No. 3 Corvette on GTLM podium for second straight season; Gavin, Milner finish top-five

WATKINS GLEN, New York (July 1, 2018) – Corvette Racing endured one of its most trying races in recent memory Sunday, and the team was rewarded with a runner-up finish by Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. The No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R led 30 laps at Watkins Glen International as the squad soldiered through record-setting heat in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

The result moves Garcia and Gavin to third place in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) points standings in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Chevrolet stands third in Manufacturer points heading into next weekend’s race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park just outside Toronto.

Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner also spent considerable time out front Sunday in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette and ultimately finished fifth in class.

“The Corvette drivers, crew and engineers executed their race plan in extreme conditions with the same never-give-up effort that has defined this program for the last 20 years,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “We picked up some critical points in the Driver and Manufacturer standings with the top-two finish.

“It’s always great to race with the support of so many Corvette owners here at Watkins Glen in the Corvette Corral and watching around the world,” he added. “We can’t wait to race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park Motorsports Park next weekend.”

Sunday’s race featured multiple strategies over the six hours as the two Corvettes started from third and fourth. The pair of cars couldn’t match the pace of its four strongest competitors, but the race’s second half saw Corvette Racing makes its move to the front.

Magnussen began the push with a strong second stint that saw him manage his fuel enough to be the last GTLM car to pit just before the three-hour mark. By going a lap longer on fuel, it meant the No. 3 Corvette needed less fuel than its competitors 30 minutes later and moved from sixth to third.

The same caution period saw Gavin move into the lead in the No. 4 Corvette as he was able to make a pit stop just before the yellow flag came out and the pits closed. He and Milner traded single stints throughout, and both Corvettes were in position to challenge for the race lead when the final caution period ended with nearly 40 minutes left.

Corvette Racing is back in action this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix. The race will air at 4 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 and live on the FOX Sports Go app. Streaming in-car footage along with live audio coverage of practice, qualifying and the race from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – SECOND IN GTLM: “I think we had very close to a perfect race. You’ll always look back and think about things we could have done differently. I had fuel reserve for the last six laps or so. I don’t know how much fuel we were able to use at the end so maybe that didn’t allow us to go as hard at the end. We had to play it more conservative just in case. Perhaps we would have been able to be more aggressive and race the Fords harder. Thinking about where we have had lately and where we have been in practice and qualifying… to be fair we weren’t dreaming about a win. We wanted a good result, and today was almost a win where we led a lot of laps. We can’t be upset or depressed by second place. That’s a top job and result for everyone at Corvette Racing.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – SECOND IN GTLM: “It was a tough race in many areas. The heat was a problem. The double stint early for me was not easy, but I have to say I liked the car all the race. But there at the end, we just didn’t have the pace when it mattered so we’ll work a little harder on it. Antonio did great in the heat and trying to get the Michelin tires to last – a fantastic job. The team did, as usual, everything they could in the pits to try and improve our position which they did. But second was all we could get out of it today. I’m very happy with that for the points… fantastic. But after six hours of sweating, you want to win.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FIFTH IN GTLM: “The race had a lot that happened. It was brutally hot, and that was pushing everything to the limit whether that was the tires, the car, the brakes, the crew, the drivers… At points today we were over the limit with some of those things. It was a real battle out there today just to get through to the finish. Tommy did a fantastic job there at the end just to get the car home. Fifth points… is that where we wanted to be? Absolutely not. We want to be up there at the sharp end battling for the victory. But it wasn’t our day. We need to go back and look and see what we can do better. I’m glad that Tommy made it through unscathed as we leave here. It’s also good to see the sister car on the podium and get some good points for us.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FIFTH IN GTLM: “The two Fords at the start were definitely the quickest, and the Porsches were strong. Our qualifying position stymied them early. It was a phenomenal job by the 3 Corvette guys to hold on to second place at the end. Both the Porsches had a little bit of pace on us. We were struggling at the end with the brakes, so it took me a little bit to figure how to drive the car with the brakes in that condition. It’s something to look at for the future and see why we struggled there. Fifth isn’t too bad, but it’s a little frustrating when you’re a little further up for a good chunk of the race and things fade at the end.”

Article by Ryan Smith

Photo by Richard Prince

Hard-Fought, Fifth-Place Finish for No. 63 Corvette

LE MANS, France (June 17, 2018) – In 19 years of competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Corvette Racing has experienced both disappointment and achievement. The constant in each case, though, is the drive of those on the program to give maximum effort each and every appearance.

That was on display again this year at the 86th running of the French endurance classic. Corvette Racing showed its mettle in the face of adversity as it fought for a ninth class victory at Le Mans. It wasn’t meant to be as Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Mike Rockenfeller finished fifth in the GTE Pro category with their No. 63 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R.

“All race long, the Corvette Racing C7.R teams never gave up,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “We know all the lows and highs of Le Mans, including our eight class victories here. We race at Le Mans to win, and we also race to learn. That is no different this year. The learnings from Le Mans will help us as we strive to continually improve. We look forward to getting back on track at Watkins Glen.”

Campbell added: “Our race team appreciates the support from Corvette owners and fans from all over world.”

The No. 63 team scraped and clawed for positions the entire 24 hours. Garcia began the race ninth, and the Corvette never fell below that the entire way. Despite lacking overall pace all three drivers, the crew and race engineers worked tirelessly to hover around the top-five before the Corvette settled into fifth place inside the final quarter of the race.

The tale of the No. 64 Corvette began to unfold early. Gavin fell back to 15th at the start but rebounded nicely to 12th before experiencing trouble with the right-front suspension. He handed over to Milner after a double-stint; however the team brought the Corvette back to the pits and into the garage after Milner reported severe handling issues.

The stop resulted in four laps lost, but it didn’t take the fight out of the No. 64 team. From 17th place, the Gavin/Milner/Fässler trio put in solid stints to go along with excellent stops and brake changes from the Corvette crew. Well into the third quarter of the race, however, the No. 64 Corvette began to show signs of an engine overheating condition that ultimately resulted in the car’s retirement from the race.

There’s little time for rest and recovery. Corvette Racing returns to competition in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with the Sahlen’s Six Hours at The Glen from Watkins Glen International on June 29-July 1.

Article by Ryan Smith

Strong runs from deep in the field for Camaro GT4.R quartet

LAKEVILLE, Conn. (May 28, 2018) – A pair of top-10 finishes Park left Blackdog Speed Shop in good spirits Monday following the second of two GTS SprintX races at Lime Rock for the Pirelli World Challenge. Both of the team’s Chevrolet Camaro GT4.Rs made tremendous progress from deep in the field to end Memorial Day on a high note.

Lawson Aschenbach and Andy Pilgrim placed third in their class and fifth overall in the No. 1 Blackdog Speed Shop Camaro GT4.R, while Michael Cooper and Tony Gaples made up more ground than any entry in the race with a 10th-place overall finish – after starting 25th – in the No. 11 Blackdog Speed Shop Camaro. They earned the race’s Hard Charger award for their efforts.

The results were enough to move Aschenbach and Pilgrim to third in SprintX points with Gaples and Cooper tied for fifth after six GTSX races.

Aschenbach and Cooper started, and unlike the morning race both Camaros made it through the start unscathed. The duo took advantage as Aschenbach moved up five spots and Cooper gained nine positions to 16th as the race went yellow on the opening lap.

It took 27 minutes for the race to resume, but when it did the Camaros kept up their charge. By the halfway mark, Cooper ran 11th and Aschenbach 12th as the pit window opened for the race’s mandatory driver change. Aschenbach ducked in from seventh with 23 minutes left and handed off to Pilgrim. Cooper came in two laps later from fourth for the change to Gaples.

Once the pit window closed with 20 minutes remaining, Pilgrim cycled through to ninth and Gaples to 11th. The team’s progression wasn’t done. Pilgrim gained three spots to sixth when a trio of cars ahead of him went off-track. Gaples also gained a spot late with a nifty move out of the famed Uphill corner.

Blackdog Speed Shop’s next race is set for June 22-24 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

Sweep at CTMP in World Challenge GTS as Gaples fifth in GTSA

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (May 20, 2018) – Blackdog Speed Shop’s Lawson Aschenbach tightened his grip on a potential sixth championship in Pirelli World Challenge on Sunday with a second straight GTS victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport in his Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R.

The defending class champion won for the fourth time in as many races to open the GTS Sprint season in the No. 1 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R. He led every lap for the second straight day after starting from pole position for the 50-minute sprint.

The win also was the 53rd for the Camaro brand, tied for first all-time in World Challenge history. Blackdog Speed Shop also won in GTS for the 25th time to rank first among class entrants.

