RCR Post Race Report — Texas Motor Speedway

Race Highlights:

  • Richard Childress Racing teammates finished ninth (Clint Bowyer), 13th (Kevin Harvick), 15th (Paul Menard) and 27th (Jeff Burton) in the AAA Texas 500.
  • Bowyer collected his 14th top-10 finish of the 2011 NSCS season.
  • Bowyer made 154 green-flag passes, second-most of any driver in the 43-car field, during the race according to NASCAR Loop Data Statistics.
  • Harvick spent 98.2 percent of laps contested (328 laps) in the top 15 during Sunday’s AAA Texas 500, tying him for fifth in that category according to NASCAR Loop Data statistics.
  • Harvick made 82 passes while running in the top 15 under green-flag conditions, ranking him first in the NASCAR Loop Data category of Quality Passes.
  • Menard ran as high as first and as low as 30th, maintaining an average running position of 16.967 at Texas Motor Speedway.
  • Gaining 11 positions in the final 10 percent (34 laps) of the race, Menard was ranked seventh in the NASCAR Loop Data category Closers.
  • Burton ran as high as first and as low as 34th, with an average running position of 17th in the AAA Texas 500 and leading once for a total of 24 laps.
  • Burton made 124 green-flag passes in 334 laps, according the NASCAR Loop Data Statistics.
  • The next NSCS race is the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday, November 13 and will be televised live on ESPN beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio beginning at 2 p.m. EST.
2011 CC Team Icon 27 NSCS Menards

Paul Menard and the No. 27 Quaker State/Menards Team Earn Top-15 Finish at Texas Motor Speedway

Paul Menard and the Quaker State/Menards team started from the fourth position and brought the No. 27 Chevrolet Impala home with a top-15 result in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500, taking every opportunity to adjust the car’s handling as the track’s conditions changed with the dipping sun in the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. When the green flag dropped for the 334-lap affair, Menard had his hands full with a tight-handling machine, losing ground and slipping to back to the 10th position by lap 31. As the long green-flag run ensued, the handling shifted to a tight-center and loose-off characteristic. During the first green-flag visit to pit road on lap 43, the Slugger Labbe-led team put on four fresh Goodyear tires, added Sunoco fuel and made an air pressure adjustment to the front tires in an effort the improve the Chevrolet’s balance. With the center of the turns much improved, Menard continued to report that the loose-exit condition was his biggest challenge. The afternoon’s first caution flag of the afternoon was displayed on lap 112 and allowed the crew to service the No. 27 racer with additional adjustments. Menard remained on track to lead a lap and gain a valuable point in the driver championship point standings before coming to pit road where he received four tires, fuel and additional chassis adjustments. Restarting 25th on lap 116, he climbed into the top 20 on lap 150 and remained there for the 84-lap green-flag run. Trapped one lap down and in the 18th position due to a pit stop just prior to the yellow flag being display, Menard remained on track and restarted 17th on lap 207. Gaining momentum despite requesting help turning the 3,400-pound machine, Menard drove up to the 11th spot and jumped into the top 10 following a speedy pit stop while under caution on lap 263. He immediately surged into the top five, but then dropped back in the field, as he was struggling with the car’s drive-off of the corners. The final pit stop of the afternoon for the No. 27 team came on lap 298, under green-flag conditions, changing four tires, packing the car with fuel and making a small track bar adjustment. The car’s handling shifted dramatically with Menard reporting a very loose-off condition and falling to the 24th position with 20 laps remaining in the event. In the closing laps, some competitors were forced to pit road for fuel, gaining the No. 27 Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet team valuable track position and a 15th-place result when the checkered flag was displayed.

Start – 4                       Finish – 15                   Laps Led – 1                Points – 20

PAUL MENARD QUOTES:

“I honestly don’t know what happened with that last run. We had no grip and were really tight in the center and loose off of the turns. The No. 27 Quaker State/Menards team did a great job all weekend, especially today (Sunday). The weather was so different today here (at Texas Motor Speedway) than it had been all weekend, so we were all busy during the race trying to find the setup that would work best.”

