Race Highlights:
- RCR teammates finished 8th (Clint Bowyer), 17th (Jeff Burton), 22nd (Kevin Harvick) and 26th (Paul Menard).
- The finish marked Bowyer’s ninth top 10 of the 2011 NSCS season.
- Bowyer spent 78 percent (160 laps) of the 203-lap event running in the top 15 and made 116 green-flag passes according to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics.
- Burton ran as high as ninth and as low as 32nd during the race, finishing 17th.
- Harvick made 132 passes under green-flag conditions while Burton made 125, ranking them fifth and sixth, respectively.
- Harvick maintained an average green-flag speed of 176.282 mph during the extended 406-mile event.
- Menard has completed each of his 11 contested NSCS races at Michigan International Speedway.
- Menard remains behind Brad Keselowski (12th in points with two wins) and Denny Hamlin (14th in points with one win) for the wild card spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
- Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in first and was followed to the finish line by Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Mark Martin and Ryan Newman.
- The next NSCS race is the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, August 27, televised live on ABC beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio beginning at 6:30 p.m. EDT.
Arduous Day in the Irish Hills Yields 26th-place Result for Menard at MIS
Paul Menard started the Duracell/Menards Chevrolet from the 11th position in Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400; however, handling issues plagued the No. 27 team, relegating them to a 26th-place finish at Michigan International Speedway. The Slugger Labbe-led team made chassis and air pressure adjustments throughout the 203-lap event in order to neutralize the car’s handling around the two-mile race track. Contact with another competitor damaged the left-front fender and resulted in a much-changed balance as the race approached the halfway point. With the handling shifted to the tight-side, Labbe called for air pressure adjustments to the left front and rear tires during a lap-104 pit stop while the field was slowed by the yellow flag for debris. After the adjustments, the sun made its appearance over the Brooklyn, Mich.-based facility, changing the track’s condition and resulting in an extremely loose-handling car and Menard fell to 25th. Gambling for track position on a lap-168 pit stop while under caution , Labbe called for a four tires and no adjustments, catapulting the Eau Claire, Wis., native into the 18th spot. The handling remained extremely loose and Menard slipped to the 27th position as he fought to maintain control of his Chevrolet. A lap-196 caution set the stage for a green-white-checkered finish and provided the opportunity for one final attempt at remedying the yellow and black racer. This time, Labbe instructed the No. 27 crew to use spring rubbers with additional chassis and air pressure adjustments to combat the severe loose condition. In the final two laps, Menard gained one position, taking the checkered flag 26th. The result dropped Menard to18th in the NSCS point standings; but with his Brickyard 400 victory, he remains within striking distance of a Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup wild card.
Start – 11 Finish – 26 Laps Led – 0 Points – 18
PAUL MENARD QUOTES:
“The guys did a great job in the pits; we just have some homework to do after today. We made up a little ground on Denny (Hamlin) and the wild card. Instead of focusing on that though, we plan to go to the track each week, focus on the individual races and get the best results we can.”
