Richard Childress Racing’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series history at Talladega Superspeedway … Richard Childress began his driving career at Talladega Superspeedway in 1969 and is in a tie for the most all-time car owner victories at the storied Alabama-based race track with 12 wins. Dale Earnhardt visited Victory Lane nine times, while Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer swept the 2010 events at the 2.66-mile superspeedway. Bowyer added to the Welcome, N.C.-based organization’s total by claiming RCR’s 100th Cup Series win when NASCAR’s senior series visited the facility in October 2011. In 172 starts, RCR also has four pole awards, 42 top-five, 69 top-10 finishes and has led 1,843 laps of competition
RCR in the MENCS … In 2,864 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts dating back to 1969, RCR has amassed 48 pole awards,108 wins, 487 top-five finishes and 1,054 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 17.8 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.
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 and www.facebook.com/RyanNewmanNASCAR.
Catch the Action … The Geico 500 will be televised live Sunday, April 29 beginning at 2 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
This Week’s Dow Scooper Cat Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Talladega Superspeedway … In nine Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Talladega, Dillon earned his best finish at the 2.66-mile track in April 2016 when he finished third. His best finish in four NASCAR Xfinity Series Starts is also third. He has two starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, earning a best finish of seventh in October 2011.
Scooper Cat brand litter with Dow’s PRIVENTZ™ Technology … Scooper Cat with Ammonia Blockers™ brand litter was recently launched with Dow’s PRIVENTZ™ Ammonia Prevention Technology. Most cat litter products available today merely mask or neutralize ammonia once it’s formed, but Dow’s PRIVENTZ™ Technology doesn’t hide ammonia with fragrances. Instead, it helps to block the formation of ammonia by preventing conditions necessary to create the chemical in the first place.
The cat litter’s mascot, a super-hero caped feline, signals to consumers that the product helps to fight hazardous conditions with super hero strength to minimize ammonia exposure to cats. Dillon is adopting the Scooper Cat superhero cat for race weekend in honor of National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day on April 30. Learn more at ScooperCat.com.
Questions, Please … Dillon is scheduled to address the media in the Infield Media Center at Talladega Superspeedway on Friday at 2:45 p.m.
Meet Dillon … Dillon is scheduled to make an appearance at the Scooper Cat display at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
How much more confidence do you have going into Talladega coming off the Daytona 500 win?
“I always feel like you’ve got something when you win on a certain type of track. Yeah, we will go to Talladega with a similar racecar that we took to the Daytona 500 with and work hard. We know how to win them now, so we’ve just got to stay focused and see if we can play the same kind of chess match that we did the first time around at Daytona and make it happen at Talladega.”
This Week’s Caterpillar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Talladega Superspeedway … Ryan Newman will make his 594th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start when he competes in the second restrictor-plate race of the season at Talladega Superspeedway. In total, he owns six top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in 32 starts. The South Bend, Indiana native has an average start of 14.3 and average finish of 19.7. His best start of second came in the fall of 2012, while his best finish of second took place in the fall of last season in the Caterpillar Chevrolet. When it comes to championship points in the last 10 events at Talladega, Newman ranks eighth in most points earned.
Season 26 in NASCAR … Richard Childress Racing is amid its 10th season with Caterpillar on board the No. 31 Camaro ZL1 and Cat Racing’s 26th in NASCAR. For more than 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. With 2017 sales and revenues of $45.462 billion, 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 primary segments – Construction Industries, Resource 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.
Featured Caterpillar Dealer … Thompson Tractor Company is the featured Cat dealer for this weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Thompson Tractor Company, Inc. is the full-line Caterpillar dealer for Alabama and northwest Florida and the Hyundai lift truck dealer for most of Georgia. The company specializes in the sales and service of Caterpillar products, including earthmoving, construction, forestry and material handling equipment, as well as diesel engines used for electric power generation, on-highway and marine propulsion applications. Headquartered in Birmingham, AL, Thompson Tractor provides a diverse array of solutions to their customers in its service territory through four divisions: Thompson Tractor Company, Thompson Power Systems, Thompson Lift Truck Company, and The Thompson Cat Rental Store. Thompson has 25 locations and the South’s largest fleet of field service vehicles to best serve their customers. For all your equipment and product support needs, please visit thompsontractor.com or stop by your nearest Thompson location.
