Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway
No. 95 FDNY Foundation Chevrolet Notes:
· FDNY FOUNDATION: Leavine Family Racing is proud to feature the FDNY Foundation aboard the No. 95 Camaro ZL1 for the second time this season. The FDNY Foundation provides funding for programs that advance the New York City Fire Department’s goals, which include maintaining operational excellence, reaching out to the community with an array of fire and health safety programs, and increasing diversity within the Department’s uniformed ranks.
· SMITH BY THE NUMBERS: In 11 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Richmond, Regan Smith has an average start of 21.5 and an average finish of 26.0. He’s completed 4,169 of 4,417 (94.4 percent) career laps and has led for a total of two laps.
· RACE INFO: The Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway (0.75-mile) begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 22nd. The race will be broadcast live on NBCSN, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.
Smith’s Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Richmond:
Date Event: S F Laps Status
05/03/08 Crown Royal 400 26 21 408/410 Running
09/07/08 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 29 23 400/400 Running
09/12/09 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 35 40 174/400 Crash
05/01/10 Crown Royal 400 29 30 398/400 Running
09/11/10 Air Guard 400 17 25 398/400 Running
04/30/11 Crown Royal 400 2 17 399/400 Running
09/10/11 Wonderful Pistachios 400 23 18 400/400 Running
04/28/12 Capital City 400 15 27 398/400 Running
09/08/12 Federated Auto Parts 400 3 24 398/400 Running
04/24/16 Toyota Owners 400 34 32 399/400 Running
09/10/16 Federated Auto Parts 400 24 29 397/407 Crash
Smith’s Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Richmond:
Races Wins Top 5s Top 10s Poles
Cumulative 11 0 0 0 0
Smith’s 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats:
Starts Wins Top-5’s Top-10’s Poles Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
2 0 0 0 0 10 26.0 16.0
Smith’s Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stats:
Starts Wins Top-5’s Top-10’s Poles Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
215 1 4 13 0 64 23.7 24.9
From the Driver’s Seat:
Regan Smith: “Richmond never used to be one of my favorite tracks, but it has become one of my favorite tracks. I had to re-learn how to drive Richmond. When I was at Furniture Row, I felt like I was able to do a really nice job in qualifying, but then we just weren’t able to race very well. It seemed like we could get the car set-up for speed for one or two laps, but then I just couldn’t carry that speed on. At JRM (JR Motorsports) I started to really focus on long runs, not watching the front-side of runs, and was able to turn the tide and make it to where we had better long run cars. A lot of that came from protecting your tires and doing the right things coming off the corners. Naturally, you have brakes to worry about and there’s a big sweeping corner into Turn 1, which is completely different than Turn 3. The exits to both corners are also different from each other, so it’s all about finding that balance in your race car. You need to have a car that turns well enough but isn’t too loose in or too tight off at Richmond. I’ve learned that you’re never going to be entirely happy with the handling the entire way around the track, but you need to find what’s most important for our No. 95 Chevy and go from there. I’m looking forward to this weekend, and I have 400 laps on Saturday night to make it good, or 400 laps to mess it up, so it should be a fun weekend!”
From the Pit Box:
Jon Leonard: “The biggest challenge of Richmond race weekends usually includes the word ‘tires’. There’s a huge amount of tire fall-off there, so tires are really important. So important in fact, that you’ll be on pit road every chance you can get, regardless if you ran two laps or 100 laps. You need to make sure that your car has good short run speed to maintain track position, but setting it up for the longer run, and keeping tires on it over 50 laps can be incredibly beneficial. It’s hard to get a car to really handle well everywhere at Richmond. You need turn and drive built into it and you also need short run, as well as long run speed. It’s hard to maintain both, but I think with the notebook we have from there in the spring, we have a really good direction on where we want to be and where we need to go. The Playoffs so far have gotten off to a crazy start, and with a short track night race, I’m sure they won’t calm down just yet. We’ll work on giving Regan (Smith) the best car we can, but I feel like survival may play a small factor in the outcome on Saturday night.”
No. 95 FDNY Foundation Chevrolet Team:
Driver: Regan Smith Crew Chief: Jonathon Leonard
Car Chief: Ben Leslie Spotter: Doug Campbell
Engineer: J.R. Houston Hauler Driver: Damon Lopez
Shock Specialist: Tim Lambert Mechanic: Bill Mares
Mechanic: Matt Kimball Mechanic: Ryan Dextraze
Tire Specialist: Tony Ramierz Jackman: Jonathan Willard
Fueler: Ryan Dextraze Rear Changer: Cory Baldwin
Front Changer: Chris Winchell Front Carrier: Justin Kirby
About FDNY Foundation:
The FDNY Foundation provides funding for programs that advance the New York City Fire Department’s goals, which include maintaining operational excellence, reaching out to the community with an array of fire and health safety programs, and increasing diversity within the Department’s uniformed ranks.
As the Department’s official 501(c)(3) non-profit partner, the Foundation works with the philanthropic community to generate tax-exempt contributions and grants that benefit all New Yorkers by keeping the FDNY strong and responsive to the community it serves. Foundation funding supports cutting-edge equipment and training for first responders, smoke alarm installation programs for underserved populations, fire safety education in our schools, free CPR training for the public, and initiatives to introduce a new generation of young people to the world of emergency response.
Established in 1980, the Foundation is flexible and responsive to evolving Department needs. The FDNY Foundation Board is comprised of business and civic leaders who collaborate with the Fire Commissioner and senior Chiefs to establish priorities and develop programs that enhance safety, engage the community, and ultimately ensure that the FDNY remains the world’s leader in emergency response.
To support the FDNY Foundation, please call 718-999-0779, email info@fdnyfoundation.org, or visit www.fdnyfoundation.org for more information.
