Race Highlights:
- Richard Childress Racing drivers Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman and Paul Menard finished eighth,11th and 25th, respectively, in the New Hampshire 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
- Newman ranks 13th in the Sprint Cup Series championship point standings, trailing current leader Kevin Harvick by 204 points, while Menard ranks 14th and Dillon ranks 19th.
- Kyle Busch earned his third win of the 2015 season and was followed to the line by Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- The 20th race of the 2015 Sprint Cup Series season is the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 26, 2015, which is scheduled to be televised live on NBCSN beginning at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Indianapolis Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.
Austin Dillon Earns Top-10 Finish in No. 3 Dow Chevrolet at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon earned his third top-10 finish of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and advanced two positions in the driver point standings by racing his way from a 24th-place starting position to an eighth-place finish in the New Hampshire 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon. The sophomore Sprint Cup Series competitor struggled with handling issues throughout the 301-lap race, but crew chief Slugger Labbe addressed the issues through routine pit stops that included wedge and air pressure adjustments. Although Dillon fell one lap down to the race leader after losing track position by waiting to pit during a lengthy green-flag run, he earned his lap back by taking the wave around when the caution flag was displayed on lap 100. The team used pit strategy to their advantage during subsequent stops and quickly worked their way into the top 12. They discovered that the Dow Chevrolet’s handling was very sensitive to wedge adjustments as they fine-tuned the handling of Dillon’s machine and he raced his way into the top 10 with 100 laps to go before crossing the finish line eighth. Dillon gained two positions in the driver point standings, advancing to 19th, leading into the next event on the Sprint Cup Series schedule at Indianapolis Motor Speedway where he will drive the No. 3 Mycogen Seeds Chevrolet
Start – 24 Finish – 8 Laps Led – 0 Points – 19
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
“It’s just huge for the momentum of this team that we were able to finish in the top-10 today. I’m proud of myself, and I am proud of Slugger and of all of the guys. I’m out of breath after this race and that happens when you have a race-able car that you can race hard every lap. I can’t thank Slugger enough for sticking with me. We were not very good in practice but we worked hard. I learned a lot in the NASCAR XFINITY Series car, I think, it laid over today; and it was probably one of our best races in the last two years. I’m looking forward to running the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway on Wednesday and the Sprint Cup Series race at the Brickyard on Sunday with Dow AgroSciences.”
Paul Menard Finishes 25th in the Richmond/Menards Chevrolet at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Paul Menard started Sunday’s 301-lap NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway from the 28th position and battled throughout the day to ultimately finish 25th. In the opening laps, Menard radioed to crew chief Justin Alexander that the No. 27 Chevrolet was tight through the center of the turns. Alexander called for two tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment on lap 22 to help remedy the condition. The Eau Claire, Wisconsin native continued to battle tight-handling conditions but strategy by Alexander kept him on track until the lap 96 caution, gaining 17 spots by staying out during green-flag pit stops. Four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment on lap 104 made positive changes for the Richard Childress Racing team and had Menard racing within the top 15. Trouble came on lap 196 when a competitor got too close to the No. 27 Chevy, causing a tire rub on the Richmond/Menards Chevy which brought Menard to pit road. After making multiple repairs on pit road and battling back from one lap down, the Alexander-led team saw Menard cross the finish line in 25th. This finish moves Menard to 14th in the driver points standings. Up next for the No. 27 team is Sunday’s event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Start – 28 Finish – 25 Laps Led – 0 Points – 14
PAUL MENARD QUOTE:
“My guys fought hard for me today and made a lot of good adjustments on pit road. The car was just tight all day but Justin (Alexander, crew chief) made good changes and had it tuned in after our second pit stop. Then we got a tire rub and had to fight back from that. I’m proud of my team for not giving up. We’ll keep chipping at it.”
Ryan Newman and the No. 31 Quicken Loans team earn an 11th-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Ryan Newman earned an 11th-place finish in the No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet after fighting a tight-handling Chevrolet SS for a better part of the day in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Quicken Loans team took the green flag from the 26th position and moved inside the top 20 by lap 19. In the opening laps of the race, Newman reported to crew chief Luke Lambert he was loose in and off the corner. Lambert brought Newman to pit road for a scheduled green-flag stop on lap 85 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. The caution flag was displayed on lap 116 which allowed the South Bend Ind., native to pit for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Newman restarted 25th on lap 121 and found his groove. He was shown 13th by lap 158. As the laps wound down Newman fought a tight-handling condition that the Quicken Loans crew worked to alleviate through routine pit stops. An incident on the last lap forced NASCAR to display the caution, thus ending the race with Newman in the 11th position. With his 11th-place finish Newman and the Quicken Loans crew move up to 13th in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup standings.
Start – 26 Finish – 11 Laps Led – 0 Points – 13
RYAN NEWMAN QUOTE:
“We fought a tight handling condition all day, but Luke and the guys made great adjustments on pit road to get us in position to move towards the front. Restarts proved to be key all day and we took advantage to gain positions on each one. I’m proud of the hard work the No. 31 guys put in this weekend and can’t wait to get to Indianapolis Motor Speedway next week.”
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