RCR Event Preview – Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL

Richard Childress Racing at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL Richard Childress Racing has nine NASCAR Cup Series starts at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. Tyler Reddick owns the company’s best finish, a second-place effort in 2021. The first RCR driver to lead laps on the 2.280-mile layout was Daniel Hemric in 2019 (two laps). 

 

Xfinity Series at the ROVAL … RCR has made six starts at the ROVAL in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, highlighted by Tyler Reddick’s second-place finish in 2019. The Welcome, N.C., team has four top-10 finishes dating back to the inaugural event in 2018. The organization’s best qualifying effort in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition at the ROVAL is second-place by Reddick (2019) and Daniel Hemric (2018).   

   

Introducing the Carolina Cowboys Driven by the same passion for performance that guides his race team, Richard Childress’ latest endeavor brings Professional Bull Riding to the Carolinas. The Carolina Cowboys represent Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in the PBR Team Series, an elite new league featuring the world’s top bull riders in games that began in July 2022. The team is operated by Richard Childress Racing with 2018 Daytona 500 Champion Austin Dillon serving as General Manager. 

 

Catch the Action … The NASCAR Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 250 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL will be televised live on Saturday, October 8, beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC (simulcast on Peacock). The race will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. 

 

Follow Sunday’s Action at Charlotte … The NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL will be televised live on Sunday, October 9, beginning at 2 p.m. ET on NBC. The race will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. 

Facebook  Twitter  Instagram  
 

This Week’s Get Bioethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL … Charlotte Motor Speedway is Austin Dillon’s home track. Growing up, Dillon watched many races with his family from his grandfather’s condo. In four NASCAR Cup Series starts at the ROVAL, Dillon earned his best finish of 15th in October 2021 after starting 14th. Dillion is a previous winner on the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval configuration, sweeping both NASCAR Xfinity races at the track in 2015 and earning his career-first NASCAR Cup Series win in the Coca-Cola 600 in 2017.

 

 

Delivering Performance on the Track and For the Planet … Dillon will race the Get Bioethanol Chevy in Charlotte, showcasing the performance benefits of racing with earth kind and engine smart bioethanol blended fuel, Sunoco Green E15. Whether it’s delivering cleaner and cooler high octane on the racetrack or a more affordable option for spring break road trips, plant-based bioethanol makes a positive impact on our planet. Learn more about bioethanol at getbioethanol.com.

 

 

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:

What are your thoughts on the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL?

“I have confidence leading into the ROVAL this year because we have worked really hard on our road course races. It’s always nice to compete at your hometown track. We almost won the Coca-Cola 600 in May, and I’ve won the Coca-Cola 600 in past years, so it would be cool to add a Charlotte win to my resume on the road course configuration. I don’t know, we’ll see. The goal is to get as many points as possible and to try and win. We’re going to try our hardest.”

 

This Week’s 3CHI Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL … Tyler Reddick will be making his third NASCAR Cup Series start this weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. The driver of the 3CHI Chevrolet scored a second-place finish in 2021, rallying from a 29th-place starting position. Reddick leads all Cup Series drivers with two road course victories and has led at least one lap in four previous road course events. He has three top-five and four top-10 finishes this season – tied for most among all Cup drivers. Reddick has two wins and two poles in 14 career road course starts. His first career Cup victory (Road America) and pole position (Circuit of the Americas) both came on road course layouts.

   

3CHI Blazed the Trail for Another Industry First … 3CHI and Richard Childress Racing created another first with their partnership for the 2022 NASCAR season. 3CHI began with roots as a CBD producer and quickly became a pioneer in science-based hemp and cannabis innovation. The company was the first to commercially develop and market Delta 8 THC, and today, 3CHI is an industry leader with unsurpassed product quality and purity as verified by top independent labs and benchmark organizations. 3CHI products are sold in a majority of the United States, and the company produces and markets a variety of gummies, tinctures, lotions, edibles and vape products. All 3CHI products meet federal requirements for full legal compliance, with a commitment to promoting responsible adult use. See 3CHI.com for more information.

 

TYLER REDDICK QUOTES:

The Charlotte ROVAL is very different than the other road courses. What are your expectations entering this weekend?