 

 

29 Rheem CC

Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Rheem Team Finish 13th at Texas

Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet team finished 13th in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway after struggling with a loose-handling race car following a two-tire call on the final pit stop of the race. Harvick started the race from the 21st position and raced his way up to the16th spot by the time the field came around to complete the first lap. He climbed as high as 12th in the running order, reporting to the team that the car was “loose in, tight in the middle and loose off” of the corners of the 1.5-mile Fort Worth, Texas-based facility. The No. 29 Chevrolet hit pit road on lap 43 for four fresh tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment in an effort to improve the car’s balance. The Rheem machine made additional visits to pit road for four tires and fuel on laps 87 and 113 and Harvick moved back into the top 10. Crew chief Gil Martin called his driver in for another four-tire stop at lap 199 and when the caution flag waved on the following lap, Harvick was caught a lap down to the lead cars that had yet to pit. As the first car one lap down, Harvick was granted the Lucky Dog award and returned to the lead lap. Struggling with a tight-center and loose-off condition, Martin called Harvick to pit road while under caution on lap 203 for fresh Goodyear tires and an additional chassis adjustment to help the car’s handling. Restarting 11th, Harvick quickly moved back into the top 10 where he remained until the final pit stop of the day. As other teams started to hit pit road under green-flag conditions, Martin called Harvick in for a two-tire stop at lap 299 in an effort to gain track position. However, as the laps wound down on the final run of the race, Harvick told the team that the car was way too loose. As teams continued to cycle through pit stops late in the final green-flag run, Harvick ran as high as 10th before he began to slip back in the field, ultimately driving the No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet to a 13th-place result.

Start – 21                     Finish – 13                     Laps Led – 0                Points – 3

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:

“We gambled a bit on the last stop and it just didn’t work. We were way too loose there at the end and lost more than we had gained with that two-tire stop. It wasn’t the run we needed today, but this No. 29 Rheem team will move on to next weekend.”

2011 CC Team Logo NSCS 31 CAT

Fuel Gamble Comes up Short for Burton and Caterpillar Team in Texas

Jeff Burton and the Caterpillar Racing team took a gamble on fuel mileage late in the AAA Texas 500 in an attempt to pull out a victory at the 1.5-mile track; instead they came up short and had to settle for a 27th-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway. After a less-than-desired qualifying effort lined up the No. 31 Chevrolet in the 31st position on the starting grid for the 334-lap affair, Burton and crew chief Luke Lambert focused their efforts on the race day setup and strategy.  By lap 100, the No. 31 Chevrolet climbed up to the 17th position when Burton relayed the temperature gauges were reading extremely high, which necessitated the removal of tape from the grill during the team’s pit stop on lap 158.  The removal of the tape kept the temperatures in line and took away the concern of damaging their ECR engine, but in turn created a challenge with the handling on the Caterpillar Chevrolet. Lambert and crew devised a plan to further diagnose the overheating problem, spending extended time on pit road for the next two visits. When it was determined the duct work had come loose from the nose, the Cat Racing team repaired the damage and were back in business running in the 15th position with 75 laps remaining in the event. Now armed with a sporty-handling Caterpillar Chevrolet, Burton climbed into the top 10 with 50 laps remaining, then up into the eighth position on lap 290. Due to the extended visits to pit road which allowed the team to add additional fuel to the No. 31 machine, Burton and Lambert felt they were now in position to set up a fuel strategy gamble to the finish. Calculations showed they were going to be short running laps at the current quick pace so Burton was ordered to slow down and save fuel. As other competitors in front of the Caterpillar Chevrolet peeled off the racing surface onto pit road to fill their fuel cells, the South Boston, Va. native began making his ascent through the top five and ultimately took over the lead on lap 305. The black and yellow machine paced the field for the next 24 laps, saving fuel the entire way. As laps ticked away and hopes grew in the No. 31 pit stall, Burton radioed the crew alerting them the No. 31 Chevrolet was out of fuel on lap 329 and slowly made his way to pit road to top off for the finish.  The 21-time NSCS winner returned to the track and scored in the 27th spot in the final rundown.

Start – 31                      Finish – 27                    Laps Led – 24              Points- 23

JEFF BURTON QUOTE:

“It was worth a try. We thought we could save that much. I don’t know if we weren’t quite full that time, if we got a false [fuel mileage] reading the time before, or something; but we weren’t even close. We saved a lot of fuel, and to be that far off — we were a lap-and-a-half off of our calculations. So something didn’t add up. We thought we had to save six laps and if we’d have saved six laps it would have been close. But it ended up we had to save a lot more than that. We knew we were gambling, and sometimes when you’re gambling, you’re going to lose. That’s kind of the way our year’s gone.”