Harvick, Jimmy John’s Team Finish 22nd at Michigan
Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet team finished 22nd in Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway after experiencing troubles on pit road and changing handling conditions throughout the race. Harvick started the race from the 24th position and raced his way into the top 15 by lap 14. The 17-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner gained two more spots before the caution flag waved for the first time at lap 29 and crew chief Gil Martin called Harvick to pit road for Goodyear four tires and Sunoco E15 fuel. As the No. 29 Chevrolet rolled off of pit road, NASCAR called the team back down pit road for a violation as the crew had missed a lug nut on the left front tire. The pit road miscue put Harvick back in the 31st position when the green flag waved at lap 34. He worked his way backup to 22nd before the caution flag waved again at lap 52. Once again the team pitted for four tires and fuel and Harvick restarted 25th at lap 57. As clouds started to roll in and the wind picked up, he battled a loose-handling car for the next three runs, running as high as the 12th position before brushing the wall at lap 121. The team made a chassis adjustment when Harvick brought the car down pit road at lap 137 for tires and fuel. On the subsequent run, Harvick radioed to the team that the car was “terrible in traffic and now it’s tight.” Martin called him to pit road at lap 166 as he noted another car starting to slow on the track. The caution flag waved just after Harvick got back on track after the No. 29 team completed their stop. Since the leaders had yet to pit, the No. 29 Chevrolet was now listed one lap down. As the lead-lap cars hit pit road under caution, Harvick took the wave around and restarted in the 24th position with less than 30 laps to go. The Bakersfield, Calif., native made it up to the 17th position before the caution flag waved again as another car got into the wall at lap 197. As Harvick came down pit road, another competitor cut in front of the No. 29 Chevrolet in an effort to get to his pit box. The two cars made contact, spinning the No. 9 car around and damaging the hood of Harvick’s Chevrolet. The team assessed the damage as Harvick circled the track and elected not to pit for repairs. Harvick restarted in the 18th position at lap 201 for a green-white-checkered finish and dropped several spots in the closing laps to finish 22nd. Despite the less-than-desired finish, Harvick moved up one position to third in the NSCS championship point standings, just 39 points behind the leader.
Start – 24 Finish – 22 Laps Led – 0 Points – 3
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:
“It wasn’t the day we were looking for at Michigan. We started out with a great Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, but struggled all day on pit road and it killed us on the track. We need to get things turned around in the next couple of weeks to get ready for the Chase, because once we get to the last 10 weeks we can’t have any days like today.”
Burton Finishes 17th at Michigan
Sporting the red, yellow and black colors of Cat Financial at Michigan International Speedway this weekend, Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Caterpillar racing team posted a solid run despite a less-than-desired finish of 17th on Sunday. Burton started the 400-mile affair from the 32nd position but did not let a low starting berth hinder him, as the veteran NSCS driver began picking off positions from the drop of the green flag. He was running 28th when he made the first of seven pit stops on lap 30, taking four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment designed to improve the handling on the No. 31 Chevrolet, which was too tight in the center of the corners and too loose exiting the corners during the initial run. Restarting the race in the 25th position on lap 34, Burton struggled with handling for the duration of the race, as large clouds peeked in and out of Michigan’s Irish Hills area, creating varying conditions of too loose and too tight for the No. 31 team. He broke into the top 20 on lap 45, and was running 17th at the race’s halfway mark. The No. 31 team made their last green-flag pit stop of the race on lap 169, a routine stop for four tires, fuel and another air pressure adjustment. Burton was in the top 15 with 20 laps remaining in the race and still advancing through the field. The South Boston, Va., native was racing for 12th when another competitor brushed the turn two wall on lap 197, bringing out the final caution of the race and setting the field for a green-white-checker finish that extended the race past its advertised distance. Immediately, the No. 31 Caterpillar team’s radio filled with chatter between crew chief Luke Lambert and Burton, weighing the pros and cons of pitting. The team opted for a two-tire pit stop in hopes of gaining some grip for the two-lap shootout, placing Burton 14th for the restart. As the field came to the green flag, a car jumped to the outside line and made the field four-wide. As drivers dodged to the top, bottom and middle of the sweeping, two-mile track, Burton was jumbled in the chaos, losing three positions in the process and crossed the checkered flag in 17th position.
Start – 32 Finish – 17 Laps Led – 0 Points – 24
JEFF BURTON QUOTE: “I know that’s not good enough but we are going to dig out of this hole one step at a time. This was a small step in the right direction. We were racing some good cars for 12th before the last caution. Those late race restarts are just really action-packed. I’m proud of my crew chief Luke Lambert and the entire Caterpillar team.”
