RCR XFINITY teams flex muscle in 2016 season opener
Race Highlights:
- Richard Childress Racing drivers Austin Dillon, Brandon Jones, Brendan Gaughan and Ty Dillon finished fifth, seventh, 10th and 13th, respectively, in the Powershares QQQ 300 at Daytona International Speedway.
- The next race of the 2016 XFINITY Series season is the Heads Up Georgia 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The 250-mile event is scheduled to be televised live on FOX beginning at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.
Austin Dillon Battles Back to Top-Five Finish With the Help of RCR Teammate
Start – 4th Finish – 5th Laps Led – 5 Owner's Points – 5th
We had a really good Rheem Chevrolet all day. We got a little behind there on pit strategy, but it's all good, it worked out. I wanted to try and get hooked up with the (No.) 5 car but never could. It was just a little too late there at the end, but we were able to get back up in the top 10 for the final restart and used the draft to finish fifth. I'm glad I had my teammate Brandon Jones with me. He did a great job today. I want to thank my guys and Rheem for all of the support. We learned a lot and will take it to Atlanta next weekend.
Ty Dillon Finishes 13th in Hard-Fought Race at Daytona International Speedway
Start – 1st Finish – 13th Laps Led – 2 Points – 8th
While I'm proud of our finish and our showing this weekend, I felt like we could have gotten more. It was difficult in the final laps to make it up to the front of the pack. Nick (Harrison, crew chief) gave me and opportunity to be there at the end, but today the cards just didn't fall in our favor. It's going to be a fun season and I'm looking forward to next weekend in Atlanta. It was great to see my good buddy Johnny Morris and his group from Bass Pro Shops here today cheering us on.
Brandon Jones Earns Seventh-Place Finish Despite Suffering Damage Early in the Race
Start – 7th Finish – 7th Laps Led – 0 Points – 3rd
Man, a top-10 finish in our first race at Daytona is awesome. This Barrett Jackson/Menards team worked really hard during the off season to get these speedway cars ready to come here, and I think it really showed today. I had to learn the draft pretty quick in practice, but I got it figured out. I hate we got caught up in that wreck early on, but it shows how hard this team works. We worked with our RCR teammates and came out of here with a seventh-place finish. I can't wait to get to Atlanta."
Solid South Point Hotel & Casino Chevy Lands Brendan Gaughan Top-Ten Finish in Season Opener
Start – 6 Finish – 10 Laps Led – 9 Points – 6th
A top-10 at Daytona is great. It was fun getting on and off pit road, I passed five guys coming in on the first pit stop. My crew is excellent on pit road, coming out in the lead was great! We had an excellent pusher during the race. I love this stuff, RCR gave me a great race car that was a lot better than 10th. Top-10's are hard to come by in this series, but I'll gladly take it and look forward to Atlanta next weekend."