RCR Post Race Report — NNS Bristol Motor Speedway
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Food City 250
Bristol Motor Speedway
August 24, 2012
Race Highlights:
Richard Childress Racing teammates finished fourth (Austin Dillon), fifth (Elliott Sadler) and 15th (Kevin Harvick).
Sadler leads the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver championship point standings by 19 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, 13 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, Dillon led the Closers category, advancing five positions in the last 10 percent of the race.
Dillon and Sadler spent 100 percent of the 250-lap race running in the top 15.
Sadler led the category for Fastest Drivers Early in a Run (119.505 mph) and ranked third in Fastest Drivers Late in a Run (116.744).
Sadler and Harvick maintained the third and fourth-best Average Running Positions throughout the race, with Sadler maintaining an average running place of 3.602 and Harvick a 4.476.
Harvick led a race-leading 98 laps, while Sadler led 11 laps.
Harvick had the fastest Speed in Traffic (117.450 mph).
Combined, the RCR entries posted the Fastest Lap of the Race for 67 circuits with Sadler (28), Harvick (27) and Dillon (12).
Joey Logano earned his sixth Nationwide Series victory of the season and was followed to the finish line by Stenhouse, Kyle Busch, Dillon and Sadler.
The next scheduled Nationwide Series race is the NRA American Warriors 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 1. The 24th race of the 2012 season is scheduled to be televised live on ESPN2 beginning at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Elliott Sadler and No. 2 OneMain Financial Team Earn Top-Five Finish Under the Lights at Bristol Motor Speedway
Elliott Sadler and the No. 2 OneMain Financial team notched a fifth-place Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Nationwide Series event. Starting the Food City 250 from the seventh position, Sadler quickly moved into the fourth spot by lap 14 and continued to knock off positions until the OneMain Financial Chevrolet took over the lead on lap 39. Happy with the handling on the No. 2 Chevrolet when the caution was displayed on lap 44, Sadler asked for no changes during the team’s first pit stop and the OneMain Financial team filled the Chevrolet with fuel. The Emporia, Va., driver restarted in the fourth spot on lap 53 and continued to take care of the equipment, running lap times faster than the leader. When the caution flag was displayed on lap 113, crew chief Luke Lambert called Sadler down pit road for four tires and fuel. The quick pit stop positioned the OneMain Financial Chevrolet in the fourth position for the restart, allowing Sadler to continue to battle around the 0.533-mile bullring as the laps ticked away in the 250-lap event. The caution flag was shown once again on lap 242 with the No. 2 Chevrolet in the fourth position. As the field took the green flag for the final two laps of the event, another competitor made contact with the rear bumper of the OneMain Financial Chevrolet, sending the Richard Childress Racing driver back in traffic. Sadler was able to save the car from any damage and crossed the finish line in the fifth position for the team’s 10th top-five finish of the season.
Start – 7 Finish – 5 Laps Led – 11 Points – 1
ELLIOTT SADLER QUOTE:
“Not the finish that we wanted or deserved tonight at Bristol (Motor Speedway). The No. 6 car got into me on the last restart, and I am just glad that I was able to save it. I really wanted to race that No. 18 car for the win there at the end. I’m just proud of this OneMain Financial team. Man, we had a fast car this weekend. It’s all about track position at this new Bristol Motor Speedway. There are not many lanes to pass. It was a frustrating night to finish fifth, which means we have a pretty good race team.”
Austin Dillon and the No. 3 American Ethanol Team Race to a Top-Five Finish in Bristol Motor Speedway Night Race
Austin Dillon drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet to a fourth-place finish under the lights at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, securing his career-best finish in NASCAR Nationwide Series competition at the 0.533-mile short track. Dillon started the 250-lap race from the fourth position and never fell below 11th in the running order, surviving multiple cautions for on-track incidents and restart positions in the slow-moving bottom lane. The 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion was running in the ninth position when the caution flag was displayed at lap 113, prompting crew chief Danny Stockman to direct his driver down pit road for routine service. After receiving four Goodyear tires and Sunoco Green E15 fuel, Dillon restarted the race in the eighth position on lap 118 and spent the remaining 132 laps racing for position while conserving fuel. Scored in the sixth position for a restart with three laps remaining, Dillon avoided spinning the black No. 3 Chevrolet as his car became loose on the bottom groove of the racetrack as he made a pass for position and was able to climb to fourth position for the race’s conclusion. The fourth-place finish marks Dillon’s 12th top five of the 2012 Nationwide Series season.
Start – 4 Finish – 4 Laps Led – 0 Points – 4
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
“Our American Ethanol Chevrolet was really good on the long runs today. We just couldn’t get going on the bottom on the restarts. Everybody piles up on the outside line. Bristol Motor Speedway has basically been flip-flopped. The racing groove used to be at the bottom, and now it’s at the top. When you’re all in one line running and someone holds you up it really hurts you. At the end I was racing with Trevor Bayne and Kasey Kahne was behind me. I got a run and got under Trevor to pass him but couldn’t clear him. Then I got loose going into turn one and Trevor turned. It’s just part of it. Somebody was going to get loose right there at the end. It was just a freight train at the top. It’s pretty wild. I think Bristol Motor Speedway officials got what they wanted with this race tonight.”
Kevin Harvick Finishes 15th in the Nationwide Series Race at Bristol Motor Speedway
Kevin Harvick and the No. 33 Hunt Brothers Pizza team finished 15th in Friday night’s Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway after running short on fuel during the final laps of the NASCAR Nationwide Series event. The Bakersfield, Calif., native started the 250-lap affair from the 13th position and worked his way toward the front of the field, moving into the top five on lap 40. As the race progressed, Harvick remained content with the overall handling of the No. 33 Chevrolet, leading crew chief Ernie Cope to call the two-time Nationwide Series champion down pit road for two-tire pit stops on laps 46 and 116. After his second visit to pit road, Harvick returned to the track in the lead, where he would remain until lap 216 when he slid back into the second position. As the 250-lap race neared the end, Harvick drove down pit road for an unexpected pit stop after the Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet ran out of fuel with 20 laps remaining. The Richard Childress Racing driver returned to the track in the 16th position, one lap down to the leader. During the final laps, Harvick returned to the lead lap and ultimately crossed the finish line in the 15th position.
Start – 13 Finish – 15 Laps Led – 98 Owner’s Points – 7
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:
“This was a tough night for the entire Hunt Brothers Pizza team. We had a great car today, just didn’t get the finish to show for it.”
