BrendanGaughan.com | 2015 NASCAR XFINITY Season comes to a close at Homestead - BrendanGaughan.com
The official website of NASCAR driver Brendan Gaughan and South Point Racing
21762
post-template-default,single,single-post,postid-21762,single-format-standard,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,smooth_scroll,,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-6.1,vc_responsive

Blog

2015 NASCAR XFINITY Season comes to a close at Homestead

  |   News

Homestead-Miami Speedway

 

Race Highlights:

  • Austin Dillon finished second and was the highest finishing Richard Childress Racing driver in the Homestead 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Brian Scott finished fourth followed by Ty Dillon seventh and Brendan Gaughan 23rd.
  • Austin Dillon qualified third and was the highest qualifier for the RCR camp in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Brian Scott qualified fourth, Ty Dillon 10th and Brendan Gaughan 12th.
  • Ty Dillon finished third in the XFINITY Series driver point championships, followed by Brian Scott eighth and Brendan Gaughan ninth. The No. 33 RCR entry finished fourth in the Owner’s championship point standings.

 

Brian Scott Finishes Fourth at Homestead-Miami Speedway

In the final NASCAR XFINITY Series race of the 2015 season, Brian Scott and the No. 2 Shore Lodge Chevrolet started the Homestead 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the fourth position after round three of qualifying was canceled for weather. The 200-lap event started under cloudy skies and the 27-year-old reported loose-handling conditions in the opening laps. A competition caution brought the field to pit road on lap 25, giving the Mike Hillman Jr. led team an opportunity to adjust on the Shore Lodge Chevy. Adjustments were key for Scott as his Camaro was neutral just lacking rear-grip during the long green-flag runs. Green-flag stops on lap 78 moved Scott into the fifth position after the field cycled through. At the halfway mark, Scott was caught by the race leader falling one lap short. He was in the Lucky Dog position when the caution was displayed on lap 117. The Boise, Idaho-native held on the fifth position for 54 laps before moving into the fourth position on the lap 146 restart. The caution was displayed once again with 26 laps to go, and with a great stop on pit road, Scott restarted the race second with 21 laps to go. A three-wide restart shuffled Scott to the fourth position where he would find himself battling for the closing laps. The No. 2 Shore Lodge Chevrolet team crossed the finish line in the fourth position capturing his sixth top-five finish and 18 top-10 finish of the 2015 XFINITY Series season.

Start – 4 Finish – 4 Laps Led – 0 Points – 8

"I have to thank everyone at Richard Childress Racing for everything. I did not do well on the final restart to get us the position we wanted to go after the win. This was by far the best car I’ve had at Homestead-Miami Speedway and I thank Mike Hillman Jr. and this entire No. 2 team for that. I’ve really enjoyed working with everyone this season it’s been a lot of fun."

Ty Dillon Closes Out XFINITY Series Season with Top-10 Finish

 

Ty Dillon drove the No. 3 Yuengling Light Lager Chevrolet Camaro to a seventh-place finish Saturday afternoon at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the NASCAR XFINITY Series season finale. Dillon came up 18 points short of his first-career XFINITY Series championship, after battling all afternoon with three other competitors eligible for the title. The seventh-place finish was Dillon’s 25th top-10 finish of the season, a career-high for the 23-year-old, second-year driver. Along with the 25 top-10 finishes, Dillon scored 12 top-five finishes and unofficially concludes the season third in the driver championship point standings. Dillon battled strong for the entire 200-lap race Saturday afternoon, racing in and around the top 10. The team ran into trouble in the middle part of the race when Dillon found himself one lap down to the competition. With only four cars on the lead lap, crew chief Nick Harrison instructed Dillon to take the wave around on lap 175. A quick caution allowed Dillon to come back to pit road for fresh tires and fuel, in hopes to give Dillon enough to compete for the victory. In the final 18 laps, Dillon held off several competitors to cross the finish line seventh. The finish was ultimately not enough to win the XFINITY Series driver championship, but secured Dillon a third-place showing in 2015 – a career-best in NASCAR’s second touring series.

Start – 10 Finish – 7 Laps Led – 0 Points – 3

 

"I first want to thank Yuengling, Bass Pro Shops, WESCO, VF Imagewear and everyone affiliated with this team. They gave us the support we needed this season. We gave it all we had and I’m proud of the overall effort all season long from my RCR teammates. We have a lot of momentum right now and I hate that the season is over. I’m blessed to be able to do what I do for a living and I can promise you I’ll always give you my very best. Congratulations to the No. 60 team on their accomplishment. I hope to be on that stage someday."

Austin Dillon Earns Runner-Up Finish in Season Finale

 

Austin Dillon and the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet team finished second in the NASCAR XFINITY Series finale race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday afternoon after leading laps late in the race. Dillon earned the third starting position for the 200-lap event after the final round of qualifying was rained out. Once the initial green flag waved, Dillon reported he was too loose. Crew chief Danny Stockman utilized caution periods to service the No. 33 Chevrolet with four tires, fuel and minor chassis adjustments to help combat Dillon’s handling issues. On the lap-173 restart, Dillon dove to the bottom groove from the third position and assumed the race lead. The 25-year-old driver led for the next 16 circuits around the 1.5-mile speedway before slipping to second-place with three laps to go. In Dillon’s 20 XFINITY Series events this year, he’s earned four victories, seven pole awards, 13 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes. The No. 33 team finishes out the 2015 season with five victories, seven pole awards, 17 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes.

Start – 3 Finish – 2 Laps Led – 16 Owner’s Points – 4

"We fired off really good for 15 laps then kind of fell off. I thought going into the race, we had a fourth-place car, but we ended up second and almost won the thing. That (No.) 42 has it figured out. He was able to roll up high against the wall, and I think that was the ticket to his speed. I’m really proud of this Rheem team. We’ve had a great year. I’m really excited to see what next year has to bring for this XFINITY Series team."

Brendan Gaughan Finishes 23rd at Homestead-Miami Speedway

 

Brendan Gaughan drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet to a 23rd-place finish in Saturday’s 300-mile event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Las Vegas native started 12th after weather canceled the third round of qualifying. Gaughan battled a loose-handling Chevrolet Camaro for most of the NASCAR XFINITY Series race. During a caution at lap 10, Gaughan reported a lack of rear grip and was tight in the front. During a competition caution on lap 25, crew chief Shane Wilson made a chassis and air pressure adjustment with four tires and fuel. Gaughan fluctuated from 15th to 18th as the team made additional chassis adjustments during proceeding pit stops. Fuel became a concern for the No. 62 team prior to the caution on Lap 170. The South Point team continued to make adjustments to better the handling of the Chevrolet, however Gaughan continued to battle loose-handling conditions that led to a 23rd-place finish in the Homestead-Miami season finale. 

Start – 12 Finish – 23 Laps Led – 0 Points – 9

 

"We were just loose all day. The car seemed to come to us in the middle to late runs. It’s been a good year and my guys have worked really hard. I’m ready to see what next year holds for us."