Bowyer Scores Ninth Top-10 Finish of 2011 with Eighth-Place Finish at Michigan
Clint Bowyer and the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet team scored their ninth top-10 finish of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, bringing home an eighth-place effort in the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway. The 32-year-old Bowyer, starting deep in the field in 35th position after a lackluster qualifying performance on Friday, immediately took his Chevrolet Impala through the pack from the drop of the green flag. The Emporia Kan., native found himself in 26th-place by lap 20 and on lap 45 entered the top 15 where he would be a mainstay for the remainder of the 200-lap event at the Brooklyn, Mich.,-based facility. Throughout the first half of the race, Bowyer was happy with the handling on his red and yellow machine, but communicated to crew chief Shane Wilson that the car was a bit tight as it toured the two-mile oval. Bowyer ran 12th for many circuits until pit strategy came into play when Wilson called for two right-side tires under caution on lap 104, allowing Bowyer to enter the top 10 after exiting pit road. The pit strategy paid off as the Richard Childress Racing driver never fell out of the top 10 on the leaderboard for the remainder of the event.. As the race progressed, Bowyer reported that the No. 33 Chevrolet handled great on long green-flag runs, which MIS is known for, and the RCR driver moved up to as high as sixth position. Under the next-to-last caution period of the afternoon on lap 169, the “Helping Hands” pit crew reeled off another fast four-tire pit stop while adding Sunoco E15 fuel and making chassis adjustments to accommodate the changing track conditions due to cloud cover in the vicinity. The four-time Sprint Cup Series race winner restarted eighth and worked his way up to sixth with 25 laps to go before settling into the seventh position with 15 laps remaining. With less than 10 laps remaining, Bowyer was chasing down the No. 24 car to secure a sixth-place finish, but the caution flag was displayed late in the race setting up a green-white-checkered finish. Bowyer stayed out under that final caution instead of hitting pit road and restarted seventh. He ended up crossing the finish line in the eighth position, scoring the top-10 finish. With the result, Bowyer remained 11th in the NSCS driver championship point standings with only three races remaining before the cutoff for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. He is currently sits 24 points out of the top 10.
Start – 35 Finish – 8 Laps Led – 0 Points – 11
CLINT BOWYER QUOTE:
“It was a good hard-fought battle all day long. Man, that caution came out there at the end and I was like ‘Oh man.’ I didn’t think we made the right call, but we were able to hold off those guys with fresh tires. From where we started, 35th, getting inside the top 10 and running up there most of the second half of the race was great. We had a good car all weekend long. Our qualifying effort was poor and we need to improve that. We just didn’t gain enough points. That is the biggest problem. We gained, but not near enough. We’re running out of time, but if we keep digging, who knows what is going to happen.”
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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series RACE: VFW 200 TRACK: Michigan International Speedway DATE: August 20, 2011
Race Highlights:
Austin Dillon and RCR’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Victims of Circumstance at Michigan
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet team were among the fastest competitors in Saturday’s VFW 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Michigan International Speedway, but posted a disappointing 22nd-place finish after they were involved in an on-track accident with 10 laps to go. The finish caused the team to drop from first to third in the NCWTS driver’s point standings. Dillon started the 100-lap/200-mile race10th and was fast from the drop of the green flag, taking the lead on lap 34. He was the race’s leader when he came down pit road for a green flag pit stop on lap 40, receiving Sunoco E15 fuel and four Goodyear tires. Following the pit stop, Dillon reported that the truck was loose on fresh tires, but still fast. He was fifth at the race’s halfway point, and reclaimed the race lead on lap 68 before making another green-flag pit stop for four tires on lap 75. The caution flag was displayed just as Dillon left pit road, prompting the rest of the field, sans one, to pit. Dillon restarted the race second on lap 82 looked like a serious contender for the win with less than 20 laps remaining. Following a caution on lap 87, Dillon was fourth for the lap-89 restart and positioned himself on the outside line, directly behind veteran NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Mark Martin. The duo planned to clear the trucks on the inside line and then race each other for the lead, but a rookie driver on the inside line got loose and crashed hard into Martin before his truck slammed into Dillon’s. With the front end of the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Silverado completely crumbled, Dillon attempted to drive to pit road so that the RCR crew could make repairs to the truck and he could finish the last 10 laps of the race. However, the damage was unfixable and Dillon’s race ended shy of the advertised distance, in 22nd place.
