Richard Childress Racing in the Bluegrass State … In 19 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kentucky Speedway, Richard Childress Racing holds an average starting position of 16.6 and an average finishing position of 17.4, completing 5,054 of the contested 5,073 laps (99.6 percent).
RCR in the MENCS … In 2,789 Monster Energy Cup Series starts dating back to 1969, RCR has amassed 48 pole awards,107 wins, 481 top-five finishes and 1,041 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 17.7 and an average finishing position of 16.1. RCR has earned 15 total championships (six Monster Energy NASCAR 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.
3 on 3 Basketball … Austin and Ty Dillon are hosting the 3rd Annual 3-on-3 Celebrity Basketball Tournament presented by The Dow Chemical Company to benefit the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma at Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C., on Wednesday, July 26. The 16-team, double-elimination tournament will start at 3 p.m. and the final game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. For more information visit https://saveinjuredkids.org/basketball/.
Interactive RCR … For up-to-date news and exclusive content, visit RCR’s corporate Twitter page – @RCRracing – along with the RCR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team Twitter page – @RCRCup, 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 at www.RCRracing.com along with official driver pages – http://www.facebook.com/austindillon3, www.facebook.com/PaulMenard27 and www.facebook.com/RyanNewmanNASCAR.
Catch the Action … The Kentucky 400 at Kentucky Speedway is scheduled to be televised live on Saturday, July 8 on NBCSN beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.
This Week’s Dow Chevrolet at Kentucky Speedway … Dillon has made four previous Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kentucky Speedway, earning his best finish of 16th in 2014 and 2016.
Dillon in the Bluegrass State … Kentucky Speedway is the site of Dillon’s career-first win in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. The 2013 XFINITY Series Champion earned back-to-back XFINITY Series wins at the 1.5-mile track in 2012, sweeping both races and earning the pole award for both the June and September events.
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Meet Dillon … Dillon is scheduled to make an appearance at the AAA Stage in the Kentucky Speedway Fan Zone on Saturday, July 8 at 3:55 p.m. ET.
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:
What was the big take away from last year at Kentucky Speedway knowing that you are going in again with another fresh coat of asphalt?
“Well, we got a tire test there this year, so I’m looking forward to going back there. Kentucky is one of those places I’ve always been pretty decent at and it’s still the same track as far as the banking and stuff goes. We will look forward to Kentucky as one of those places that we feel like we can run well at. I think brakes are going to be important there.”
Last year could you feel the extra couple of degrees of banking that was added to Kentucky Speedway?
“You definitely can. I noticed it more at the test this year going back because I still had the old Kentucky in my mind, but it’s a faster (Turns) 1 and 2 for sure.”
This Week’s Sylvania / Menards Chevrolet at Kentucky Speedway … Menard has competed in six Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series events at Kentucky Speedway since his first start in 2011. He has an average finish of 16.5 and an average finish of 19.0.
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PAUL MENARD QUOTES:
With the recent repave, do you like Kentucky Speedway now or the way it was before the new surface and reconfiguration?
“I’ve yet to meet a repave that I’ve enjoyed more than the previous. Kentucky came in better than everybody expected it to last year. So, it should be better this year. Compared to most of these repaves, Kentucky actually had two grooves last year, so it should only get better. It should just be an evolution of the racing surface.”
Are you a believer in dragging tires or adding VHT to the racing surface to add more grip?
“The tire dragging is good. That process helps season the track and lay rubber down. I’m not as much of a fan of the VHT being applied to the racing surface.”
This Week’s No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet at Kentucky Speedway … Newman will make his 567th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start when the Series competes at Kentucky Speedway. In six Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series events at the 1.5-mile track, Newman owns three top-five and three top-10 finishes. The South Bend, Ind., native has an average start of 12.8 and average finish of 13.0.
Winner, Winner … Newman punched his ticket to the MENCS playoffs with a victory at Phoenix Raceway on March 19th in the No. 31 Grainger Chevrolet. The win equates to the driver’s 18th-career Cup Series victory and RCR’s 106th.
Featured Caterpillar Dealer …
Whayne Supply Company is the featured Cat dealer for this weekend’s race at Kentucky Speedway.
Whayne Supply Company is one of the oldest and largest Caterpillar dealers in the U.S., based in Louisville, Kentucky. Whayne Supply Company has 16 locations across Kentucky and Southern Indiana serving the construction, mining, highway, Ag and power industries.
