Press conference
NASCAR Cup Homestead
Three manufacturers going for Sprint Cup championship
Chevy, Ford, and Toyota all have at least one dog in this fight.
Nick DeGroot
Edited: Nov 16, 2014, 3:49 PM
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Chevrolet has won eight of the last nine Cup titles, Ford hasn't had one of their drivers win it all since 2004 and Toyota has never been able to pull it off.
Kevin Harvick (Chevrolet), Ryan Newman (Chevrolet), Joey Logano (Ford), and Denny Hamlin (Toyota) are the four drivers that will battle it out in 400 miles of intense on-track action later today.
Ford has seen a massive leap in fan engagement
Jamie Allison kicked off the presser by making it known how much of an impact having their marque in the fight is, throwing out a number of impressive social media stats. "We started the year with 800,000 fans, followers on Facebook. We now have 2.6 million followers on Facebook."
It would simply be historic and unprecedented ...We're still the new guys, so to speak, in the series.
Toyota's David Wilson
"We have generated 570,000 leads yet this year, up 60 percent from a year ago. With track sales, match to leads generated from on-track activation, and our sales are up 90 percent versus a year ago. These are gigantic swings in engagement, gigantic swings in fan affinity, and it translates all the way down from awareness down to conservation to shopping to intention to buy."
The Ford family is losing a member
Allison also discussed the exit of Ford driver Carl Edwards, who will be driving Toyotas for JGR come next year. "Our drivers are more than drivers, they're literally part of the Ford family, and so whenever you have a member of the family pursuing other opportunities, it leaves a void personally with the team members as well as professionally in terms of fan outreach."
Here we are over 100 years later, and the focus is still the same. Focus on winning and then learning on the track ... We're not going to change in the last minute here.
Chevrolet's Jim Campbell
"Obviously with Marcos, he's stepping out of one Ford into another Ford, another part of the world. He's kind of returning home. Carl Edwards is someone that we hold in the highest regard. He's the winningest Ford driver. He has been a part of many of our outreach to our fans. Nothing will ever take that away."
"So success on the track translates into indeed fan consideration and purchase intention," he concluded.
Toyota hoping to make history
For Toyota, winning the title would by far be their biggest NASCAR achievement since joining the sport. "It would simply be historic and unprecedented," said David Wilson. "We're still the new guys, so to speak, in the series. This is our -- celebrating our 10th anniversary in NASCAR in their national series."
"We've won championships, multiple championships in the Camping World Truck Series, in the Nationwide Series. Cup, the Sprint Cup Series, is -- that box hasn't been checked yet, so for Toyota it would be huge. It would be significant, I think, for the sport. It would be huge for TRD."
A love (and domination) for motorsports that goes back 100 years
Chevrolet is on the brink of yet another manufactuerer title, as well has a driver's title. Said Jim Campbell, "We just love racing. We love racing. It's part of our history and heritage for Chevrolet. It goes back to our co-founder Louis Chevrolet. The guy was a racer, he was a car guy, he used the racetrack as his proving ground. Here we are over 100 years later, and the focus is still the same. Focus on winning and then learning on the track."
Ryan Newman just keeps coming. He keeps getting stronger race after race, and that team has just gotten in a great rhythm and stronger every single race.
Chevrolet's Jim Campbell
After ripping off some of Chevrolet's incredible NASCAR stats, Campbell concluded, "We're not going to change in the last minute here. Stick to the fundamentals in terms of providing the right parts, the right engineering people and the right engineering tools and then follow through."
Looking at their chances
"Denny thinks a lot, and he's been here before, and I think that really helps him," explained Wilson. "We've been, as a manufacturer, been the bridesmaid three out of the past four years, and Denny has had a second-place finish, Clint Bowyer has had a second-place finish, then of course last year Matt Kenseth. But Denny is comfortable. He's confident, quietly confident I would say."
"The fact that he has won here twice in the past five years, that he's the reigning Homestead champion I think gives him just what he needs to do the job Sunday."
Campbell and Chevrolet have two bullets in the gun, as opposed to their rivals with one. "Ryan Newman just keeps coming. He keeps getting stronger race after race, and that team has just gotten in a great rhythm and stronger every single race. So I think that they have momentum because of that. Now, they haven't won a race yet, but they are charging."
When he came into the sport was billed as a phenom, and indeed he is a phenom
Ford's Jamie Allison on Logano
"I think with Kevin Harvick, he's focused, he's mentally tough, and he's a leader from the cockpit of the car. And when I think about the last time Stewart-Haas won the championship with Tony in '11, Tony had a lot of those same attributes: Focused, mentally tough, and he led from the cockpit."
"The competition is tough, he admitted. "Anything can happen, and we expect there's going to be some curveballs and surprises in how the teams react. Same focus, calm, and the guys leading from the cockpit with the team is going to have the best chance to win."
Allison did not hesitate to insist how much of a team effort it has been with the No. 22 effort. "It's Joey, it's Todd, it's Penske, it's Ford. When you put that ensemble together, this season has been an absolute standout season. "With five wins for Joey, six wins for Brad, 11 wins with Team Penske, starting on the front row as many times as they've done all season long, and now with Joey here at the final race, laser focused."
"When he came into the sport was billed as a phenom, and indeed he is a phenom. He's got the talent, and with the team around him, I think he's very poised to succeed. He is driven, and the goal is in sight, and we expect he will succeed."
Homestead Stats
Chevrolet - Three wins with the most recent being in 2012 with Jeff Gordon.
Toyota - Two wins with the most recent being last year with Denny Hamlin.
Ford - Seven wins with the most recent being in 2010 with Carl Edwards.
2013 Results
1. Toyota (Hamlin)
2. Toyota
3. Chevrolet
4. Toyota
5. Toyota
6. Ford
7. Toyota
8. Ford (Logano)
9. Chevrolet
10. Chevrolet (Harvick)
(Newman 17th)
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