Start – 10 Finish – 22 Points Position – 3 Laps Led – 0
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES: “I just needed clean traffic and a good run coming off the corner, and we would have been fine. I felt like by starting fourth there, we would have been fine. We would have been clear down the straightaway and we could have raced for the win. It is unfortunate. There’s nothing you can do in that situation when someone spins out in front of you. It’s a bummer but we’ll move on and go to Bristol and try to get the points lead back.”
Rookie Joey Coulter Finishes Rollercoaster Race with Top-20 Finish at Michigan
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rookie Joey Coulter survived two separate incidents, including a spin through the infield grass, and secured an 18th-place result at Michigan International Speedway in the No. 22 SKF Chevrolet. The Miami Springs, Fla., native, who qualified 20th for the 100-lap event, had a fast machine from the moment the green flag dropped. By lap five, he entered the top five and by lap 10 was in the top 10 running ninth. On lap 13, the 21-year-old found himself spinning through the infield grass of the Brooklyn, Mich., -based facility courtesy of a tap on the left-rear quarter panel by another competitor. However, the Richard Childress Racing driver made no contact with the wall or any other trucks. Crew chief Harold Holly called the rookie driver to pit road and the pit crew immediately put on four fresh Goodyear tires and surveyed the Chevrolet Silverado for any potential damage. The truck looked fine other than minor sheet metal damage and Coulter continued on in the race restarting in the 20th position on the lead lap. Coulter began his trek back up through the 33-truck field and eventually took over the lead on lap 50 as green-flag pit stops started to cycle. Coulter led seven laps total, earning a valuable championship bonus point, and eventually relinquished the lead at lap 57 when Holly called him down pit road for fresh Goodyear tires and Sunoco E15 fuel. For the next 25 laps, Coulter ran in the 13th position until the caution flag was displayed on lap 87. On the ensuing restart while running in the top 10, Coulter’s blue and white machine suffered minor damage in a multi-truck accident that took put many contenders including his RCR teammate Austin Dillon. Coulter and Holly debated back and forth on the team radio and eventually made the decision to stay out on the track instead of bringing his truck to pit road to confirm there was no damage to the fenders or tires. As the green flag dropped for the restart, the RCR driver made it one lap around the two-mile oval before the left-rear tire gave out, spreading debris on the race track and bringing out the caution flag. The truck also lost most of its brakes in the process and Coulter was forced to pit multiple times as the field went back to racing for a green-white-checkered finish. Coulter was able to return to the track and eventually crossed the finish line in 18th-place, two laps down. He now sits eighth in the NCWTS driver championship point standings.
Start -20 Finish – 18 Laps Led – 7 Points – 8
JOEY COULTER QUOTE: “The No. 22 SKF Chevrolet team did an excellent job all weekend and I can’t thank them enough for another great run. We were able to lead some laps and run up front even after getting spun out early. This truck looks like it just finished 500 miles at Bristol. It’s extremely unfortunate we didn’t get the finish we deserved, but we will be back strong next week in Bristol.” |
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ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards RACE: Allen Crowe 100 TRACK: Illinois State Fairgrounds DATE: August 21, 2011
Race Highlights:
Tim George Jr, Plagued with a Disappointing Finish at Springfield Following a Late Race Incident Tim George Jr. and the No. 31 Applebee’s/Potomac Family Dining Group team battled a tigh-handling Chevrolet for the majority of Sunday afternoon’s Allen Crowe 100 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards race before they were caught up in an incident with two laps remaining in the 100-lap affair and finished 16th at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Sunshine and blue skies greeted the Welcome, N.C., based team Sunday morning in Springfield, Ill,. George started the fifth-career ARCA race on dirt from the 13th position and soon after he took the green flag, George radioed to his crew of a tight-handling racer. Relief came on lap 35 when the first caution of the day was displayed. After staying out to lead a lap under caution, the Gere Kennon-led team was called to pit road for two right-side tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment and restarted 15th when green-flag racing resumed on lap-40. Just 10 laps later, the New York, N.Y., native informed his crew of a bad vibration and the tight-handling condition continued . He came to pit road for service during the lap-52 caution for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. Quick work by the No. 31 team allowed George to restart 10th on lap 56. George clawed his way into the top 10 over the next 20 circuits around the one-mile dirt oval. The 2011 Pocono ARCA 200 race winner made his way up to the seventh position before his No. 31 Chevrolet began losing rear grip, causing him to slip to 10th. With two laps remaining in the race, another competitor made contact with George which sent the No. 31 Applebee’s/Potomac Family Dining Group Chevrolet into the turn three wall. Unfortunately, the damage that was sustained during the incident forced George to make an early exit from the 100-lap event. Despite having been swept up in a late race accident, George scored a 16th-place result at the fairgrounds and dropped one position in point standings to seventh.