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Meet Newman … On Thursday, Newman is scheduled to sign autographs on behalf of Coca-Cola Racing at 5 p.m. ET. It’s taking place at the Kroger located on Hwy 227 in Carrollton.
RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES:
What are your thoughts heading into Kentucky?
“Kentucky is one of those tracks that I have mixed feelings about. Austin tested there earlier this year and with another fresh coat of asphalt, we’ll just have to wait and see how it goes. I’ve never been a fan of its configuration but it is what it is. Last year, we had one of our best finishes of the season so anything can happen, I guess. We’ll just wait and see how it goes.”
Based on your previous experience at the track, what is the hardest thing about Kentucky Speedway?
“If they didn’t move the wall then the hardest part of Kentucky has always been turning into Turn 3. It is usually loose into Turn 3.”
Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR XFINITY Series at Kentucky Speedway … In 55 Series starts at the 1.5-mile speedway, RCR has captured four victories with drivers Kevin Harvick (2001), Austin Dillon (2012, twice) and Brendan Gaughan (2014). The Welcome, North Carolina, organization has completed 10,798 of the 10,918 laps (98.9 percent) that they have competed in. RCR has accumulated four pole awards, 22 top-five finishes, 37 top-10 finishes, led 973 laps and averages a starting position of 9.8 and finishing position of 9.1.
Daytona Review … Brendan Gaughan was the highest RCR finisher in ninth place, while Ben Kennedy, Brandon Jones, Ty Dillon and Daniel Hemric finished 16th, 19th, 21st and 32nd, respectively, at Daytona International Speedway.
The Points … All three RCR XFINITY Series full-time drivers remain in the top 20 of the driver point standings as the series heads to Kentucky Speedway for the 16th event of the season. Daniel Hemric is currently fifth, Brendan Gaughan is 13th and Brandon Jones is 18th. The No. 2 and No. 3 RCR teams are seventh and ninth in the owner point standings, respectively. Daniel Hemric is currently second in the XFINITY Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year point standings.
Catch the Action … Coverage of this week’s Alsco 300 at Kentucky Speedway will be televised live on Friday, July 7, beginning at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. It will also be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.
This Week’s Richmond / Menards Chevrolet Camaro at Kentucky Speedway … Menard has competed in six NASCAR XFINITY Series events at the 1.5-mile track. He has two top-five and four top-10 finishes, with his best start of third coming in June 2014 and a finish of fourth occurring during that same event. The Wisconsin native has an average start of 8.5 and an average finish of 11.7.
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PAUL MENARD QUOTE:
Since these cars are so different, what do you learn from the XFINITY Series cars that you can translate to your Cup car?
“The biggest thing you can learn from running the XFINITY Series race that applies to Cup car is tire pressures and how low you can get or how high. Different tire compounds want different things in terms of tire pressures and cambers. You also learn what grooves work when. Kentucky will be a good test for when that middle groove starts working and coming in, and if that translates to the Cup car. Laps always help just to figure everything out.”
This Week’s Rheem Chevrolet at Kentucky Speedway … This weekend, the NASCAR XFINITY Series makes its first of two trips to Kentucky Speedway in 2017. Ty Dillon has six previous NXS starts at the mile-and-a-half track. He secured the pole in 2014 and has scored four top-10 finishes, with his highest finish of second place coming in 2015. He has led laps in five of those six NXS races, totaling 270 laps led. Dillon has also found success in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in Kentucky. In his four series starts there, he scored one win in 2013 and has three top-five finishes. Dillon will also make his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series start at Kentucky Speedway this weekend. Having led a lap in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series in Kentucky, Dillon has led a total of 300 laps.
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TY DILLON QUOTES:
After the repave, how do you like how the track has come in?
“We were very successful on the old surface at Kentucky, but we did come back in the XFINITY Series last year, and I was able to lead laps and still find a good rhythm around the track. Last September I was running really well until Erik Jones and I got into each other on the last restart and it really hurt our Chase. Even with that though, I really liked the repave. The more years that we get on the new surface, the better it will be.”
What are your thoughts on the tire dragging that NASCAR has been doing on the recently repaved tracks?
“I think it makes the race more competitive when you go to these places with new pavement. There’s always one main line that’s dominant, and if you get out of line it’s kind of dusty because rubber has never been laid down there. If they can lay it down from the middle of the track to as close to the wall as they can in Kentucky, I think the fans will see a great race.”