Teammate Tony Gaples was part of another fight for the GTSA podium in the No. 11 Blackdog Speed Shop Camaro GT4.R and finished fifth in class but less than two seconds from another podium.

Unlike Saturday’s opening GTS race, Aschenbach had to fight the entire way Sunday. He briefly lost the lead on the opening lap but regained it before he and Ian James reached the start-finish line. The two were rarely separated by more than a half-second over the final 25 minutes, which included a full-course caution period with 22 minutes left.

The race began again with 10 minutes left with Aschenbach narrowly holding off his challenger after each lap. His winning margin was just 0.145 seconds for his fifth career World Challenge victory at CTMP.

Gaples began 12th overall and fifth in GTSA, but he gained a spot in the category after seven laps. Another fierce battle in the class ensued – like Saturday – but a bobble by a competitor ahead of him cost Gaples time and two positions as the race approached halfway.

Undeterred, Gaples pressed the challenge in his Camaro for the balance of the race. Although he just missed this third podium of the season, Sunday’s efforts were enough to move him into second place in the GTSA provisional points standings heading to next weekend’s GTS SprintX event at Lime Rock Park.

Article by Blackdog Racing

Hard-fought third place for No. 3 Corvette in return to Mid-Ohio

LEXINGTON, Ohio (May 6, 2018) – Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia earned a podium finish Sunday in Corvette Racing’s return to Mid-Ohio Sports Car in the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio. The duo piloted their No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R to a third-place finish in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) class.

The result vaulted Garcia and Magnussen into a fourth-place tie for the GTLM Driver Championship with Corvette teammates Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner. They placed eighth in GTLM on Sunday in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R as the team returned to Mid-Ohio for the first time since 2012.

Chevrolet is third in GTLM Manufacturer points – three points out of first place – as Corvette Racing takes a break from IMSA competition to travel to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the 19th consecutive season.

The Garcia/Magnussen duo began fifth, but Garcia gained a spot on the opening lap. The close level of competition and constant traffic around Mid-Ohio meant the No. 3 Corvette held its position for the middle of the race.

It wasn’t easy, especially for Magnussen who was part of a three-way fight for third place in class inside the final 40 minutes. He hung tough and made his move going into the first corner with 27 minutes left to move into podium position.

Milner and Gavin started eighth, but the No. 4 Corvette moved up through the field with a strong start from Milner. He drove the opening hour before handing off to Gavin. The No. 4 squad had some of the worst luck with traffic and opted to pit with 70 minutes left in hopes of catching a caution period to gain track position. Unfortunately the race went green for the entire two hours and 40 minutes. Gavin eventually had to take a late splash of fuel two laps from the end.

Corvette Racing’s next event is the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 16-17. The team has won eight times in the French enduro.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED THIRD IN GTLM: “That was hard to watch, because I really don’t like to be watching! I prefer to be in the car. But Jan did a really, really, really good job. The whole race went according to plan. Fifth wasn’t good enough to be up front and fight for the win, but we started to make up positions like we always do. We started to see that strategy was a key thing here. We kind of managed to fight the Fords and we lost some time fighting them on everything. That is what probably allowed the 25 BMW to go crazy on strategy and that is when they went ahead of us. We learned from that, too. We are usually the ones doing crazy strategies like they did. It paid off for them. When you are in the lead pack, you need to do what we did. We got some good points over our competitors. I’m happy on how everything worked against the actual pace we had today. Porsche really deserved that win. Next time I will be a little bit faster in qualifying so we can fight for the win.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED THIRD IN GTLM: “For how things developed, this is not a bad result. Obviously we would like to have had the pace of the Porsche and BMW today but we kind of got in the middle of them, so only one of each got ahead. It was a good race… good strategy and good pit stops from the crew as usual. We had a good race car. It was all-around fun. I had really a fun battle with Joey (Hand). We got a little racey but it was good fun. Hopefully we get to have more good racing like that throughout the year. I really enjoyed it.“

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED EIGHTH IN GTLM: “We had to gamble a bit today. We were chasing a chassis imbalance all weekend, and we tried something in the warmup. But things just didn’t go our way with the start and traffic. Tommy really got balked in a couple spots, and it seemed like that happened more often than not to stop our progress. Then we had to come in with two laps left for a splash of fuel. It was that sort of day. It seemed like we had similar pace to everyone else a lot of the time but there wasn’t enough pace to get by anyone. It’s a bit of a frustrating day but we’ll move on and learn from this for the big one – Le Mans.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED EIGHTH IN GTLM: “I was pretty happy with that first stint. We’re staying in touch with the cars ahead of us, depending on traffic. Maybe we were a little off but we were close enough where we could race of the most part. It’s definitely tough at Mid-Ohio. There aren’t a lot of tracks where you have a car that you’ve felt like you’ve worked on all weekend, and this is one of those. The racing was good and fun. It was chaotic at times with passing GTD cars and being passed by P cars. We struggled a little bit with balance, but I don’t think we’re alone on that. I didn’t seen anyone out there who was super happy with their cars.”

