RCR Post Race Report – Martinsville Speedway

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In: NASCAR Cup Series News
Race Highlights:
  • Richard Childress Racing drivers Ryan Newman, Paul Menard and Austin Dillon finished seventh, 15th and 18th, respectively, in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
  • Newman and Menard rank 10th and 15th in the Chase for the Sprint Cup while Dillon ranks 21st in the standings.
  • Jeff Gordon earned his first win of the 2015 season and was followed to the line by Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch
  • The 34th race of the 2015 Sprint Cup Series season is the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, November 8, 2015, which is scheduled to be televised live on NBC beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.
Austin Dillon Earns 18th-Place Finish in Dow Plastics Additives Chevrolet at Martinsville Speedway
 
Austin Dillon drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Dow Plastics Additives Chevrolet to an 18th-place finish in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday afternoon. The first nine laps of the event were run under the green flag and yellow flag together in order to completely dry the 0.556-mile track after heavy rain showers affected the area for much of the morning. Once the caution flag was rescinded, Dillon moved forward in the running order and was scored in the 24th spot before a NASCAR-mandated competition-caution on lap 50. Dillon made his second pit stop of the day when the caution flag was displayed on lap 100, taking four tires and fuel but had to make a second trip down pit road just one lap later to repair damage to the left-front fender incurred during the previous run. The team was issued a penalty for having too many men over the wall and Dillon restarted 31st when green-flag racing resumed on lap 112. Dillon raced his way into the 22nd spot before the caution flag was displayed on lap 157. When the field pitted, he stayed out and led the field to the lap-161 restart. Just nine laps later, Dillon was spun by another competitor who got loose and turned into him, causing the team to pit on lap 174 and  restart in the 27th position. Dillon raced his way into the top 20 on the ensuing run but incurred damage on pit road when another car stopped in front of him, causing the No. 3 team to spend time making repairs to the front hood and bumper in addition to changing four tires and adding fuel. He fell to 27th in the running order and fell one lap down during a long green flag run. When the caution flag was displayed with 80 laps remaining, crew chief Slugger Labbe directed Dillon to stay on the track and take the wave around to get back on the lead lap. He restarted in the 20th position on lap 425 and survived several additional cautions, racing as high as 14th, before finishing 18th in the Dow Plastics Additives Chevrolet. Next, Dillon will drive the No. 3 Dow Packaging HEB Chevrolet in the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, November 8. The race is live on NBC at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.
 
Start – 30                Finish – 18                   Laps Led – 6                Points – 21
                                             
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
“It was a long day! It seemed like everything that could happen, did. We worked hard as a team though and I am proud of everyone’s effort. On to Texas.”
   2011 CC Team Icon 27 NSCS Menards
Paul Menard Finishes 15th at Martinsville Speedway
 
Paul Menard and the No. 27 Moen / Menards team drove to a 15th-place finish at Martinsville Speedway. The Chevrolet driver started the 500-lap race from the 26th position and fought a tight-handling machine during the early part of the event.  Menard was relegated to 40th spot in the running order after being hung out in the top line right before the competition caution on lap 50. Under the yellow, the Eau Claire, Wis. – native brought his Chevrolet SS to the attention of his crew for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to alleviate the handling issue. Throughout the afternoon Menard worked his way inside the top 20 in the running order. Using strategy, Alexander called for Menard to stay out under the lap 157-caution period. He restarted second and remained inside the top 15 until the next caution period on lap 172. As the laps wound down and Menard continued to fight inside the top 20, he ultimately took the checkered flag in the 15th position. Menard remains 15th in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings heading into next weekend’s event at Texas Motor Speedway.
 
Start – 26          Finish – 15       Laps Led: 0      Chase Grid: 15
 
PAUL MENARD QUOTE:
“We struggled on the initial run which set us behind, but we had plenty of speed and continued to work on the handling all day. We’ll take today’s finish and head to Texas where we were fast in the spring.”
    

 

Ryan Newman Turns in Top-10 Performance at Martinsville Speedway
 
Ryan Newman drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 31 WIX Filters Chevrolet SS to a seventh-place finish in Sunday’s final short-track race of the season at Martinsville Speedway. The South Bend, Ind., native started seventh and raced as high as sixth place before the halfway mark. Besides battling a tight-handling car, restarts were a challenge since Newman lined up for the majority of the restarts on the outside which proved to be a disadvantage and was felt on the restart at lap 242. The No. 31 Chevy was 12th and on the outside resulting in a loss of six positions before Newman could drop down into the inside line. Fortunately there was plenty of time left to make up the track position. Crew chief Luke Lambert used two stops on laps 381 and 420 to fine tune on the team’s Chevy. It enabled Newman to race into the top 10 before the red flag flew on lap 454 for a dust up between the Nos. 20 and 22 teams. Once the engines re-fired the WIX Filters crew went to work and completed a four-tire pit stop that included a chassis adjustment on lap 455. Newman returned to the track in ninth position and dodged two late-race cautions before crossing the finish line in seventh position. The result is the WIX Filters team’s 15th top-10 finish of the season. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to competition Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. Quicken Loans will be the primary sponsor.
 
Start – 7                   Finish – 7                          Laps Led – 0             Chase Grid – 10
 
RYAN NEWMAN QUOTE:  
“It was a good points day for this WIX Filters team. Just because we are no longer in the running for the championship, doesn’t mean our season is finished. We are still here to compete for wins and go after fifth place in points. This race certainly had some drama. For us, we lost some track position there at halfway when we had to line up on the outside. We went from 12th to 18th but we had enough time and enough speed to get back in the hunt. I’m pleased with how we were able to rebound and get a solid finish.”

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