JR MOTORSPORTS TEAM PREVIEW:
TRACK: Darlington Raceway
RACE: Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 (147 laps / 200.8 miles)
DATE: Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018
Broadcast Information – TV: 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC / Radio: 2 p.m. ET on MRN and Sirius XM Ch. 90
Elliott Sadler
No. 1 Armour Chili Chevrolet
• Elliott Sadler clinched his spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs following a top-five run at Road America.
• The Virginia native currently has four playoff points to his credit, earned through four stage wins so far this season.
• This weekend, Sadler heads to Darlington Raceway as a past winner (2016). In 14 NXS starts at the historic racetrack, the veteran driver has the one victory, five topfive and six top-10 finishes, and one pole award (1997).
• In both events at Darlington while driving for JR Motorsports, Sadler has paced the field for at least one lap.
• Dating back to 2005, Sadler has completed 97.3 percent of laps run within the top 15.
Michael Annett
No. 5 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet
• Michael Annett’s best finish at the famed Darlington Raceway is 11th, coming in 2010.
• Annett comes to Darlington on a high note, having finished seventh and 12th in his last two NXS starts (at Bristol and Road America). He remains 13th in the points, challenging for the final spot in the NXS Playoffs with three races to go.
• Pilot Flying J returns to the No. 5 Chevrolet this weekend, featuring a unique paint scheme, honoring the company’s founding.
• It is the second straight season Annett has run a throwback scheme at Darlington. Last year, the No. 5 wore TMC Transportation colors in the Labor Day weekend event.
Justin Allgaier
No. 7 Chevrolet Accessories Camaro
• Coming off his fourth win of 2018, Justin Allgaier heads to Darlington as the NXS points leader by five points over Christopher Bell with three races left in the regular season.
• In seven NXS starts at Darlington, the Illinois native has two top-five and four top-10 finishes, with a best effort of fourth in 2011. Last year he drove the No. 7 Chevy to an eighth-place finish at the historic track.
• With the help of three wins, seven top fives and 11 straight top-10 finishes in the past 11 races, Allgaier currently holds the highest driver rating in the NXS at an impressive 109.1.
• On Friday, Aug. 31 at 11:45 a.m. ET, Allgaier will participate in the NXS driver panel in the Darlington media center.
Tyler Reddick
No. 9 Old Milwaukee Throwback Chevrolet
• Tyler Reddick has one previous NXS start at Darlington Raceway in which he recorded a 16th-place finish (2017).
• Old Milwaukee returns to NASCAR on board the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet this weekend at the historic South Carolina track in a throwback scheme honoring the car driven by Tim Richmond from 1983-1985.
• Richmond recorded two wins, 19 top fives and 39 top 10s in 88 Cup starts behind the wheel of the Old Milwaukeesponsored car owned by Raymond Beadle. Beadle’s son Ryan is general counsel at JRM.
• Reddick currently sits third in the playoff seeding by way of his Daytona win with three regular-season races remaining.
Driver Quotes
“This is one of my favorite race weekends of the year. Darlington Raceway has always been a special track for me and seeing all of the retro paint schemes always brings back good memories. My Armour Chili team has one goal this weekend – of course, aside from winning – and that’s to earn as many points as we can. This is a track where I have previously won and, as a team, we’ve run well in the past. I know this will be a key track to make up some points, and hopefully put us back in the lead with only a few races left before the playoffs.” – Elliott Sadler
“We had a good run going at Road America and our No. 5 Pilot Flying J team is getting into a groove. Every weekend, we have to come to the track with the idea of scoring as many points as we can to reach the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs for the second straight season. Travis (Mack, crew chief) and the rest of the guys are bringing great cars to the track every week, and we’re going to go as hard as we can this weekend.” – Michael Annett
“I’m so proud of this team and the season we’re having. To head to Darlington with the points lead is huge and keeping that momentum going is key. This is a tough track, but I’m confident that we’ll have a fast Chevrolet Accessories Camaro and hopefully we can stay out of trouble and be up front at the end.” – Justin Allgaier
“The throwback weekend at Darlington, for me, is one of my favorite weekends of the year. As a driver, this is one of the most fun racetracks that we go to and is definitely one of the most challenging for sure. It’s really cool to be able to take part in the throwback weekend for the first time this year with our Tim Richmond scheme. It’s such a special scheme to me and the fact that we have a connection at JR Motorsports with Ryan’s (Beadle, JRM General Counsel) dad, Raymond, being the original owner of this paint scheme just makes it all the more special. Hopefully we can keep it clean all race long and run for the win.” – Tyler Reddick
JRM Team Updates
• JRM at Darlington: In 27 NXS starts at Darlington Raceway, JR Motorsports has two wins, five top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. Elliott Sadler is the organization’s most recent winner, visiting Victory Lane in 2016. Chase Elliott won at the historic track in 2014.
• Reddick Autograph Session: Armour Chili driver Tyler Reddick will be signing autographs during the Darlington Car Hauler Parade & Race Fest on Thursday, Aug. 30 from 5-6 p.m. ET at the Florence Center (3300 West Radio Drive, Florence, SC 29501).
• Sadler Fan Appearance: Elliott Sadler, driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet, will be stopping by the T4 Zone Hospitality outside Turn 3 for a fan Q&A session on Friday, Sept. 1 at 11:45 a.m. ET.
• Armour Sweepstakes: Time is running out to enter Armour Chili’s 2018 sweepstakes! The Grand Prize includes a meet-and-greet and Ride-Along (The Dale Jr. Foundation’s Ride-Along) with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the First Prize contains a meet-a