Strong day for RCR at Iowa Speedway
NASCAR XFINITY Series
Iowa 250
Iowa Speedway
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Race Highlights:
- Brian Scott qualified third and was the highest qualifying Richard Childress Racing driver at Iowa Speedway. Brandon Jones qualified fifth, Ty Dillon ninth and Brendan Gaughan 11th.
- Brian Scott finished fourth, Brandon Jones eighth, Brendan Gaughan 10th and Ty Dillon 14th.
- Next up for the NASCAR XFINITY Series is the Hisense 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Catch all the action live on Saturday, May 23 at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time on FOX and broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.
Brian Scott Finishes Fourth at Iowa Speedway
The first NASCAR XFINITY Series stand-alone event took place on Sunday afternoon at the 7/8-mile track of Iowa Speedway. Brian Scott and the No. 2 Shore Lodge Chevrolet qualified in the third position but would start in the second position to a driver change in the front row. As the field took the green flag for the originally scheduled 250-lap event, Scott reported he had a loose-handling Camaro and was lacking drive off in turn two. On the lap 60 competition caution, Scott was scored in the fifth position and would visit pit road for four tires, fuel and chassis adjustments. The pit crew gained Scott two positions on pit road and would restart in third place on lap 66. Looking for rear grip, Scott was in eighth position when the caution was displayed on lap 83. The Mike Hillman Jr., -led team elected not to come to pit road and stayed out for track position. At the halfway mark, Scott was scored in the 11th position with a loose-handling machine. The Shore Lodge Chevrolet came to pit road for service on lap 144 including chassis and wedge adjustments. With quick green-flag conditions, the caution was brought back out allowing the No. 2 team to top off on fuel. With 50 laps to go, Scott put himself back inside the top 10 racing in the ninth position. With two laps to go, the caution was displayed leaving the Iowa 300 race ending under green-white-checkered conditions. The No. 2 team took four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment and would restart in the ninth position. With two final laps around Iowa Speedway, Scott picked up five positions and crossed the finish line in fourth place. The fourth-place finish was Scott’s second consecutive top-five finish and eighth top-10 finish of the season. Scott also gained one position in the driver championship point standings to fifth. The XFINITY Series returns to action next Saturday, May 23 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Start – 3 Finish – 4 Laps Led – 0 Points – 5
Brian Scott Quote:
"I thought our Shore Lodge Chevrolet was going to be a lot better based on our practice and qualifying good. We didn’t have the rear grip in the car that we needed. At the end we debated two tires or four tires and we finally had our handling better and would’ve finished sixth or seventh if we went green to the end. Rolled the dice and took four tires. It’s too bad we didn’t have another lap or two because it would’ve got interesting."
"I thought our Shore Lodge Chevrolet was going to be a lot better based on our practice and qualifying good. We didn’t have the rear grip in the car that we needed. At the end we debated two tires or four tires and we finally had our handling better and would’ve finished sixth or seventh if we went green to the end. Rolled the dice and took four tires. It’s too bad we didn’t have another lap or two because it would’ve got interesting."
Ty Dillon Drives the No. 3 Red Kap Chevrolet to a 14th-place Finish
Ty Dillon drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Red Kap Chevrolet Camaro to a 14th-place finish Sunday afternoon at Iowa Speedway in the NASCAR XFINITY Series’ first visit to the 7/8 mile-track this season. Dillon qualified ninth on Saturday afternoon, but started seventh after two competitors ahead of him were forced to the rear for unapproved changes to their respective race cars. After a couple of quick cautions in the first 10 laps of the race, Dillon worked his way up inside the top five, where he would remain for a majority of the scheduled 250-lap race. The 23-year-old driver made his way up to third place by lap 107 where the team would race comfortably for the middle part of the race. A tight-handling balance through the corners of the race track would create trouble for the No. 3 team, despite hanging on to the fifth-place running order. With 14 laps remaining, Dillon reported a tire beginning to go flat, forcing him to come to pit road for tire changes. He returned to the race track in the 17th position and raced his way up to 14th-place before the checkered flag fell. Dillon is currently second in the XFINITY Series driver point standings with 23 races remaining.
