CHINA GROVE, N.C.(May 24, 2010) – Robert Richardson, Jr. will have Funny Dan the Race Car Man on board when he takes on the 1.5-mile oval of Charlotte Motor Speedway this Saturday afternoon in the No. 23 Dodge of R3 Motorsports.
Richardson is coming off solid finishes of 20th (Richmond) and 22nd (Iowa) which have helped lock the team into the all-important Owner’s Points battle for a guaranteed starting position in each race. Coming to the familiar grounds of Charlotte this weekend can only bolster what they’ve been able to achieve in recent weeks.
For the second time in three races, the newest children’s book from Headline Kids and the NASCAR Library Collection, Funny Dan the Race Car Man will adorn the No. 23 Dodge’s hood and TV panel. The book was written by Tim Packman, Communications Director for the team, and is the story of how one can be a winner by just doing what they love in life – even if they don’t always finish first. (www.FunnyDanRaceCarMan.com)
With four previous starts at Charlotte, Richardson’s confidence is strengthened by the team’s recent finishes in three of the last four races of 20th, 13th and 22nd places this season.
Cornell Racing on board:As previously announced, this weekend will mark the first of three races Cornell University will display their Cornell Racing decals on the No. 23 Dodge of R3 Motorsports. The association is to recognize their efforts in the field of motorsports and, in turn, to gain awareness in the NASCAR level of competition. Recently, Cornell Racing earned a First Place trophy in Acceleration at Michigan International Speedway. They also placed ninth in the Design category, 10th in Skid Pad competition and Second in Three-View Drawing.
This gave them a 14th place overall finish against 100 other international teams as they are now looking forward to SAE Germany in August. Formula SAE is an international competition for students to design, manufacture and contend with their car.
Fast Facts:Richardson, 29, is making his 11th NNS start of the 2011 season, 80th of his career and 120th overall NASCAR start. Through the first 10 starts this year, the McKinney, Texas native has a best start of 26th at Talladega Superspeedway, and best finish of 20th at Richmond International Raceway. Three DNF’s (two mechanical, one accident) have kept his laps completed ratio to 80.6 percent, but the team’s recent runs and solid finishes are improving that stat each weekend.
Track Facts:This will be Richardson’s fifth start at the 1.5-mile oval of Charlotte Motor Speedway. His best start of 28th took place in 2008 and best finish of 23rd occurred in this race last year.
Car Facts:Walter Giles and team are bringing a brand-new car from the R3 Motorsports stable to the track this weekend.
Tune in for the Win:There will be two practice sessions on Thursday, no on-track activities on Friday then qualifying takes place on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN2 with race action at 2:30 p.m. on ABC-TV, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90.
Robert Richardson, Jr. Quotes:“It’s great to get back to racing Charlotte Motor Speedway. The banking gives you a chance to really build some speeds going into the corner; then you get to fly out of turns 2 and 4 to the straightaways. Depending on how your car is set up, you can run both grooves around the place. If you’re not going as fast as you’d like on the bottom, you can move up a line and try the high side and really build your momentum coming out of the turns.
“We have a new car this weekend and I know Walter (Giles, crew chief) and the guys worked really hard to build this car just right. So, it’s up to me to show what it can do out there in practice, then take that information to qualifying and the race. We’ve had some decent finishes lately, and we need to keep that momentum going so we can move up even more in the points.
“The best part about this weekend is the guys don’t have to travel to get to the track because it’s a home race. So, there will be a lot of family and friends at the track and we want to have a good showing for them to show how all their hard work and long hours pays off.”
