Catchfence

TEAM CHEVY IMPALA SS – INSIDE THE GARAGE AT RIR – PAT SUHY, GM RACING NASCAR GROUP MANAGER: “What a wild weekend at Talladega. First of all I’d like to congratulate Brad Keselowski on his first NASCAR Sprint Cup win. He did it with style.

“Congratulations as well to James Finch on his first win as a car owner in the Sprint Cup series. His perseverance has paid off. I’m sure we’ll see more of both of them in the winner’s circle in the future.

“It’s exciting coming to Richmond with a four-race win streak on our side. That momentum, coupled with Chevy’s six-race winning streak at the ¾-mile track, gives me a high degree of confidence.

“Of course, racing isn’t about what you did last year, or even last week. It’s about preparing for the weekend ahead. As with every race our engineers have been busy working with Team Chevy teams on everything from 7-post testing, to chassis simulations and fine-tuning the tire models to get ready for Richmond.

“While the teams have a lot of in-house expertise, GM Racing brings tools and racing professionals to complement the teams impressive resources. That teamwork puts us head and shoulders above the competition, and I’m expecting an Impala to lead the way to the checkers on Saturday night.”

IMPALA SS ON THE TRACK – RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY:
#Chevrolet leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Manufacturers’ Cup standings after nine races
#Team Chevy drivers have won 34 times in the 105 previous NSCS races at Richmond International Raceway (RIR), more than any other manufacturer
#A Bowtie driver has won the last six consecutive races at RIR
#Clint Bowyer, No. 33 BB&T Impala SS is the defending race winner at RIR. Has one (1) RIR victory
#Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Impala SS, has won three of the last four races at RIR. Has won at RIR three (3) times
#Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 National Guard-Drive the Guard/AMP Energy Impala SS, has won three (3) times at RIR
#Tony Stewart, No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Impala SS, has three (3) RIR wins
#Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Impala SS, was won twice (2) at RIR
#Jeff Burton, No. 31 Caterpillar Impala SS, has one (1) trip to RIR victory lane
#Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Impala SS, has one (1) RIR win
#Mark Martin, No. 5 Cheez-It/CARQUEST Impala SS, has one (1) victory at RIR
#Ryan Newman, No. 39 U.S. Army Impala SS, has won once (1) at RIR

TEAM CHEVY AT THE TRACK – RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY:
#At Chevy Racing Display in the midway, fans can see a great lineup of Chevrolet cars and trucks including: Impala SS, Malibu, Silverado, Traverse, HHR, Cobalt, Aveo 5, Tahoe and the 2010 Equinox
#Pit Crew for the No. 31 Caterpillar Impala SS race team will sign autographs at the display on Saturday-check the display for exact times

Chevrolet NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics

Drivers Championships
Total (1949 – 2008): 25
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 6 (1993 – 98)

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

Manufacturers Championships
Total (1949 – 2008): 32
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 9 (1983 – 91)

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

Event Victories
2009 Race Wins: 4
Total Chevrolet race wins (1949 – 2009): 637
2008 Race Wins: 11
Previous record for total race wins: 26 (2007 – 13 Impala SS, 13 Monte Carlo SS)

Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date
GM: 972
Chevrolet: 637
Pontiac: 155
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65

Ford: 694
Ford: 594
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4

Chrysler: 451
Dodge: 203
Plymouth: 189
Chrysler: 59

Toyota: 12

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), one of the world’s largest automakers, was founded in 1908, and today manufactures cars and trucks in 34 countries. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 244,500 people in every major region of the world, and sells and services vehicles in some 140 countries. In 2008, GM sold 8.35 million cars and trucks globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.

- GM Racing Communications, Press Release