Richard Childress Racing at Richmond Raceway … In 180 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond Raceway, Richard Childress Racing has scored nine wins led by Dale Earnhardt’s six wins (1985-spring, both races in 1987, 1990-fall, and 1991-spring). Kevin Harvick won three times (2006-fall, 2011-fall, and 2013-spring) while Clint Bowyer scored his first short track victory in the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond in the 2008 spring event. The team owns 38 top-five and 73 top-10 finishes in Cup competition at Richmond.
Xfinity Series Stats at Richmond … RCR has seven victories in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Richmond Raceway led by Kevin Harvick who won five races, including three consecutive (2005-fall event and both races in 2006). Clint Bowyer won the 2007 spring race to give the Welcome, N.C.-based organization an impressive four-race win streak. The team also swept both races in 2003; Harvick won the spring race while Johnny Sauter rallied from a 30th-place starting position to win the fall event. RCR has racked up 32 top-five and 58 top-10 finishes at Richmond entering Saturday afternoon’s race.
Catch Saturday’s Action … The Richmond 250 at Richmond Raceway will be televised live on Saturday, April 2 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Follow Sunday’s Action in Richmond … The Richmond 400 will be televised live on Sunday, April 3 beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
This Week’s BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Inhalation Aerosol Camaro ZL1 at Richmond Raceway … Austin Dillon’s best NASCAR Cup Series finish at Richmond Raceway was fourth in the 2021 fall race in the NASCAR Playoffs. He also has a pair of consecutive sixth-place finishes (September 2018 and April 2019). Dillon finished 10th at the track in April 2021 and 11th in September 2021. He has 10 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Richmond Raceway, racking up seven top-10 finishes and winning one pole award (2016 fall race).
BREZTRI AEROSPHERE™ (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Sponsors the No. 3 at Richmond Raceway … BREZTRI is an AstraZeneca product and the sponsor of the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Richmond Raceway 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:
What are your thoughts on Richmond Raceway?
“I actually love Richmond Raceway. There was a time in my career when I did not run well at Richmond at all. It was a thorn in my side, but over the years that has changed. Richmond has become a much better place than it used to be for me. We ran really well there last year, and I’m excited to get back there and see what we can do this time around in the new Next Gen Chevy.”
This Week’s Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Richmond Raceway … Tyler Reddick will be making his fourth NASCAR Cup Series start this weekend at Richmond piloting the No. 8 Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. His best Cup finish at the Virginia short track is 11th in 2020. Reddick made five NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the .750-mile speedway with a best finish of fourth-place in the 2019 spring event and claimed three top-10 finishes.
Momentum On His Side … Tyler Reddick has been impressive early during the 2022 Cup season. In six races, Reddick has two top fives, highlighted by a third-place effort at Phoenix Raceway, and three top 10s in the last four races. He has led 97 laps, which has already surpassed his laps led total from the 2021 season. Reddick is 10th in the Cup series driver standings with an average start of 9.0 and an average finish of 17.0. He and the No. 8 team have continued to improve with each race weekend. Coming off of a fifth-place effort last weekend at Circuit of the Americas, the momentum is even greater.
About Guaranteed Rate … Guaranteed Rate is a leader in mortgage lending and digital financial services. Headquartered in Chicago, the company has more than 8,000 employees in 500 offices across the U.S., and is licensed in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Since its launch in 2000, Guaranteed Rate has helped hundreds of thousands of homeowners with home purchase loans and refinances, funding more than $95 billion in total loan volume in 2021 alone. Powered by its belief in positivity, the company has become one of the largest retail lenders in the nation. Guaranteed Rate delivers innovative technology, including the world’s first Digital Mortgage, low rates and unparalleled customer service.
The Guaranteed Rate PIT VIP SWEEPSTAKES … On Thursday, Guaranteed Rate launched their PIT VIP SWEEPSTAKES. The sweepstakes gives fans the opportunity to win an ultimate VIP experience on behalf of Guaranteed Rate, Richard Childress Racing and Tyler Reddick. The winner will have their name on Reddick’s No. 8 Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet at the All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 22nd. It also includes experiences such as watching the race from the pit box. To enter, all you have to do is visit Guaranteed Rate’s Instagram page (@guaranteedrate) and click the link in their bio.
TYLER REDDICK QUOTES:
What are your thoughts on this weekend’s race at Richmond Raceway?
