XFINITY Series set for the Magic Mile
Lakes Region 200
Saturday, July 18, 2015
New Hampshire Motor Speedway – Loudon, N.H.
Richard Childress Racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway … In 32 NASCAR XFINITY Series starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the Welcome, N.C. organization has one victory with Kevin Harvick (2007), 11 top-five finishes, 18 top-10 finishes and led 842 laps. RCR averages a starting position of 9.8 and a finishing position of 11.5 at the 1.058-mile oval speedway.
Kentucky Speedway Recap … In the Kentucky 300, Paul Menard finished sixth and was the highest finishing Richard Childress Racing driver. Brendan Gaughan, Ty Dillon and Brian Scott posted, ninth, 15th and 19th place finishes, respectively.
The Points … As the Series departs Kentucky, Ty Dillon remains third in the driver point standings, Brian Scott, seventh and Brendan Gaughan, ninth. The No. 33 RCR team remains third in the owner point standings.
Did You Know … Life threatening injury is the No. 1 killer of kids in America. Nearly 10,000 children lose their lives every year from serious injuries, and many more are treated in the emergency room. It can happen anywhere, at any time, to any child. The Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma discovers and shares the best ways to prevent and treat severe injuries in children. The Institute funds research, education and advocacy to improve the care and treatment injured kids receive across the U.S. Visit SaveInjuredKids.org or find them on Facebook and Twitter to learn more.
Social Media … To stay on track with the latest news and information and to view exclusive, behind the scenes content visit RCR’s Twitter account – @RCRracing, RCR’s NASCAR XFINITY Series team Twitter accounts – @RCR2BScott, @RCR3TDillon, @RCR33NNS and @RCR62BGaughan. RCR’s XFINITY Series driver twitter accounts – @bscottracing, @tydillon, @austindillon3 and @Brendan62. For additional photos, news and video log on to rcrracing.com.
Catch the Action … Coverage for the XFINITY Series Lakes Region 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will begin with both practice sessions on Friday, July 17 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time and 3:00 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. Qualifying will also be showcased live on NBC Sports Network on Saturday, July 18, at 11:15 a.m. ET and race coverage will begin at 4:00 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. It will also be broadcasted live on PRN and SiriusXM channel 90.
Brian Scott, No. 2 Star Market / Velveeta Shells & Cheese Chevrolet Camaro
Race Notes and Quotes:
This Week’s Star Market / Kraft Velveeta Chevrolet at New Hampshire Motor Speedway … Brian Scott will pilot chassis No. 141 in Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series Lakes Region 200. This chassis from the Richard Childress Racing stable has an average starting position of 3.7 and an average finishing position of 10.3. Scott collected back-to-back pole positions last year at Chicagoland Speedway with this chassis and Scott recently raced No. 141 at Iowa Speedway where he finished fourth.
Loudon Statistics … In four XFINITY Series starts at the one-mile paved speedway, Scott has an average starting position of 10.8 and an average finish of 13.2. Last season, Scott qualified fifth and finished seventh. Scott has one top-five and two top-10 finishes, with 1015 of 1019 laps completed (99.6 percent). In addition to his XFINTIY Series starts, Scott has three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts with two top-10 finish, three laps led and 598 of 600 laps completed (97.3 percent).
2015 at A Glance … After 16 XFINITY Series races this season, Scott has captured two top-five, 10 top-10 finishes, sits seventh in the driver point standings and has led 131 laps with an average starting position of 5.6 and an average finish of 14.5. According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Scott currently leads the XFINITY Series drivers with the highest average starting position of 5.6.
