RCR Post Race Report – Quicken Loans 400

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In: NASCAR Cup Series News

Race Highlights:

  • Richard Childress Racing teammates Paul Menard, Ryan Newman and Austin Dillon finished eighth, 18th and 20th, respectively, in the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
  • Menard ranks 12th in the Sprint Cup Series championship point standings, trailing current leader Kevin Harvick by 155 points, while Newman ranks 16th and Dillon 23rd.
  • Kurt Busch earned his second win of the 2015 season and was followed to the line by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano.
  • The 16th race of the 2015 Sprint Cup Series season is the Sonoma 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, June 28, 2015, which is scheduled to be televised live on FOX Sports 1 beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.

 

Austin Dillon Finishes 20th in Rain-Shortened Michigan International Speedway Race

 

Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon touted the benefits of a 15 percent ethanol blend with a special hood on his No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. He topped that off by running in the top 12 for a majority of the Quicken Loans 400 enroute to a 20th-place finish on Sunday. The 43-car starting field took the American Ethanol green flag just past 1 p.m. Eastern Time. but intermittent rain showers throughout the state of Michigan halted racing activity on three separate occasions and created more caution-flag laps than green flag racing. Once the rain subsided, Dillon’s green E15 machine was a mainstay at the front of the field, with consistently fast lap times placing him in the top 12. The team made a routine pit stop under green flag conditions for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment on lap 122, but the caution flag was displayed just one lap later pinning Dillon one lap down to the race leader in the 20th position. Dillon battled for the Lucky Dog position but a massive rain shower forced NASCAR and track officials to call the race finished 62 laps shy of its advertised distance. Dillon was credited with a 20th-place finish in the American Ethanol Chevrolet. The next race on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Schedule is the Sonoma 350 at Sonoma Raceway where Dillon will drive the Dow Chevrolet.

 

Start – 7                 Finish – 20                   Laps Led – 0                Points – 23      

                                             

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
“I don’t even know what to say. We were so fast today and I love Michigan International Speedway, so it’s a bit disappointing that our finish doesn’t show how good our American Ethanol team was today. This team has a lot of heart and we’ve been making great strides lately. The last four-consecutive weeks we have made it to the final round of qualifying and I know our race finish will show it soon.”

 

2011 CC Team Icon 27 NSCS Menards,

 

Paul Menard Earns Fourth Top-10 Finish of 2015 at Michigan International Speedway  

 

Paul Menard qualified 17th for Sunday’s rain-shortened event at Michigan International Speedway and was scored in the eighth spot when severe weather ended the race early. After the green flag waved, Menard radioed to crew chief Justin Alexander the No. 27 Moen/Menards Chevrolet SS was loose handling. On lap 12, the pit crew gave Menard two tires and fuel but the red flag was displayed for rain just one lap later. The Alexander-led team continued to adjust on the car after two more red-flag conditions where Menard raced within the top 20. Menard restarted 21st on lap 51 and steadily raced his way into the top 15, noting the car’s handling was better. By green-flag pit stops on lap 122, he was in the 13th spot with rain on the way. The Richard Childress Racing team made the call to stay out as long as possible putting Menard in the fourth spot by lap 124. After one final pit stop for four tires and fuel, the neon No. 27 Chevy was poised in the eighth spot for a restart on lap 129. Inclement weather ended the event just nine laps later, tallying a final finish of eighth for the team. Up next for the No. 27 team is the June 28 event at Sonoma Raceway.

  

Start – 17            Finish – 8             Laps Led – 0              Points – 12

 

PAUL MENARD QUOTE:

“Today was a long day. Justin (Alexander – crew chief) and the guys made a lot of good adjustments to the Moen/Menards Chevy throughout the race. Overall it was good weekend.”

 

 

Untimely Caution Washes Away Quicken Loans Team’s Top-10 Effort

 

Ryan Newman drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS to an 18th-place finish in Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway. The South Bend, Ind., driver started 23rd and weathered two rain delays in the first 19 laps. When NASCAR restarted the race on lap 28, Newman picked up steam and positions to go from 34th to 11th before rain halted activity for a third time. Racing was back underway on lap 51. The Quicken Loans team flirted with a top 10 but needed a little more fine tuning by interim crew chief Todd Parrott. Changes to improve the team’s Chevy happened on laps 84 and 121. Three cycles later, NASCAR threw the yellow flag. Unfortunately Newman lost a lap to the only driver to gamble on fuel and impending weather. When the race returned to green, Newman competed in 18th position and successfully raced back onto the lead lap before rain once again red-flagged the event with 62 laps remaining. Newman and the Quicken Loans team hoped for another chance at a green-flag restart in an effort to regain the track position lost by the untimely caution. but NASCAR called the race complete shortly after 6 p.m. ET. Newman finished 18th and is now 16th in the championship standings, just 34 markers out of the top 10. In the first 15 races of 2015, Newman has earned four top-five and eight top-10 finishes. Next Sunday the NASCAR Sprint Cup teams will enjoy a race weekend off to celebrate Father’s Day. They’ll be back in action at the first road-course race of the season at Sonoma Raceway on June 28. WIX Filters will be the primary partner.

 

Start – 23                      Finish – 18                      Laps Led – 0                         Points – 16

RYAN NEWMAN QUOTE: 

“Todd Parrott (crew chief) and the Quicken Loans team gave me a top-10 car for the second-straight week and unfortunately the chips are not falling our way. This week it came in the form of a caution. It put us a lap down and the top 10 we had going was washed away. We were hoping that NASCAR would try and restart this race one more time so that we could race back into the top 10 but they called the race. I want to thank Todd and the team for hanging in there. We have fought back from adversity over the course of the last five races and it’s a shame our strong performances are not showing in the results category. I’m looking forward to the off week coming up so we can regroup and rest. We’ve got the first road-course race of the season coming up in Sonoma (Calif.) and a good finish there will certainly help us in the points standings and our bid for another Chase berth.”

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