Richard Childress Racing at Martinsville Speedway … In 173 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville Speedway, Richard Childress Racing has earned four pole awards and posted seven victories with drivers Dale Earnhardt (five times), Ricky Rudd (1983) and Kevin Harvick (2011). RCR Chevrolet teams have earned 30 top-five and 63 top-10 finishes at Martinsville dating back to the team’s first start there on April 10, 1972. Richard Childress, a former driver in NASCAR’s top division, contributed four of those top-10 finishes from 1976-1978.
COVID-19 Relief … Own a piece of history by participating in an auction and sale of Richard Childress’ personal collection of memorabilia. All proceeds will assist COVID-19 relief efforts. Thousands of rare, hard-to-find and exclusive items from Richard Childress’ 50+ years in NASCAR are up for bid or sale. Visit https://www.ebay.com/str/RichardChildresscollection
Catch the Action … The Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 from Martinsville Speedway will be televised live Wednesday, June 10, beginning at 7 p.m. ET on FOX Sports One and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
This Week’s Symbicort Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Martinsville Speedway … In 12 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville Speedway, Dillon earned his best finish of fourth in April 2016 at the half-mile short track after starting deep in the field from the 29th spot. He also has a fifth-place finish at the track (April 2017). He has made four appearances at the track in the NASCAR Truck Series, earning his best finish of third in October 2011.
SYMBICORT Partners with the No. 3 at Martinsville Speedway … SYMBICORT is an AstraZeneca product and the sponsor of the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Martinsville Speedway with Austin Dillon. You can learn more at MySymbicort.com. AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide.
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
How do you feel about short tracks like Martinsville Speedway?
“I love going to Martinsville Speedway. It’s an hour away from my house, so it feels like home. Anytime you can get to a short track and beat and bang and really work on those hard-braking corners you feel like you got a chance so I can’t wait to get there. Our cars have had speed this year, and I’m really looking forward to going to the flat paperclip that is Martinsville. We’re all racers at heart so we love short track racing.”
Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Cat Fleet Monitoring Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Martinsville Speedway … Tyler Reddick will be making his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Martinsville Speedway this Wednesday night. This event also marks Reddick’s return to the half-mile track since his NASCAR Truck Series days, during which he had six starts, two top-five and three top-10 finishes at Martinsville.
About Caterpillar’s Fleet Monitoring Division … Whether you operate one piece of equipment or a fleet of hundreds, the amount of data today’s assets and sites generate is overwhelming. You know that data contains valuable insights that can help you make smarter operational, maintenance and repair decisions, but who has the time and expertise to analyze it? The experts at the Caterpillar Fleet Monitoring Center and dealer centers around the world do. They have the tools and training to review and interpret your data, then recommend specific actions you can take to cut costs, reduce downtime, improve performance and enhance safety. No matter your industry or brand of equipment, you can count on Caterpillar and dealer condition monitoring experts to help you make informed decisions that boost your productivity and profits. Learn more about how to better manage your equipment by taking a quiz at Cat.com/KnowYourFleet.
TYLER REDDICK QUOTES:
This will be your first race at Martinsville Speedway in about four years. How are you preparing for the return to the half-mile track?
“This is a track that I’m excited for because my crew chief Randall Burnett is very excited for it. Martinsville Speedway is one of his favorite tracks, and he has a good notebook and game plan for it. That makes me motivated to go out and run well on Wednesday night. It’s going to be special running 500 laps at Martinsville under the lights for the first time. With no practice beforehand, we will have a lot of variables. All our notes are from the day, so the night brings a new variable with it. Back during my NASCAR Truck Series days, I had good long run speed before they implemented the stage racing to shorten up the runs. The long run seemed to be where I was really comfortable at Martinsville, so hopefully we will get long runs like that in the Cup race where we can get in a rhythm and adjust on our car from there. It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m up for it and really looking forward to returning there for the first time in years.”
Your Chevrolet will have special messaging from Caterpillar on the quarter panels at Martinsville that help recognize their Fleet Monitoring division. Are there any similarities between that and racing that race fans may not know about?
“Yeah, there are a lot of similarities between the world of Caterpillar and the world of racing that fans may not know about. The fleet monitoring division is a big one, and it relates a lot to our command center we utilize during the races. During these times when we’re dealing COVID-19 and the changes it’s bringing to the amount of people at the racetrack, but also on Caterpillar job-sites around the world, these two systems are so important. Our command center is staffed with engineers we normally have at the track for these races, and they’re working overtime to find any little advantage or strategy to help us on the track. With Cat’s Fleet Monitoring division, they’re doing the same thing in a way. They’re just focused on finding the most efficient strategies to provide operators with that will maximize their efforts and production during the workday while not being physically at the site. We’re both trying to get our respective jobs done as quickly and efficiently as possible. We actually unveiled the scheme to a group of Cat customers late last week, and it was really cool to see their reactions when we said we were going to run the car at Martinsville Speedway. We definitely want to get in a good run for them.”