“With the Next Gen car and the wider tire, and with a little less power than the old car, I think it’s going to be even more momentum based. We’re just working on some things set-up wise. I feel pretty good about where we’re at and the direction we’re going. I think we’re only going to get one set of tires in the warmup that we’ll have Saturday morning to really understand where our car is at. Honestly, with the warmup and the few adjustments you can make, you’re kind of boxed in. You can make some balance changes, but you’ve really got to do your homework going into it and that’s what we’re focused on right now.”
Coming off of a strong finish last weekend at COTA and now that we’re six races into this season with the new Next Gen car, how are you feeling about your season so far?
“This new car is everything that NASCAR told us it would be and everything we thought it would be. It’s a really hard car to drive but it’s also really fun to drive. You have to work for every spot and it’s so competitive. Every track is different now and there’s so much to learn and that’s always exciting. To be the best and to win, you have to know what you’re doing and work for it. Last week’s finish was strong, but it was a tough one to swallow because we were so close to that first win. I know my team and I are going to find Victory Lane soon because we’ve been strong every single week. Sometimes luck hasn’t been on our side and sometimes we just couldn’t quite get up there but our Chevys have been so fast and so good on all of the tracks. We will continue to learn from the COTA race and keep working on the simulator and be even more ready for the next road course race. We had the Kansas Speedway tire test earlier this week but we’re focused on doing our homework for Richmond. Everyone at RCR and ECR Engines have been working incredibly hard and it’s showing on the track. We’re running up front and everyone knows we’re there. I’m confident it will be the same this weekend at Richmond.”
This Week’s Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Camaro SS at Richmond Raceway … Creed will be making his first Richmond Raceway start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this weekend. He has two previous starts at the .750-mile Virginia speedway in the NASCAR Truck Series with a best finish of 11th in 2021.
The Season So Far … Creed scored his fourth top-10 finish in six races this season at Circuit of the Americas thanks to an impressive late-race rally, climbing from 28th to 10th place over the final six laps. He gained one position in the series driver standings at Circuit of the Americas, moving up to 11th. Creed has gained three positions in the standings over the last three races.
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:
What’s the big challenge at Richmond?
“The track is really slick and rough and wears tires worse than most tracks that we go to now. That’s probably the hardest part and then just getting into the corner. Not being free in but then still turning good in the center is really important at Richmond Raceway. I don’t know what my deal is there, if wear the tires out too fast in the beginning of a run or what. I haven’t had a lot of great showings there. I’m always optimistic on trying to change that. Hopefully we can go there this weekend and be better.”
How best do you prepare for a track like Richmond that’s a challenge?
“You do your homework and watch what the guys that have been consistently good there are doing and then hopefully you have a fast race car to go along with it.”
This Week’s Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet Camaro SS at Richmond Raceway … Hill will be making his first Richmond Raceway start in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition this weekend. He has collected two top-10 finishes at Richmond in two NASCAR Truck Series starts, with a best finish of eighth in 2020. In 2015, Hill won a K&N Pro Series East race at the track, leading 43 of 70 laps.
The Season So Far … Hill enters Saturday’s race at Richmond on the heels of back-to-back second-place finishes at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Circuit of the Americas. He has three top-five finishes in six races this season and vaulted from eighth to sixth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings after the Circuit of the Americas event. In the last three races, Hill has jumped up five positions in the standings. With his victory in the season-opening event at Daytona, Hill 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 12 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.
Dash 4 Cash … Hill’s runner-up finish at Circuit of the Americas qualified him for the Xfinity Dash 4 Cash bonus this weekend at Richmond Raceway. Should Hill win on Saturday afternoon, the Winston, Ga., driver will earn a $100,000 bonus from Xfinity.
AUSTIN HILL QUOTE:
You had two top-10 finishes at Richmond in the Truck Series. What is the key to running well at Richmond?
“I ran there in the Trucks twice and both times we were very strong. I felt like we were pretty good there but both times we got behind on strategy at certain parts of the race where some guys would take tires and we didn’t and it got us behind. Managing tire wear is crucial and is so important at Richmond. The way the way the track changes just watching past races with the Xfinity cars, it seems like everyone starts on the bottom and then you’ll see some guys migrating up the racetrack. You have to have a car that can move around a little bit. You want one that can run the bottom as long as it can, but then if you need to move up some that’s going to be big. And saving your right front and right rear is important because you can’t wear them out early in a run. I love any racetrack that we go to that has a worn-out surface like Richmond. I think we can run really well there this weekend.”