Article by Ryan Smith and Judy Kouba Dominick

Photo by Richard Prince

Gavin, Milner, Fässler lead team with fifth-place GTLM finish at 12 Hours

SEBRING, Fla. (March 17, 2018) – Corvette Racing put forth another strong effort in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Saturday with Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fässler leading the team’s efforts at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Advance Auto Parts.

The trio in their No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R placed sixth in GT Le Mans (GTLM) after a trouble-free run that saw the Corvette go from ninth at the start to the lead of the race at the four-hour mark.

As was the case at the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, the No. 4 Corvette team didn’t make any missteps, didn’t lose any time in the pitlane and kept the C7.R running all day and into the night. The pace from the rest of the front-running cars, however, proved to be more than a spotless race could overcome.

Saturday marked Corvette Racing’s 20th appearance at the Sebring 12 Hours, which started with the team hoping for its 12th class victory and fourth in a row. The race also was the 200th event for the Corvette Racing program.

Defending Sebring class winners Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Mike Rockenfeller – in the No. 3 Corvette – finished eighth in class after a determined fightback from a variety of early-race troubles. The Corvette suffered a punctured tire resulting from contact on the opening lap, followed by visits to the garage to solve electrical and steering problems in the first six hours.

The next event for Corvette Racing is the Bubba Burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach from the streets of Long Beach, Calif., on Saturday, April 14 with live television coverage on FOX.

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED SIXTH IN GTLM: “It looked like in the middle of the race that we were looking pretty good. As we started to lose the sunlight, it looked like we lost the balance and performance in the car. We were unable to generate the grip we needed to be competitive. There are some lessons to learn here. We battled all weekend with our Corvette and tried to come away with as many points as possible. It’s frustrating through to have a clean race, not make any mistakes and come away with nothing. Marcel and Tommy drove well. We rolled the dice a couple of times on strategies.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED SIXTH IN GTLM: “All things considered, that was as good as we could have expected today when you look at how practice shook out. All the guys on the team did a great job. Marcel and Olly did a great job – no mistakes. I only had one little bit of contact from another car all day between the three of us. We can’t be unhappy about that. We tried everything we could throughout the race to make something happen… strategy calls, car changes, things like that. We can be proud of the effort we put in all weekend. We never gave up! But I still think we can be disappointed with the finishing result. That is a valid frustration. We got OK points. Our Corvette’s in one piece. We can all hold our heads high knowing we did the best job we could today.”

MARCEL FÄSSLER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED SIXTH IN GTLM: “If you look at the results, I think it we can for sure be a bit disappointed because we knew it was going to be a very tough race for us going into it today. But now seeing it… that there really wasn’t a chance to go on the podium, it is disappointing for the team. But we look now to the future, and we know that we come back stronger. It wasn’t our weekend, now we focus forward.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R- FINISHED NINTH IN GTLM: ”For us here, it feels like we either go from winning to completely out of contention. It is a bit of a shame to not even be able to fight for it. We knew at the start that it would be hard. After the puncture, we kind of came back and I had the feeling following the Porsches that the car wasn’t that bad. That was in the opening hour. I had some hope there that it was probably going to be a good race for us. But then everything fell apart. It was very unfortunate. It was very difficult to spot are issues were. We lost a ton of laps. In this category, as soon as you have a little mistake, you lose every opportunity.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED NINTH IN GTLM: This is Sebring for you. When things are great around here, man they are so great. But when they are like they are today, boy is it a long day. Our guys worked hard so we could go back out. We drove to the end to take whatever we can take. It is just about salvaging one or two more points if we can. It’s not what we came here for, but it is what we have.”

