RCR XFINITY Series Post Race Report – Texas Motor Speedway - Speedway Digest

Race Highlights:

Austin Dillon finished third and was the highest finishing Richard Childress Racing driver in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway. Ty Dillon finished fifth, Brian Scott seventh and Brendan Gaughan finished 12th.
Weather conditions canceled NASCAR XFINITY Series qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway which set the field by final practice results. Austin Dillon captured the pole position after being fastest in practice followed by Ty Dillon ninth, Brian Scott 11th and Brendan Gaughan 13th.
Next up for the XFINITY Series is the DAV 200 Honoring America’s Veterans at Phoenix International Raceway. Catch all the action live on Saturday, November 14 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on NBC Sports Network, broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.

Brian Scott Finishes Seventh at Texas Motor Speedway

Heavy amounts of rain visited the Fort Worth, Texas area on Friday evening affecting Saturday’s NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway. The heavy rain saturated the 1.5-mile speedway, taking extensive drying efforts and ultimately canceling NASCAR XFINITY Series qualifying. The starting lineup was set by final practice speeds per the NASCAR rulebook. Richard Childress Racing driver Brian Scott started the 200-lap event in the 11th position and battled with a tight-handling No. 2 Albertsons / Sanderson Farms Chevrolet. A competition caution brought the team to pit road on lap 25 to alleviate some of the handling issues. Additional adjustments were made during pit stops under caution on lap 79, 117, 180 and under green-flag conditions on lap 163. The 27-year old battled in and around the top 10 for the majority of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge taking the checkered flag in the seventh position.

Start – 11 Finish – 7 Laps Led – 0 Points – 8

BRIAN SCOTT QUOTE:
“I’m really proud of the effort today of our Albertsons / Sanderson Farms team. We can learn a lot from this race and hopefully it’ll pay off in the final race at Homestead.”

Ty Dillon Drives No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro to Fifth-place Finish

Ty Dillon drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Chevrolet Camaro to a fifth-place finish Saturday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway, recording the team’s 11th top-five finish of the season. Race No. 31 of the season was scheduled to go green at 2:30 p.m. Central Time, but was delayed 30 minutes due to damp track conditions. Additionally, heavy overnight rains canceled qualifying earlier Saturday morning, so Dillon started ninth, per the NASCAR rulebook. Once the race got underway, Dillon maintained positioning inside the top 10 despite concerns of his right-front tire having significant wear. The No. 3 team cracked the top five running order on lap 103 and showed speed in the closing laps of the 300 mile race. A final pit stop came on lap 181, giving crew chief Nick Harrison an opportunity to put four fresh Goodyear Racing tires on the No. 3 Chevrolet. Dillon restarted fifth on lap 184 and maintained his positioning for the final green-flag stretch of the race. In the end, Dillon crossed the finish line fifth and was the highest finishing NASCAR XFINITY Series regular. Dillon moved up to third place in the XFINITY Series driver championship point standings.

Start – 9th Finish – 5th Laps Led – 0 Points – 3

TY DILLON QUOTE:

“We played it conservative for the first portion of the race because we just didn’t know how our tires would hold up. Once some rubber got laid down, Nick (Harrison, crew chief) gave me the green-light to push it a little harder and pick up some more speed. We were super fast during those last couple of green-flag runs. I give a lot of credit to my team, crew chief and engineer for being able to call a great race and give us yet another top-five finish. We really are hoping to get to Victory Lane before the season is over.”

Austin Dillon Finishes Third at Texas Motor Speedway

Austin Dillon and the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet team finished third at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon despite falling a lap down to the leaders in the early portion of the race. After rain showers blanketed the area early Saturday morning and saturated the racing surface with water, NASCAR XFINITY Series was canceled and the starting line-up was set per the rulebook, placing Dillon on the pole for the start of the 200-lap race. The Welcome, N.C.,-native remained a fixture within the top five of the running order until lap 76 when Dillon reported to the Rheem team he had a tire going flat. Danny Stockman called Dillon to pit road under green flag conditions for four tires, fuel and a small chassis adjustment. While on pit road, Dillon fell one lap down to the leaders as the caution flag was displayed as he was leaving pit road. Dillon was able to take the wave-around and restart on the lead lap in the 18th position on the ensuing start. The Richard Childress Racing team climbed their way back into the top five with 40 laps to go. On the final caution flag of the evening, the Stockman-led team visited pit road for tires and a chassis adjustment. A quick stop by the Rheem pit crew allotted Dillon the top spot for the restart. Dillon led the field until lap 190 when he battled three-wide for position and slipped to third where he would take the checkered flag.

Start – 1 Finish – 3 Laps Led – 54 Owner’s Points – 4

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:

“Man, we had a fast Rheem Chevrolet. I thought we were good there at the end but we got too tight and the (No.) 22 had a run on us and got by. We definitely had a car to win this thing but came up a little short. It’s nothing to hang our heads at after driving back up through the field when we had to pit early. I thought I had a tire going down and didn’t want to chance any damage. I knew we had a fast car and could get back to the front of the field. These boys work really hard, and I’m confident we’ll get us another one before the end of the year.”

Brendan Gaughan Finishes 12th at Texas Motor Speedway

Brendan Gaughan drove the Richard Childress Racing’s No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet to a 12th-place finish in Saturday’s 300-mile event at Texas Motor Speedway. The Las Vegas native started 13th after qualifying was canceled due to weather. Gaughan battled loose-handling conditions for the first 25 laps of the race. At lap 50, Gaughan reported the top groove of the track was coming in and could run well in the high lane. During a caution on lap 76, crew chief Shane Wilson made changes including chassis and air pressure adjustments. Gaughan fluctuated from 11th to 15th as the team handled tight conditions through the middle of the turn. Further chassis adjustments had Gaughan battling again on the loose side. The final caution left Gaughan with a tight-handling car for the final 16-lap run. Gaughan’s 12th-place finish puts the team in ninth-place in the championship point standings with only two races left in the season.The NASCAR XFINITY Series returns to competition Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway.

Start – 13 Finish – 12 Laps Led – 0 Points – 9

BRENDAN GAUGHAN QUOTE:

“We kept digging and didn’t give up. My guys gave it they’re all.

RCR PR