Star Market and Kraft Velveeta Shells & Cheese … This weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the No. 2 XFINITY Series team welcomes back their partner, Albertsons. Albertsons and the Safeway family of stores, the second-largest supermarket chain in North America, has partnered with RCR, Scott and the No. 2 XFINITY Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team in 2015. RCR also welcomes Albertsons’ supporting partners Kraft, Reser’s Fine Foods and Sanderson Farms. Albertsons Safeway stores operate under store banners Albertsons, ACME, Shaw’s, Star Markets, United Supermarkets, Market Street, Amigos, Jewel-Osco, Tom Thumb, Randalls, VONS, Pavilions, Carrs and Safeway. With more than 2,200 stores, 250,000 employees and 27 distribution centers across 34 states, Albertsons rich legacy in the grocery business synchronizes with the roots of NASCAR and RCR. Additional information on "Your favorite local supermarket™" and Brian Scott can be found online.
Last Time in New Hampshire … Scott and the No. 2 Shore Lodge Chevrolet team started the Sta-Green 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the fifth position. Once the initial green flag waved over the Magic Mile, Scott would remain a top-10 contender the entire 200 laps. After getting caught up in a multi-car wreck on lap 106, Scott only dropped two positions from his starting position and earned an impressive seventh place result in his damaged Chevrolet Camaro.
Kentucky Race Rewind … Scott and the No. 2 Shore Lodge Chevrolet started in the ninth position for the Kentucky 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Rain cancelled the NASCAR XFINITY Series qualifying session and the race lineup was set per the NASCAR rulebook by practice speeds. On the lap 73 caution, the Shore Lodge Chevrolet team came to pit road after developing a hesitation and elected to change the carburetor. Falling one lap to the leader, the team restarted on lap 77 in the 27th position. The Shore Lodge team fell victim to another lap to the leader with green-flag pit stops. When the caution waved on lap 162, the team took the wave around and was once again one lap short to the leader. Scott visited pit road with five laps to go to assure the team was good on fuel to the end resulting in a 19th-place finish, two laps down.
Meet Scott … Scott is scheduled to appear at Star Market (699 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, Mass. on Thursday, July 16 at 12:00 p.m. On Friday, Scott is scheduled to visit Shaw’s Supermarket (20 D’amante Drive, Concord, N.H.) at 6:00 p.m. on behalf of Kraft Velveeta.
BRIAN SCOTT QUOTE:
What is the mindset going into short-track racing?
"Unfortunately, with a couple of bad finishes early-on this season, the situation that this No. 2 team is in, is that we have to be aggressive. We are coming out of the gates; we are going for victories at every track. We are not really laying back and protecting points or anything like that. We are going all out and going to have some fun. We are going to race really aggressively and hard and get as good finishes as we can."
Ty Dillon, No. 3 Wrangler Workwear / UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro
Race Notes and Quotes:
This Week’s Wrangler Workwear / UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro at New Hampshire Motor Speedway … Ty Dillon will pilot chassis No. 146 for this weekend’s Lakes Region 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This Richard Childress Racing-prepared Chevrolet Camaro was most recently raced at Bristol Motor Speedway where Austin Dillon drove to a 16th-place finish. Paul Menard piloted chassis No. 146 to Victory Lane in June, 2014 at Michigan International Speedway.
Dillon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway … Dillon made his NASCAR XFINITY Series debut at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last summer where he finished 12th in the No. 3 WESCO Chevrolet Camaro.
VF Imagewear Partners with No. 3 Team … VF Imagewear, Inc., a leading manufacturer of workwear apparel and a division of VF Corporation, the world’s largest apparel company, returns for the second consecutive season as primary sponsor for Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 XFINITY Series program and driver Ty Dillon. VF Imagewear’s brands, including Red Kap, Bulwark, Horace Small and Wrangler Workwear, will be featured as primary sponsors for select XFINITY Series races in 2015.
About Wrangler Workwear … Wrangler Workwear is the latest workwear innovation from Red Kap, the official workwear provider of RCR and ECR Engines employees. Made with a durable canvas material, Wrangler Workwear is built to outlast the demands of work and the corrosion of laundering. For more information visit wranglerworkwear.com.
About UniFirst … UniFirst Corporation is a North American leader in the supply and servicing of uniform and workwear programs, as well as the delivery of facility service programs. UniFirst manufactures its own branded workwear, protective clothing, and floorcare products and outfits more than 1.5 million workers each business day. For more information, visit www.unifirst.com.
