RCR Post Race Report — Southern 500

[media-credit name=”darlingtonraceway.com” align=”alignright” width=”199″][/media-credit]RCR Post Race Report — Darlington Raceway

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

RACE: Southern 500

TRACK: Darlington Raceway

Race Highlights:

Richard Childress Racing teammates finished 13th (Paul Menard), 16th (Kevin Harvick) and 18th (Jeff Burton).

Menard tied for fifth in NASCAR’s Loop Data category for Closers, gaining three positions in the final 10 percent of the event.

Menard logged the 13th-fastest Speed in Traffic with an average of 161.238 mph according to NASCAR Loop Data statistics. Harvick ranked first in Green Flag passes (109) and Speed in Traffic (162.797 mph).

Burton’s 10th-place qualifying effort was his second-best start of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season Burton made 57 green-flag passes during the 500-mile race

Jimmie Johnson scored the win in Saturday night’s race. He was followed to the checkered flag by Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr.

The next scheduled Sprint Cup Series race is the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 19, televised live on SPEED beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Paul Menard and the No. 27 Team Survive the “Lady in Black” to Earn Hard-Fought 13th-Place Finish

Paul Menard and the No. 27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards team finished 13th in the Southern 500 under the lights of Darlington Raceway. Menard started the Saturday-night affair from the 14th position in front of an estimated crowd of 63,000 at the historic egg-shaped oval and fought to remain in the top 20 while experiencing handling issues that plagued the team throughout the course of the event. Long green-flag runs during the first half of the advertised 367-lap event provided little opportunity for the Eau Claire, Wis., native to gain valuable track position and he went one lap down to the leader. Crew chief Slugger Labbe called for numerous air pressure and chassis adjustments during routine green-flag and caution-period pit stops. The final 70 laps of the event were marred by five cautions, giving the Pittsburgh Paints/Menards team the chance to make adjustments to the No. 27 Chevrolet. During the lap-298 yellow-flag period, Labbe instructed Menard to remain on the race track and take the wave-around, returning him to the lead lap. When the final caution period occurred on lap 361, setting the stage for a green-white-checkered finish, Menard was running in the 18th-position. Labbe made the call not to come to pit road, placing the No. 27 team in the 13th spot for the restart on lap 367. Menard fought to maintain the position and was scored with a 13th-place result at the checkered flag.

Start – 14             Finish – 13               Laps Led – 0       Points – 13

PAUL MENARD QUOTE:

“Slugger (Labbe, crew chief) and the guys worked really hard. We just couldn’t find a balance on the car, but the team was solid in the pits and never gave up. We’re leaving Darlington (Raceway) with a car in one piece and the only time we brushed the wall was coming out of turn four while trying to hold off Regan (Smith). That isn’t a bad night at all.”

Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Team Finish 16th at Darlington Raceway

Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser team collected a 16th-place finish in the Southern 500 after battling handling issues at Darlington Raceway. The Richard Childress Racing veteran started the 367-lap event from the 23rd position and moved into the top15 while battling a loose handling condition during the early portion of the race. As the race progressed and minor adjustments were made during the first green-flag pit stop, Harvick informed the Shane Wilson-led crew that his Chevrolet was becoming too tight in the same areas it was previously loose. Over the course of several additional pit stops, the Budweiser crew made multiple adjustments to the car to alleviate the handling issues their driver was facing. With 100 laps remaining in the race, Harvick had worked his way into the top 10 and maintained position until multiple late-race cautions were displayed, which proved detrimental to the Budweiser Chevrolet as the car was slower on takeoff and became faster during longer green-flag runs. The Bakersfield, Calif. native continued to battle the handling on the No. 29 Chevrolet and fellow competitors to bring home a 16th-place finish at the track deemed “Too Tough To Tame”. Harvick now sits eighth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship driver point standings.

Start – 23                                          Finish – 16                               Laps Led – 0                Points – 8

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:

“All of the pieces were there, we just need to put them in the right places. We had a seventh or eighth-place car, but the Budweiser Chevrolet was better on long runs so the last couple of runs and all the restarts at the end really hurt us. We’ll get back at it and look forward to the Sprint All-Star race next weekend.”

Jeff Burton Brings Home 18th-Place Finish at Darlington Raceway

Jeff Burton and the No. 31 BB&T Chevrolet team battled to find the right handling throughout the Southern 500 and finished 18th at Darlington Raceway. After a solid qualifying effort, the South Boston, Va. native rolled off the starting grid in the 10th position. Immediately providing feedback to crew chief Drew Blickensderfer that the No. 31 Chevrolet was very loose in all facets of the historic 1.366-mile track, Burton settled into the top 20 for the longest green-flag run in the history of the 62-year-old facility. While the 44-year-old driver wrestled with the loose-handling condition on the No. 31 Chevrolet, he felt that the car’s handling improved on long runs. Burton fell one lap down to the race leader near the halfway point of the advertised 367-lap event, prompting Blickensderfer to make some major chassis adjustments on ensuing pit stops to balance the handling on the car. As the race progressed into the night and track temperatures dropped, the Richard Childress Racing veteran driver reported the car handled the best it had all evening and Burton worked his way into the “lucky dog” position. A perfectly-timed, caution-flag period with 59 laps to go gave the No. 31 team the opportunity to return to the lead lap, receiving the “lucky dog” award, with Burton running in the 19th position. The 21-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner raced as high as 12th with 30 laps to go powered by the strength of many fast pit stops by the No. 31 pit crew, who were solid all night. During a late-race restart, Burton was shuffled to the 18th position where he remained until the finish of the race. With the top-20 finish, Burton moved up one position to 17th in the Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings..

Start – 10                       Finish – 18            Laps Led – 0                Points – 17

JEFF BURTON QUOTE:

“We definitely wanted to come out of here with a better finish tonight, but I can’t say enough about the effort these No. 31 guys put out all night. Towards the latter part of the race, we were running consistent lap times with the leaders. However, we were pinned one lap down on that initial long green-flag run and seemed to play ‘catch up’ all night. I’ve never seen anything like the long green-flag runs here at Darlington (Raceway). I can’t say enough about the No. 31 pit crew too. Every pit stop tonight, we gained positions on pit road. They’ve been consistently fast all season.”