladega Superspeedway, punching the team’s ticket to the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8.

 

 

·       The win is Elliott’s 18th career win in NASCAR’s premier series; and his second career NCS win at Talladega Superspeedway.

 

 

·       Chevrolet took the win in both NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway this season, bringing the Bowtie brand to a manufacturer-leading 43 all-time NCS wins at the 2.66-mile Alabama track.

 

 

·       With 31 NASCAR Cup Series races complete, Chevrolet extended its manufacturer-leading win count to 18 in 2022.

 

 

·       The winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history, Chevrolet now has 832 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories.

 

·       Chevrolet swept the NASCAR tripleheader race weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, with Elliott’s victory following Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 25 Rackley WAR Chevrolet Silverado RST team’s win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series; and AJ Allmendinger and the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Camaro SS team’s win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. 

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-20 RACE RESULTS:

POS.   DRIVER

1st      Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1

4th      Ross Chastain, No. 1 Jockey Camaro ZL1

6th      Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Camaro ZL1

8th      Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Camaro ZL1

11th    Landon Cassill, No. 77 Voyager: Crypto for All Camaro ZL1

12th    William Byron, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1

13th    Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Camaro ZL1

15th    Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1

18th    Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1

19th    Noah Gragson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1

 

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS

POS.  DRIVER

1st      Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)

2nd      Ryan Blaney (Ford)

3rd      Michael McDowell (Ford)

4th      Ross Chastain (Chevrolet)

5th      Denny Hamlin (Toyota)

 

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12 elimination race will get underway next Sunday, October 9, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course with the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at 2 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, the NBCSports Gold App, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

                                                                                                               

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 JOCKEY CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 4th

You’re 28-points to the good going into the ROVAL next weekend. How about that run? You had a lot of time at the front today.

“Yes, sir. It’s really good to come out of Talladega (Superspeedway) with a top-five. We raced up front most of the day. This No. 1 Jockey Camaro ZL1 was so fast. I could push people so well and take pushes better than we have in the past. We made no handling adjustments, aero adjustments or anything on the car all day. I didn’t ask for anything, they just left it alone, and that’s a testament to Trackhouse Racing.

 

 

We won here in the spring, but we truly made our Chevy better coming back here. It didn’t quite work out; I made a few too many mistakes. I just needed to stay in the middle lane throughout the entire race. We really didn’t need to go back to the bottom. We gave up two or three spots, but we were there at the end.”

 

 

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 18th

“We were able to get some stage points, so that was good. Stage two was working out. We almost got the Stage win; we fell into third, but we were OK with that. In the final stage, the pit cycle worked out well. I just got squirrely off of (turn) two once and lost a little bit of track position. I made one bad lane decision and pretty much ended our race.

 

 

I’m bummed at myself for doing that. I thought it was going to be the right move, but it ended up being the wrong move.”

 

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 1st

After the rough race at Texas, you guys kind of needed something like this. Walk me through those final two laps and the push from Erik Jones.

“Yeah, first, how about these fans, man? That’s unreal. Moments like that, you have to really cherish. You guys are what makes this special to me, so thank you sincerely. I really appreciate it.

 

 

Yeah, it was a wild last couple laps. I wasn’t super crazy about being on the bottom. Fortunately, I got just clear enough off of (turn) two to slide up in front of Erik (Jones). He gave me some great shoves. Obviously, a Team Chevy partner there. Just had a good enough run to get out front and then I was able to stay far enough in front of Ryan (Blaney) here at the line to get it done.

 

These things are so, so hard to win. You have to enjoy them. Just appreciate everybody’s effort today. NAPA, Chevrolet, all of our partners that make this happen. Everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, the engine shop. The boss is here, so excited to celebrate with him; get ready to go to the ROVAL and try to grab another one.

 

 

 

Thank you guys so much for coming out. Great crowd, great show.”

 

You have had a rough Playoff. Darlington, Texas last week. How will this change the momentum for the 9 team?

“It gets you through the next one. That’s all you can ask for.. to have more opportunities. That’s really what this is about. We got six more Playoff points to go with that win today. That’s a big deal.

We’re excited for these final handful of events. Hopefully we can make it out to Phoenix and give them a run.”

 

You won in front of hometown fans at Atlanta and now Talladega.

“Yeah, north Georgia is not far from here, so it definitely makes it feel like a home race. Again, always special. Never take that for granted. Thank you so much.”

 

 

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 12th

“I just struggled there to get to the front. When we would be up there, we would kind of maintain, but we just struggled to get towards the front and were just kind of boxed in there at the end. So, yeah, ended up where we did, and it was unfortunate because I felt good coming in here and felt like we had a good opportunity. We just never could get the track position to stay up near the front.”

 

TY DILLON, NO. 42 SUNSEEKERRESORTS.COM CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 23rd

“Uneventful day on our Sunseeker Camaro. We tried to play it smart and stay out of what I thought would be the inevitable big one, but it just never happened. That’s like the first time in about eleven superspeedway races that we haven’t had a big one. But, I’ve been successful being smart in these races. Eventually, it’s going to getcha, but I’ll play that game more times than not.”

 

 

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 6th

“We had a good day today at Talladega. Our FOCUSfactor Chevy was fast all weekend. We were able to push and be pushed when needed and stay up front most of the race. I thought we had a good shot at the win and put ourselves in the right position on the final restart but unfortunately, the guys behind us had some issues and we didn’t get the push we needed on the final restart. Frustrating ending for sure, but we’ll take it and move on. I’m proud of the progress this 43 team and everyone at Petty GMS has made this season. It’s fun to drive cars like this and have a shot at the win.”

 

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TOOTSIES ORCHID LOUNGE CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 8th

“Thanks to Chevrolet, CommScope and everybody that helps us to be here. We got very lucky today man. The engine blew up with 15 laps to go and I was barely hanging in there. On that restart, I couldn’t go and the 24 (William Byron) helped me a lot to get going, but the engine was killed. So I guess we had a little bit of luck today because it was definitely killed and we were about to not finish that race.”

 

At the end, you were just hoping to hang on?

“The vibration was so loud and the engine was holding on. I think the engine was fine, but we didn’t have any power. The 24 (William Byron) was pushing me and if it wasn’t for that, I wasn’t going to be able to stay there.

 

A decent day for the No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Camaro ZL1 team. We were able to get a couple of points. We are looking forward to the ROVAL.”

 

How do you feel about your chances to advance at the ROVAL?

“I feel very good about it. My goal today was to at least break even. I haven’t seen the points to know, but I think we did that. Heading to the ROVAL, I feel very confident that we can contend for it.”

 

TEAM CHEVY RACE QUICK NOTES

Stage One:

·       Stage One of the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway saw three cautions and 25 lead changes among 11 different drivers.

·       Among those different leaders included six Chevrolet drivers, with the Bowtie brand leading 28 laps in the 60-lap stage.

·       Five Chevrolet drivers recorded top-10 finishes in the Stage, led by Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team in third.

·       Stage One Team Chevy Top-10:

3rd      Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1

6th      Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger / SunnyD Camaro ZL1

8th      Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1

9th      Noah Gragson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1

10th     Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Camaro ZL1

 

Stage Two:

·       The 60-lap Stage Two went caution free, but intensity ramped up as the top of the leaderboard saw 41 lead changes at the conclusion of the Stage.

·       At the 120-lap mark of the race, four of the top-six drivers that had led the most laps at that point of the race were Chevrolet drivers, including Erik Jones (third; 13 laps led), Ross Chastain (fourth; 12 laps led), Tyler Redick (fifth; 11 laps led) and Kyle Larson (sixth; 7 laps led).

·       In a three-wide race for the Stage Two win, Chase Elliott crossed the finish line first, giving the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team its sixth stage win of 2022.

·       Chevrolet drivers took eight of the top-10 finishes in the Stage, with the Bowtie brigade sweeping the top-seven positions.

·       Stage Two Team Chevy Top-10:

1st      Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1

2nd      Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1

3rd      Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1

4th      Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Camaro ZL1

5th      Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Camaro ZL1

6th      Ross Chastain, No. 1 Jockey Camaro ZL1

7th      Landon Cassill, No. 77 Voyager: Crypton for All Camaro ZL1

9th      Daniel Hemric, No. 16 Celsius Camaro ZL1

 

 

 

Final Stage / Post-Race Notes:

·       The No. 16 Celsius Camaro ZL1 came to a stop leaving pit road, bringing out the caution on lap 181. When the caution flew, Erik Jones and the No. 43 FOCUSfactor Camaro ZL1 was in the top position, taking a front row restart position with just three laps remaining.

·       With a strong push from fellow Chevrolet driver Erik Jones, Chase Elliott powered his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 to the front.

·       In a drag race to the finish, Elliott held onto the top spot to score his series-leading fifth NASCAR Cup Series win of 2022. 

GM PR