TEAM CHEVY RACE HIGHLIGHTS: Stage One · Road course phenom AJ Allmendinger and the No. 16 Gabriel Glas Camaro ZL1 team qualified in the fifth position – leading Team Chevy to the green flag at Sonoma Raceway. · With no stage break cautions during road course events, pit strategy came into play during the races’ early laps. A handful of cars chose to short-pit and make their first round of pit stops prior to the end of the stage, including Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson. · Allmendinger maintained a steady top-five running position throughout Stage One – leading the Bowtie brigade to the green-white checkered in the fourth position. · Three drivers from three different Chevrolet teams collected stage points at the conclusion of the caution-free Stage One: 4th AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Gabriel Glas Camaro ZL1 9th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Pride Camaro ZL1 10th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger / Cottonelle Camaro ZL1 Stage Two · Following the completion of the green-flag pit cycle, early pit strategy paid dividends for Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson – with both drivers powering their Camaro ZL1’s to the top-five on the leaderboard. · The first caution of the race fell on lap 49 for an uncontrolled tire on pit road. Varying pit strategy continued with some teams opting to stay out for track position including Team Chevy’s Kyle Busch, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Daniel Suarez – giving their Camaro ZL1’s a top-10 starting position for the restart. · The field took the green for the restart with three circuits remaining in the stage with Busch driving his No. 8 McLaren Custom Grills Camaro ZL1 to the lead. The series’ most recent winner, Busch ultimately took the Stage Two win for his second stage triumph of the season. · Busch led Team Chevy to five of the top-six finishing positions at the end of Stage Two: 1st Kyle Busch, No. 8 McLaren Custom Grills Camaro ZL1 3rd Ross Chastain, No. 1 Kubota Camaro ZL1 4th William Byron, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1 5th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger / Cottonelle Camaro ZL1 6th Austin Dillon, No. 3 BREZTRI Camaro ZL1 Final Stage / Post-Race Notes · A spin by Denny Hamlin brought out the race’s second caution of the day with just 18 circuits remaining in the race. The majority of field’s lead lap came to pit road, with crew chief Alan Gustafson keeping the No. 9 NAPA Camaro ZL1 out for a front-row starting position for the race’s final restart. · Kyle Busch led Team Chevy to the checkered flag at Sonoma Raceway – driving his No. 8 McLaren Custom Grills Camaro ZL1 to a runner-up finish. This marks Busch’s ninth top-10 finish of the 2023 season and his ninth top-10 finish in 18 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at the Northern California road course. · Busch led Team Chevy to five top-10 finishes in the event - recorded by drivers from four different Chevrolet teams. · In 16 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race this season, Chevrolet continues to lead the series in wins (nine), top-fives (35), top-10s (68), stage wins (17) and laps led (2,032). |