RCR Post Race Report — NNS Dollar General 300

NASCAR Nationwide Series

Dollar General 300 powered by Coca-Cola  

Chicagoland Speedway 

September 15, 2012

 

Race Highlights:

  • Richard Childress Racing teammates finished third (Austin Dillon), fifth (Paul Menard) and eighth (Elliott Sadler).
  • Sadler is in the second position in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver championship point standings, nine points behind leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr., while Dillon ranks third in the standings, trailing the leader by 34 points.
  • The No. 2 Chevrolet team is third in the Nationwide Series owner championship point standings, 13 points shy of the No. 18 team’s lead, with the No. 3 team fourth in the standings and the No. 33 team sixth.
  • Dillon leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings over Cole Whitt.
  • According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Menard was ranked the seventh-Fastest Driver Early in a Run (168.466 mph), Late in a Run (168.078 mph) and on Restarts (165.090 mph). He also maintained the eighth-best Average Running Position (7.645), Driver Rating (103) and Green Flag Speed (167.236 mph).
  • Dillon and Menard spent 100 percent of the contested Laps in the Top 15, while Sadler turned 199 of the 200 laps (99.5 percent) in the top 15.
  • The RCR drivers turned 51 of the Fastest Laps Run with Dillon contributing 38, Sadler with 11 and Menard with two.
  • Dillon was the Fastest Driver Late In a Run with an average speed of 167.599 mph according to NASCAR’s Post-Race Loop Data Statistics. Dillon ranked second in Average Running Position (2.582), Laps Led (52) and Speed in Traffic (168.412 mph). He was third-Fastest on Restarts (166.161 mph), averaged a Green Flag Speed of 168.400 mph and earned a Driver Rating of 127.1 ranking him third in both categories.
  • Sadler notched the second position in Quality Passes, third in Fastest Drivers Late in a Run and fourth in Speed in Traffic.
  • Stenhouse, Jr. claimed the victory at Chicagoland Speedway, followed to the line by Kyle Busch, Dillon, Brad Keselowski and Menard.
  • The next scheduled Nationwide Series race is the Kentucky 300 at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday, September 22. The 27th race of the 2012 season is scheduled to be televised live on ESPN beginning at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.  
 
 

  Eighth-Place Finish for Elliott Sadler and the OneMain Financial Team at Chicagoland Speedway

  

Elliott Sadler and the No. 2 OneMain Financial team earned an eighth-place finish Saturday afternoon at Chicagoland Speedway in the NASCAR Nationwide Series event. Starting the Dollar General 300 powered by Coca-Cola from the fifth position, Sadler competed in the top-five for the first 38 laps before the caution flag was displayed. Crew chief Luke Lambert called Sadler down pit road for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment, positioning the No. 2 Chevrolet to restart in the sixth position. Sadler continued to turn the fastest lap times around the 1.5-mile track, and he reported that the No. 2 Chevrolet was getting tight to the center of the corner. Lambert called Sadler down pit road for a green-flag stop on lap 94 for four tires and fuel, and the Emporia, Va. native quickly communicated that the right-front tire was chattering. Sadler continued to work with the tighter OneMain Financial Chevrolet, maintaining the fifth position until another caution came out on lap 123. Sadler steered the No. 2 Chevrolet down pit road for another routine stop for four tires and fuel, and the team discovered the right-front tire was blistered, which caused the chattering. Restarting from the fourth position on lap 129, Sadler consistently ran as fast as the leader. The yellow flag was displayed for the final time on lap 166, and the OneMain Financial pit crew went to work for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. The quick stop positioned the No. 2 Chevrolet as the leader for the restart. As the field went back to green-flag racing, Sadler reported there was chattering again in the front tires as he was shuffled back to the eighth position. Unable to move forward with the loose-handling condition, Sadler crossed the finish line in the eighth position, marking the team’s 19th top-10 finish of the 2012 season. Sadler ranks second in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver championship point standings, nine points behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

 

Start – 5                   Finish – 8               Laps Led – 3               Points – 2 

 

ELLIOTT SADLER QUOTE:

“Not the kind of finish we were looking for here today at Chicagoland Speedway. We had a blister on the right-front tire in the middle of the race, and lost track position. I’m just glad that it didn’t happen later in the race. The pit crew was great all day long on pit road, and the team worked hard all weekend. We will remain focused on our goal and regroup for next week at Kentucky Speedway.”    

