‘They’ve changed their plan’ — inside look at Chevrolet’s new strategy

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- The droughts were clearly dragging on those vested in Chevrolet's success in NASCAR: the teams, the drivers and the automaker's brass. Desperate measures were needed, and they came from near the top. Those numbers weighed like a millstone around the neck: 0-for-7 since 2015 at Talladega Superspeedway, a stretch monopolized by rival Ford; an 0-for-9 start to the 2019 Monster Energy Series season, and a 13-race dry spell overall. More bitter still was the way Ford orchestrated a flushing victory at the 2.66-mile Alabama track last fall with a 1-2-3 sweep. This time, the Ford bunch were left to wonder, "what if." "They've changed their plan," said Joey Logano, who drove a Ford to victory here a year ago. "They've watched us and changed their plan and it was successful for them today. Speedway racing is like that. It's monkey see, monkey do and you've just got to find the next thing that puts you ahead." Team Chevy's wicked change-up pitch ultimately ruled the score sheet in Sunday's GEICO 500, with Chase Elliott leading a sweep of the top three and the manufacturer claiming five of the top six spots. The results were the byproduct of laser-focused meetings that continued once Chevrolet teams arrived at Talladega, with Jim Campbell -- Chevrolet's U.S. Vice President of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports -- urging those participating under the bowtie banner to work together. RELATED: Official race results Those drastic steps clicked with near perfection, with Chevrolets sweeping the stages and Elliott leading a race-high 45 of the 188 laps in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9. "We've tried before to very little success," said Elliott's crew chief Alan Gustafson, who called the triumph a shared victory among Chevrolet teams. "There certainly wasn't ever as much effort as we have had over the last few weeks, and I think Jim Campbell deserves a lot of credit for stepping up and facilitating it all and drawing the box of guidelines that we're going to have to work in. Everybody quickly agreed to that and continued to push forward to support Chevrolet. "Like I said, we've tried this before and it's really been a pretty pathetic attempt at it. Today was a culmination of a lot of hard work and a lot of effort by all the Chevy teams." Strategy meetings before superspeedway races are not uncommon, but those spanning multiple organizations require a higher level of coordination. To hear it from those in attendance, the overarching message was clear. "We all have egos and we all think we're a tick better than the guy we're sitting next to, but we were all able to put that aside and focus on the betterment of our manufacturer," said Daniel Hemric, who notched a career-best finish in fifth. "It's been a while since we were able to get a Chevrolet in Victory Lane as a whole, especially in a speedway race here at Talladega, so it's incredible to see us all work together the first time as if we'd been doing it many times. Those meetings are very straightforward. We left with not many questions in mind. It was a matter of us doing the best we could to help each other as much as we could, and that's what we did." If there's any venue where the best-laid plans go to the scrap heap, it's Talladega. Added to the mix of variables this spring was a new rules package, with different methods of slowing speeds through horsepower reduction and aerodynamic devices. RELATED: Updated 2019 standings Ford teams took turns at the front on another unpredictable afternoon, most notably Logano (37 laps led) and Mustang mate Aric Almirola (27 laps). But Chevrolet drivers were able to use their numbers -- 19 Chevys battled 14 Fords and seven Toyotas -- to their advantage with a final push to the checkered flag. "It is hard to plan it with the nature of it, but I don't know if we could've done much of a better job than what we did today," Hemric said. "We had strength in numbers, and more is better in this situation. I don't know exactly how many ended up in the top 10, but it looks like the majority. Proud of that. That's pretty impressive considering how we haven't worked together in the past, and to have everybody come together and bond in unity like we did was pretty special."