Start – 9 Finish – 14 Laps Led – 0 Points – 2
TY DILLON QUOTE:
"We just got really tight there at the end. It stinks because our Red Kap Chevy was a top five car all afternoon. When that tire started going down, I knew it was going to set us back a little bit. We battled at the end there and made the best out of the situation. We’ll put this in our notebook for August and keep moving forward."
Brandon Jones Finishes Eighth in NASCAR XFINITY Series Debut
Brandon Jones earned an eighth-place finish in his XFINITY Series debut at Iowa Speedway. Jones and the JELD-WEN/Menards team topped the speed charts during Saturday’s practice sessions and qualified the No. 33 machine fifth for the scheduled 250-lap event. The Richard Childress Racing driver remained a fixture in the top 10 for the first portion of the race until a tight-handling condition developed on the neon yellow and blue Chevrolet. Crew chief Nick Harrison called for four tires, fuel, chassis and air pressure adjustments during caution periods to alleviate Jones’ handling issues. With positive changes, Jones was able to battle his way back into the top 10. Jones was scored in the sixth position when a caution flag on lap 248 was displayed. Harrison called the 18-year-old driver to the attention of the JELD-WEN/Menards pit crew for right-side tires and fuel. Jones restarted in the seventh spot for the Green-White-Checkered finish. After racing three-wide for position, Jones moved to eighth, before the checkered flag waved in his XFINITY Series debut.
Start – 5 Finish – 8 Laps Led – 0 Owner’s Points – 6
BRANDON JONES QUOTE:
"Man, that was a wild finish. I’m really happy with our eighth-place finish today at Iowa (Speedway). Nick (Harrison, crew chief) and the guys put together a fast race car, and I learned a lot this weekend. We had a lot of speed there at the end. This was a great weekend for the JELD-WEN/Menards team. I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel of the No. 33 car in August when we come back to Iowa."
"Man, that was a wild finish. I’m really happy with our eighth-place finish today at Iowa (Speedway). Nick (Harrison, crew chief) and the guys put together a fast race car, and I learned a lot this weekend. We had a lot of speed there at the end. This was a great weekend for the JELD-WEN/Menards team. I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel of the No. 33 car in August when we come back to Iowa."
Green-White-Checkered Ending Leads to a 10th-Place Finish for Brendan Gaughan
Brendan Gaughan and the No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet qualified for the first NASCAR XFINITY Series standalone event at Iowa Speedway in the 11th position. Gaughan began reporting loose-handling conditions early in the run. When the competition caution was displayed on lap 60, the Shane Wilson-led team visited pit road for a quick pit stop by the Richard Childress Racing crew, restarting Gaughan eighth on lap 66. The Las Vegas native continued competing inside the top 10 for the majority of the Iowa 250. The No. 62 team broke into the top five by lap 152 and when the caution came out on lap 178, Gaughan elected not to make a pit stop, restarting third. The 39-year-old driver was shuffled back outside the top 10 before the caution fell on lap 248. For one final time, Gaughan visited pit road for four fresh Goodyear tires and fuel. As the field took the Green-White-Checkered flag finish, Gaughan battled his way to 10th, where he crossed the finish line. This top-10 finish moves Gaughan to ninth place in the XFINITY Series driver point standings as the Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway next weekend.
Start – 11th Finish – 10th Laps Led – 0 Points – 9th
BRENDAN GAUGHAN QUOTE:
"I love restarts, if you couldn’t tell during that green-white-checkered start. Overall, it was a great points day for the South Point Chevrolet. Iowa Speedway always does a great job of bringing in a nice crowd for our races. Hope the fans all enjoyed it out here today because I sure did."