Chevrolet Carries Momentum to Watkins Glen for Milestone Race

• Team Chevy marks 100th Verizon IndyCar Series race since 2012
• Chevrolet has registered 66 race wins and 73 poles in that span
• INDYCAR Grand Prix at The Glen is penultimate race of the season
• Chevrolet swept the podium in 2016 race on 3.37-mile road course
• Four Chevrolet drivers among the top five in championship standings
• Josef Newgarden extended points lead with fourth win of season
• Chevrolet has won the past five races and nine overall this season
• DETROIT (Aug. 30, 2017) – Since its return to the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2012, Chevrolet has racked up five consecutive Manufacturer Championships, four driver and team titles, and two Indianapolis 500 victories.

  Also, the Bowtie brand has claimed 66 race wins and 73 poles in 99 events, including nine victories and 10 Verizon P1 Awards through 15 races this season.
  As it enters the penultimate race in its sixth year of competition this weekend at Watkins Glen International, Chevrolet teams and drivers will aim to ascribe another set of memories to the milestone race.

  Will Power, who claimed the 2014 driver championship, has earned 17 of his 32 career wins and 26 of 50 career poles in the 99-race span to lead all Team Chevy competitors. The Team Penske driver has three victories and six pole starts this season, and relies on the strength of Chevrolet’s turbocharged V-6 engine to challenge for victories on the variety of ovals and road/street courses.

  “When I think of Chevrolet, my thoughts immediately turn to horsepower, but it’s more than that. It’s the whole package of power, reliability, research and technology,” he said. “They put as much pride into winning as any driver or team. There’s a ‘whatever-it-takes’ attitude. There are ebbs and flows to everything, but Chevrolet continually takes their INDYCAR program to the next level. They’re never satisfied or willing to rest on their laurels. For that, I thank and congratulate them.”

  Added teammate and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, who is competing in his 20th Indy car racing season: “They are the epitome of success and professionalism. Their desire to be the best is the required mind-set in motorsports. Everyone has great tools and resources, but what is the work ethic. I think that’s one of the things that sets Chevrolet apart. The power and reliability of the INDYCAR program over the years has been incredible.”

  Team owner/driver Ed Carpenter, who has earned two of his three career wins and two consecutive Indianapolis 500 pole starts with Chevrolet since ’12, is looking forward to the next performance markers that will be achieved with Chevy power.

  “It is quite an honor to know that we are one of two teams (along with Team Penske) that have been with Team Chevy for all 100 races since they have been back in the Verizon IndyCar Series,” he said. “Chevrolet really embraced us when we were a brand-new team in 2012, when others wouldn’t even talk to us. It has been such a great partnership up to this point, knowing that all of our accomplishments and milestones as a team have been with the backing of the Bowtie. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish together over the next 100 races.”

  Team Chevy has won past five races, swept into the Manufacturer Championship, and has four drivers in the top five of the standings heading into the INDYCAR Grand Prix at The Glen on the 3.37-mile, 11-turn road course.

  Chevrolet swept the podium in 2016 as the Verizon IndyCar Series returned to The Glen after a five-year absence and placed four drivers in the top five.

  Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 DeVilbiss Team Penske Chevrolet, was runner-up last year. Newgarden, who has won a series-high four races – including three of the past four – extended his championship points lead with a dramatic victory Aug. 26 on the Gateway Motorsports Park oval.

  Castroneves, No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, is 42 points arrears of Newgarden. Reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion Simon Pagenaud, No. 1 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet, is fourth, and Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, is fifth.

  Newgarden is confident but not taking anything for granted in pursuit of his first championship. The 60-lap/202.2-mile race on the natural-terrain course, competing against 20 other drivers – seven of whom are also title contenders — will present more challenges.

  “We’re happy to be in (the No. 1) position, but we don’t feel too safe about it, so we’ve always got to be on our toes,” he said. “We feel good about our position. That’s always better, in my opinion, than chasing. After winning at Gateway and continuing to lead Verizon IndyCar Series points, the whole No. 2 Devilbiss Chevy team and I are really ready to get back on track. We’ve done well on road courses this season, so we definitely think we’ll have something for the competition.”

  JR Hildebrand, driving the No. 21 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, registered a victory at The Glen on July 4, 2009, on his way to claiming the Indy Lights championship.
  NBCSN will telecast the race live at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.

  On the 3.37-mile, 11-turn Watkins Glen International road course in Watkins Glen, New York, Team Chevy will be well represented by:

  ED CARPENTER RACING:
  Spencer Pigot, No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet
  JR Hildebrand, No. 21 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet

  A.J. FOYT ENTERPRISES:
  Conor Daly, No. 4 ABC Supply Chevrolet
  Carlos Munoz, No. 14 ABC Supply Chevrolet

TEAM PENSKE:
Simon Pagenaud, No. 1 Menards Chevrolet
Josef Newgarden, No. 2 DeVilbiss Chevrolet
Helio Castroneves, No. 3 Hitachi Chevrolet
Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet