Race Highlights:
- RCR teammates finished second (Kevin Harvick), seventh (Clint Bowyer), 15th (Jeff Burton) and 20th (Paul Menard).
- Harvick posted his seventh top-10 finish in 11 races at Chicagoland Speedway, his 14th top-10 finish of 2011.
- Harvick leads the point standings by seven points over Tony Stewart.
- Harvick made more quality passes (passing a car while running in the top 15 under green flag conditions) than any other driver in the field with 47.
- Bowyer earned his 10th top-10 finish of the 2011 NSCS season.
- Bowyer led the “Closers” category by improving his position eight times over the last 27 laps of the race according to NASCAR Loop Data Statistics.
- Bowyer spent 81 percent (201 laps) of the 267-lap event running in the top 15 according to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics.
- Bowyer made 84 green-flag passes, fourth best in the 43-car field, and was third highest in the quality passes category by passing 41 cars while running in the top 15 according to NASCAR Loop Data Statistics.
- Menard maintained an average running position of 7.348 and spent 266 of 267 laps running in the top 15, tying him for third in the NASCAR Loop Data category of Laps in Top 15.
- Menard made 37 passes while running in the top 15 under green-flag conditions, tying him for seventh in the NASCAR Loop Data category of Quality Passes.
- Burton ran as high as sixth and as low as 36th in the GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway and completed 68 green-flag passes, ranking him 14th in that category
- Burton moved up five positions in the final 10 percent of race, ranking him eighth among all competitors in the NASCAR Loop Data Closers category.
- The next NSCS race is the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 25. It will be televised live on ESPN beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio beginning at 2 p.m. EDT.
Fuel Mileage Costs Menard a Top-10 Finish at Chicagoland
After inclement weather postponed the first race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup to Monday afternoon, Paul Menard and the Zecol/Menards team started the Geico 400 second and were a mainstay in the top 10 until a fuel mileage gamble left the No. 27 Chevrolet Impala one lap shy of the fuel needed to take the checkered flag under full power, forcing the team to coast to a 20th-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway. Under overcast skies, Menard took the green flag on the outside of the front row and settled into the third position after the first circuit around the 1.5-mile oval. He remained in the top five and was running fourth when a lap-30 competition caution was called. With Menard reporting that the racer was just a little tight in the center of the turns, the Slugger Labbe-led crew changed four tires with air pressure adjustments and packed the Chevrolet with fuel. Losing ground only to a team that opted for two tires, Menard restarted fifth on lap 35. A long green-flag run ensued and was halted on lap 69 when the yellow flag was displayed for debris with the No. 27 running fourth. Menard returned to pit road for additional air pressure adjustments to assist with a late-developing loose condition. Two additional pit stops while under caution and one under green-flag conditions allowed the Zecol/Menards team to work on the car’s persistent loose handling with air pressure and wedge adjustments. Menard fell out of the top 10 only briefly from lap 185 until a lap-204 caution afforded him another visit to pit road where the No. 27 crew executed another speedy pit stop that catapulted him from 11th to the ninth position. With fuel mileage coming into play, Menard’s final trip down pit road was for fuel-only on lap 214 and the No. 27 team held their breath for the closing 53 laps, knowing that it would be close. As he took the white flag in the seventh position, Menard reported that he was out of fuel. He joined many other competitors in coasting to the checkered flag, crossing the start finish-line in the 20th position.
Start – 2 Finish – 20 Laps Led – 0 Points – 23
PAUL MENARD QUOTES:
“We ran up front all day long but, unfortunately, just ended up on the losing side of the fuel mileage battle this weekend. We had a good car today and the No. 27 Zecol/Menards pit crew was damn good on pit road. Everyone worked really hard this weekend and we made a ton of ground up from where we started in practice on Friday. We have nine more races to go this season and we’re going to go into each weekend looking to get another win.”
