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[/media-credit]RCR Post Race Report — Dover International Speedway
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
RACE: Lucas Oil 200
TRACK: Dover International Speedway
Race Highlights:
Richard Childress Racing teammates finished third (Kevin Harvick), sixth (Ty Dillon) and 11th (Joey Coulter).
Harvick earned his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pole award of the season, setting a new track record of 158.235 mph.
According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, each of the RCR entries spent the entire race running in the top 15.
Harvick led for 96 of 147 laps in the Lucas Oil 200.
Harvick earned the highest driver rating of the race (143.7), Dillon earned a 101.7 driver rating ranking him fifth while Coulter ranked seventh with a 95.9 driver rating.
Coulter ranked third in the Closers category, gaining two positions in the final 10 percent of the race.
Todd Bodine took the checkered flag followed by Parker Kligerman, Harvick, Nelson Piquet Jr. and Cale Gale in the rain-shortened race.
The next scheduled Camping World Truck Series race is the Texas 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday, June 8. The seventh race of the 2012 season is scheduled to be televised live on SPEED beginning at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
Kevin Harvick Brings Home Third-Place Finish in Rain-Shortened Event at Dover
Kevin Harvick and the No. 2 Kroger/Tide team brought home a third-place finish after leading the most laps during the Lucas Oil 200 at Dover International Speedway on Friday evening. Earlier in the day, the Bakersfield, Calif., native posted the fastest time in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying, setting a new track record (158.235 mph) and positioning the No. 2 team in the pole-position for the start of the scheduled 200-lap event. Harvick brought the field to the green flag and led his fellow competitors around the one-mile concrete oval until lap 29, when he came down pit road for a scheduled stop during the third caution period of the event for right-side tires and fuel. Seven teams opted to stay on track, placing Harvick in the eighth position for the lap-32 restart. The Richard Childress Racing driver worked his way toward the front of the field, regained the lead on lap 55 and remained out front until NASCAR officials displayed the red flag for rain. Prior to the break in the race, Harvick informed the Ernie Cope-led crew that the truck developed a tight-handling condition. As the skies cleared and the field pulled back on track to resume the race, Harvick made a final visit to pit road for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to correct the tight condition. The 36-year-old driver restarted the race in the seventh position on lap 124 and worked his way up to third when the race was paused for rain a second time on lap 144. As the level of precipitation increased, NASCAR officials called the race complete on lap 147, leaving Harvick and the No. 2 Kroger/Tide team to settle for a third-place finish. The top-five finish dropped the No. 2 RCR team one spot, to sixth, in the Camping World Truck Series owner’s point standings.
Start – 1 Finish – 3 Laps Led – 96 Owner Points – 6
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:
“We had a great truck all weekend; we just got beat by the weather and didn’t get to finish the race. The guys did a great job controlling what they could control, and that’s all they could do. The Tide truck got really tight in traffic and it took us a while to get around trucks in the end, but in clean air the truck was really fast.”
Ty Dillon Finishes Sixth at the “Monster Mile”
Ty Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops team battled back at Dover International Speedway to finish sixth in the rain-shortened Lucas Oil 200. Dillon started the scheduled 200-lap affair from the fifth position and was scored third three laps later. On a lap 25 caution, crew chief Marcus Richmond called the 20-year-old driver to pit road for two right-side tires and fuel. With other teams opting not to pit, Dillon was forced to start 12th on the ensuing restart. Just a few laps later NASCAR and track officials displayed the red flag due to rain that blanketed the Dover, Del., facility. After a 15 minute red-flag period, the field returned to racing at the one-mile concrete track. The Richmond-led team decided to remain on the racing surface before green-flag racing resumed, placing Dillon in the fourth position for the restart. Two additional caution flags slowed the field over the course of the next 20 laps and with the threat of rain, Richmond instructed the young driver to once again stay on track in the sixth position. With the Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet running in the sixth position, rain began falling again on lap 147 and with no more breaks in the weather, officials called the race 53 laps short of the schedule 200 laps. Dillon’s sixth-place finish marks his sixth-straight top-10 finish to start the 2012 season, setting a NASCAR record for a rookie driver.
Start – 5 Finish – 6 Laps Led – 0 Points – 3
TY DILLON QUOTE:
“Today was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot about the handling of the truck here at the “Monster Mile.” It feels like a monster has you at the end of a string and is flinging you around as hard as he can. Marcus (Richmond) made a great call there before the rain came that put us back in the top-10. The guys had fast pit stops all day. Overall, I’m happy with the outcome and look forward to Texas (Motor Speedway) next week.”
Joey Coulter Finishes 11th in Rain-Shortened Lucas Oil 200
Weather shortened the Lucas Oil 200 at Dover International Speedway to 147 laps, leaving Joey Coulter and the No.22 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to settle for an 11th-place finish Friday evening. Coulter proved the speed of the No. 22 Chevrolet early in the day when he posted the second best qualifying lap of 22.881 seconds, one tenth of a second behind pole winner and RCR teammate Kevin Harvick. After starting the race from the second position, Coulter struggled with a tight-handling condition off the corners and was able to pit under caution on lap 29 for adjustments. Restarting from the 11th position, the 21-year-old settled into his rhythm and began to climb back toward the front of the field. While rain threatened on-track activities all day, the caution flew when the rain set in just past the halfway mark, with Coulter running in the 10th position. Following a brief red flag, rain subsided and green-flag racing resumed on lap 124. When the rain came again, there would be no restart, and the race was called on lap 147 with Coulter finishing in 11th position. With his fourth top-15 finish of the 2012 season, the Miami Springs, Fla., native remains 10th in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver point championship standings.
Start – 2 Finish – 11 Laps Led – 0 Points – 10
JOEY COULTER QUOTE:
“The No.22 RCR Chevrolet was fast tonight. Harold (Holly) and the rest of the team were working on getting it to its best handling condition with each pit stop we made. It’s just really unfortunate that the rain came and we didn’t get a chance to finish the race. The truck was capable of a top-10 if we had been able to run all 200 laps.”
