Richard Childress Racing’s History at Las Vegas Motor Speedway…In 76 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Richard Childress Racing boasts 11 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes. The storied organization has four wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with drivers Kevin Harvick (2004), Jeff Burton (2007), Austin Dillon (2015) and Tyler Reddick (2019). In addition, RCR boasts six pole awards in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition at the 1.5-mile oval.
Introducing the Next Gen … NASCAR’s Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which officially debuts in 2022, is a collaboration of the brightest engineering minds in racing. With technology at the forefront, Richard Childress Racing has played a unique and critical role in helping to bring this new on-track identity to life, working closely with OEMs, other teams and NASCAR to build and test the initial prototype.
Catch the Action … The ALSCO Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be televised live on Saturday, March 5 at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
The Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be televised live Sunday, March 6 beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
This Week’s BREZTRI AEROSPHERE™ (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway … In 13 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Dillon has two top-five and two top-10 finishes, including his best finish of fourth in March 2020. He is a former winner at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series (2015) and NASCAR Truck Series (2010).
BREZTRI AEROSPHERE™ (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Sponsors the No. 3 at Las Vegas … BREZTRI is an AstraZeneca product and the sponsor of No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Austin Dillon. You can learn more at breztri.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 QUOTES:
Are the bumps and challenges at Las Vegas Motor Speedway similar to the bumps in Turns 3 and 4 at Auto Club Speedway?
“Turns one and two at Las Vegas Motor Speedway are high speed corners and the bumps have always been something that you work on your car to get through to make speed. The faster your car can go through there without having to unload and get the feel back in the front tires has always been an issue. The person that can skip through them the best usually runs really well. At Las Vegas Motor Speedway it’s an entry issue, unlike last week at Auto Club Speedway where it was an exit issue. At Auto Club Speedway, you’re leaving the corner with wheel in the car. I think the bumps at Las Vegas will be challenging this weekend, just as they always are. Although truthfully, from the simulator work I’ve done to prepare for the race, the bumps were not as upsetting as they were at Auto Club Speedway. The Auto Club Speedway bumps were pretty accurate to our sim. We were busting loose across those bumps. So, I’m hoping that it’s accurate again, as far as the bumps in Las Vegas not being as much of a problem as they were in Fontana.”
You and Tyler Reddick both ran well at the Clash and at Auto Club Speedway. Explain what is behind RCR’s recent resurgence.
“I think Chevrolet, in general, is in a pretty good position. At RCR and ECR, we’ve put a big focus on the Next Gen car. We definitely tried to be the guys to embrace this new car the earliest in the process. I think some of the teams probably didn’t embrace it as much as we did. We saw it coming and tried to put a lot of effort into it from the beginning. I really love working with Tyler Reddick. He’s a great teammate and I think we both do each other some good. We have different thought processes on things, and I think that allows us to open our minds and push each other in different ways. I was bummed for him last week. I felt like that was his first win coming, for sure. And then all of a sudden, we popped up there and had a great shot at winning it.”
Wherever it might be, it could be a market, it could be a trip, but does Austin Dillon have a go-to place? What is it and why?
“When we’re out on the west coast, we like to stay out there for the entire west coast swing. Last year, my wife Whitney and I took my son Ace to a road course that Ron Fellows runs for Chevrolet. We spent a day at road course school out there. Then, we went to Phoenix Raceway early because I love the Phoenix area. Goodyear, Arizona is a cool area. We stay at the Wigwam and it’s nice and relaxing. It has a couple golf courses that we hit up. I like traveling the west coast swing at the beginning of the year because it gets the year going. When we come home, we don’t do a lot of traveling after that. We don’t do many road trips, but the west coast is the one that I stay out since we’re out there for several weekends in a row.”
This Week’s BetMGM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway … Reddick will make his fifth NASCAR Cup Series start at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas, Nevada track on Sunday afternoon. His first Cup Series start was in 2020 and most recently, Reddick tallied his best finish of sixth at the track. Reddick has two wins under his belt at Las Vegas in the Xfinity Series and NASCAR Truck Series. In 2019, Reddick won the Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas and in 2016, he won in the Truck Series. He has five Xfinity starts at the track with one win, one top five, two top 10s and 95 laps led and three Truck Series starts with one win, one top five, two top 10s and 74 laps led.
Reddick’s Stats Improve … Reddick’s race last weekend at Auto Club Speedway didn’t end the way he wanted but did provide him with some new career statistics. Reddick swept the stages, adding two more stage wins to his resume and grabbing two Playoff points. He’s currently tied for third with Martin Truex Jr. for 2022 stage points. Reddick also led a career-high 90 laps at the Fontana track, having led only 73 laps in his Cup Series career prior to the race.
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TYLER REDDICK QUOTES:
Looking back on last week’s race at Auto Club Speedway, you earned two stage wins and had a victory in sight before bad luck won again. How do you get your mindset back on track for this weekend?
