RCR Post Race Report — NCWTS Michigan International Speedway & NNS Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – VFW 200 – Michigan International Speedway
August 18, 2012
Race Highlights:
Richard Childress Racing teammates finished sixth (Ty Dillon), seventh (Joey Coulter) and 21st (Tim George Jr.).
Dillon is tied for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver championship points lead, while Coulter ranks seventh in the standings.
The No. 3 Chevrolet team is tied for first in the Camping World Truck Series owner championship point standings, with the No. 22 team seventh in the standings and the No. 2 team ninth.
Dillon leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year point standings ahead of Cale Gale.
Coulter earned his career-first Camping World Truck Series pole award in the VFW 200, setting a new track record.
According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Dillon earned the third-highest Driver Rating (113.8), and Coulter earned a rating of 111.9 ranking him fourth amongst the competitors.
Coulter was the series’ Fastest Driver Late in the Run, and Dillon was the second-fastest late in the run.
Dillon earned the series’ third-best Average Running Position (5.430) and Coulter ranked fifth with an Average Running Position of 6.520.
George ran as high as seventh and as low as 23rd, with an Average Running Position of 17.760 during the VFW 200.
Coulter and Dillon ranked second and third, respectively, in the Green Flag Speed category.
Dillon spent 100 percent of the VFW 200 running in the top 15, while Coulter spent 97.0 percent of the race in the top 15.
Nelson Piquet Jr. took the checkered flag 8.082 seconds ahead of Jason White, Dakoda Armstrong, Parker Kligerman and James Buescher.
The next scheduled Camping World Truck Series race is UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday, Aug. 22. The 13th race of the 2012 season is scheduled to be televised live on SPEED beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on Motor Racing Network beginning at 7:45 p.m.
Tim George Jr. Finishes 21st at Michigan International Speedway
Tim George Jr. and the No. 2 Applebee’s/Potomac Family Dining Group team were relegated to a 21st-place finish in the VFW 200 at Michigan International Speedway after the No. 2 Chevrolet spun on the backstretch causing the pit crew to make an unscheduled pit stop under green-flag conditions. The New York City native started the 100-lap event from the seventh position and reported that he was battling a tight-handling condition on his Chevrolet Silverado, but was able to maintain a position within the top 20 during the first half of the 200-mile event. George worked his way into the top 15 and was running solid lap times when the Applebee’s Chevrolet spun on the backstretch on lap 65 and cut a tire, forcing the team to make an unscheduled pit stop on lap 66 under green-flag conditions. George returned to the track in the 23rd position, two laps down to the leader. The Richard Childress Racing driver produced lap times as quick as the leader and gained track position, ultimately crossing the finish line in the 21st position.
Start – 7 Finish – 21 Laps Led – 0 Owner Points – 15
TIM GEORGE JR. QUOTE:
“That was not the finish I was looking for when we started the race today. Gere (Kennon, crew chief) and the entire Applebee’s team put together a solid Chevrolet this weekend, but the truck turned on me and we lost the handling at the end and weren’t able to regain much ground after the spin.”
Ty Dillon Gains Ground in Points and Finishes Sixth at Michigan
Ty Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops team battled fuel mileage late in the VFW 200, finishing in the sixth position at Michigan International Speedway and gaining one position in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver championship point standings to tie for the points lead. Dillon started the black and orange Chevrolet in the fifth position for the 100-lap event on Saturday afternoon. Shortly after the initial green flag, the 20-year-old driver used the draft to take over the second position on lap 17 but slipped back to seventh on lap 26 and remained a fixture in the top 10 for the majority of the race. As multiple trucks spun in front of the No. 3 Chevrolet on lap 45, Dillon slipped by with no damage to his truck and moved into the fifth position in the process. With multiple caution flags over the next 10 circuits at the Brooklyn, Mich.-based facility, the Welcome, N.C., native was able to save fuel, but not enough to make it to the finish. Dillon relinquished his third position on lap 84 when crew chief Marcus Richmond called the Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet to pit road for fuel and right-side tires. As green-flag pit stops cycled through, Dillon was scored in the 11th position with eight laps remaining in the 100-lap affair. He was able to improve five spots, to sixth, before the checkered flag waved, marking Dillon’s 11th top-10 finish of the 2012 season.
Start – 5 Finish – 6 Laps Led – 3 Points – Tied for 1
TY DILLON QUOTE:
“It was a great points day for the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops team. Marcus (Richmond, crew chief) and the guys were solid on pit road all day. I thought we could have won today, but the fuel mileage game didn’t play out in our favor. We were good to the end, but some of the other teams took the gamble and it worked for them. I’m excited to ride this momentum into Bristol (Motor Speedway) on Wednesday.”
