Richard Childress Racing at Road America… While Richard Childress Racing will make their inaugural NASCAR Cup Series start at Road America this Sunday, the Welcome, N.C. organization has a successful history at the Wisconsin road course. In 30 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Elkhart Lake, RCR scored three consecutive victories with drivers Brendan Gaughan (2014), Paul Menard (2015), and Michael McDowell (2016) and posted 12 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes.
Catch the Action… The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Road America 180 at Road America will be televised live Saturday, July 3, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
The NASCAR Cup Series’ Road America 250 at Road America will be televised live Sunday, July 4, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Road America… Although this weekend marks the NASCAR Cup Series’ first appearance to Road America since 1956, Austin Dillon has made three starts total at the track spread out among the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the ARCA Racing Series, earning two top-10 finishes. He also plans to compete in the Trans Am Series this weekend to get additional lap time at Road America.
Dow brings a science and engineering crew who is driven by limitless curiosity to the RCR Team… Austin Dillon and the RCR team are again supported by Dow’s materials science expertise and technologies this season. Backed by the power of data analysis and virtual modeling, Dow develops and manufactures high-performance components and materials custom-made for the No. 3 car. Dow and RCR’s partnership has expedited innovation and shortened testing time in the automotive industry by recreating in the lab one of the most extreme environments – the racetrack. After eight years of collaboration, Dow scientists and RCR engineers are continuing to work together to make the No. 3 car faster, safer and more precise. Stay up to date with Dow’s exciting developments at www.dow.com/sports and follow us on Twitter @DowSports & @DowNewsroom.
By Seeking Together, We Can Solve Anything – Dow Salutes Veterans… Dow’s solutions are reshaping our world. And at the heart of Dow’s solutions are their people. Their diversity is our strength. They reflect the world in which we do business and the communities in which we live. As a diverse community of approximately 37,000 employees worldwide, together we can solve anything.
More than 1,900 U.S. Military Veterans will “ride” with Dillon this weekend thanks to a patriotic No. 3 Chevrolet featuring the names of U.S. Military Veterans and active-duty military members.
This year’s No. 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet features Dow’s commitment to the service and skills that veterans bring to the workforce with a special nod to Dow’s Veterans Resource Group (VETNET) and Military Degree Equivalency (MDE) program, which provides an opportunity for individuals with extensive military background to bring their broad scope of training and education, experience in leadership, and understanding of performing in high pressure situations into a successful career at Dow.
2021 marks the seventh consecutive year that Dow has partnered with RCR to honor U.S. Military veterans. The program began with just over 350 veterans in 2015 to more than 1900 this year. This year’s program also highlights Dow’s relationship with Team Rubicon, a veteran-led disaster response organization.
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:
You have experience at Road America in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Do you think that will give you an advantage this weekend?
“It’s crazy because that was such a long time ago. I don’t know if it will really give me any type of advantage. A lot of other drivers have been there more recently, so I’m sure the track has aged a little bit. I have leaned on some of my old teammates. Brendan Gaughan previously won there and I asked him for some advice and his notes. He printed out a great track map for me and wrote notes on it, so I’m pumped about that. I’m looking forward to Road America. The road courses have been pretty good to us this year and I want to keep improving on those. I’m going up early to try and get a feel for the track and see if I can even remember what it was like when I ran there, which was a long time ago. I know it’s a slick track. I’ve been on the simulator a lot. I’m just trying to do my best to get acclimated.
What do you think the key to performing well at Road America will be?
“It’s one of those places where you have to have an average lap in order to have a good lap, because there are so many chances to overdrive certain turns. You can lose a lot in one corner and gain a lot in another. You just have to put it all together it seems like. A little bit of racing the track goes on in these kinds of races. The restarts are going to be aggressive and wild. People will be going everywhere. I do expect some attrition in the race because there are some areas where you can wreck some stuff. Runoffs, grassy areas. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. You some really good races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series there so I’m sure the NASCAR Cup Series will be just the same. I’m just looking forward to the challenge. It’s a challenging place.