MIKE ROCKENFELLER, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED NINTH IN GTLM: “I had a couple of decent stints there. In the first one, we were still struggling with the steering. After that, things were fine. The Corvette was very good and it was good to get more laps. The track was difficult and very greasy for everyone toward the end of my second stint. We thought we would have a chance of victory, but we tried everything we could. Our pace was similar to the No. 4 Corvette. Things happen at Sebring but we kept fighting.”

Article by Ryan Smith and Judy Kouba Dominick

DETROIT (March 12, 2018) – It may not have been the first track on which Corvette Racing competed, but there is no doubting the impact the team has made on Sebring International Raceway – and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Advance Auto Parts – during the past 19 years.

It’s fitting that as Corvette Racing continues with its 20th season of competition that we look at a venue that has been synonymous with the team’s success since the last 1990s. No track in America has seen Corvette Racing pile up the mileage and honors than Sebring. Here are a few to digest ahead of America’s oldest sports car race.

• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 20 years: Corvette Racing and Chevrolet.

• 3: Consecutive wins for Corvette Racing heading into the 2018 Sebring race. Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen/Ryan Briscoe won in 2015, Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler in 2016, and Garcia/Magnussen/Mike Rockenfeller in 2017.

• 3: Tracks where Corvette Racing has competed in each of its previous 19 years: Sebring, Laguna Seca and Road Atlanta

• 4: GT class pole positions at Sebring for Oliver Gavin and Ron Fellows, tied for most in event history.

• 8: Sebring victories – a race record – for Johnny O’Connell, a Sebring Hall of Famer who drove for Corvette Racing from 2001-10. It includes one overall and seven class wins.

• 8: As in Chevrolet’s small-block V8. More than 100 million units have been sold worldwide and is the most successful engine in American motorsports.

• 11: Number of Sebring victories for Corvette Racing. It’s tied with Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the most at any venue in team history.

• 12: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001

• 15: Number of GTLM wins for Corvette Racing since the start of 2014. That is the most of any manufacturer and team in the category.

• 19: Starts at Sebring for defending GTLM race and Driver Champion Jan Magnussen. He will tie Johnny O’Connell’s record for consecutive Sebring starts in 2018.

• 21: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres and Utah.

• 24: Corvette Racing drivers at the Sebring 12 Hours through the years: – Justin Bell, Olivier Beretta, Ryan Briscoe, Emmanuel Collard, Kelly Collins, Marcel Fässler, Ron Fellows, Franck Freon, Antonio Garcia, Oliver Gavin, John Heinricy, Chris Kniefel, Robin Liddell, Jan Magnussen, Tommy Milner, Simon Pagenaud, Max Papis, John Paul Jr., Andy Pilgrim, Mike Rockenfeller, Scott Sharp, Jordan Taylor and Richard Westbrook.

• 106: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 98 in North America and eight at Le Mans

• 199: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999.

• 40,286: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing during the 12 Hours of Sebring. That’s close to two full trips around the Earth at its equator (approx. 24,900 miles).

• 271,560.90: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. That is enough to launch a shuttle from Earth to the moon with more than 30,000 miles in excess.

First weekend sweep for Blackdog Camaro since 2014; Gaples takes third-place GTSA podium finish

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 11, 2018) – Blackdog Speed Shop’s Lawson Aschenbach put an exclamation point on the opening weekend of the Pirelli World Challenge season by finishing a sweep of both GTS rounds in his No. 1 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R on the streets of St. Petersburg.

The victory was the first weekend sweep for Blackdog Speed Shop since the 2014 Mid-Ohio weekend, and it marks Aschenbach’s 26th career World Challenge victory. Blackdog Speed Shop increased its record-setting tally of GTS entrant wins to 23.

The news was doubly good for the Blackdog effort with a third-place GTSA finish for Tony Gaples in the No. 11 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R. He finished 11th overall, one spot ahead of his starting position.

The race ended six minutes early when a heavy crash brought out the second full-course caution of the day with nine minutes left. With not enough time to get the accident cleared, race officials threw the red and checkered flags together a short time later.

It ended a weekend that saw Aschenbach flex his muscle in the Blackdog Camaro. He began from pole position – courtesy of the fastest lap in Saturday’s victory – and won the race to the first corner Sunday. With a lead that seldom grew to more than one second, the defending GTS Champion deftly handled the pressure from behind before and after the race’s first full-course caution at the 10-minute mark.

In the meantime, Gaples maintained his position after gaining a spot on the opening lap. As Aschenbach nailed the restart with 32 minutes left, Gaples steadily worked his way up to the bumper of the 10th-place No. 72 Mercedes. Just like Saturday, Gaples remained patient and sought an opportunity to crack the overall top-10, but the final yellow and eventual stoppage stymied those hopes.

