RCR Post Race Report — Road America
NASCAR Nationwide Series – Sargento 200 – Road America
June 23, 2012
Race Highlights:
Richard Childress Racing teammates finished fourth (Max Papis), 15th (Elliott Sadler) and 18th (Austin Dillon).
Sadler leads the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver championship point standings over Austin Dillon by 11 points. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. ranks third, followed by Sam Hornish and Cole Whitt.
The No. 2 Chevrolet team is second in the Nationwide Series owner championship point standings, 61 points shy of the No. 18 car’s lead, with the No. 33 team third in the standings and the No. 3 team fourth.
Dillon leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings over Cole Whitt.
According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Papis led the field in Quality Passes with 33, was the third-fastest driver Early in a Run, had the fifth-fastest Green Flag Speed, was sixth fastest on Restarts and earned a Driver Rating of 107.6, ranking him sixth.
Papis posted the fastest lap of the race for two circuits.
Sadler tied for second in the Closers category, gaining three positions in the last 10 percent of the race, while Dillon ranked fourth in the category with two positions gained.
Sadler made 56 Green Flag Passes and Dillon made 50, ranking them eighth and 12th, respectively.
Nelson Piquet Jr earned his first career Nationwide Series win and was followed to the finish line by Michael McDowell, Ron Fellows, Papis and Sam Hornish.
The next scheduled Nationwide Series race is the Feed the Children 300 at Kentucky Speedway on Friday, June 29. The 15th race of the 2012 season is scheduled to be televised live on ESPN2 beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Elliott Sadler Battles to 15th-Place Finish After Late-Race Incident at Road America
Elliott Sadler and the No. 2 Charter Chevrolet team finished 15th at Road America after a late-race spin placed Sadler out of contention for the win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race. Soon after the green flag was displayed to the field on Saturday, Sadler moved from his 13th-place starting position to ninth on lap five, and crew chief Luke Lambert called the driver down pit road for a scheduled green-flag pit stop. The Charter crew put on four tires and added fuel to the No. 2 Chevrolet, sending Sadler back onto the road course in the 30th position. As green-flag stops cycled through, Sadler moved into fifth-place and continued to work his way around the 4.048-mile road course. The team made a scheduled pit stop on lap 31 for four tires and fuel, and Lambert encouraged Sadler to conserve fuel for the final 19 laps of the race. On lap 39, while running in the seventh position and battling with several other cars for track position, the No. 2 Charter Chevrolet was turned. Sadler was able to get the No. 2 back on track with minimal damage, but fell to the 27th position in the process. With 10 laps remaining, Sadler maneuvered around the course to gain positions and crossed the finish line in the 15th position. Sadler remains the leader of the Nationwide Series point standings, 11 points ahead of RCR teammate Austin Dillon.
Start – 13 Finish – 15 Laps Led – 0 Points – 1
ELLIOTT SADLER QUOTE:
“Today was disappointing for the No. 2 Charter Chevrolet team. Our guys worked hard all weekend, and it was unfortunate to finish 15th after the incident late in the race. We did everything we could to gain as many spots at the end.”
Austin Dillon Maintains Points Position with Top-20 Finish at Road America
Austin Dillon drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet to a top-20 finish in his NASCAR Nationwide Series road course racing debut at Road America on Saturday despite losing third gear in his transmission early in the Sargento 200. Dillon started the 50-lap race from the 23rd position and drove to the 18th position before pitting for the first time under green-flag conditions on lap five for four Goodyear tires and Sunoco Green E15 fuel. Shortly after the green-flag pit stop, Dillon reported to crew chief Danny Stockman that the car’s transmission lost third gear. With no remedy except to shift using only second and fourth gears, Dillon navigated his way around the 14-turn road course with the assistance of four different spotters placed strategically around the 4.048-mile track. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender made several routine four-tire and fuel-only pit stops throughout the race and was running in the 20th position when the caution flag was displayed at lap 30, prompting the team to make their final pit stop of the race, taking four tires and fuel. When green-flag racing resumed at lap 32, Dillon was scored in the 19th position and instructed by his team to conserve as much fuel as possible. Dillon raced his way to as high as 17th with two laps remaining but ultimately finished in the 18th position. He maintains his second-place position in the Nationwide Series championship driver point standings, 11 points behind the current point leader, RCR teammate Elliott Sadler.
Start – 23 Finish – 20 Laps Led – 0 Points – 2
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE: “We lost third gear on lap 12 and it’s really hard to recover from something like that. The guys did a great job using pit strategy to help me gain some positions on the race track, and I did the best that I could shifting using only second gear and fourth gear. We were able to maintain in the point standings even with a 20th-place finish, so that is the bright side of the day.”
Max Papis Finishes Fourth at Road America
Max Papis and the No. 33 Rheem/Menards team finished fourth after overcoming a pit road penalty. Starting from the fifth position, Papis reported the Chevrolet lacked rear grip. The Ernie Cope-led team took over the lead on lap 16 before a caution flag slowed the field the following lap. Papis relinquished the lead as he made ascheduled trip down pit road for tires and fuel. Restarting from the fourth position, the Richard Childress Racing driver relayed to the No. 33 crew that the Chevrolet was tight in traffic. The veteran road course driver brought the neon yellow racer to the attention of the No. 33 pit crew for relief on lap 31. Following the stop, NASCAR officials issued a penalty to Papis for equipment left the pit stall, which forced the driver to bring the Rheem/Menards Chevrolet back down pit road for the stop-and-go penalty. With 15 laps remaining, Papis worked his way through the field improving 20 positions over the course of five laps. Papis crossed the finish line in fourth-place and brought home a top-five finish in his first NASCAR Nationwide Series start this season.
Start – 5 Finish – 4 Laps Led – 1 Owners Points – 3
MAX PAPIS QUOTE:
“It was such an honor to drive the No. 33 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing today at Road America. We had a really fast car and overcame a pit road penalty to finish fourth, which says a lot about this team and all our hard work. I can’t thank Rheem and Menards enough for all of their support. I had a blast today.”