Ready. Set. Go … Spay Neuter Charlotte, Rescue Ranch, and Piedmont Animal Rescue are partnering to support Animals in the Piedmont of NC. This program promotes a three-race 5K series with proceeds being split among all three non-profit animal welfare organizations. The races are being held in Statesville, Mooresville, and Mecklenburg County. Sign up to run with your pet at the next event on May 19. To Register: .
RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES:
Besides your own teammates, name a driver you would like to draft with at Talladega?
“Really you need to draft with someone you trust, not necessarily to help push you or pull you or anything like that, you need to have a steady feel or a confidence builder around you to know that you’re likely not going to get caught up in a crash that’s of your doing, your partner or partners doing so realistically it’s not the drafting of the old or the drafting of the new. It’s about how much confidence you have in the draft.”
Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Talladega Superspeedway … In 45 Series starts at the 2.66-mile speedway, RCR has accumulated four pole awards, nine top-five and 16 top-10 finishes, led 218 laps and averages a starting position of 8.1 and finishing position of 19.2. RCR has completed 4,270 laps of the 5,231 (81.6 percent) that they have competed.
Richmond Review … Matt Tifft was the highest RCR finisher in fourth in the Richmond 250 last Friday at Richmond Raceway. Jeb Burton finished 12th and Daniel Hemric placed 29th in the event.
Dash 4 Cash … This weekend’s Xfinity Series race at Richmond marks the third of four Dash 4 Cash events this season. Matt Tifft qualified for this week’s Dash 4 Cash bonus of $100,000, having been one of the four highest-finishing Xfinity Series regulars at Richmond Raceway. The top four series regulars from Talladega Superspeedway will qualify for next week’s final round of Dash 4 Cash at Dover International Speedway.
The Points … Daniel Hemric and Matt Tifft currently sit fourth and 10th, respectively, in the Xfinity Series driver point standings. The No. 3 RCR team is currently 13th in the series owner point standings.
Social Media … To keep up with the latest updates from RCR’s Xfinity Series teams, follow @RCRracing and @RCRNXS on Twitter. Updates can also be found via RCR’s Facebook Page and Instagram (@RCRracing).
Catch the Action … Coverage of this week’s Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega Superspeedway will be televised live on Saturday, April 28, beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on FOX. It will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.
This Week’s KC Motorgroup Chevrolet Camaro at Talladega Superspeedway …
Matt Tifft has two previous NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Talladega Superspeedway, during which he has collected one pole award and two top-10 finishes. His highest finish of sixth came during last year’s event. The 21-year-old driver also has two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts and one top-10 finish at the track. Tifft has completed 99.5 percent of laps he has attempted at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.
Dash 4 Cash … With a fourth-place finish at Richmond Raceway last week, Tifft has qualified for the third round of Xfinity’s Dash 4 Cash and has a shot at the $100,000 bonus this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. If Tifft can finish higher than Christopher Bell, Elliot Sadler and Austin Cindric, he will take home the bonus money.