Harvick Claims Runner-Up Finish and Points Lead at Chicagoland
Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team left Monday’s Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway with a second-place finish and the lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings. After the start of the 400-mile event was delayed a day due to rain, Harvick rolled off from the 30th starting position when the field took the green flag on Monday morning. On the first run of the day, the red and white machine was able to gain five positions before NASCAR threw the yellow flag for a competition caution at lap 30. Before bringing the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet down pit road for service, he radioed to the team that the car’s handling was “tight through the middle and loose off” and that he needed it to “turn better through the center” of the corner. He pitted at lap 32 for four tires and fuel and restarted from the 26th position. After the field took the green flag on lap 35, Harvick was able to gain eight positions in just five laps. After working his way up to 15th when the caution flag waved again at lap 70, he and radioed the team that the car was “rolling right there.” The Budweiser team pitted once again for four tires and fuel. They unfortunately lost some ground on the stop as Harvick had to maneuver around tires from the team pitted in front of the No. 29 team on pit road, a problem they encountered throughout the 267-lap race. The No. 29 Chevrolet Impala restarted in the 16th position on lap 75 and Harvick cracked the top 10 for the first time at lap 80, then stayed there throughout the remainder of the race. The No. 29 team pitted four more times for tires and fuel, running as high as fifth before the team’s final trip down pit road at lap 214. On that stop, the team took fuel only and told Harvick to save fuel as they appeared to be several laps shy of the checkered flag. The Bakersfield, Cali. native restarted in the seventh position and focused on saving fuel during the first part of the run. In the closing laps Harvick picked up the pace and with that he began to pick off positions as other teams started conserving fuel. He worked his way up to second with five laps to go and started closing in on the leader. The distance was too great for the short number of laps remaining, however, and Harvick crossed the start-finish line in second position, marking his seventh top 10 finish in his 11 starts at Chicagoland Speedway. Harvick now leads the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings by a seven-point margin over Tony Stewart.
Start – 30 Finish – 2 Laps Led – 0 Points – 1
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:
“We had to save a lot (of fuel) there at the beginning (of the run) and I just didn’t know how much we had in our tank there at the end but I was hoping we had enough. Everybody on the Budweiser Chevrolet did a good job and this is a good way to start the Chase. I wasn’t ever comfortable but I knew I had saved a little bit under caution and a little bit at the beginning of that run and they felt comfortable with the lap times. Everybody on our Budweiser Chevrolet did a great job and knowing exactly how far we could go, we ran out coming on to pit road there, so good first race for us.”
Burton and Caterpillar Racing Team Overcome Adversity to Post Top 15 at Chicagoland
Jeff Burton and the Caterpillar Racing team battled back from an early ill-timed caution to earn a top-15 finish in the GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on Monday. After Sunday’s inclement weather in the Windy City forced NASCAR to postponed the start of the 267-lap event until Monday, Burton took the green flag from the 22nd position in the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet and moved into the top 20 soon after. Crew chief Luke Lambert pulled out some strategy early in the race, calling for a two-tire stop during a NASCAR-mandated competition caution on lap 30 in order to gain track position. The decision paid off as Burton lined up the yellow and black machine ninth for the restart on lap 34. The South Boston, Va., native maintained his track position in and around the top 10 until hitting pit road for a green-flag pit stop on lap 69. As the No.31 Cat Chevrolet received service of four tires and fuel, the caution flag waved on the track for debris, requiring Burton to take the wave around to remain on the lead lap. When the field returned to green-flag conditions on lap 75, Burton was sitting in the 31st position. Though it was early in the 400-mile event, the Cat Racing Team spent the remaining laps scrapping their way back into contention. After starting near the back of the field for the lap-75 restart, a long green-flag run allowed the leader to reach the No. 31 Chevrolet, and Burton fell one lap down just as the caution flew on lap 144. Fortunately, he was in position to receive the ‘Lucky Dog’ pass and immediately made up the lost lap and following a four-tire pit stop, Burton lined up in the 21st position on lap 150. Burton moved up to 19th position before the next caution flew on lap 164 and Lambert once again called for a two-tire pit stop, gaining the team an additional three spots and lining up the No. 31 in the 16th position as the field returned to green with 100 laps remaining in the event. Up to 13th by lap 200, Burton’s progress was slowed as the caution flag flew again on lap 205. Difficulty during the team’s four-tire pit stop dropped the Cat Chevrolet to the 17th spot for the restart on lap 208. A quick caution just four laps later allowed Lambert to call Burton to pit road for one final stop of the day, this time choosing for a fuel-only visit, which returned the 21-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner to green-flag conditions in the 15th position. Burton immediately went into fuel saving mode with his Cat machine, losing a few spots in the process early in the run but he ultimately earned them back as the No. 31 Chevrolet was able to make it to the checkered flag on fuel, claiming the 15th-place finish in the process.
Start – 22 Finish – 15 Laps Led – 0 Points Position – 24
JEFF BURTON QUOTE:
“We had a few setbacks due to the timing of some caution flags today, but ultimately battled back for the 15th-place finish. This Caterpillar Racing Team is gaining each week and looking to improve further at Loudon next weekend.”
