RCR Post Race Report — NNS Dollar General 300

Race Highlights:

  • Richard Childress Racing teammates finished second (Kevin Harvick), third (Elliott Sadler) and sixth (Austin Dillon).
  • Sadler leads the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver championship point standings by 13 points over Ricky Stenhouse Jr., while Dillon ranks third in the standings, 29 markers behind his RCR teammate.
  • The No. 2 team ranks second in the Nationwide Series owner championship point standings, trailing the No. 18 team by 19 points, with the No. 3 team fourth in the standings and the No. 33 team fifth.
  • Dillon leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings over Cole Whitt.
  • According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Harvick led the field in Quality Passes (46), maintained a Driver Rating of 122.8, ranking him second, was the third-Fastest Driver Early in a Run, the third-Fastest Driver Late in a Run and had the third-fastest Green Flag Speed.
  • Sadler was Fastest on Restarts, had the fourth-best Average Running Position (3.935) and was the fourth-Fastest Driver Early in a Run.
  • Dillon was the sixth-Fastest Driver Early in a Run and made 31 Quality Passes, ranking him sixth.
  • Combined, the RCR drivers posted the Fastest Laps Run for 38 circuits.
  • Harvick and Sadler spent 100 percent of the race running in the top 15, while Dillon spent 99.5 percent of the race running in the top 15.
  • Joey Logano earned his eighth Nationwide Series win of 2012, crossing the finish line ahead of Harvick, Sadler, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin.
  • The next scheduled Nationwide Series race is the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, Oct. 20. The 29th race of the 2012 season is scheduled to be televised live on ESPN beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network.

 


Third-Place Finish for Elliott Sadler and the OneMain Financial team at Charlotte Motor Speedway After Earning Pole Award

 

Sporting a special pink OneMain Financial paint scheme in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month under the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Elliott Sadler and the No. 2 team scored a third-place finish in the NASCAR Nationwide Series event on Friday night. Starting from the pole position for the fifth time this season, the Emporia, Va., native led 15 laps before he dropped to the second spot. In the first wave of green-flag pit stops, crew chief Luke Lambert directed Sadler down pit road on lap 54 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. A problem with the right-front lug nuts slowed the stop, dropping the Richard Childress Racing driver to the seventh position. Sadler worked his way around the 1.5-mile race track trying to make up ground and moved into the fourth spot by the halfway point of the race. A quick pit stop during a caution period on lap 133 positioned the OneMain Financial machine in the second position for the ensuing restart, but Sadler dropped back through the field as he reported that the car did not handle well on fresh tires. Lambert instructed the driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet to try to save as much fuel as possible, but the team had to pit with 12 laps remaining in the race. Sadler moved his way into the third spot in the closing laps of the Dollar General 300, crossing the finish line to collect his 14th top-five finish of the 2012 Nationwide Series season. Sadler leads the Nationwide Series driver championship point standings by 13 markers over Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

 

Start – 1                     Finish – 3                 Laps Led – 15                    Points – 1

 

ELLIOTT SADLER QUOTE:

“Tonight was a great race for the OneMain Financial team. I would have loved to bring home a win tonight with our pink car to support Breast Cancer Awareness, especially because my mom, who is a survivor, was here for the race. I’m so proud of our team, the OneMain Financial guys worked hard all night. 1.5-mile tracks have not always been our strongest, but we worked so hard tonight. Next week we head to Kansas Speedway, which we all think will be a wildcard, but we have a plan and are looking forward to it.”

 

 

 

 

 

Austin Dillon Earns Sixth-Place Finish in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet at Charlotte Motor Speedway

 

Austin Dillon posted a sixth-place finish in the Dollar General 300 on Friday evening, marking the Richard Childress Racing driver’s best NASCAR Nationwide Series finish in two attempts at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Starting the 200-lap race from the second position, Dillon fell to seventh in the running order during the early stages of the event as he battled a tight-handling condition on the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet. Despite making numerous changes to the No. 3 Chevrolet during routine pit stops to try and correct the problem, the handling issue continued to plague the team throughout the race. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender was issued a pit road penalty following a lap-84 pit stop for right-side tires and had to restart from the tail end of the longest line, in the 10th position, when green-flag racing resumed on lap 87. Dillon spent the remainder of the race battling for track position, ultimately posting a sixth-place finish. The RCR driver remains third in the Nationwide Series driver championship point standings, 29 markers shy of the lead.

 

Start – 2                       Finish – 6                     Laps Led – 0                            Points – 3

 

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
“The No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet was extremely tight in traffic today, so it made it difficult to pass. It was so tight that we were wearing out the right-front tire during every run. A sixth-place finish is not what we were hoping for today but we are looking forward to the next few races.”

 

Kevin Harvick and the Rheem/Menards Team Earn Runner-Up Finish in the

NASCAR Nationwide Series Event at Charlotte Motor Speedway

 

Kevin Harvick drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 33 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet to a runner-up finish in the NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Charlotte Motor Speedway Friday night. The Bakersfield, Calif., native started the 200-lap affair from the fifth position and worked his way to the front of the field, taking the lead on lap 51. Following Harvick’s visit to pit road on lap 54, the two-time Nationwide Series Champion returned to the point position on lap 61 after the field cycled through a round of green-flag pit stops. Harvick alerted crew chief Ernie Cope that the neon yellow machine transitioned from a tight to a loose-handling condition as the run progressed. Cope directed Harvick to pit road during caution periods on laps 84 and 133 for fuel, four tires and chassis adjustments to correct the handling issue the Rheem/Menards Chevrolet developed during the long green-flag runs. Harvick made a final visit to pit road on lap 187 for fuel only under green-flag conditions, returning to the track in the seventh spot. During the final laps of the race, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular charged toward to the front of the field and crossed the finish line in the second position, marking Harvick’s record-setting, 150th top-five Nationwide Series finish.

 

Start – 5                    Finish – 2                 Laps Led – 15               Owner Points – 5

 

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:

“This was such a fun race to be a part of. There were so many different grooves to run in, I don’t think I’ve ever seen racing like this at Charlotte (Motor Speedway). The Rheem/Menards Chevrolet just got too loose during the long green-flag runs, and we ran out of time at the end to regain the lead and get the win. We know what we need to work on for the next race, so we’ll take this runner-up finish and move forward.”

 

RCR PR