RCR NXS Race Recap: Michigan International Speedway

Smooth Day for Sheldon Creed and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Team Results in 12th-Place Effort at Michigan International Speedway

12th

15th

11th

“Today is one of the smoothest, problem-free days we’ve had recently. Our Whelen Chevrolet was really tight all weekend. I honestly didn’t think we were going to be that bad going into the race after practice and qualifying. We took right-side tires at the end of Stage 1, which I thought was a good play, and were able to keep the track position with staying inside the top-10 for the entire Stage 2. When restarting up front, my car drove better in clean air, but I still fought a tightness in Turn 3 that would cause me to lose ground to the leaders. Our Camaro would just consistently build tight throughout a run. Over the last 30 laps of the race, the car drove better in Turns 1 and 2, but struggled in Turns 3 and 4. My lap times were comparable to some of the top guys though. We had a few new things in the car this week, so we have things to work on back in the shop. As we get closer to the Playoffs, we need to keep having smooth days and not make mistakes, me included. Overall, I’m proud of my Richard Childress Racing team for hanging in there all day. We will keep improving.”

-Sheldon Creed

Austin Hill and the No. 21 United Rentals Chevrolet Team Capture 11th-Place Finish at Michigan International Speedway

11th

3rd

2nd

“Our United Rentals Chevrolet was solid today. We had a top-three car and if we had fine-tuned on it one last time, I think we could have competed for the win. Frustrating ending with the transmission issues. When I came down pit road for the green flag stop, it wouldn’t come out of fourth gear. I stalled trying to leave pit road, finally got it going, but lost a ton of track position. When the caution came out at the end, it was really hard to get into gear going to third and second. I was nervous about the restart, but I was able to muscle through to get it going. This isn’t the first time we’ve had transmission problems this season, so we definitely will go back to the shop on Monday and figure out a solution. We need to find an answer before the Playoffs start. I hate it for our Richard Childress Racing team because the guys are bringing fast Camaros to the track.”

-Austin Hill