Coulter Earns Career-First NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Pole En Route to a Seventh-Place Result at Michigan International Speedway
Joey Coulter and the No. 22 Rip It Energy Fuel Chevrolet team earned a seventh-place finish at Michigan International Speedway after Coulter captured his career-first Camping World Truck Series pole award in the Saturday afternoon VFW 200. After the drop of the green flag, the No. 22 Chevrolet was shuffled back to the fifth position within the first lap of the 100-lap event and Coulter promptly radioed to crew chief Harold Holly that the Richard Childress Racing machine was tight in traffic. On the lap-13 caution, Holly instructed the 22-year-old driver to bring his Silverado in for a fuel-only pit stop. Restarting in the third position, the Miami Springs, Fla., native, was trapped in traffic as he reported that the No. 22 Chevrolet had acquired an extremely loose-handling condition, prompting the Holly-led crew to execute a wedge adjustment on the next pit stop to combat the ill-handling racer. Fuel mileage ultimately decided the result of the event, as the last round of pit stops occurred under green-flag conditions. With teams employing many strategies, the No. 22 team made its final pit stop on lap 84 with their RCR teammate, Ty Dillon. The two teammates drafted with each other for the remainder of the event, working their way towards the front, with Coulter ultimately taking the checkered flag in the seventh position. The 2011 Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year is currently seventh in the Camping World Truck Series driver championship point standings, 43 points behind the leaders.
Start – 1 Finish – 7 Laps Led – 0 Points – 7
JOEY COULTER QUOTE:
“The racing was awesome all weekend in Michigan. I’m disappointed in the finish as Harold (Holly, crew chief) and all of the guys on the (No.) 22 team provided me with a truck capable of winning. We have a short week before we go racing at Bristol (Motor Speedway), and we will use the momentum from our win at Pocono (Raceway) and the pole award at Michigan (International Speedway) to be competitive for the win at Bristol.”
NASCAR Nationwide Series
NAPA Auto Parts 200
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
August 18, 2012
Race Highlights:
Richard Childress Racing teammates finished fourth (Elliott Sadler), ninth (Austin Dillon) and 11th (Brendan Gaughan).
Sadler leads the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver championship point standings by 22 points over Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Sam Hornish ranks third, with Dillon fourth in the standings, trailing his RCR teammate by 35 points.
The No. 2 Chevrolet team is second in the Nationwide Series owner championship point standings, six points shy of the No. 18 team’s lead, with the No. 3 team fifth in the standings and the No. 33 team seventh.
Dillon leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings over Cole Whitt.
According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Sadler ranked seventh in categories for Speed in Traffic and Closers, gaining seven positions in the last 10 percent of the race.
Dillon made 91 Green Flag Passes, the third-most of any driver in the race, and posted his career-best road course finish in the Nationwide Series.
Gaughan ranked fifth in Average Running Position (9.123) and earned a Driver Rating of 102.6, ranking him seventh.
Justin Allgaier earned his first Nationwide Series victory of the season and was followed to the finish line by Hornish, Jacques Villeneuve, Sadler and Ron Fellows. The next scheduled Nationwide Series race is the Bristol 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, August 24. The 23rd race of the 2012 season is scheduled to be televised live on ESPN beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Elliott Sadler Notches Top-Five Finish in Final Road Course Race of Season at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
Elliott Sadler and the No. 2 OneMain Financial team scored a fourth-place finish Saturday afternoon at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal after surviving two green-white-checkered attempts in the final road course event of the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series season. After starting from the 17th position, fuel strategy came into play right away as the the OneMain Financial team pitted on lap one to top off with fuel. Back on track in the 39th position, Sadler maneuvered his way through the field and moved into the 12th position on lap 17. Crew chief Luke Lambert utilized a caution on lap 22 to bring the No. 2 Chevrolet down pit road for four tires and fuel, positioning Sadler in the 18th position to restart the race. The Emporia, Va., driver continued to work his way around the 14-turn course, and when a full-field caution came out on lap 44, Lambert stuck to the pit strategy and instructed Sadler to remain on the course as other teams opted to pit, positioning the OneMain Financial Chevrolet in the lead for the restart. After leading for six laps, Lambert called Sadler down pit road for the final green-flag pit stop of the day for four tires and fuel. This pit stop put the No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet past their fuel window for the remaining laps, and provided the team insurance for the possibility of green-white-checkered attempts. Sadler reentered the track in the 18th position and moved his way up to the ninth position with seven laps to go. A multi-car incident on lap 72 brought out the caution with the No. 2 Chevrolet in the fifth position, setting the stage for the first green-white-checker finish attempt. Green-flag action was soon halted again for another incident, moving Sadler to the second position for the second attempt. The No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet was shuffled back in traffic after the green flag dropped for the final time, and crossed the finish line in the fourth position, earning the team’s ninth top-five of the season.