2011 CC Team Logo NSCS 33 Cheerios 150 px

Bowyer Scores 14th Top-10 Finish of 2011 season with Ninth-Place Result at Texas

Clint Bowyer and the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet team scored their 14th top-10 finish of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season bringing home a hard-fought ninth-place effort in the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The 32-year-old Bowyer, starting in the 18th 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 13th-place by lap 15 and on lap 30 entered the top 10 where he became a mainstay until the first caution flag on lap 113. Trying to remedy a loose-handling condition on the red and yellow machine, crew chief Shane Wilson directed the “Helping Hands” pit crew to make significant chassis adjustments to tighten up the car for the Richard Childress Racing driver. The changes didn’t balance the setup on the car as excepted and Bowyer fell back through the field, eventually settling into the 24th position and falling two laps down to the leader after the caution flag waved after the No. 33 Chevrolet exited pit road on lap 202. Bowyer was able to take advantage of NASCAR’s wave-around rule under that same caution-flag period and earned one of the laps back. Restarting in the 22nd position, the five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner fought hard to maintain position as the first car one lap down for more than 20 laps and was awarded the “lucky dog” free pass when the caution flag was displayed on lap 263. After restarting in the 19th position with 60 laps remaining, the handling on the No. 33 Chevrolet began to adapt to the changing track conditions due to cloud cover in the vicinity. Bowyer found himself back in the top 15 before the final pit stop of the day on lap 301 when the “Helping Hands” pit crew reeled off another fast four-tire pit stop while adding enough Sunoco E15 fuel to make it the finish of the 334-lap event. The RCR driver continued to post some of the fastest lap times in the entire 43-car field and passed several competitors on the track over the final 30 green-flag laps to secure a ninth-place finish. Bowyer remains 13th in NSCS driver championship point standings with two races remaining in the 2011 season.

 

Start – 18                      Finish – 9                   Laps Led – 0                Points – 13

CLINT BOWYER QUOTE:

“It was a hard-fought battle all day long for us with a loose-handling Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet, but this team showed that we aren’t going to give up yet with another top-10 finish.”

 

 

 

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

RACE: WinStar World Casino 350k

TRACK: Texas Motor Speedway

DATE: November 4, 2011

Race Highlights:

  • RCR teammates finished second (Austin Dillon), third (Ty Dillon) and sixth (Joey Coulter).
  • The top-seven finishers and eight out of the top 10 were powered by ECR Engines.
  • According to NASCAR’s Loop Data statistics, each of the three RCR entries maintained average running positions in the top 10, with A. Dillon holding an average position of 4.541 (ranked third), Coulter a 7.757 (ranked seventh) and T. Dillon a 11.014 (ranked 10th).
  • Combined, the RCR NCWTS entries posted the fastest lap of the race for 28 circuits (25.5 percent of the race), with A. Dillon posting the fastest lap 15 times, Coulter posting the fastest lap seven times and T. Dillon doing so six times, ranking them third, fourth and fifth, respectively, according to NASCAR’s Loop Data statistics.
  • T. Dillon led the field in green-flag passes with 48, while Coulter was ranked fourth in NASCAR’s Loop Data category for green-flag passes with 45. A. Dillon ranked 10th in that category with 32 green-flag passes.
  • A. Dillon was ranked third-fastest early in a run and second-fastest late in a run, according to NASCAR’s Loop Data statistics.
  • A. Dillon spent 100 percent of the race running in the top 15 and led 10 laps. Coulter spent 98.6 percent of the race in the top 15 and T. Dillon spent 81.8 percent of the race in the top 15.
  • Coulter and T. Dillon were ranked first and second in NASCAR’s Loop Data category for Quality Passes with 45 and 42, respectively, while A. Dillon was ranked eighth with 32.
  • Coulter and the No. 22 Europcopter Chevrolet team were the second-fastest group off of pit road in Friday night’s NCWTS race at Texas Motor Speedway, spending the least amount of time on pit road to everyone except race winner, Kevin Harvick.
  • Coulter leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year point standings.
  • Dillon leads the NCWTS standings by 20 points over Johnny Sauter with one race remaining in the 2011 season.
  • Coulter is eighth in the NCWTS standings, just two markers outside of seventh.
  • Kevin Harvick earned his fourth NCWTS victory of the 2011 season, clinching the NCWTS Owner’s Championship title for Kevin Harvick, Inc. He was followed to the finish line by A. Dillon, T. Dillon, Nelson Piquet and Matt Crafton.
  • The 2011 NCWTS season concludes with Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, November 18. The 200-mile race is scheduled to be televised live on SPEED beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio beginning at 7:45 p.m.

