RCR Post Race Report — NCWTS Pocono Mountains 125

Race Highlights:       

• Richard Childress Racing teammates finished first (Joey Coulter), sixth (Ty Dillon) and 15th (Tim George Jr.).
• Dillon ranks second in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver championship point standings, trailing leader Timothy Peters by eight points, while Coulter ranks seventh in the standings.
• The No. 3 Chevrolet team is second in the Camping World Truck Series owner championship point standings, eight points shy of the No. 17 truck’s lead, with the No. 22 team seventh in the standings and the No. 2 team eighth.
• Dillon leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings ahead of Cale Gale.
• Coulter earned his first Camping World Truck Series victory in the Pocono Mountains 125.
• According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Coulter earned the third-highest Driver Rating (119.8), and Dillon earned a rating of 91.0 ranking him eighth amongst the competitors.
• Coulter was the series’ Fastest Driver Late in the Run.
• Coulter earned the series’ fourth-best Average Running Position (6.440).
• George completed 25 Quality Passes en route to a top-15 finish.
• George made 33 Green Flag Passes during the 50-lap event ranking him third, while Dillon made 31 passes ranking him seventh.
• Coulter won the Pocono Mountains 125 and was followed to the finish line by James Buescher, Nelson Piquet Jr., Matt Crafton and Denny Hamlin.
• The next scheduled Camping World Truck Series race is VFW 200 at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 18. The 12th race of the 2012 season is scheduled to be televised live on SPEED beginning at 12 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on Motor Racing Network beginning at 12:15 p.m.

 

  

Ty Dillon Battles Back for Top-10 Finish at Pocono Raceway

 

After suffering damage from a lap-one incident, Ty Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops team finished sixth in the Pocono Mountains 125 at Pocono Raceway. Dillon started the 50-lap affair from the second position but was shuffled up the race track on the start, causing minor damage to the left-front fender and splitter and forcing him into the turn-one wall. Dillon was scored in the 13^th position on lap two and reported a tight-handling condition on the black and orange machine. Despite the handling issues, the 20-year-old driver was able to march his way back into the top 10 by lap 19 while posting lap times faster than the leader. The Marcus Richmond-led team was called to pit road under green-flag conditions on lap 23 for right-side tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. While on pit road, the No. 3 crew performed additional repairs to the front-end damage to assist the handling of the Chevrolet. Dillon returned to pit road again, on lap 28, for further repairs and four fresh tires. Armed with new dancing shoes, Dillon drove through the field to the sixth position where he would cross the finish line. With Dillon’s sixth-place finish, he is second in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver championship point standings, eight markers out of the lead.

“The No. 3 Bass Pro Shops team proved today that we have what it takes to be a championship team. We had to battle back from the start of the race to earn this top-10 finish. I can’t say enough about how proud I am of Marcus Richmond (crew chief), and the entire team. I’m really happy for Joey Coulter, and the No. 22 team. They’ve worked really hard to earn that win. It’s awesome to see him go to Victory Lane.” 

 

 

Joey Coulter Earns Career-First NASCAR Win at Pocono Raceway

 

Charging the No. 22 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to the front of the field on the final restart of the Pocono Mountains 125, Joey Coulter earned his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win at Pocono Raceway. Coulter started the black and red machine from the fourth position on Saturday afternoon. When the green flag dropped on the 50-lap affair, trucks in front of the No. 22 machine brushed the wall going into turn one which caused the Miami Springs, Fla. native to fall out of line to avoid contact, dropping to seventh in the running order. Crew chief Harold Holly called Coulter to pit road under green-flag conditions on lap 21 for two tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to combat a tight-handling condition, the 22-year-old reported during the early run. The No. 22 Chevrolet team was confident they had a fast Silverado and when the field was slowed for the first caution of the afternoon on lap 30, the momentum of the race changed. Shortly after the restart, the yellow flag was displayed again. Coulter lined up in the sixth position and on the ensuing lap-38 restart, drove three-wide, moving into the third position. The caution was brought out again for a multi-car incident in turn two the following lap. When the green flag was displayed for the final time in the 125-mile event, Coulter immediately jumped out and drove to the front on the restart, leading for the final seven laps, Coulter took the checkered flag for his first career Camping World Truck Series win.

 

Start – 4                       Finish – 1                     Laps Led – 7                Points – 7

 

JOEY COULTER QUOTES:

How does it feel to win at this level in NASCAR?

“This feels so amazing. There’s no way to describe it. I just can’t thank everyone at RCR enough for the opportunity and Harold (Holly, crew chief) for coming to work for my family’s ARCA (Racing Series presented by Menards) team and teaching me how to drive. When we hired him, I was a little bit lost. I just can’t thank him enough for standing behind me, keeping me ahead of the learning curve and giving me such great equipment every week. It’s unbelievable.”

 

Talk about that final restart.

“I’ve struggled on restarts for a long time and we’ve put a lot of effort toward making them better and better. As soon as my spotter said ‘green’ I put my foot to the floor and let the ECR Chevrolet horse power do the rest. It’s what we needed to do. We needed to make moves quick because track position was really important. This new pavement picked the speeds up but it sure did make it hard to pass. I knew we had to get it done right there, or we weren’t going to have a second chance at it.”

 

Can you put into words what it means to finally get this first win?

“I probably can’t put it into words, but I’ll try. It’s a dream come true. Again, I can’t say enough about the equipment, the opportunity to drive for RCR and to Camping World for putting together such a great series. It’s an unbelievable feeling. Call me in three days when it finally hits me and I might be able to give you a better answer.”

 

HAROLD HOLLY QUOTES:

“I’m just thrilled to death for Joey Coulter. He is such a great kid and has worked so hard to get here. This is as big as any of them, win-wise. We have such a strong support group and this team is just great.”

 

Congratulations on the win, Harold. When was the last time you visited Victory Lane? I think it was with Bobby Hamilton, Jr.

“I think you’re right. I was just telling Richard (Childress) that it had been a long time since I last had a win. Joey and I won some ARCA races together, but I believe the last NASCAR win was with Bobby (Hamilton) Jr. in 2004.”

 

RICHARD CHILDRESS QUOTES:

“Joey has had a really, really fast truck the past two seasons but has had some misfortune that has kept him out of the winner’s circle,”

 

“I’m really happy for his family. They are at every race pulling for him. And for Harold Holly, just to see him back in the winner’s circle with a smile on his face was worth it all.”

 

RCR PR