This Week’s Alsco Chevrolet Camaro at Kentucky Speedway … Hemric will be making his first NASCAR XFINITY Series start at Kentucky Speedway during this weekend’s Alsco 300. Hemric has two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at the 1.5-mile track, with an average starting position of 7.5 and an average finish of 10.5. He started fourth and finished third in last year’s NCWTS event at Kentucky Speedway.
Listen In … Hemric will join the Motor Racing Network broadcast for Thursday night’s Camping World Truck Series race. The driver of the No. 21 Alsco Chevrolet will help call the race from the broadcast booth, starting at 7 p.m. ET local time.
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Rearview Mirror: Daytona … Hemric started from the fifth position for his second XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway and remained at the front of the field for much of the event. Racing hard in the draft, Hemric was able to earn stage points by finishing fourth in Stage 1. Despite having a fast No. 21 Blue Gate Bank Chevrolet, Hemric was involved in the ‘Big One’ with only a handful of laps remaining. The damage was too extensive to continue and the team ended the day in the 32nd position.
DANIEL HEMRIC QUOTES:
Kentucky Speedway was repaved and reconfigured a year ago. What did you learn there in the Camping World Truck Series that you can apply to your first XFINITY Series race there this year?
“I really learned what the character of a repave is. That Camping World Truck Series race was the first time I had raced on a surface that was redone. We were the first vehicles to try out that new surface last year. It made it interesting to see how everybody got more and more gutsy every time you went out. You kept trying to find that edge of how much lack of stability you had on corner entry. I feel like each track we go to I have two or three pages of notes to work off of, but I feel like I have about five pages of notes to work off because it was so different to get used to with the new surface. Historically, my crew chief, Danny Stockman, ran really well on the old surface at Kentucky. Our RCR cars are always fast at Kentucky, and even were last year after the repave. We’ll take the little things I learned in the truck and try to apply it to the No. 21 Alsco Chevrolet.”
This Week’s AAA Chevrolet Camaro at Kentucky Speedway … Brandon Jones has three starts in the NASCAR XFINITY Series at Kentucky Speedway, one of which resulted in a top-five finish. The 20-year-old driver also has two top-10 finishes in two starts at the 1.5-mile track in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, along with two starts in the ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards.
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Live on Facebook … Catch Brandon Jones live on his Facebook Channel (facebook.com/brandonjonesracing) beginning at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 6, as he checks in from the garage at Kentucky Speedway and chats with members of the No. 33 team about the upcoming race weekend.
BRANDON JONES QUOTE:
The first Kentucky Speedway race is up this week. The track had a new configuration last year. What were your biggest takeaways from those races?
“That was a tough track last year with the new surface and configuration. It is much faster with the repave. I’m hoping it will have gotten some heat soaks on it by the time we return to help put some character back into the surface. Last year you could also clearly feel the banking differences between Turns 1 and 2 versus Turns 3 and 4. Turns 3 and 4 fall off a little more in the corner, which makes that end of the track the one we need to be more careful with as drivers. It can get tricky. But Kentucky has been a good track for me in the past. I had a lot of speed there with RCR a couple of years ago and finished fifth, which ended up being our career-best XFINITY Series finish so far.”
This Week’s South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet at Kentucky Speedway … In nine NASCAR XFINITY Series starts at Kentucky Speedway, Brendan Gaughan has accumulated four top-five and eight top-10 finishes. The Las Vegas native earned his second career XFINITY Series victory at Kentucky Speedway in September 2014. Gaughan has led 48 laps, averages a starting position of 9.0, finishing position of 5.8 and has completed 99.9 percent of the laps competed.
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Happy Birthday, Brendan! … Gaughan will celebrate his 42nd birthday on Monday, July 10.
BRENDAN GAUGHAN QUOTES:
We know you weren’t a big fan of the Kentucky Speedway repave last year. How did the track drive last year?
“Fast. It drove very fast. It is an extremely fast mile-and-a-half right now. I did talk to the guys at Kentucky Speedway. They had a rough winter. There was a lot of inclement weather with snow and rain. They do such a good job repaving tracks now, but hopefully the weather will help to age the surface. They also plan to do the tire dragging again, so hopefully it will widen out to a third groove.”
You went to Victory Lane in 2014. What is your favorite part of Kentucky Speedway?
“Turns 3 and 4 are one of my favorite corners in the sport. I just love that flat old school corner. The one they used to call the cookie cutter corner. It is so much fun with all the grip you have. The Goodyear tire is just screaming at you trying to hold on through the corner.”