Points Update … Dillon is currently third in the XFINITY Series driver point standings, trailing second place by only 10 points. To date, Dillon has three top-five finishes and 10 top-10 finishes.
SiriusXM Fantasy Football Draft … On Wednesday, July 15, Dillon is scheduled to participate in SiriusXM’s sixth annual Celebrity Fantasy Football Draft in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. The event features a variety of celebrities and SiriusXM personalities together on stage to draft their fantasy football teams for the 2015 season, and all the fun and entertaining verbal sparring that goes along with the proceedings. Personalities participating in this year’s draft will include NBC and Pro Football Focus analyst Cris Collinsworth, actor/comedian Rob Riggle, former NBA player and coach Vinny Del Negro, former U.S. Soccer star Brandi Chastain, Rascal Flatts bassist Jay DeMarcus, actor John O’Hurley, and others. The event is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. ET, will take place in front of a live audience and will air nationwide on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius channel 210, XM channel 87).
Race Rewind … Last Friday night at Kentucky Speedway, Dillon drove the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro to a 15th-place finish. Dillon started second after qualifying was rained out and led the first 15 laps of competition. He radioed to crew chief Nick Harrison the car was losing speed in the middle of the corners because it was too tight-handling. He remained inside the top 10 until an unscheduled pit stop late in the race, which put Dillon in 15th place, where he crossed the finish line.
Meet Ty Dillon … Dillon is scheduled to sign autographs at Bass Pro Shops in Hooksett, New Hampshire on Friday, July 17 beginning at 6:30 p.m.
TY DILLON QUOTE:
You made your XFINITY Series debut at New Hampshire last season. What will it be like this time around?
"I grew up a short-track racer and I love racing those types of race tracks, except New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a unique short track. It’s pretty flat and has a degree of technical difficulty. This weekend it will be important to communicate with our crew chief, Nick Harrison, and car chief, Mike Scearce to get the balance right. I’ll be looking to improve on our 12th-place finish from last season."
Austin Dillon, No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Camaro
Race Notes and Quote:
This Week’s Rheem Chevrolet at New Hampshire Motor Speedway … Austin Dillon will pilot Chassis No. 145 in the Lakes Region 200 at New Hampshire Speedway. This Richard Childress Racing-prepared Chevrolet was previously driven by Ty Dillon to two pole awards (Kentucky Speedway and Kansas Speedway) and a victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last year. This chassis has an average starting position of 7.7 and an average finishing position of 8.1.
Dillon at Loudon … The Welcome, N.C., native has made three NASCAR XFINITY Series starts at the one-mile track, collecting two top-five finishes. Dillon holds an average starting position and average finishing position of 10.3 with one lap led.
Performance Counts . . . RCR and Rheem understand that winning is the result of a commitment to unparalleled achievement and continuous improvement. Rheem, a global leader in heating, cooling and water heating products is dedicated to keeping families and businesses comfortable through reliable, energy efficient products and systems customized to any lifestyle and budget. As at RCR, Rheem invests in talented professionals, advanced technology, R&D and world-class facilities that deliver Victory Lane performance. Rheem is . . . The New Degree of Comfort.
33 by the Numbers … So far this season, the No. 33 team has accumulated impressive stats with Dillon, Paul Menard and Brandon Jones. In 16 races, the RCR team has garnered three wins, five pole awards, nine top-five and 13 top-10 finishes with 412 laps led.
Race Rewind: Kentucky Speedway … Menard and the No. 33 Richmond / Menards Chevrolet team earned a sixth-place result at Kentucky Speedway last weekend. After inclement weather cancelled qualifying, the No. 33 group lined up fifth for the 200-lap event and battled changing track conditions throughout the race. The Stockman-led crew visited pit road during caution periods for a combination of adjustments to alleviate the handling issues Menard was facing and ultimately crossed the finish line in the sixth position.