About KC Motorgroup … KC Motorgroup Ltd. (KCMG) is an international motorsport services group established in 2007 by Dr. Paul Ip. The group, with its headquarters located in Hong Kong, has operations reaching across Europe and the Asia Pacific region. KCMG operates closely with many partner companies and racing organizations around the world to provide unrivaled Motorsport Services, Equipment, Team Management and quality distributorship in the Automotive Industry. 2013 saw KCMG become the first Chinese outfit ever to race at the world famous Le Mans 24 Hours in its 90-year history and participate in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The Hong Kong-based team later on took an historic LMP2 victory at Le Mans and was Vice Champion in FIA WEC in 2015. With years in the motorsport industry, KCMG has been involved in a wide range of Formula, GT and Le Mans prototype endurance racing series across the globe. For more information please visit www.kcmg.com.hk or email info@kcmg.hk
Meet Tifft … Fans have the opportunity to meet Tifft when he participates alongside his RCR teammates Daniel Hemric and Shane Lee in the Xfinity Series autograph session on Friday, April 27, beginning at 4:15 p.m. local time at the Legends Hospitality Village. On Saturday, April 28, Tifft will make an appearance at the Xfinity Zone with his fellow Dash 4 Cash competitors beginning at 12:10 p.m. local time. While you’re in Talladega, make sure you pick up Surface Sunscreen, available at any Fanatics location, for fans.
Meet the Press … Tune in as Tifft meets with NASCAR media members on Friday, April 27, at 2:30 p.m. local time as part of Xfinity’s Dash 4 Cash media availability. The media session will be livestreamed via nascar.com/presspass.
MATT TIFFT QUOTES:
This week you’ve qualified for Xfinity’s Dash 4 Cash and have a shot at the $100,000 bonus. How does it feel to make the cut for that as we head to Talladega Superspeedway?
“It’s a huge accomplishment for everyone on this No. 2 team to earn a spot in Xfinity’s Dash 4 Cash this weekend. We had a consistent weekend from start to finish at Richmond, which helped us earn our spot. This is my first time ever qualifying for the program, so I’m excited to have the opportunity to go after that $100,000 bonus. This is such a unique program that Xfinity puts on that really helps highlight the series regulars. I can’t thank them enough for the chance to participate. Plus this year, they’ve added the $10,000 bonus to the local community in the Dash 4 Cash winner’s name. That’s huge and something I’d love to be part of. This is a chance for us to shine out on the track but also see where we stack up in the competition since it’s another race without any Cup drivers in it. It’s almost like a Playoff preview for us.”
How does the racing at Talladega Superspeedway compare to the racing we saw earlier this year at Daytona International Speedway?
“At Talladega Superspeedway, we definitely have more room to work with other people and race on than when we race at Daytona. You have a lot more lane choices, which I think helps it put on a really good show. It’ll be a different Talladega this time around though. We won’t have the Joey Logano’s or Kasey Kahne’s out there leading the packs like we have in years past. Veterans in the series like Elliot Sadler are going to be who you’ll have to watch for and potentially try to work with. I’ve got a good couple of teammates in Daniel Hemric and Shane Lee to work with as well. Luckily for me, I’ve been around restrictor-plate racing for a while now, so I feel a little more confident than in years past heading into these types of races. It’s hard for me to ever feel completely comfortable with this type of racing, but I’m heading in to it this weekend the most comfortable I’ve ever been with it.”
This Week’s Childress Vineyards Chevrolet Camaro at Talladega Superspeedway … Shane Lee will be making his second start for RCR this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway after debuting with a strong run at Bristol Motor Speedway earlier this month. Lee has two starts at the 2.66-mile superspeedway in the ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards, earning a fifth-place finish during the 2017 event. Lee has completed every lap at the track that he has attempted.
About Childress Vineyards … Childress Vineyards is a premier winery located at the southern gateway of the Yadkin Valley in Lexington, North Carolina. Owned by Richard Childress, NASCAR team owner and Hall of Fame member, Childress Vineyards has been producing award-winning wines with the expertise of Winemaker Mark Frizsolowski. Open daily for tours, tastings, and lunch in the Bistro. Information about Childress Vineyards can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/childresswines/, on Twitter at @ChildressWines and on Instagram at Instagram.com/childresswines.
Meet Lee … Lee is scheduled to participate alongside RCR teammates Matt Tifft and Daniel Hemric in the Xfinity Series autograph session on Friday, April 27, beginning at 4:15 p.m. local time at the Legends Hospitality Village. Lee will also be making an appearance at the Team Chevy display for a Q&A session on Saturday, April 28, starting at 12:15 p.m. local time.
