Event: Sprint Showdown and Sprint All-Star Race
Date: Friday, May 15, 2015 and Saturday, May 16, 2015
Venue: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Four All-Star Wins for RCR … Richard Childress Racing has won four NASCAR Sprint All-Star Races, most recently in 2007 with Kevin Harvick. Dale Earnhardt won the event in 1987, which included the legendary “Pass in the Grass.” Earnhardt also went on to claim the checkered flag in 1990 and 1993.
RCR in the NSCS … In 2,541 Sprint Cup Series starts dating back to 1969, RCR has amassed 46 pole awards, 105 wins, 466 top-five finishes and 989 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 17.8 and an average finishing position of 15.9. RCR has earned 15 total championships (six Sprint Cup Series championships with Earnhardt in 1986, ’87, ’90, ’91, ’93 and ’94, six NASCAR XFINITY Series titles, two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series titles and one ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards title) and was the first organization to win titles in NASCAR’s three national series.
RCR Kansas Rewind … In the Sprint Cup Series’ 11th race of the season at Kansas Speedway last weekend, teammates Newman, Menard and Dillon finished 10th, 18th and 22nd, respectively.
Did You Know … Life threatening injury is the No. 1 killer of kids in America. Nearly 10,000 children lose their lives every year from serious injuries, and many more are treated in the emergency room. It can happen anywhere, at any time, to any child. The Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma discovers and shares the best ways to prevent and treat severe injuries in children. The Institute funds research, education and advocacy to improve the care and treatment injured kids receive across the U.S. Visit www.SaveInjuredKids.org or find them on Facebook and Twitter to learn more.
Interactive RCR … For up-to-date news and exclusive content, visit RCR’s Twitter page – @RCRracing – along with the RCR Sprint Cup Series team Twitter pages – @RCR3ADillon, @RCR27PMenard, @RCR31RNewman, and driver Twitter pages @austindillon3 and @RyanJNewman. Information about the 15-time championship winning organization can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardChildressRacing and atwww.RCRracing.com along with official driver pages – www.facebook.com/austindillon3 , www.facebook.com/PaulMenard27 andwww.facebook.com/RyanNewmanNASCAR.
Catch the Action … Dillon and Menard are scheduled to compete in the Sprint Showdown on Friday, May 15, 2015 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which is scheduled to be televised live on FOX Sports 1 beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Channel 90. Newman is scheduled to compete in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, on Saturday, May 16, 2015 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which is scheduled to be televised live on FOX Sports 1 beginning at 7 p.m. ET and broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Dow Chevrolet SS
Race Notes and Quotes:
This Week’s Dow Chevrolet at Charlotte Motor Speedway … Austin Dillon will pilot Chassis No. 481 in the Sprint Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In March, Dillon raced this Chevrolet to a 16th-place finish at Auto Club Speedway and a 39th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This is the same Chevrolet SS that Dillon raced to a 25th-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November of 2014. That year, he also raced it to a 13th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October, a 16th-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway in September, a 22nd-place finish at Michigan International Speedway in August and a 10th-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July.
Dillon in the Sprint Showdown …. Friday night’s non-points exhibition race, which serves as a qualifying event for Saturday’s All-Star race, will mark Dillon’s second appearance in the Sprint Showdown. The winner from each of the two, 20-lap shootouts will earn a starting berth in Saturday’s All-Star race. In addition, you can vote Dillon into the Sprint All-Star Race by visiting NASCAR.com/sprintfanvote.
Last Time Around … Dillon made his first start in the Sprint Showdown last May. After earning the pole award, he led three laps but, following a pit stop for two tires, ultimately earned an eighth-place finish after developing a tight-handling condition.
Welcome, Dow … Returning primary sponsor of the No. 3 Chevrolet SS, Dow enters its second season with RCR and driver Austin Dillon. Together, both teams embrace the power of science, technology and safety as RCR tests Dow products under the most strenuous conditions. Dow also drives innovation to help address many of the world’s most challenging problems, bringing a broad range of sustainable products and solutions to customers in nearly 180 countries with more than 6,000 products manufactured across the globe. See our YouTube video “Dawn to Dusk” to see how Dow products touch the lives of everyone…from dawn to dusk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSspiG8DkOs). More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.