2011 CC Team Logos NCWTS 3 BPS 150 px

 

Austin Dillon Continues to Extend Points Lead with Strong, Second-Place Finish at Texas

Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon finished second in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet at Texas Motor Speedway to post his 10th top-five finish of the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season and extend his lead to 20 points in the championship points standings with just one race remaining in the season. Statistically, Dillon can clinch the 2011 title with a finish of 16th or better at the season finale race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18. Dillon started Friday’s WinStar World Casino 350k at Texas Motor Speedway from the outside pole but dropped to fourth in the running order soon after the field took the green flag as he struggled with a loose-handling truck in the early portion of the race. When the first caution flag of the night was displayed at lap 13, crew chief Danny Stockman directed Dillon down pit road so that the Bass Pro Shops team could service the black Chevrolet Silverado with fuel and a chassis adjustment aimed at improving handling conditions. Quick work by the team placed Dillon in the lead when green-flag racing resumed on lap 20. However, Dillon was shuffled to third on the restart and remained in the third position until pitting under caution on lap 34. Dillon’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet was serviced with four tires and fuel during the pit stop but many other teams opted to take only two fresh Goodyear tires, leaving Dillon in the 10th position when green-flag racing resumed on lap 37. He made it up to the sixth position before another caution flag waved on lap 55, allowing the team to pit again for four tires. Once again, several teams opted for two tires instead of four and Dillon restarted 11th on lap 63. He quickly began to climb through the field, moving up to fourth by lap 85. Dillon spent the closing portions of the race battling side-by-side for the second position with fellow NCWTS championship contender James Buescher until his No. 31 truck ran out of fuel under caution on lap 146 just before a green-white-checker finish. With NASCAR Sprint Cup Series veteran Kevin Harvick leading the field to green for the shootout-style ending to the race, Dillon restarted in the second position, directly in front of his younger brother, Ty Dillon. The Dillon brothers pushed each other to the checkers but were not able to make a pass for the lead, finishing second (A. Dillon) and third (T. Dillon) in only their second race ever competing against each other in the NCWTS.

Start -2                        Finish – 2                     Laps Led – 10               Points – 1

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:

“We had a great run. We were up and down at the beginning of the race, struggling with a truck that was too loose, which was odd because we thought we would be plenty tight. The Bass Pro Shops team did a great job making adjustments on the truck and we went flying through the field. At the end I was trying to run down Harvick but the 31 truck (James Buescher) was running me really close, turning down on me as we were side-by-side. I didn’t want to wreck us both so I just took my time. It worked out for us but I feel bad for the 31 team for running out of fuel at the end of the race. You never want to wish bad luck upon anybody at a race. It’s unfortunate for him because he had a great truck. It would have been interesting to see what that last restart would have been like if he was in the mix. I think if we could have ever got clear of the 31 when we were racing side-by-side I could have made it to Harvick and it would have been a cool race for the lead. It was a good race all-in-all. At the end it was real cool to have my brother behind me, pushing me. I thought we were going to have a run for Harvick down the backstretch but with the side draft he turned down the corner and I didn’t have anything for him.”