At the front of the field, Aschenbach led wire-to-wire for his sixth career World Challenge victory at St. Petersburg and his first weekend sweep at his home track.

With the result, Aschenbach leads the GTS Driver Championship, as does Blackdog Speed Shop in the category’s Team standings. Gaples is provisionally tied for third in GTSA Driver points but is only two points from second place.

Blackdog Speed Shop’s next event is March 23-25 at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. It is the first GTS Sprint X event of the season. Andy Pilgrim will drive the No. 1 Camaro GT4.R with Aschenbach while Gaples reunites with former teammate and 2015 GTS Champion Michael Cooper.

LAWSON ASCHENBACH, NO. 1 BLACKDOG SPEED SHOP CHEVROLET CAMARO GT4.R: “It’s such a pleasure to race here at St. Petersburg, and I have a lot of fond memories of this place. Maybe we should have all our races here… I’d be fine with that! The fans are awesome for coming out. This is such a good event because the city embodies this event so much, and we’re happy to be a part of it.

“Thanks again to Chevrolet, Blackdog Speed Shop, Pratt Miller, Forgeline Wheels and all our partners for helping make this happen. Our Camaro GT4.R was on rails today. The start and restart were really important in staying out front. Fortunately there was a pretty good battle behind me between the Porsche and the Audi, so I had a little bit of breathing room sometimes. But they kept me honest there in the late going. I’m really happy to get a double this weekend for our team. Hopefully we can take this momentum to COTA.”

TONY GAPLES, NO. 11 BLACKDOG SPEED SHOP CHEVROLET CAMARO GT4.R: “Coming home with third and fourth from a street race with no damage is a good accomplishment. I’m pretty much satisfied with how the race weekend went for us with the No. 11 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevy Camaro GT4.R. Maybe I could have made up some overall positions in the order but it wasn’t worth putting a brand new car at risk on its first weekend. We’ll have better opportunities to gain points and positions in the championship in the next handful of events. Congratulations to the team and Lawson on sweeping the weekend. It’s hard to imagine a better start to our championship defense. On to Austin.”

Blackdog Speed Shop Facts and Figures – Pirelli World Challenge

•Winningest GTS program in PWC history – 23 victories

Two Team Championships (2013, 2017)

Four Driver Championships (2013-15, 2017)

Two Manufacturer Championships (2013, 2017)

Chevrolet Facts and Figures – Pirelli World Challenge

•Chevrolet Camaro second all-time in PWC victories by model (51).

•Chevrolet first all-time in PWC victories by brand (123)

•General Motors first all-time in PWC victories by manufacturer (188)

•Championship Totals

Chevrolet: Five Manufacturer Championships (1990-91, 1994, 2013, 2017)

Blackdog Speed Shop: Two Team Championships (2013, 2017)

Blackdog Speed Shop: Four Driver Championships (2013-15, 2017)

Article by Blackdog Speed Shop

Darrell Wallace Jr. is Runner-Up to Give Chevrolet a 1-2 Finish

DAYTONA, Fla., (Feb. 18, 2018) – In its inaugural season, the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 opened with a win in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series opener, the Daytona 500. Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 DOW Camaro ZL1, took the lead on the final lap en route to winning The Great American Race at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday.

“I never really thought about it until we took the lead about having a shot to win. I knew we were in a good spot if I could get a push down the backstretch. Heck, we went down the backstretch, had a run, went low, the No. 43 went low and I just had more momentum than he did and caught him. It turned him, but heck we won the Daytona 500 we are sitting here now,” said Dillon, following his second career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series victory.

Chevrolet has now won the Daytona 500 24 times, more than any other manufacturer.

“Winning the Daytona 500, the most iconic race of the year, is absolutely incredible,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet Vice President of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “It is a goal every year. It is extra special to win it this year with Austin Dillon and Richard Childress and our new Camaro ZL1 race car. Chevy’s designers and engineers worked well with our race teams to prepare the Camaro ZL1 for this season. We are proud of our partnership with both of them as Austin wins his first Daytona 500 and Richard wins his third.”

Darrell Wallace Jr., driver of the No. 43 Click n’ Close Camaro ZL1, finished second in just his fifth career start.

