RCR Post Race Report — Daytona International Speedway
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
RACE: NextEra Energy Resources 250
TRACK: Daytona International Speedway
Race Highlights:
Richard Childress Racing teammates finished ninth (Ty Dillon), 18th (Joey Coulter) and 20th (Brendan Gaughan) in the 250-mile race. Dillon increased his position by seven spots in the final 10 laps of the race. Dillon was the fourth fastest driver in a late run. Dillon made a total of 154 green-flag passes during the race that ranked him ninth amongst his competitors. Coulter boasted the fourth best average running position of 8.679. Coulter spent 91.7 percent of the contested laps running inside the top 15, the fifth best percentage. Gaughan posted a ninth-place average running position that ranked him sixth amongst the 36-truck field and was the third fastest driver in a late run. Gaughan ran inside the top 15 for 85.3 percent of the race and made the eighth best green-flag passes with 164.
Gaughan, No. 2 Team Collected in Late-Race Incident at Daytona, Finishes 20th
Brendan Gaughan and the No. 2 South Point Hotel & Casino team collectively kept themselves out of trouble during Friday night’s 100-lap affair at Daytona International Speedway until a late-race, multi-car incident, not of their doing, ended their night early and relegated them to a 20th-place result. The new Richard Childress Racing driver started the 250 miler 11th and maintained a top-10 position for the opening 20 laps. A pit stop under caution for two tires and fuel occurred on lap 20 but the Las Vegas native was blocked in his pit stall by another competitor that resulted in a 15th-place restart position three laps later. Gaughan wasted no time making his way through the field, running inside the top eight by lap 40. Four caution periods transpired in the next 50 laps that saw crew chief Marcus Richmond either summon his driver to pit road for fuel only or keep him on the race track for position. During that time, Gaughan held his own inside the top 15 and found himself in the seventh position with seven laps remaining, setting himself up for a run at the checkered flag. An incident on lap 95 brought out the caution flag and set the tone for the first attempt at a green-white-checkered finish. He hooked up with fellow Chevrolet driver Ron Hornaday in the outer lane and gained momentum on those running in the inside lane before another multi-car incident slowed the field again. This time, Gaughan restarted sixth and as he and the field were coming to take the white flag, he slowed the black and gold Chevy to avoid the frontrunners making contact with each other. As a result, was he was tagged from behind and sent spinning, receiving damage that ended the team’s night early with an undesirable 20th-place result.
Start – 11 Finish – 20 Laps Led – 0 Owner Points – 20
BRENDAN GAUGHAN QUOTE:
“The No. 2 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet ran great all night. When Hornaday and I hooked up at the end of the race, we hammered down and were headed towards the front. The Earnhardt Childress Racing engine was phenomenal. After the last restart, Matt Crafton was behind me pushing and as we were coming into the tri oval, I could see a couple of trucks in front of me making contact. Matt, obviously, couldn’t see so when I slowed to avoid them, he bumped me and before we knew it, we were both in the wreck. It’s unfortunate but I’m proud to be with RCR and racing in their top-notch equipment.”
Ty Dillon Finishes Ninth in the Season Opener at Daytona International Speedway
Ty Dillon survived close calls and bumper-to-bumper traffic driving the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet to a ninth-place finish in his career-first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway. Dillon climbed into the famed No. 3 Chevrolet for the first time Friday night in front of an estimated crowd of 57,000 fans. The Lewisville, N.C., native started the scheduled 100-lap event from the fourth position but slipped to 17th-place as the inside line draft showed to be the dominating line in the opening laps of the event. Dillon settled into the 13th position when the first caution flag of the night was displayed on lap 19. Scott Naset, the 2011 Cometic Crew Chief of the Year called the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet to the attention of the pit crew for right-side tires and one can of fuel. Restarting 16th on lap 23, Dillon quickly found his Richard Childress Racing teammate Joey Coulter as the two tried to build momentum, utilizing the bottom line draft. Unfortunately, in the process, the 19-year-old driver fell to the 19th position. Dillon rode in the top 20 for the next 15 laps until debris in turn three slowed the field on lap 51. Naset led his driver to pit road for four fresh Goodyear tires and fuel leaving the No. 3 Chevrolet in the 23rd position for the lap-54 restart. The 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards champion worked the two lines looking for the most suitable drafting partner. Dillon moved into the 15th position with 10 laps remaining before maneuvering his way through two spinning trucks directly in his racing path. Due to extensive clean-up time, the field was set for a green-white-checkered finish. As the green flag waved on lap 99, another multi-car incident occurred, collecting a piece of Dillon’s right-front fender. Naset called the young driver to pit road to ensure all fenders were pulled away from the tires allowing Dillon to participate in the mad dash to the finish. Dillon survived two more green-white-checkered restarts to earn his first top-10 finish of his 2012 rookie season in the NextEra Energy Resources 250.
Start – 4 Finish – 9 Laps Led – 0 Points – 8
TY DILLON QUOTE:
“Wow, what a race. The No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet was fast but we were caught in a lot of traffic during the race. That’s just how pack racing is. We made it through some wrecks tonight that could have ended our day early but we made it through and brought home a top-10 finish.”
Joey Coulter Takes Wild Ride on Final Lap, Finishes 18th at Daytona
After running in the top 15 for a majority of the 109-lap event, Joey Coulter and the No. 22 Mama Lucia Meatballs Chevrolet team finished 18th after a frightening accident ended their night coming to the white flag on a third attempt for a green-white-checkered finish. The 21-year-old driver, in his second fulltime season with Richard Childress Racing, started the race ninth. He entered the top five by lap five and stayed there until the first caution flag waved on lap 19. Restarting second after crew chief Harold Holly called for fuel only on the first trip to pit road under caution, the Miami Springs, Fla., native faded back through the field while trying to get back to the preferred bottom line of the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Once he was settled back in, Coulter moved around inside the top 15 until a caution-flag period on lap 63 prompted Holly to call his sophomore driver to pit road for left-side Goodyear tires and Sunoco fuel. While exiting pit road, Coulter made contact with the No. 23 truck, but the damage was minimal and he continued without any issues. The reigning Sunoco Rookie of the Year ran the next 30 laps in the top 10 while developing a strategy with his RCR teammates- Ty Dillon and Brendan Gaughan- for a last-lap dash to the checkered flag. After a late-race accident created the first of three green-white-checkered finishes, Gaughan and Dillon were both collected in a multi-truck accident on the ensuing restart, forcing the fourth-place running Coulter to work with Todd Bodine for the final two-lap shootout. On the restart while pushing Bodine to the white flag, Coulter’s Chevrolet Silverado was clipped in the rear by another competitor, sending the No. 22 end-over-end and airborne into the DIS catchfence. The battered truck came to rest at the entrance to turn one and Coulter was scored in the 18th position after final review by NASCAR officials. Coulter was all smiles and uninjured after the spectacular crash.
Start – 9 Finish – 18 Laps Led – 0 Points – 17
JOEY COULTER QUOTE:
“I’m fine, just really amazed that I’m not hurt. Thanks to everyone that provides safety equipment for me, including Sparco suits, Shock belts, Butler seats and Simpson. It was unbelievable. When I felt the back of the truck get airborne, I thought to myself, ‘this is going to be big.’ I had my eyes closed for most of it so I’m not sure how big it was. I’m just extremely grateful and surprised that I didn’t get hurt. Thanks to everyone on the No. 22 Chevrolet for an awesome night. Thank you to Mama Lucia Meatballs for coming on board. I hope they enjoyed watching it. I thought we had something for them at the end, but I knew it was going to be wild.”
