Austin Dillon and the DOWFROST Team Head Into Playoffs with Confidence Following Richmond Race
“Wow, I think we’ve got such a good team, and the most solid group of guys who have been working hard all year to try and get more speed in our race cars. We have had some really good runs this year, including last weekend in Darlington, and Atlanta and Charlotte earlier this year. Hopefully we will continue to have good runs in the coming weeks during the Playoffs. Three of my favorite tracks are Chicago, New Hampshire and Dover, which is good news for this Dow Racing team, since they make up the entire first round. We only missed the second round by one point last year, which is why we need to take advantage of as much as we can and put ourselves further than we did in 2016.”
– Austin Dillon
Late-Race Vibration Spoils Regular Season Finale For Paul Menard and Richmond / Menards Team
“We had a really good long-run Richmond/Menards Chevrolet tonight. Unfortunately, it didn’t take off as strong at the start of a run, so we tried to gamble late in the race by staying out in the hopes of catching a caution. That strategy just didn’t work out. On the final run of the night, we ended up having a loose wheel that forced us to pit road late. I am disappointed in the way things ended, but appreciate the hard work this team has shown all season long.”
– Paul Menard
Ryan Newman Ends the Regular Season with Top-Five Finish at Richmond Raceway
“What a good run for our Caterpillar Chevrolet tonight. On the last lap, we finished in the highest spot we had been running the whole race. Early in the race, I sped on pit road. Unfortunately that put us in the back, which was then followed by a slow pit stop. Other than that, we had a great long-run car. We struggled on the short runs, but we just continued to fight, and the guys did a good job. It wasn’t easy. We’re not where we need to be, but we’ve got a chance (at the championship). We’ll continue to work at it, get our cars better, and get our pit stops better, I have to improve, by qualifying better. It takes everything. Finishing third and having four top-10 finishes in the last five races has been a been a good streak for us, but you’ve got to win. We’ve got to put ourselves in position to win a race to get that guaranteed bye to the next round in the Playoffs.”
– Ryan Newman