SHANE LEE QUOTE:
Heading to Talladega with RCR for the first time, how do you think your past experience will help you prepare for the weekend?
“RCR is good at restrictor-plate tracks like Talladega Superspeedway, especially the team that I’ll be with this weekend, so that helps the mindset going into that place. With it being an Xfinity Dash 4 Cash race, there won’t be any Cup drivers in it and will instead be a lot of drivers that I’ve raced against in ARCA in the past couple of years. That’ll help a little bit since I’ll know how some of them race and what their habits are. You can learn a lot from having Cup guys in a race, but this gives the rest of us a good chance to make a name for ourselves. Hopefully, we’ll be able to keep our No. 3 Childress Vineyards Chevrolet Camaro up front, out of any trouble and still in contention at the end.”
This Week’s South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro at Talladega Superspeedway … Hemric will be making his second NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Talladega Superspeedway during this weekend’s 113-lap race. In his first start at the 2.66-mile speedway in 2017, Hemric started third but was involved in the race’s first ‘Big One’ prior to the conclusion of Stage 1.
Rearview Mirror: Richmond … Qualifying fourth, Hemric quickly made it clear the No. 21 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet was one of the fastest cars in the field during Friday night’s Xfinity Series race at Richmond Raceway. Hemric led 11 laps and scored his first stage win of the season, earning a playoff point. Soon after the start of Stage 2, Hemric felt an issue with the car and began sliding backward. Diagnosed as a possible flat right front tire, the team tried to wait it out in the hopes of catching a caution. However, no caution flew, and the tire let go in the closing laps of the race. Without the help of a caution, Hemric fell multiple laps down before the end of Stage 2. Hemric was running lap times comparable to the leaders for the remainder of the event but was mired laps down. When the checkered flag flew at the end of the night, Hemric and the No. 21 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet was 29th, his worst finish of the season.
This Week at the South Point Hotel & Casino … Fans visiting the South Point Hotel & Casino will be able catch some of America’s best wrestlers in the USA Open Wrestling Championships at the South Point Arena from April 25 – 28. Tickets are available on southpointcasino.com.
Meet the Driver … Fans will have multiple opportunities to meet the driver of the No. 21 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. Hemric is scheduled to be at the Team Chevy display for a Q&A session on Friday, April 27, starting at 3 p.m. local time. He is also scheduled to take part in the Xfinity Series autograph session at the Talladega Superspeedway Legends Hospitality Village on Friday, starting at 4:15 p.m. local time. Hemric will also be part in the annual ‘Big One on the Blvd’ in the Talladega Superspeedway infield on Friday night, starting at 7:15 p.m. local time.
DANIEL HEMRIC QUOTE:
Without looking at last year’s results at Talladega, is there anything you can take from your race at Daytona earlier this year and apply to this weekend’s event at Talladega Superspeedway?
“Maybe if we talk about last year’s results at Talladega my luck will change. I actually enjoy that style of racing and enjoy going to Talladega and Daytona. I’ve just always found a way to screw it up and not get the finishes. It was cool to lead some laps at Daytona earlier this year. We had fast cars and have fast cars as a company for a while. Long before I got here RCR has had fast superspeedway cars. I want to be able to get that ball rolling again. Anytime you go to Talladega, handling is not as much of a precedent as it is at Daytona. You tend to trim your stuff out to have more speed. This is one of the last races in the Xfinity Series with the old steel bodies since we have moved to the composite bodies – I think we have one more race after this at Daytona in July. I am curious to see how that works out. Nobody is going to really care about getting their stuff torn up, which means the aggression is going to be high. I just want to see the checkered flag at the end of the day with no damage. I just want to be running at the end of the race. I thought I was going to make it to the end of the July race at Daytona last year and was running on the bottom with three laps to go and thought to myself, ‘I’m going to make it to the end of one of these things,’ and then we got crashed coming off Turn 2. I definitely want better results this time around.”