Bowyer Survives Fuel Mileage Race with Top-10 Finish at Chicagoland
Clint Bowyer and the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet team finished off a consistent run with a top-10 finish in the rain-delayed GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Starting from the 21st position on Monday after NASCAR and track officials were forced to postpone the event on Sunday due to rain, the Richard Childress Racing driver started off the 267-lap event by gaining five positions in the first 30 laps before NASCAR officials called a mandatory competition caution on lap 30. After getting four fresh Goodyear tires and Sunoco E15 fuel during the competition caution, the Emporia, Kan., native jumped up four more positions to 12th before the red and yellow machine started to become loose off and tight in the center of the 18-degree banked corners of the 1.5-mile oval. The four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner continued to give feedback to crew chief Shane Wilson over the next 100 laps as Wilson directed the “Helping Hands” pit crew to make necessary adjustments on the No. 33 Chevrolet to fix the loose-handling condition. By lap 211, the 32-year-old driver found himself in the top 10. When the final caution flag was displayed on lap 214 the team made their final pit stop of the day and Wilson elected to take fuel only playing a strategy dependant on the race running under green-flag conditions until the end. Bowyer ran 15th until 13 laps to go, and had enough Sunoco fuel to make it to the end of the 400-mile race as many other competitors in the 43-car field started to run out of gas. Bowyer drove his Chevrolet Impala through the field with ease, securing a seventh-place finish for his 10th top-10 finish of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. With the strong finish, Bowyer gained a spot in NSCS driver championship point standings, improving to 13th-place.
Start – 21 Finish – 7 Laps Led – 0 Points – 13
CLINT BOWYER QUOTE:
“It was a good day for the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper team. We finally had luck on our side and didn’t run out of gas at the end. Shane (Wilson, crew chief) called a good race and the pit crew was consistent on pit road.”
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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series RACE: Fast Five 225 TRACK: Chicagoland Speedway DATE: September 16, 2011
Race Highlights:
Austin Dillon and RCR’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Team Visit Victory Lane at Chicagoland Speedway
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet team earned their second win of 2011 on Friday night at Chicagoland Speedway, the fourth of the sophomore NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver’s career. With the victory, Dillon moved up to second in the NCWTS point standings, just three markers shy of the point lead with seven races remaining in the season. Dillon started the Fast Five 225 from the fifth position but to seventh as he struggled with a loose-handling chassis during his initial run. He led lap 45 to gain a valuable championship bonus point as green-flag pit stops began to cycle through before pitting himself for four tires and fuel on lap 46. Dillon fell one lap down to the race leader following his pit stop, but was the recipient of the Lucky Dog award when the caution flag was displayed on lap 57. Crew chief Danny Stockman instructed Dillon to pit during the caution period for fuel and a track bar adjustment to correct the loose-handling condition. He restarted in the sixth position at the tail end of the longest line when green-flag racing resumed on lap 65. He was running third with 20 laps remaining when he made his final pit stop of the night under green-flag conditions. By taking right-side tires only, the Bass Pro Shops team fired off a pit stop in less than six seconds and Dillon beat his competitors off of pit road, assuming the race lead with 13 laps remaining. The RCR entry was extremely fast during the final run, and Dillon crossed the finish line nearly five seconds ahead of Kevin Harvick to earn the win.
Start – 5 Finish – 1 Laps Led – 17 Points – 2
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES: “This is the biggest win of my career, I think. It means the most to me because we beat those Cup guys. I ran up there, racing with Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. Kevin was great all night but my crew chief, Danny Stockman, made the call at the end for two tires. Danny knows that when I get out front it’s like smelling blood for a shark. When we got out there, we could just take off. The team kept us out front by gaining spots every time we came to pit road. I love coming to pit road when they’re like that. It’s awesome.”
Rookie Joey Coulter Brings Home Top-15 Finish at Chicago
After fighting an ill-handling Chevrolet Silverado for most of the 150-lap event, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rookie Joey Coulter finished 12th in the Fast Five 225 at Chicagoland Speedway. The Miami Springs, Fla., native started the race in the 11th position and immediately reported to crew chief Harold Holly that his No. 22 RCR Graphics Center Chevrolet was loose in turns three and four, which made it difficult to gain momentum and pass other competitors down the 2,400-foot frontstretch of the 1.5-mile oval. On lap 42, Holly called the 21-year-old driver to pit road under green-flag conditions for a four-tire pit stop with chassis adjustments. Fifteen laps later, the caution flag was displayed pinning Coulter one lap down to the leaders. After green-flag racing resumed on lap 66, Coulter fought hard to get in position to receive the “lucky dog” pass from NASCAR. Instead, another caution flag came out before he could get there and Coulter was forced to take the “wave around” pass to get back on the lead lap in 16th with 62 laps to go. The Richard Childress Racing driver wrestled a tight-handling truck the remainder of the race, but was able to pass four more competitors before taking the checkered flag at the Joliet, Ill.,-based facility in 12th place. He now sits seventh in the NCWTS driver championship point standings.