 

 

 

   

Austin Dillon Captures a Third-Place Finish at Chicagoland Speedway

 

Austin Dillon drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet to a third-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway after leading 52 laps in the Dollar General 300 powered by Coca-Cola Saturday afternoon. The Welcome, N.C., native started the race from the second position and reported to crew chief Danny Stockman that the black and green Chevrolet had developed a tight-handling condition during the early laps of the race as he slipped back to the fifth position. Stockman called the No. 3 Chevrolet to pit road under yellow-flag conditions on lap 41 for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments to help the handling issues Dillon was battling. A speedy pit stop by the American Ethanol pit crew placed Dillon in the second position for the ensuing restart. The NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year contender remained a fixture in the top five before battling for the lead, taking over the top spot on lap 70. Dillon continued to lead the field until a lap-125 pit stop for four tires, fuel and the removal of a large piece of debris from the grille. The stop placed Dillon in the second position for the lap-129 restart. As the laps ticked away, Dillon held a position in the top three until a lengthy pit stop positioned the 22-year-old driver in the sixth spot for the lap-171 restart. During the final laps, Dillon maneuvered his American Ethanol Chevrolet around the competition, ultimately crossing the finish line in the third position, marking the team’s 13th top-five finish of the 2012 season. Dillon remains third in the Nationwide Series driver championship point standings, 34 markers out of the lead.

 

Start – 2                   Finish – 3                Laps Led – 52               Points – 3

 

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:

“We had a really strong American Ethanol Chevrolet, and I had a blast racing out there today. I had fun moving around the track going from the top to the bottom. We got something on the grille during the middle of the race when we were leading and it made me really loose, we were able to get that off and then we kind of over adjusted. We were good at the end, but the No. 6 was better. We’ll keep working on it and turn our focus on next week’s race at Kentucky (Speedway).”

 

 

 

The No. 33 Rheem/Menards Team Earn Fifth-Place Finish in NASCAR Nationwide Series Race at Chicagoland Speedway

 

Paul Menard and the No. 33 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet rallied to a top-five finish in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Dollar General 300 powered by Coca-Cola after battling handling issues at Chicagoland Speedway. After starting from the seventh position, the Eau Claire, Wis., native wrestled a loose-handling Chevrolet during the first half of the 200-lap event at the 1.5-mile facility. Crew chief Ernie Cope called for chassis and air pressure adjustments during routine green and yellow-flag pit stops on laps 41 and 96 to combat the handling challenges. After falling to 12th in the running order, a lap-123 caution period provided the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing team an opportunity to make an aggressive chassis adjustment, coupled with air pressure changes to aid Menard in his effort to drive back into the top 10. Flawless pit stops gained the No. 33 Rheem/Menards team three positions during each of the final two visits to pit road. Armed with an improved-handling Chevrolet, Menard fought hard to remain in the top five during the closing 30 laps, bringing home a fifth-place finish in his fifth Nationwide Series race of the 2012 season.

 

Start – 7              Finish – 5            Laps Led – 0             Owner Points – 6

 

PAUL MENARD QUOTE:

“Ernie (Cope, crew chief) and the No. 33 Rheem/Menards team did a great job as always this weekend. We had a strong afternoon in the pits and made good adjustments all day. Unfortunately, we struggled with the car’s handling early and it took us a little too long to get it turned around. Still, it was a great effort all-around to finish fifth.”

 

RCR PR