Race Highlights:
- Richard Childress Racing teammates Paul Menard, Ryan Newman and Austin Dillon finished fifth, 11th and 17th, respectively.
- Newman ranks eighth in the Sprint Cup Series championship point standings, trailing current leader Brad Keselowski by 107 points, while Menard ranks 12th and Dillon is 18th.
- Carl Edwards earned his second victory of the 2014 season and was followed to the finish line by Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jamie McMurray and Menard.
- The next Sprint Cup Series race is the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday, June 28, which is scheduled to be televised live on TNT beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time and is scheduled to be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.
Austin Dillon Earns Top-20 Finish in Career-First Start at Sonoma Raceway
Austin Dillon drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Dow Powerhouse Solar Chevrolet to a 17th-place finish in the Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday afternoon, marking the rookie of the year contender’s first career start at the 1.99-mile road course in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Dillon started the 110-lap event from the 26th position and utilized strategic driving, spotters Billy O’Dea and Max Papis and pit strategy to advance his position on the 11-turn course. He noted a tight-handling condition throughout the event, which was alleviated through air-pressure adjustments during routine pit stops. Dillon was running 13th when he made his final pit stop of the event after the caution flag was displayed with just under 20 laps remaining. During the stop, he took four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Restarting in the 15th spot on lap 94, Dillon continued to face a tight-handling condition and ultimately finished 15th.
Start – 26th Finish – 17th Laps Led – 0 Points – 18th
“I’m really proud of this team today. We were just a little front end tight. I learned a lot and had a blast out there. I can’t wait to try road course racing again.”
Paul Menard Earns Second-Consecutive Top-FiveFinish at Sonoma in No. 27 Richmond/Menards Chevrolet
Paul Menard drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 27 Richmond/Menards Chevrolet SS to a fifth-place finish in Sunday’s 218.9-mile event at Sonoma Raceway in California. The Eau Claire, Wisc., driver started ninth and raced in the top 10 for 21 laps of competition. Menard radioed in that he needed more “drive off” and suggested a track bar adjustment during the team’s scheduled pit stop. The Slugger Labbe-led team called for Menard to come down pit road during the lap 30 caution. After a stop for four tires, fuel, air pressure and track bar adjustments, Menard felt more comfortable in the Richmond/Menards Chevy. From there, he was able to race within the top 20 for the remainder of the 110-lap event with only three additional pit stops. In the closing laps, Menard was able to race his way into the top five with fresh tires and a fast Chevrolet. This finish marks the No. 27 team’s third top-five finish, second consecutively after finishing fourth last week in Michigan and ninth top-10 finish. Sunday afternoon’s finish was also Menard’s personal best at Sonoma Raceway. Up next for the No. 27 team is Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway.
Start – 9th Finish – 5th Laps Led – 0 Points – 12th
PAUL MENARD QUOTE:
“Today was another good call today by my team. I think if we had another caution come out there at the end, we could have contended for a top-three finish for sure. My guys gave me great stops on pit road and helped us be where we needed in regards to track position. Overall, it was a good weekend for our Richmond/Menards team.”
Newman Perseveres to 11th-Place Finish at Sonoma Raceway
Richard Childress Racing driver Ryan Newman drove the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS to an 11-place finish in Sunday’s SaveMart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. The South Bend, Ind., native started seventh in the season’s first road-course event and scheduled for 110 laps. Crew chief Luke Lambert implemented a pit strategy with the Cat team’s first stop under green scheduled for lap 31. However, the caution flag flew on lap 31 while Newman raced in third place as other cars were already making, or made, their stops just prior to the yellow flag. During their stop on lap 32, the Cat crew sprung into action and allowed Newman to return to action in 15th place. Then on lap 71, when Newman planned to pit under green, the yellow flag waved again. Newman pitted one lap later forcing Lambert to retool the team’s strategy in hopes of enabling the No. 31 the best chance to regain track position and contend for the win. The new plan called for one final pit stop. It happened on lap 92 under caution. Newman restarted in 17th position and methodically maneuvered his way up through the field to finish in 11th place. The top-15 result moves Newman up to eighth place in the championship point standings. Next Saturday, the Cup Series competes at Kentucky Speedway.
Start – 7th Finish – 11th Laps Led – 0 Points -8th
RYAN NEWMAN QUOTE: “Everything that could have happened to hurt our pit strategy – did. We had a much better car than 11th
place, but I am just happy the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet remained on track all day. The finish may have been a little bit of a disappointment, but did help us in the point standings.”