Start -11 Finish – 12 Laps Led – 0 Points – 7
JOEY COULTER QUOTE: “It was just a bizarre night for the No. 22 RCR Graphics Center Chevrolet. For some reason, we couldn’t find the balance on the truck. We were loose, tight, then loose again and ended up finishing tight. I just hate it for these guys on the No. 22 team. They work hard and build me fast trucks every weekend. Also, congratulations to my RCR teammate, Austin Dillon, on his win.” |
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ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards RACE: Kentuckiana Dealers 200 TRACK: Salem Speedway DATE: September 17, 2011
Race Highlights:
Good Points Night for Tim George Jr. at Salem Speedway
Tim George Jr. and the No. 31 Applebee’s/Potomac Family Dining Group team earned their eighth top-five finish of the 2011 season with a third-place result in the ARCA Fall Classic 200 at Salem Speedway. George started Saturday night’s 200-lap main event from the 12th position and began making his way into the top 10 when contact was made with another competitor bringing out the first caution of the night on lap eight. George suffered minimal hood damage and was able to remain on the racing surface during the caution period. The New York, N.Y., native restarted 10th when green-flag racing resumed on lap 11 and continued climbing through the top 10 for the next 50 circuits. The Gere Kennon-led team was called to pit road for their first stop of the night under the ensuing caution for right-side tires and fuel on lap 64. Quick work by the RCR pit crew granted George a fifth-place starting position for the lap-70 restart. With a good-handling Chevrolet at his finger tips, George ran inside the top five for the remaining 130 laps around the half-mile bullring. He was scored third when the caution flag was displayed on lap 148, during which time the team made their final pit stop of the race for four fresh Hoosier tires and Sunoco fuel. Green-flag racing resumed on lap 153 with George in second-place and the veteran ARCA driver continued racing in the top half of the field. With less than 20 laps remaining, George made contact with another competitor while running third, bringing out the final caution of the night. With no damage to his No. 31 Chevrolet, George did not pit and restarted third with seven laps remaining and was able to keep his position for the checkered flag at lap 200 resulting in his eighth top five finish of the season. With his third-place finish, George closed the gap between himself and the fifth-place contender in points and now sits 30 markers outside the top-five with two races remaining in the season.
Start – 12 Finish – 3 Laps Led – 0 Point Position – 6
TIM GEORGE JR QUOTE: “It was a good run for the No. 31 Applebee’s/Potomac Family Dining Group Chevrolet team, despite suffering that hood damage. We came here with the intention of finishing in the top-five or getting the win, and we did just that in finishing third. It was a good point’s day for us. It’s been a good season for us on the short tracks, and we proved that again tonight.”
Ty Dillon Earns a Solid, Top 10 Finish at Salem Speedway
Ty Dillon and the No. 41 Hemelgarn/Childress Insitute of Pediatric Trauma Chevrolet team finished eighth in Saturday night’s ARCA Fall Classic 200 at Salem Speedway after a loose-handling condition plagued them for a majority of the night. Dillon started the 200-lap affair from the 14th position and quickly climbed into the top 10 by lap eight when the first caution of the night was displayed. Green-flag racing resumed on lap 11, and the young driver radioed to his crew informing them the car was free in the center of the corners. Relief came on lap 64 as the yellow flag was waved over the 34-car field. Crew chief Scott Naset called the No. 41 Chevrolet to pit road for right-side tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. Quick work by the pit crew permitted Dillon the sixth spot for the lap-70 restart. Unfortunately, the adjustments didn’t help the Lexington, N.C., native, and he began slipping back before being scored eighth on lap 87. Under the ensuing caution, Dillon pitted for a wedge adjustment to alleviate the loose-handling condition plaguing the team. Restarting ninth when green-flag racing resumed on lap 93, Dillon continued to fight the loose racer and slipped to 12th before a lap-148 caution granted the Welcome, N.C.-based team another opportunity to make a trip to pit road. The Naset-led team serviced the No. 41 Chevrolet Impala with four fresh Hoosier tires and fuel in hopes the new tires would remedy the loose condition. As the green flag waved on lap 153, Dillon improved his position by three spots, moving up to eighth, proving that four fresh tires were the answer to the loose-handling conditions. Unfortunately, with time running out, Dillon was unable to make up anymore spots in the final 30 laps resulting in an eighth-place result.
Start -14 Finish -8 Laps Led -0 Points – 1 (leads by 350 points)
TY DILLON QUOTE: “It was a frustrating night for the No. 41 Hemelgarn/CIPT Chevrolet team. Flash (crew chief Scott Naset) and the guys built a fast car and it showed when we unloaded. We ended up with a bad tire and couldn’t recover from that. However, to be able to finish in the top-10, despite our struggles, shows just how strong this RCR team is. We’ll head to Kansas Speedway with hopes of a better finish.” |
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