Getting Loopy in 2015 … According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Dillon holds some notable stats so far in the 2015 season. The 25-year-old driver ranks first in the following categories: driver rating, drivers fastest late in a run, fastest laps run (261), fastest driver on restarts, green-flag speed and speed by quarter. Dillon is second amongst his competitors in drivers fastest early in a run, laps led (397), average running position, speed in traffic and mile leaders (586).
Season in Review … So far this season, Dillon has been entered in 12 XFINITY Series events, collecting three victories, nine top-five finishes, 10 top-10 finishes and five pole awards. Dillon has led a total of 406 laps with an average starting position of 4.2 coupled with an average finishing position of 7.3.
Looking Ahead … Following this weekend’s 200-lap event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Paul Menard returns to the driver’s seat for the July 25 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
Over the course of a weekend, how much does New Hampshire Motor Speedway change with all the different series that run there?
"A lot of rubber gets laid down there throughout the weekend, rubber that you’re not used to running on the K&N cars and the late models. New Hampshire has always been a fun place to race especially if you have a good handling car, you can definitely make up a lot of ground.
Brendan Gaughan, No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro
Race Notes and Quote:
This Week’s South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet at New Hampshire Motor Speedway … Brendan Gaughan will pilot chassis No. 149 on Saturday afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This Richard Childress Racing-prepared Chevrolet has been utilized on two previous occasions this season, Auto Club Speedway in March and Bristol Motor Speedway in April. Chassis No. 149 averages a starting position of 8.0 and finishing position of 5.5.
Gaughan’s Loudon Stats … In three NASCAR XFINITY Series starts at the one-mile speedway, Gaughan has earned one top-10 finish and averages a starting position of 21.7 and finishing position of 15.7. The Las Vegas native also has seven NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, accumulating two top-five and three top-10 finishes and averaging a starting position of 11.6 and finishing position of 15.9.
Last Visit to New Hampshire … Gaughan and the No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet qualified 11th for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Sta-Green 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. During the first caution, Gaughan visited pit road to repair right-side damage he received after brushing the wall, restarting him in the 28th position. The Las Vegas native used the remainder of the 200-lap event to make up track position. The No. 62 Chevrolet crossed the finish line in 16th place.
South Point Hotel & Casino by the numbers … Located in the heart of the new Las Vegas South Strip, South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa features 160,000 square feet of meeting, banquet and exhibit hall space, a 4,600 seat equestrian center, over 2,100 guestrooms, a 400 seat Showroom, a 200 seat sports book, 64 bowling lanes, 12 restaurants and a 16 screen movie theater. Find out more information at southpointcasino.com.
Home Track for Shane Wilson … Crew chief Shane Wilson, originally from Vermont, returns to north to what he considers his home-track. His relationship with Gaughan began in 2000 when he took over the position of crew chief and general manager of Orleans Racing in Las Vegas. Wilson joined Richard Childress Racing in December 2005 and has worked as crew chief for drivers including, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and now back again with Brendan Gaughan.
In the Rearview Mirror: Kentucky Speedway … The field for Friday night’s Kentucky 300 was set by the one-and-only practice session at Kentucky Speedway. Gaughan and the No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet took the green flag in the third position. The now 40-year-old driver began reporting tight-handling conditions after only 14 laps. During a pit stop on the lap 73 caution, an air gun malfunction resulted in only two tight lug nuts on the right front tire and caused the team to make a second pit stop to tighten the remaining lug nuts and restarted the Chevrolet in 16th position. The Las Vegas native used the remainder of the race to make up the track position and ultimately finished in the ninth position.
To the Points … Gaughan remains ninth in the driver point standings, as the Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
BRENDAN GAUGHAN QUOTE:
What are your thoughts on New Hampshire Motor Speedway?
"I enjoy coming visiting New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It is our crew chief Shane Wilson’s home track, so we always want to run well for him in front of his home crowd. I am going to do the best I can to give him and the boys a good finish in Loudon. I like New Hampshire because it is fun, driver-style track. You have to have a good setup because the track is so flat and is really demanding when it comes to getting grip."