Do you think of yourself as a good road course racer?
“I’m getting there. I’m better than where I started going into this year, for sure. I’ve had some consistent finishes this year. I definitely think taking on the 24 Hours of Daytona race was helpful for that. I had to step outside of my comfort zone, and it’s pushed me to be a better racer. I’ve done some other things in the off season, too. We raced in January at COTA. It’s really just about getting more road course racing experience. I’m definitely more comfortable. I’m not going into these races just saying ‘hey can we salvage a day.’ I’ve gone to many races in my career on road courses just wanting to salvage a weekend, and now after Sonoma and some of the speed we’ve shown I think it’s a different conversation. We scored stage points at the Daytona Road Course, Sonoma Raceway, and at COTA we were just hindered by the rain. We’ve been solid at road courses but there’s always room for improvement and I’m pumped for the challenge.”
What road course does Road America resemble most?
“I think Sonoma relates the most to Road America because of the grip level at Road America, so we will take something similar but try to make our car turn a little better. I thought we had a definite top-10 car at Sonoma. We just had a loose alternator wire cause issues. We had to change the battery every stage and came back to finish 12th or 13th.”
You have a very unique paint scheme this weekend. Can you tell me about it…
“The Dow Salutes Veterans car has been going on for seven years now. It started out with 350 names on the car, and I think we broke our record. We’re at 1,903. It’s pretty awesome to see all of the veterans on the car from RCR, Dow and Team Rubicon. My buddy Tyler Rader, who used to be the gas man on my team, is on my car now. It’s cool just to see all of the connections to the military that we have across the board. Everyone is getting involved and it’s cool to see the spider web effect of names growing every year.
Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Kalahari Resorts and Conventions Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Road America… This weekend marks the return of the NASCAR Cup Series to Road America for the first time since 1956, but Tyler Reddick has some experience under his belt at the 4.048-mile road course. Reddick has two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the track, with a best finish of third coming with Richard Childress Racing during his 2019 championship season.
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TYLER REDDICK QUOTE:
Heading into Road America this weekend, you have some experience on the road course that some Cup veterans may not. How does that affect your preparation and expectations for the race weekend?
“Yeah, it’s nice going into the weekend with that experience. It makes me wish we weren’t having practice or qualifying so the Cup veterans could feel a little bit of what I felt heading into the Sonoma race weekend without turning a lap there! This weekend is going to be a great opportunity for our team. I feel like the approach you have for Road America is similar to that of COTA, and I felt really good about where we were with our car on the dry at COTA. We learned some things about our road course program at Sonoma Raceway a few weeks back, but that course isn’t as similar to Road America as COTA is. Road America is all about attacking the entry and nailing the apex. You don’t have to worry about drive-off as much as you do at Sonoma. I’m excited about the opportunity for my team and know we are bringing a great No. 8 Kalahari Resorts and Conventions Chevrolet to the track.”
Myatt Snider and the No. 2 Shore Lunch Chevrolet Camaro at Road America… Myatt Snider has one career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Road America, coming last year during the 2020 campaign. Despite having a minimum amount of experience at Elkhart Lake, the 26-year-old has a plethora of familiarity with left and right turns. Snider competed in the NASCAR Euro Series in 2019.
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MYATT SNIDER QUOTE:
What are the keys to success at Road America this weekend?
“Road America is a really tricky road course with lots of bumps and elevation changes, but it’s also one of my favorite tracks on the Xfinity Series circuit. Having a good day in Elkhart Lake takes a few things – hitting your marks right, keeping the car on the race track, having a good car and using the right strategy. We have a really good Shore Lunch Chevrolet Camaro for this weekend and Andy Street (crew chief) has been making great strategy plays all year. I feel really confident that we can keep our good momentum from Pocono going this weekend in Wisconsin.”