“Wow. That makes you feel good. It definitely pulls on your heartstrings a little bit, just to know that you’re being watched by so many greats. They’re the ones you’re looking up to and they reach out to you and that’s really cool. So, I kind of feel like that little kid that looks up to me and I respond back to them. So, I kind of get that little girl feeling in me, or little boy feeling, or whatever it is. But it was just a great day and a great week for our Click n’ Close team. The new Chevy Camaro ZL1 is in Victory Lane and the RCR alliance is one-two, so it’s pretty good. It’s good to see the No. 3 back in Victory Lane here in Daytona with the No. 43 at the top of the board as well,” said Wallace.

Chris Buescher, No. 37 Kleenex Camaro ZL1 (fifth); Ryan Newman, No. 31 Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s Camaro ZL1, (eighth); and AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Kroger ClickList Camaro ZL1 (10th) also finished in the top 10 for Team Chevy.

A 12-car incident on lap 198 sent the race into overtime. Pole-sitter Alex Bowman, No. 88 Nationwide Camaro ZL1, was one of six Team Chevy drivers caught up in a 12-car incident on lap 198. Bowman, who led 13 laps to pace all Chevrolet drivers, finished 17th.

A number of key Team Chevy drivers were involved in earlier mishaps. A nine-car wreck on lap 59 ended the day of seven-time series champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Camaro ZL1, relegating him to a 38th place finish. That incident also collected Kyle Larson, No. 42 Credit One Bank Camaro ZL1, and William Byron, No. 24 AXALTA Camaro ZL1. Larson finished 19th, three laps down, and Byron ended up 23rd, four laps off the pace.

Just past the midway point, a multi-car wreck took out Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1, who was running second at the time and had won the Can-Am Duel #2 on Thursday, Kasey Kahne, No. 95 Procore Camaro ZL1, and Danica Patrick, No. 7 GoDaddy Camaro ZL1, who was making her final start in NASCAR. Elliott, Kahne and Patrick finished 33rd, 34th and 35th, respectively.

Chevrolet swept all three races at Daytona International Speedway. Johnny Sauter, No. 21 Allegiant Airlines Silverado, led a race-high 39 laps en route to winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 on Friday night, and Tyler Reddick, No. 9 BurgerFi Camaro SS, won the NASCAR Xfinity Series Powershares QQQ 300 on Saturday afternoon.

Next week the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Folds of Honor QuickTrip 500.

Article by Nancy Wager, Judy Kouba Dominick, Jessica Stroupe

Camaro ZL1 to start first in debut outing

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 11, 2018) – Alex Bowman put his No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the top starting spot for the upcoming Daytona 500, the season-opener for the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS), which will run Feb. 18 at Daytona International Speedway. With a fast lap of 46.002 seconds/195.644 mph around the 2.5-mile race track, Bowman claimed his second MENCS career pole and fourth straight Daytona 500 pole for Hendrick Motorsports.

Bowman’s feat is also the first ever pole win for the all-new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, the sixth consecutive Daytona 500 pole for the Bowtie Brand, the 25thpole in 60 years of competition in the Great American Race and the 695th pole overall for Team Chevy.

“It was a little nerve-wracking,” said Bowman after the qualifying session. “Our Nationwide Camaro ZL1 has been great since we unloaded. All the guys back at the chassis shop, body shop, and the Hendrick engine shop have been top-notch. They’ve all worked so hard. And we knew we were going for the pole; that’s what we’re here to do. And I thought we were at a little disadvantage letting the car cool down as long as we did since we went pretty early in the first round. I was a little nervous for that second round. But it took off well off pit road and I did everything I could do. It just means the world to have Nationwide support and to be able to put it on the pole.”

All of Bowman’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates were fast enough to advance to the second and final round. Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevy Camaro ZL1 was third fast in the order, Rookie of the Year contender, William Byron, was fifth quick in his No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and Chase Elliott, who has won the Daytona 500 pole for the past two years, was 10th in his No. 9 Napa Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

In today’s two-round qualifying format, Bowman posted the fastest lap in the first round, and then edged out Denny Hamlin (Toyota) in the second round of 12 to claim the top starting spot. Only the top two positions were determined in today’s session.

The starting order for the rest of the 38 cars entered for the Daytona 500 will be determined by the outcome of the Can-Am Duel which will be held on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7 pm ET and will be aired live on FS1, MRN, and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Article by Team Chevy: Nancy Wager | Judy Kouba Dominick | Jessica Stroupe