RCR Event Preview – Bristol Motor Speedway

Richard Childress Racing’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series history at Bristol Motor Speedway … In 173 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Richard Childress Racing boasts nine wins – seven with Dale Earnhardt, one with Kevin Harvick and one with Jeff Burton – three pole awards, 34 top-five and 69 top-10 finishes.  The Welcome, N.C.-based organization has led 3,680 laps at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile.”

RCR in the MENCS … In 2,967 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts dating back to 1969, RCR has amassed 51 pole awards,108 wins, 489 top-five finishes and 1,073 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 17.7 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 Truck Series titles and one ARCA Menards Series 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, @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 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway will be televised live Saturday, August 17 beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network and will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

This Week’s Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Bristol Motor Speedway … In 11 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Dillon has one top-five and two top-10 finishes. He posted his best finish of fourth in August 2016. He is a former winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the track.

Welcome, Tracker Off Road … Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 prominently features TRACKER ATVs, a game-changing new line of all-terrain vehicles and side-by-sides offering breakthrough performance, service and value in the off-road industry.

TRACKER OFF ROAD was born out of a powerhouse partnership formed between Bass Pro Shops and TRACKER founder Johnny Morris and Textron Specialized Vehicles, bringing together the undisputed world leader in boating with a global leader in innovation and technology.

Meet Dillon … Dillon is scheduled to join his teammate, Daniel Hemric, at an autograph session at Bass Pro Shops in Bristol, Tennessee (1 Bass Pro Drive, Bristol, Tenn. 37620) on Thursday, August 15 beginning at 7 p.m. ET. He is also scheduled to participate in a Q&A Session on the Team Chevy Stage in the Bristol Motor Speedway Midway on Saturday, August 17 at 4:05 p.m. ET.

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
What do you think about racing at Bristol Motor Speedway?
“Man, they can’t mess Bristol Motor Speedway up, truthfully. Bristol is Bristol and it doesn’t matter what lane you are in it is good racing. I enjoy going there. Bristol is just a hardcore track where you need some driveability that you have built into the car mechanically. I look forward to Bristol each year. That time of year is always fun, I think. It is what racing is all about.”
Daniel Hemric and the No. 8 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Bristol Motor Speedway … Hemric will be making his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Bristol Motor Speedway and first in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. The Kannapolis, North Carolina, native was turned into the outside wall during his first Cup Series start at Bristol in April. He also has four previous NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the half-mile track, earning two top-five and three top-10 finishes.

About Bass Pro Shops … Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Founded in 1972 when avid young angler Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri, today the company provides customers with unmatched offerings spanning premier destination retail, outdoor equipment manufacturing, world-class resort destinations and more. In 2017 Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela’s to create a “best-of-the-best” experience with superior products, dynamic locations and outstanding customer service. Bass Pro Shops also operates White River Marine Group, offering an unsurpassed collection of industry-leading boat brands, and Big Cedar Lodge, America’s Premier Wilderness Resort. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Forbes as “one of America’s Best Employers.” Bass Pro Shops has a long relationship with NASCAR, dating back to 1998. For more information, visit www.basspro.com/.

Meet the Driver … Hemric is scheduled to be at the Bass Pro Shops in Bristol, Tennessee with fellow RCR driver Austin Dillon starting at 7 p.m. local time on Thursday, August 15. He is also scheduled to sign autographs at the RCR merchandise hauler in the Bristol Motor Speedway midway on Friday, August 16, starting at 3 p.m. local time.

DANIEL HEMRIC QUOTES:
What was your biggest takeaway from your first Cup start at Bristol Motor Speedway, despite being caught up in someone else’s incident?
“We’re definitely not bringing the package we had in the Spring race for this weekend’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. As a company, once we got through the first Bristol race in April – myself, Austin Dillon, our affiliate teammates Ty Dillon and Bubba Wallace – we sat in our competition meetings and determined we needed to fundamentally go in a different direction at the high-banked, high-speed tracks like Bristol and Dover. Our best race car was able to run 14th to 16th, and that is where we were running when we got crashed by a lapped car in April. That’s not going to cut it. You have to be better than that. Especially when it is a track that you and everyone on your team feels you should have success at. With that being said, we know it is not easy and you have to work for it. We will show up this weekend with a fundamentally different package on the Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet and we have been working ever since we left that racetrack in April to change those fundamentals, so I am eager to get there and see what we have come up with.”

What does it mean to not only be a part of your first Bristol night race, but to have Bass Pro Shops on the car for Saturday night’s event?
“One of my earliest memories of NASCAR racing was watching Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte go at it under the lights at Bristol from the foot of my father’s bed. Bristol is such a special racetrack, but everything seems to be ramped up when the lights turn on for the August night race. Bass Pro Shops has been an amazing partner to RCR over the years, and it is an honor to have them on our No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for this weekend’s race. I know the scheme will look great under the lights and hopefully we can give them a strong performance once the green flag flies.”