Start – 13 Finish – 16 Laps Led – 1 Points – 7
TIM GEORGE JR. QUOTE: “It’s beyond frustration when you know you’ve got a great race car and are on your way to a good finish and then someone takes you out. We’ve had good runs and some not so good runs this year. I feel like I’ve shown speed. We’ve shown strong effort as a team. We’ve shown we can win. Now its about dealing with the emotional roller coaster ride that is racing and continuing to move forward so that the things we cannot control are not as detrimental to our finishing position.”
Disappointing Finish for Ty Dillon and the No. 41 Hemelgarn/CIPT Team
A strong start by Ty Dillon and the No. 41 Hemelgarn/Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma Chevrolet team in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards event at the Illinois State Fairgrounds came to a halt on lap 57 when a flat right-rear tire forced the RCR team to pit and lose track position resulting in a 13th-place finish. Dillon started the Allen Crowe 100 from the pole position Sunday afternoon at the one-mile dirt oval after posting a fast time of 33.771 seconds during qualifying. The young driver began experiencing a vibration in the early laps of the event and was scored third on lap 12 then fourth on lap 24. Dillon pitted on lap 35 when the first caution flag of the day was displayed in the 100-lap event. Crew chief Scott “Flash” Naset called for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment and quick work by the No. 41 team placed Dillon first in the running order for the lap-40 restart. The second caution of the event was displayed on lap 52, with Naset instructing Dillon to stay out during the caution period. One lap following the lap-56 restart, Dillon’s spotter Bobby Hudson radioed to inform the crew of a flat right-rear tire on the No. 41 machine. Dillon was forced to pit under green-flag conditions for right-side tires. Unfortunately, during the pit stop, the RCR driver went two laps down to the leaders and rejoined competition in the 16th position. The third yellow flag was presented to the field on lap 63, but Dillon wasn’t in position to receive the Lucky Dog Award and restarted 15th with 30 laps remaining in the 100-lap affair. The High Point University freshman raced his way into the Lucky Dog position eight laps later, but the next caution came with 10 laps to go and per ARCA regulations; the Lucky Dog is not awarded within the final 10 laps of the race. Dillon battled a loose-handling Chevrolet over the final and endured a green-white-checkered finish that sent the race past its scheduled distance to a 13th-place result, two laps down.
Start -1 Finish -13 Laps Led -19 Points – 1 (leads by 415 points)
TY DILLON QUOTE: “The guys did an awesome job with the setup and on pit stops today. We were a little tight in traffic, but once we got out front, we had a fast car. When that caution came out, I went down to cool my tires off, which you do when you race dirt. I must have run something over down there and cut the right-rear tire down. These things happen. We won a race at Chicagoland Speedway this year because the leader cut a tire down late in the race. That was bound to come back around to us. We still capitalized today. We earned another pole and gained some points. Overall, for being two laps down and having the luck we did today, to come back and finish 13th, I don’t think it was really that bad of a day.” |
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