Richard Childress Racing’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series History at Auto Club Speedway … In 88 overall Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Auto Club Speedway, RCR Chevrolet teams have earned one win (Kevin Harvick – 2011), two pole awards (Mike Skinner – April 2000, Austin Dillon – 2016), 12 top-five and 29 top-10 finishes. RCR has a 19.3 average starting position and a 16.4 average finishing position at the moderately-banked D-shaped race track.
RCR in the MENCS … In 2,928 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts dating back to 1969, RCR has amassed 48 pole awards,108 wins, 488 top-five finishes and 1,067 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 17.8 and an average finishing position of 16.2. 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 Menards Series title) and was the first organization to win titles in NASCAR’s three national series.
#RCR50 … Richard Childress Racing celebrates it’s 50th Anniversary in 2019. Follow our social channels season-long to join in the celebration.
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, @TylerReddick and @DanielHemric. 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/DanielHemric.
Catch the Action … The Auto Club 400 will be televised live Sunday, March 17 beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
This Week’s Dow Coatings Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Auto Club Speedway … Dillon has five previous Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts to his credit at Auto Club Speedway, earning his best finish of 10th in 2018. He sat on the pole in the 2016 edition of the race to earn his best starting position at the 2.0-mile track.
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AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:
Is it easier to lose control of the car with the new aero package you guys are running this year?
“I think drivers are really confident now with the downforce that is in the cars, so you drive aggressively. I think that moment of losing the car is just a bigger moment now because you’re hanging it out there already so when you slip with the grip you have, it’s a big correction. You have to get in front of it pretty quick. We noticed at the Vegas test that if you lost the air on the car you had to pretty much stop to save it. It’s going to be an interesting season, for sure, to see how it plays out.”
A lot of people in the garage say RCR has taken a big step forward this season. Have you noticed that internally?
“I think RCR has definitely taken a big step forward in terms of increasing the speed of our cars. We’ve really got to do a good job of executing now at this point and making sure our car holds on. It’s great to bust out a really fast lap, but you need to be able to hold on to that speed during a long race run. There’s a happy medium and that’s what we’re looking for. I am very proud of the off season that RCR has had. We’re working hard to make sure we can figure out the best balance of these cars now.”
This Week’s Liberty National Life Insurance Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Auto Club Speedway … Hemric will be making his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Auto Club Speedway. The 2019 Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender has two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 2-mile track, earning an average start of 3.5 and an average finish of 8.0.
Review Mirror: ISM raceway … Hemric and the Luke Lambert-led team worked on the handling of the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 throughout the weekend at ISM Raceway and qualified in the 11th position. During the 312-lap race, Hemric ran inside the top 15 for much of the event and used a bit of pit strategy to lead a total of four laps. When the checkered flag flew, the No. 8 Chevrolet was in the 18th position, making Hemric the highest-finishing rookie.
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Meet the Driver … Hemric is scheduled to sign autographs at the RCR merchandise hauler in the Auto Club Speedway fan midway on Saturday, March 16, starting at 11:00 a.m. local time.
DANIEL HEMRIC QUOTES:
How do you think this new package is going to race at Auto Club Speedway and is there anything you can learn from the race at Atlanta since both surfaces are worn out?
“I think Auto Club is a huge variable right now for the fact that we know the place has no grip. We know the lap times are going to fall off substantially just from what we are going to be asking out of the tire itself. There is a ton of straightaway, just a huge racetrack that nobody knows what that speed delta is going to be. I wouldn’t be surprised to get there and you see some cars that at times are a second and a half faster by themselves and see those cars leading the race at one point. It’s going to be crazy to see how everybody adjusts to that, but Auto Club is a place that I love going, love the character of that place and hopefully it still transitions to be the same style of racing that it used to.”
Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Auto Club Speedway … In 59 Series starts at the two-mile speedway, RCR has captured two victories with drivers Jeff Burton in 2007 and Austin Dillon in 2016. The Welcome, North Carolina, organization has completed 8,571 laps of the 8,854 (96.8 percent) that they have competed. RCR has accumulated four pole awards, 19 top-five and 36 top-10 finishes, led 262 laps and averages a starting position of 10.5 and finishing position of 12.0.
Phoenix Review … Tyler Reddick finished third in Saturday’s iK9 Service Dog 200 at ISM Raceway. Reddick was a fixture in the top-three for the majority of the race, capturing his second top-five and third top-10 finish of the year.
The Points … Reddick is the points leader in the Xfinity Series.
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 Production Alliance Group 300 at Auto Club Speedway will be televised live on Saturday, March 16, beginning at 5 p.m. ET on FS1. It will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.
This Week’s Hurdl Chevrolet Camaro at Auto Club Speedway … Tyler Reddick has one previous NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Auto Club Speedway, finishing seventh during last year’s event at the two-mile track.
Text ‘TYLER’ to 770022 … Thanks to Hurdl, fans have the unique opportunity to gain access to exclusive RCR giveaways for one final race weekend when they text ‘TYLER’ to 770022. Message and data rates may apply.
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TYLER REDDICK QUOTES:
How much fun do you have at Auto Club Speedway, knowing how many different grooves you have to choose from to run on?
“I have a lot of fun racing at Auto Club Speedway. Last year, I ran a majority of that race in second trying to hunt down Joey (Logano, last year’s winner) but slipped up towards the end and got pushed back to seventh. I learned a lot on the final restart of the race and what to do differently to avoid falling back like that this year. Taking that knowledge and combining it with how we’ve ran this year at Atlanta and Las Vegas, I’m really excited to get to Fontana. We’re taking our Atlanta Camaro to Fontana, so I know it’ll be a good one.”
Auto Club Speedway’s track surface is just one year younger than Atlanta Motor Speedway’s. Do you still feel all those bumps in California?
“You definitely feel them at Fontana. I had never been to Auto Club Speedway until last year, and it almost felt like going into Turn 3 you’re just hit in the face with a hammer the entire time, but it’s awesome. I love this track. You can move all over the race track to find speed, which is the kind of thing that I really enjoy at a race track.”