CCNCWTS21SWCain

Ty Dillon Finishes Third in his Second Career NCWTS Start

An early-race penalty could have deterred Ty Dillon and the No. 21 Sherwin Williams/Cain Food Chevrolet team, but perseverance allowed the young driver to rally back to a third-place finish in his second career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Texas Motor Speedway. Dillon took the green flag from the eighth position in front of an estimated 56,000 fans Friday night for the WinStar World Casino 350k at the Fort Worth, Texas-based facility. Shortly after taking the green flag, Dillon was forced to serve a pass-through penalty for passing before reaching the start/finish line at the start of the 147-lap affair, relegating him to the 31st position one lap down to the leader. The Lexington, N.C., native was awarded the “Lucky Dog” award on lap 15 when the first caution flag of the night was displayed. Crew chief Scott Naset called the young driver to pit road for four fresh Goodyear tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to alleviate a tight-handling condition that was developing on the No. 21 Chevrolet Silverado. Dillon restarted 20th when green-flag racing resumed on lap 20 and worked his way up to the 15th position when the field was slowed for a lap-34 caution flag. Naset directed the black Chevrolet to pit road for a fuel-only pit stop under the ensuing caution period. Dillon restarted ninth for the lap-37 green flag, but fell back to the 14th position two laps later. The No. 21 racer began experiencing a loose-handling condition making it difficult to pass other competitors, but relief came on lap 57 when the fourth caution of the night was displayed. Dillon brought his Chevrolet Silverado to the attention of the No. 21 pit crew for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Restarting in the 12th position on lap 63, the 19-year-old driver improved his position to ninth by the halfway mark and seventh by lap 99 as the yellow flag was given to the field. Once again, Dillon pitted for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment before racing resumed on lap 103. With a new set of dancing shoes, the High Point University freshman climbed his way into the top five with less than 20 laps remaining in the 147-lap event. The final caution flag of the night was displayed on lap 142, sending the race into overtime and setting up for a green-white-checkered finish. Dillon restarted fourth for the two-lap shootout and improved his position to third before taking the checkered flag earning his first top-five finish in only his second NCWTS start.

Start – 8           Finish – 3                     Laps Led – 0                 Points – N/A

TY DILLON QUOTE:

“That was a lot of fun tonight. I knew we had a fast truck and could run up front and finishing third proved to our team we have what it takes to do just that. I learned so much running with my brother Austin and Kevin Harvick. The guys put together a great truck and they were awesome on pit road. I want to thank my grandfather and family for supporting me and giving me the opportunity to race at Texas (Motor Speedway). I also want to thank Sherwin Williams and Cain Food Industries for coming on board for this race. I’m really excited for next season!”

CCNCWTS22Eurocopter

RCR’s Coulter Scores Sixth-Place Finish at Texas Motor Speedway

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year contender Joey Coulter returned to Texas Motor Speedway armed with experience and confidence and left with a solid top-10 finish in Friday night’s WinStar World Casino 350k. Coulter started the No. 22 Eurocopter Chevrolet from the 14th position under the lights at the Fort Worth-based facility and following a fast and flawless pit stop by the Harold Holly-led crew during the lap-13 caution, was catapulted from 12th to seventh position for the ensuing restart. While working lap 50, the Miami Springs, Fla., native overtook the eighth position and reported that the Chevrolet Silverado was getting better with each lap. Coulter climbed as high as second in the running order by lap 70, but then the truck’s handling made a drastic shift to the loose-side once again. Despite the added challenge of controlling an incredibly loose-handling machine, determination and perseverance paid off as Coulter remained in the top 10. A lap-97 caution gave the No. 22 team an opportunity to make additional chassis adjustments to the Chevrolet Silverado in an effort to tighten the truck’s balance. Another impressive performance on pit road by the No. 22 pit crew gained Coulter two spots, putting him in fourth for the lap-104 restart. Slipping to the seventh position over the next 20 laps, Coulter told his team the truck was starting to develop a tight-off condition. As the long green-flag run progressed, the No. 22 racer gained momentum and was in the sixth position when the final caution of the night fell on lap 142. Remaining on the track during the yellow-flag period, Coulter lined up fifth on lap 147 for the green-white-checkered finish, ready to make a charge on the leaders. Coulter’s forward progress was slowed when the No. 60 ran out of fuel right in front of the No. 22 machine, forcing the 21-year-old to take the checkered flag in the sixth position and earn his 12th top-10 finish of the 2011 season.

Start – 14                     Finish – 6                     Laps Led – 0                 Points – 8

JOEY COULTER QUOTE:

“Harold (crew chief Harold Holly) and the entire No. 22 team did a great job tonight. The pit stops were incredible. The Eurocopter Chevrolet was really fast, especially late in a run. I think we would have had a top-five finish if the No. 60 truck hadn’t run out of gas right in front of us on the last restart. I’m really excited to head to Homestead-Miami Speedway in two weeks and wrap up the season at ‘home,’ hopefully with the Rookie of the Year title for this team.”