“When we tested there last year after the ROVAL race, we were trying things and found some stuff and we were really fast in that test. I was like ‘Man, when we come back here it’s going to be crazy.’ These teams and our competitors are just so smart. Where everyone was with this car when we last tested there and now are just two different places completely. It’s going to be a tough race for sure, but we’ve been doing a really good job this year of making our cars better little by little. I’m very excited about it. We had a really good test and made it faster every time and we had a lot of speed. We’re all pretty close on setups nowadays so it all comes down to who does the best job preparing for the race weekend and who executes properly. It should be an interesting race. This car is going to be going through the infield there faster than ever before and it’s going to be a physical race for sure.”

 

What are some of the key areas at the ROVAL road course?

“The racing and passing will evolve from where we were last year, but there are certainly a lot of opportunities to mix it up for track position and positing yourself against your competitors when you try to set up passes or try to defend them into the chicanes. We’re going to be moving through the infield faster than we ever have before so I think some of the techniques will change a bit. Exiting off of Turn 8 onto the big oval will remain the most important corner followed by getting out of the rear chicane. How you approach it, prepare for it and what you want your car to do will be a lot different with this car with the bigger brakes, wider tires and a little bit less power.” 

 

This Week’s Whelen / National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Chevrolet Camaro SS at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL … Sheldon Creed will make his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (ROVAL) this weekend. There have been five road course races so far this season and Creed has two top-10 finishes and a best finish of eighth at Watkins Glen International.

 

Momentum on his Side … Creed has had two strong runs in the last two weeks beginning at Texas Motor Speedway, where he started 13th and finished seventh. This past weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, Creed was able to salvage a 12th-place finish in a crazy superspeedway race. All in all, Creed has three top fives and 11 top 10s in 28 races so far this season and is still looking for his first win. The team has made a lot of positive progress throughout Creed’s rookie season and is completely focused on winning. Creed is currently holding on to 14th-place in the driver standings with 630 points.

 

National Fallen Firefighters Foundation … This weekend is extra special for Sheldon Creed and Whelen as they are honoring the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) with a special paint scheme for Saturday’s race. Creed’s No. 2 Chevrolet has the 2022 Roll of Honor names on the decklid and a patriotic look with the NFFF logo on the hood. This weekend is the 41st annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend, the official national tribute to all firefighters who died in the line of duty during the previous year. Congress created the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to lead a nationwide effort to honor America’s fallen firefighters. Since 1992, the non-profit Foundation has developed and expanded programs that fulfill that mandate. Our mission is to honor and remember America’s fallen fire heroes and to provide resources to assist their families in rebuilding their lives and work within the fire service community to reduce firefighter deaths and injuries. Each October, the Foundation sponsors the official national tribute to all firefighters who died in the line of duty during the previous year. Thousands attend the weekend activities held at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The weekend features special programs for families and co-workers along with moving public ceremonies.

 

Whelen Celebrates 70 Years … From a small garage workshop in Connecticut in 1952 to a worldwide leader in emergency warning equipment today, Whelen Engineering continues to push the boundaries of innovation. As we mark our 70th anniversary, we’re proud to continue our founder’s mission of making it safer for those who serve and protect. Whelen has been manufacturing in America for 70 years—we never left, and we’re here to stay.

 

About Whelen … Whelen Engineering is a family-owned company with a pioneering spirit and a passion to protect the lives of those who protect and serve others. The company mission is to provide industry-defining safety solutions around the world, while creating a community of problem-solvers who are inspired to push boundaries and continue our legacy of delivering ground-breaking innovation. As a global leader in the emergency warning industry, Whelen has been trusted to perform since 1952, when George Whelen III invented the first rotating aviation beacon. Whelen now encompasses two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Connecticut and New Hampshire with over 750,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing space and the largest design staff in the industry. Every part of every Whelen product is proudly designed and manufactured in America. We embrace quality as our foundation, we celebrate innovative engineering in every product we produce.

 

SHELDON CREED QUOTE:

This weekend you’re running a special paint scheme for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. What does that mean to you?

“I’m really excited to run this paint scheme at the ROVAL. I have always loved showing appreciation to first responders when we can and this one is really special for Whelen, too. The car looks awesome and it’s going to look great on the track. This weekend is National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend, and I will have the names of firefighters who died in the line of duty on my car and that’s a really big honor for me. I’d love to get a win for them.”

 

You’re making your debut at the ROVAL. What’s your mindset like?