Start – 17 Finish – 2 Laps Led – 6 Points – 1
ELLIOTT SADLER QUOTE:
“I am so proud of this OneMain Financial team. We fought our butts off all day, and a fourth-place finish in Montreal is pretty good. We had some trouble off restarts, but the car eventually came to me. This is always such an exciting race, and the Canadian fans are awesome. I was so glad to see so many excited fans in the stands, cheering us on. There is still a lot of racing left on the schedule. I’m really looking forward to the event at Bristol Motor Speedway next weekend. I know the OneMain Financial team is looking for a sweep there this season. Overall, this was a great weekend for our team, and we are going to keep pushing toward our goal.”
Austin Dillon and the No. 3 AdvoCare Team Score Their First Top 10 Finish in Road Course Competition
Austin Dillon and Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet team played fuel strategy to their advantage on Saturday afternoon at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, scoring a ninth-place finish in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race. Dillon earned a 19th-place starting position despite flat-spotting his tires by spinning during the final lap of his qualifying session on Friday afternoon, prompting crew chief Danny Stockman to call the young driver down pit road on lap three for four tires and fuel. The early-race, green-flag pit stop dropped dropped the AdvoCare team to 36th in the running order and put the team on a different pit strategy than a majority of their competitors. However, a series of mid-race cautions placed Dillon back on a routine pit cycle and he climbed to the 11th position by lap 32. Throughout the race, Stockman instructed Dillon to conserve fuel as team engineers Ryan Sparks and Jeff Curtis continually crunched numbers, ultimately determining the black No. 3 Chevrolet would run out of fuel if the race was extended past the advertised, 74-lap distance. Scored in the 13th position with nine cars in front of the AdvoCare Chevrolet also dangerously low on fuel, Dillon drove to pit road while under caution on lap 75. The RCR team serviced the car with one can of Sunoco Green E15 fuel and Dillon rejoined the competition in the 23rd position. He survived two additional restarts and dodged several cars in front of him who slowed on the race track as they ran out of fuel in the closing laps to post a ninth-place finish.
Start – 19 Finish – 9 Laps Led – 0 Points – 4
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE: “What an up-and-down weekend for the No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet team. I am so proud of us for rebounding from the day we had on Friday. We changed engines and transmissions on Friday and only got about a half of a lap of practice in, then we came to the track refreshed and determined on Saturday, using strategy and working as a team to get a top 10 finish on a road course. Even though Road America, Watkins Glen and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve have been a struggle for me as a rookie, I do like road course racing. I feel like I’m improving every time I go out there and I enjoy the challenge.”
Late-Race Incident Relegates Gaughan to an 11th-Place Finish in Montreal
Running the final road course race on the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule, Brendan Gaughan survived a late-race incident to bring home an 11th-place finish Saturday afternoon in the No. 33 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Starting from the 11th position at the Montreal, Quebec-based road course, Gaughan quickly moved his way up to the top 10 early in the NAPA Auto Parts 200. Throughout the event, crew chief Ernie Cope urged Gaughan to conserve fuel under caution laps to allow for a two-stop pit strategy, enabling the Las Vegas native to move into the third position by lap 62. A late-race caution on lap 70 of the scheduled 74-lap event positioned the No. 33 Chevrolet in the fourth position; however, on the lap 72 restart, Gaughan was the victim of a three-car pile-up, sending the South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet for a spin and losing valuable track position in the process. Gaughan maneuvered the black and gold Chevrolet down pit road to change four tires and repair minor damage on the car. Returning to the track, Gaughan battled to regain track position during the two green-white-checker attempts, bringing the South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet home in the 11th position.
Start – 11 Finish – 11 Laps Led – 0 Owner’s Points – 7
BRENDAN GAUGHAN QUOTE:
“Ernie and the entire No. 33 team provided me a fast South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet this weekend. It’s unfortunate we got caught up in the mess at the end, but that’s all part of road course racing. We had the lap times that we needed to finish in the front, and that’s what’s important. I’m excited to get back in the car at Kentucky Speedway in September.”
