RCR Post Race Report — Nashville Superspeedway
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
RACE: Lucas Deep Clean 200
TRACK: Nashville Superspeedway
Race Highlights:
o RCR teammates finished first (Austin Dillon) and 10th (Joey Coulter).
o Dillon earned his third career win and first of the 2011 season.
o Coulter earned his seventh top-10 finish in his 12th NCWTS start.
o Both RCR entries started on the front row, with Dillon earning his third pole award of the season and Coulter starting second.
o Dillon led on four occasions for a total of 56 laps, while Coulter led the field once for four laps.
o Dillon remains second in the NCWTS point standings, now trailing point leader Johnny Sauter by 18 marks.
o Coulter moved up one position in the point standings, to eighth, 65 markers behind the point leader.
o Dillon posted the fastest lap run for 32 of 150 laps.
o Both RCR entries spent the entire race running in the top 15.
o Dillon was followed to the finish line by Johnny Sauter, Timothy Peters, Nelson Piquet and Parker Kligerman.
o The next NCWTS race is the AAA Insurance 200 at Lucas Oil Raceway on Friday, July 29, televised live on SPEED beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio beginning at 7:15 p.m. EDT.
Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Team Find Victory Lane at Nashville Superspeedway
Austin Dillon brought Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet to Victory Lane in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competition at Nashville Superspeedway on Friday night. Shortly after a two-tire pit stop that helped the team secure track position, the 21-year-old NCWTS sophomore made a pass for the lead inside of 25 laps remaining to earn his first NCWTS win of 2011 and third of his young career. After struggling with race setups during the first practice session of the day on Friday morning, crew chief Danny Stockman made sweeping changes to the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet late during final practice on Friday afternoon that helped the team secure the fastest speed in final practice. Dillon went on to earn his third pole award of the season, and the 10th of his career. Starting the 150-lap, 200-mile race from the point position, Dillon jumped to a commanding lead early in the race before slipping to third in the running order after developing a tight-handling condition. When green-flag pit stops began to cycle through on lap 56, Dillon brought the black No. 3 Chevrolet down pit road for four Goodyear tires, Sunoco fuel and adjustments designed to help the handling of the truck. The changes worked, and Dillon posted the fastest laps of the field in subsequent laps, while still running in the third position. A caution for debris on lap 101 provided the opportune time for teams to make their final pit stop of the night, and Stockman opted to make a two-tire pit stop in order to secure track position. The decision proved solid as Dillon was positioned in the lead for the lap-106 restart, but fell back to second when green-flag racing resumed. He spent the next 15 laps tracking down race leader Johnny Sauter, and was able to make a move on lap 128, slipping past the veteran driver and current point leader to take control of the race. Once in clean air, Dillon drove to a commanding lead and crossed the finish line 3.981 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor.
Start – 1 Finish – 1 Points Position – 2 Laps Led – 56
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:
“It was all about sticking with the race leader (Johnny Sauter) as long as I could to keep the pressure on. I knew he was getting looser and looser and I finally had to get up in there with him and loosen him up a little more, and when it happened we just went on. It’s just so great to have a win. When you get a win, everything just seems to be a lot easier.”
“I’ve been talking about this guitar all week. They said in the driver’s meeting today that it was voted one of the 10 coolest trophies by Sports Illustrated. It’s just a beautiful trophy.”
CREW CHIEF DANNY STOCKMAN QUOTE:
“I looked at all the tire wears all day and the tires weren’t wearing, and I knew if we had track position and clean air, we were going to go. When it came down to it, we didn’t even have clean air and we still won. Tires weren’t an issue tonight.”
Joey Coulter Earns Seventh Top-10 Finish of 2011
Joey Coulter finished 10th in Richard Childress Racing’s No. 22 Chevrolet Silverado on Friday night at Nashville Superspeedway, posting his seventh top-10 finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career. Coulter and his teammate Austin Dillon made up an all-RCR front row for the start of the 200-mile race, with Dillon earning the pole award earlier in the day and Coulter starting second in the black and red No. 22 machine. At the drop of the green flag, Coulter dropped to fourth in the running order, where he remained for the first 50 laps of the race. The rookie of the year contender gained a valuable bonus point by taking the lead briefly from laps 57-60 while the race leaders made green-flag pit stops, before pitting himself on lap 60. Crew chief Harold Holly directed the RCR team to service the No. 22 Chevrolet with four Goodyear tires, Sunoco fuel and a wedge adjustment to improve the handling of the truck, and Coulter was positioned in ninth once the green-flag pit stops cycled through. As the laps progressed, Coulter reported that his truck was loose in the center of turns one and two, but tight off of turns three and four. He was running eighth when the caution flag was displayed on lap 101, and Holly promptly made the call for a pit stop for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. Coulter restarted ninth on lap 106, and fell back to 14th before working his way up to 10th before the end of the race. With his 10th-place finish, Coulter moved up one position, to eighth, in the NCWTS driver point standings.
Start – 2 Finish – 10 Points Position – 8 Laps Led – 4
JOEY COULTER QUOTE:
“The truck was snappy loose in turns one and two, and tight off of turns three and four. Conditions did not seem to improve even when we made changes to the truck. We were able to get a top-10 finish, so all-in-all it’s a good night. I’m looking forward to going to Lucas Oil Raceway next weekend in Indianapolis. Congratulations to my teammate Austin Dillon on earning the win. I am so proud of our RCR NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams, and I hope that I can get my first win soon.”
