Richard Childress Racing Sylvania 300 post race report

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In: NASCAR Cup Series News

Race Highlights:  

 

    • Richard Childress Racing teammates finished eighth (Jeff Burton), 20th (Kevin Harvick) and 22nd (Paul Menard) in the SYLVANIA 300.
    • Following the event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Harvick is sixth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings, 39 markers behind the leader, while Menard is 16th and Burton moved up three positions to 19th.
    • The No. 29 Chevrolet SS team ranks sixth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner championship point standings, with the No. 27 team 18th in the standings and the No. 31 team 21st.
    • According to NASCAR’s Post-Race Loop Data Statistics, Burton ranked 10th for Laps Run in the Top-15 with 217 circuits in that position.
    • Burton completed 66 Green-Flag Passes, while Menard made 62 and Harvick had 61 during the 300-lap race.
    • Matt Kenseth earned his seventh victory of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season and was followed to the finish line by Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray.

      • The next Sprint Cup Series race is the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 29. The 29

th

      race of the 2013 season is scheduled to be televised live on ESPN beginning at

1 p.m.

    Eastern Time, broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.

 

2011 CC Team Icon 27 NSCS Menards  

 

Menard Finishes 22nd at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

 

Starting from the seventh position, Paul Menard and the No. 27 SYLVANIA/Menards team faced handling issues throughout the 300-lap event, earning a 22nd-place finish when the checkered flag flew at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. After slipping back several positions in the early laps of the race, Menard was scored in 13th on lap 25 when he communicated to crew chief “Slugger” Labbe that the No. 27 machine was tight on entry and loose exiting the corners. The pit crew made a variety of adjustments during pit stops on laps 32 and 109 in hopes of remedying the issue. The Eau Claire, Wis., native maintained a position within the top-20 and at lap 156 he was scored in 19th, running lap times as fast as the leader. A two-tire pit stop on lap 202 allowed Menard to gain valuable track position, lining him up 15th for the ensuing restart. The Richard Childress Racing driver methodically worked his way up to 11th before coming to pit road one final time on lap 246 for left-side tires, fuel and wedge and air pressure adjustments. Restarting in 11th, Menard was caught in the middle going three-wide into the corner and shuffled back to 19th at lap 263. Struggling with a tight condition for the remaining 37 laps of the event, Menard ultimately finished 22nd at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Menard maintained his position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings and sits in 16th heading to Dover International Speedway.

 

Start – 7                      Finish – 22                     Laps Led – 0            Points – 16th

 

PAUL MENARD QUOTE:

“It was a rough day for the No. 27 SYLVANIA/Menards crew. We struggled with handling issues for the majority of the day, especially there at the end. That last set of tires made us really tight and we just couldn’t gain any track position. My guys never gave up and made a variety of adjustments all day to try and get the car to handle better. We’ll keep our heads up heading into Dover (International Speedway) next week.”

 

 

 

 

Harvick Finishes 20th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

 

Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team finished 20th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon after battling handling issues during in the SYLVANIA 300. The California native started the 300-lap affair from the eighth position and slipped back to 11th in the early laps when a tight condition through the center of the corners and loose-handling condition on exit developed on the red and white Chevrolet. Though he was struggling with handling issues, Harvick continued to hold a position inside the top-15 for the first half of the 300 mile event. The Budweiser crew made a variety of adjustments during multiple two and four-tire pits stops throughout the race, but the handling issues persisted and Harvick slipped back to 20th at Lap 213. Crew chief Gil Martin called his driver to pit road one final time, with 53 laps remaining, for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments. The Richard Childress Racing driver restarted in 23rd and fell back as far as 25th, before working his way back inside the top 20 at lap 269. Harvick maintained his position for the remaining 30 laps to finish 20th at “The Magic Mile.” Following the event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Harvick sits in sixth position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings.

 

Start – 8         Finish – 20         Laps Led – 0        Points Position – 6th

  

  

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:

“We struggled with handling issues all day and never could get it figured out. Even though we didn’t get the finish we were looking for today, we’re not going to let it get us down. Next week is another race and we’ll look for better results heading into Dover.”

 

 

 

 

Burton Finishes Eighth in the No. 31 Cheerios Chevrolet at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Jeff Burton started the SYLVANIA 300 in 25th at the one-mile oval of New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon. Once the initial green-flag waved over the Granite State-facility, Burton encountered a condition of loose in the entry and middle of the turns on the No. 31 Cheerios Chevrolet. A pre-determined competition caution on lap 30 coincided with a spin in Turn 4. This allowed crew chief Luke Lambert to bring Burton down pit road taking on four tires, fuel and making a track bar adjustment. Restarting 25th, Burton began his methodical climb through the scoring ranks. By lap 50, he was 17th when the caution waved one lap later. During this break, Lambert radioed to Burton that he felt like the track conditions were working in their favor. That became evident through the next four cautions and the halfway point when Burton first entered the top-10 ranks. Taking only two right-side tires under caution on lap 166, then two left-side tires on lap 202 helped keep Burton in the top-15. He re-entered the top 10 on lap 245 and remained there for the rest of the race to finish eighth, earning his sixth top-10 finish in 2013. He also moved up three positions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings to 19th place.

                Start – 25     Finish – 8       Laps Led – 0        Points Position – 19th

Jeff Burton Quote:

“We just got too tight there at the end to gain any more positions. We had great pit stops during the entire race, so my hat is off to the No. 31 Cheerios team today. That was a great Chevrolet we had, we just should have finished much better than we did. But, we’ll take that top-10 and head to Dover (International Speedway) and do it again.”                                                     

RCR PR

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