“We had an overall good day last weekend at Talladega, and I hope we can keep that momentum going at the ROVAL. This will be my first start on the road course, so I’ve been focused on doing my homework and working in the simulator to get used to the layout. It’s hard to know what to expect until you get on track. Practice will be really important for my team and I so we can know what kind of car we have right off the bat. Hopefully we qualify well and then we can start in the front and out of trouble. The weather doesn’t look like it will be an issue, so we won’t have to worry about rain tires. My guys have brought me really fast cars and we’ve been in the mix and leading laps so we just need to put it all together and hopefully we can do that this weekend.”

 

This Week’s Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Camaro SS at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL … Austin Hill will make his third Xfinity Series start at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (ROVAL) this weekend. Of his two starts, he grabbed a best finish of 18th last season. Hill, the 2022 Sunoco Rookie of the Year, has five road-course starts this season. He started in the top-five in all of those starts and accumulated three top-five finishes and four top-10 finishes. His best road-course finish this season was second at Circuit of the Americas. Hill’s road course numbers have been strong, and he hopes to continue the streak at the ROVAL for the first cut-off race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.

 

 

Keeping Tabs on the Playoffs … Austin Hill punched his ticket to the post-season in the first race of 2022 with a win at Daytona International Speedway. The Playoffs kicked off two weeks ago at Texas Motor Speedway where Hill started ninth and finished runner-up. Most recently, Hill swept both stages at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend and led 60 laps. He was shuffled out of the mix at the end of the race and ended up finishing 14th but the team gathered a good number of points heading into the final race of the Round of 12. Currently, Hill is fourth in the Playoff standings, 43 points above the cutline. Obviously, a win would be the best outcome but staying out of trouble and gaining as many points as possible at the ROVAL on Saturday will be the goal. 

 

Sunoco Rookie of the Year … Austin Hill officially clinched NASCAR Xfinity Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors after last weekend’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Hill joins a long list of prestigious winners including fellow RCR drivers Kevin Harvick (2000) and Austin Dillon (2012).  

 

Wreaths Across America (WAA) … WAA’s mission to REMEMBER, HONOR and TEACH is carried out by coordinating local fundraising efforts and wreath-laying ceremonies at more than 2,158 locations in all 50 states, at sea and abroad. Bennett Family of Companies is passionate about many things. The love they have for our country and armed forces is at the top of this list. In addition, patriotism is one of the core values at Bennett. Bennett took on the cause of Wreaths Across America to provide trucking assistance and fundraising support for a purpose that touches so many of our employees, drivers, and agents. In 2017, Bennett’s first year of being involved with Wreaths Across America, we helped arrange one truck and trailer to pick up wreaths where they are harvested and created in Columbia Falls, Maine. 2022 marks Bennett’s sixth year being involved with WAA. They have hauled over 65,000 wreaths in total since 2017. Here’s the link to the donation page on the National Wreaths Across America website: https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/GA0213.

 

About Bennett Family of Companies … McDonough, Ga.-based Bennett Family of Companies is a woman-owned, Women’s Enterprise Business Council (WBENC) certified, diversified transportation and logistics company. Through its 12 affiliated operating companies, the Bennett Family of Companies delivers integrated transportation and supply chain management solutions worldwide. The company will use race experiences to recruit and retain hundreds of truck drivers for their organization in 2022. For more information, visit www.Drive4Bennett.com.

 

 

AUSTIN HILL QUOTE:

Heartbreaker last weekend at Talladega, but you won your first pole award, swept the stages, and led a lot of laps – does that mean anything heading into the final race of the Round of 12?

“It definitely does mean something. We were so close on Saturday, and we just got shuffled out of the mix at the end. I couldn’t get the push that I needed to make it back out front and then we ran out of laps. But we were the dominant car all day long. We had speed, which we also showed on Friday when we won the pole, and we worked really hard on strategy and preparation for the race. The guys at RCR and ECR deserved the win because of everything they do week in and week out. As much as that one was hard to get over, we made a statement. They knew we were there, and they knew that we’re a force to be reckoned with. We’ve had a really strong road course program this season and I’ve put up some really good stats. I’ve been really close to the win a few times this season and I think the ROVAL is where we can get it done. Having a decent number of points heading into the race is nice but the only thing that can make you comfortable is the win. I know my guys will bring another fast car this weekend and we’ll take everything we’ve learned from road courses this season and really execute. I’m looking forward to getting on the track for practice and hopefully we’re on it right when we unload.”

RCR PR