Cast Your Vote … Fans have the opportunity to vote Dillon into the Sprint All-Star Race with the Sprint Fan Vote. You can vote for Dillon online athttp://www.nascar.com/SprintFanVote. Voting is unlimited. Fans can also vote on their mobile devices by using the NASCAR Mobile application. Votes from the application and Facebook / Twitter count twice.
In the Rear View … Last week at Kansas Speedway, Dillon earned a 22nd-place finish in the Dow Chevrolet after falling one lap down when the caution flag was displayed during a routine pit stop for fuel in the closing laps. He now ranks 25th in the driver point standings leading into the next points-paying race on the schedule, the Coca-Cola 600, which airs live on FOX on Sunday, May 24 at 6 p.m. Eastern Time.
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
What are your thoughts on racing in the Sprint Showdown?
“It’s two 20-lap heat races and it will be a wild one, I’m sure. Everybody wants to get into the Sprint All-Star race so they have a shot at earning that million dollar pay out. It means a lot to our team and our guys. We’ll be fighting hard for every spot we can in the Sprint Showdown and see what we can get.”
Paul Menard, No. 27 Serta / Menards Chevrolet SS
Race Notes and Quotes
This Week’s Serta/Menards Chevrolet at Charlotte Motor Speedway … The Richard Childress Racing team will utilize chassis No. 487 this weekend in the Sprint Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This Chevrolet SS was utilized earlier this year at Auto Club Speedway (Start: 11/ Finish: 4) and Atlanta Motor Speedway (Start: 13/ Finish: 13).
Sprint All-Star/Showdown Stats … Menard has seven-career Sprint Showdown starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His best start of third came in 2011 and best finish of fourth came in 2010 and 2013. The Wisconsin native has an average start of 11th and finish of 13th in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race qualifying event. In 2012, Menard competed in the Sprint All-Star race after qualifying for the event by winning the Brickyard 400 (2011). He finished the non-points race 16th after starting in the seventh position.
Rookie Stripe … Justin Alexander has impressive stats in his first year as a full-time Sprint Cup Series crew chief. In 16 races with Menard, Alexander has led the team to 12 top-20 and 10 top-15 starts. He’s also collected 11 top-20, nine top-15 and three top-five finishes.
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Where Do You Stand … Menard currently sits 12th in the Sprint Cup Series driver point standings, just seven points away from 10th, after finishing 18th at Kansas Speedway.
Last Time in the Sprint Showdown … Menard started last year’s Sprint Showdown from the sixth position and quickly noted a tight-handling condition. A two-tire pit stop lined Menard up fourth to start the final 20 laps in the second segment. The second-place driver spun his tires on the restart, putting him at a disadvantage to move forward. Menard was able to regain his position in the top 10 and crossed the finish line ninth.
Vote for Paul … Fans have the opportunity to vote Menard into the Sprint All-Star Race with the Sprint Fan Vote. You can vote for Menard online at http://www.nascar.com/SprintFanVote. Voting is unlimited. Fans can also vote on their mobile devices by using the NASCAR Mobile application. Votes from the application and Facebook / Twitter count twice.
PAUL MENARD QUOTE:
Is the Sprint Showdown and NASCAR Sprint All-Star race weekend a fun break for teams?
“The (Sprint) Showdown and All-Star weekend is always a good one since there are no points on the line. A lot of families come out to watch during the Charlotte race weekends, so hopefully we can put the Serta/Menards Chevrolet into the All-Star race and put on a good show. We’ve had fast cars this year, especially at mile-and-a-half tracks so hopefully we can race our way into the Sprint All-Star race with no problem. We’ll just go out there and race hard, have fun and gather some information for the Coca-Cola 600.”
Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar / Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS
Race Notes and Quotes:
This Week’s Cat/Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS at Charlotte Motor Speedway … Ryan Newman will drive chassis No. 461 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This will be the first time this season the No. 31 Chevrolet team will utilize the car in competition. Back on April 13, this car participated in a three-day test at Kentucky Speedway.
Newman in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race… Newman is eligible to race in the sport’s $1 million exhibition event thanks to his 2002 All-Star win during his rookie season, a feat only accomplished by one other rookie driver. Saturday’s event marks his 14th-straight appearance in the non-points race. This year, the race format will consist of a total of five segments: four 25-lap segments, with the average finish of the first four segments determining the order cars will enter pit road for a mandatory four-tire pit stop following the fourth segment. Running order ties will be broken by the finish of the fourth segment. The order of the cars returning to the track following the mandatory pit stop determines the starting order for a final winner-take-all 10-lap segment.
About Caterpillar … For nearly 90 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. Customers turn to Caterpillar to help them develop infrastructure, energy and natural resource assets. Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. The company principally operates through its three product segments – Resource Industries, Construction Industries and Energy & Transportation – and also provides financing and related services through its Financial Products segment. For more information, visit caterpillar.com. To connect with us on social media, visit caterpillar.com/social-media.
Engineered to Amaze … Detroit-based Quicken Loans Inc. is the nation’s second largest retail home mortgage lender. The company closed $140 billion of mortgage volume across all 50 states in 2013-2014. Quicken Loans generates loan production from web centers located in Detroit, Cleveland and Scottsdale, Arizona. The company also operates a centralized loan processing facility in Detroit, as well as its San Diego-based One Reverse Mortgage unit. Quicken Loans ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction for Primary Mortgage Origination” in the United States by J.D. Power for the past five consecutive years, 2010 – 2014, and highest in customer satisfaction among all mortgage servicers in 2014.
Quicken Loans was named among the top-30 companies on FORTUNE magazine’s annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the last 12 consecutive years, ranking No. 12 in 2015. It has been recognized as one of Computerworld magazine’s ‘100 Best Places to Work in IT’ the past ten years, ranking No. 1 in 2014, 2013, 2007, 2006 and 2005. The company moved its headquarters to downtown Detroit in 2010, and now more than 10,000 of its nearly 12,000 team members work in the city’s urban core. For more information about Quicken Loans, please visit QuickenLoans.com, on Twitter at @QLnews, and on Facebook at Facebook.com/QuickenLoans.
Get to the Points … After finishing 10th at Kansas Speedway, Newman moved up to 13th in the championship point standings and is just eight markers out of the top 10. In the first 11 Cup Series events in 2015, the No. 31 team has earned four top-five and seven top-10 finishes.
Last Time Around … One lap into the fourth segment, Newman dodged an accident triggered by three cars. When the race returned to green on lap 67, the No. 31 driver climbed to eighth but lost track position when he made contact with the wall on lap 69. Less than 10 laps later, a tire cut down ending Newman’s night and resulted in a 16th-place finish.
Rescue Ranch Open House… Come out to Rescue Ranch on May 18, 20 or 22 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. to see the facility, meet the animals and get a glimpse of the facility’s beautiful 87 acres! Guests can tour Rescue Ranch every 30 minutes. Daily raffle items along with Rescue Ranch and Ryan Newman merchandise are for sale. Hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and Coca-Cola products will also be available for purchase. For details, visit ResueRanch.com.
RYAN NEWMAN QUOTE:
Have you seen the new segment changes they’ve made for the upcoming All-Star Race? Do you like the All-Star Race because it’s sort of like the old short track heat races that you came from?
“Yeah, but they change it every year it seems like. And then that changes a little bit of the perspective of it. The year I won it, they eliminated part of the field. It just changes everything. And then they inverted us and we went from running, I think, 10th or 12th to leading it and then we led the rest of it. In the grand scheme of things, what I like about the All-Star Race is it gives us more laps on the track before the bigger race, the Coca-Cola 600. But the All-Star race is pretty special, no doubt.”