“Well, I think you have to look at the positives of the race at Auto Club. Sure, I’m completely gutted that we didn’t get the win when it felt like we had the best car out there but there were also a lot of other small victories to come from that day. Winning two stages and leading the most laps of my Cup Series career just goes to show that our time is coming. We learned so much over the weekend from practice to qualifying to the race and those are all things that we will take with us and learn from to become stronger from it. This car has been a learning experience for all of us drivers and I think the handle that I do have on it right now is only going to get better and more consistent as the season goes on. I’m looking forward to seeing what my team and I can do this weekend at Las Vegas.”
You’ve had success at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Truck Series, but with this new car and having raced at Auto Club last weekend, what do you anticipate the racing being like this weekend?
“I expect the racing to look a lot like Fontana. It’s the same type of situation. You’re going to see cars being able to run all three lanes fairly early on and be able to make lanes work with their cars. You’re going to have to be able to run all three lanes in a lot of different points in the run. Early run, middle of the run, end of the run. Las Vegas has a lot of grooves, in the sense of you can run the very bottom of the racetrack in Turn 1, 2, 3 and 4 and paint the line, kind of like you would at the old Atlanta. You have a lot of options lane-wise at this racetrack and I think you’re going to see a lot of drivers forced to make those work to be able to get around their competition, to make passes, to maintain, whatever it might be. I expect a very similar race to Fontana last weekend. It will be very interesting to see how the rubber lays down, how lanes will come and go. You’ll have to keep up with this racetrack as it lays rubber, this one lays a lot of rubber. Fontana was a lot of fun and Las Vegas is going to be a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to it.”
Sheldon Creed and The No. 2 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Camaro SS at Las Vegas Motor Speedway … Creed will be making his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon. He collected four top-10 finishes in six NASCAR Truck Series starts at the track, highlighted by a second-place finish in 2020. Creed enters the Las Vegas event 16th in series driver standings with one top-10 finish in the first two races of the season.
About Whelen … Whelen Engineering is a family-owned company with a pioneering spirit and a passion to protect the lives of those who protect and serve others. The company mission is to provide industry-defining safety solutions around the world, while creating a community of problem-solvers who are inspired to push boundaries and continue our legacy of delivering ground-breaking innovation. As a global leader in the emergency warning industry, Whelen has been trusted to perform since 1952, when George Whelen III invented the first rotating aviation beacon. Whelen now encompasses two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Connecticut and New Hampshire with over 750,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing space and the largest design staff in the industry. Every part of every Whelen product is proudly designed and manufactured in America. We embrace quality as our foundation, we celebrate innovative engineering in every product we produce.
SHELDON CREED QUOTES:
Are you planning to spend time on the west coast between races during the west coast swing?
“I grew up in San Diego, and I usually only get back out here twice year nowadays. I’m glad I get to take advantage of NASCAR’s West Coast swing and will stay out here for two full weeks. I’ll get to hang out with family and just enjoy a little time on the West Coast before going back east.”
Are pit stops a difficult challenge for drivers at Las Vegas Motor Speedway?
“Pit stops can be difficult because the track goes from banking to flat pretty quickly. When I was racing in the NASCAR Truck Series, I found that you could drive really hard past the center of the corner before you started checking up to pit. I haven’t had the opportunity to pit yet in a NASCAR Xfinity Series car so it’s going to be a little different on Saturday with our Whelen Chevrolet, especially early in the race when I am getting used to things. I’m going to have to play with that a little bit if we do have green flag pit stops.”
Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet Camaro SS at Las Vegas Motor Speedway … Hill will be making his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He was credited with a 17th-place finish in the Fall 2020 race.
A Vegas Winner … Hill owns a pair of victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in NASCAR Truck Series competition. He won in 2019 and again in 2020, with both victories coming in the fall event at the 1.5-mile speedway. In eight Truck Series starts, Hill racked up six top-10 finishes for an average finish of 10.1.
And The Point Is … Hill enters this weekend’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway 11th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings. With his victory at Daytona, he has clinched a spot in the 2022 NASCAR Playoffs.
About Bennett Family of Companies … McDonough-Ga. based Bennett Family of Companies is a woman-owned, Women’s Enterprise Business Council (WBENC) certified, diversified transportation and logistics company. Through its nine affiliated operating companies, the Bennett Family of Companies delivers integrated transportation and supply chain management solutions worldwide. The company will use race experiences to recruit and retain hundreds of truck drivers for their organization in 2022. For more information, visit www.Drive4Bennett.com.
AUSTIN HILL QUOTE:
What are your thoughts on Las Vegas Motor Speedway? As a former race winner in the NASCAR Truck Series there, you have to be excited to go back there this weekend with Richard Childress Racing.
“Stats-wise Las Vegas Motor Speedway is probably one of my best racetracks. I have two wins there in the Truck Series, and it seems like I’ve ran up front pretty much every time we’ve raced there. I have a lot of confidence in that racetrack. I have confidence everywhere we go, but Las Vegas is probably at the top of the list. The Truck had so much downforce and sideforce. It was all about who could stay in the throttle longest. The track has a lot of bumps so I think if we can get our Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet through the bumps the best, especially down in Turns 1 and 2, that’s going to be big.”
