Indiana 250
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Indiana 250
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
July 27, 2013
Race Highlights:
Richard Childress Racing teammates finished second (Brian Scott), fifth (Kevin Harvick), sixth (Paul Menard) and 12th (Austin Dillon) Dillon lakes over the lead of the Nationwide Series driver championship point standings by six points over Regan Smith; while Scott is eighth in the standings 46 points behind the leader.
The No. 3 Chevrolet team ranks third in the Nationwide Series owner championship point standings, with the No. 2 team 10th in the standings and the No. 33 team 13th.
According to NASCAR’s Post Race Loop Data Statistics, Scott was the second-Fastest Driver Late in a Run (168.692 mph), earned a Driver Rating of 110.4, ranking him third, and ranked fifth in Average Running Position (5.940).
Harvick ranked fifth in Green Flag Speed (169.094 mph) and Speed in Traffic (167.877 mph)
Menard ranked fourth in the Closers category, moving up three positions in the final 10 percent of the race.
Dillon ranked third in Green Flag Passes with 53.
RCR drivers Scott, Harvick and Menard spent 100 percent of the laps running in the top 15, while Dillon spent 97 percent of the laps in the top 15.
RCR drivers Harvick, Dillon, and Menard ranked 1-2-3 in the Quality Passes Category with 31, 29 and 27 passes, respectively.
Kyle Busch earned his eighth victory of the 2013 Nationwide Series season and was followed to the finish line by Scott, Joey Logano, Brian Vickers and Harvick.
The next Nationwide Series race is the US Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, August 3. The 20th race of the 2013 season is scheduled to be televised live on ESPN2 beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Motor Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Satellite Radio Channel 90.
Brian Scott Earns Career-Best NASCAR Nationwide Series Finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Brian Scott and Richard Childress Racing’s No. 2 Shore Lodge Chevrolet team took the checkered flag in the runner-up spot Saturday afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, securing their best finish of the 2013 season and Scott’s career-best finish in his 128th NASCAR Nationwide Series start. After starting the 250-mile event from the 11th spot, a lengthy green-flag run allowed Scott to climb to sixth before making his first pit stop of the day on lap 29. Just 21 laps later, the first caution flag was displayed and crew chief Phil Gould played pit strategy and called for Scott to stay out on the track. Green-flag racing resumed on lap 56 with Scott in the third position. Gould called Scott to pit road on lap 65 for four tires, fuel and adjustments. With 10 laps remaining, the caution flag again flew and Scott lined up fourth for a shootout to the finish. As the field dove into turn one, the leaders bunched together allowing the No. 2 to take the lead. Scott maintained the point position for three laps holding off a hard charging No. 54, but with three laps remaining Scott slipped to second. The Idaho native kept the reminder of the field at bay for the closing laps to finish second, scoring his career-best NASCAR Nationwide Series finish.
Start – 11 Finish – 2 Laps Led – 3 Points – 8th
BRIAN SCOTT QUOTE:
“We were so close to kissing the bricks at Indy. Phil (Gould Crew Chief) and the guys brought a great car and called a smart race. I was hoping the No. 54 and No. 22 would battle each other allowing us to pull away. This will give us momentum heading into Iowa Speedway next weekend, where we can hopefully finish one spot better.”
Austin Dillon Assumes NASCAR Nationwide Series Points Lead with 12th-Place Finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Austin Dillon left the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the NASCAR Nationwide Series points leader after posting a 12th-place finish at the “Yard of Bricks” in Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet on Saturday afternoon. The Welcome, N.C. driver started the 100-lap event from the seventh spot and immediately noted handling issues to the Danny Stockman-led team, citing a tight condition exiting the corners and a lack of side force around the 2.5-mile track. Dillon was scored in the 13th position when the caution flag was displayed to the 40-car field as the race reached the halfway point, providing an opportunity for the RCR team to pit for four tires, fuel and adjustments. Dillon restarted 13th on lap 55 and was scored in the 10th spot when the caution flag was displayed on lap 83 as he continued to battle a tight-handling condition. With nothing to lose, Stockman guided his driver down pit road for another round of adjustments and outfitted the No. 3 Chevrolet with four Goodyear tires for the final 12 laps of the race. Dillon restarted in the 12th position, fell as far back as 16th in the final laps as the field was shuffled during late-race restarts and drove forward to post a 12th-place finish.
Start – 7 Finish – 12 Laps Led – 0 Points – 1st
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
“Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a very special place and it’s awesome to take the points lead here. We got behind a little bit early during the race. Our AdvoCare Chevrolet was just a little bit too tight. We made some adjustments to get the car running better. We decided to take four tires at the end of the race so we would have four fresh tires for the last few laps. We only lost two spots on pit road taking four tires, so I thought we were going to be pretty good, but we got hung out on the outside line. Then, a big wreck happened off of turn two and we lost four or five spots when that happened. We restarted on the outside again and pretty much the same thing happened. We were able to battle back and gain the points lead with our finish.”
Harvick and the No. 21 Hunt Brothers Pizza Team Finish Fifth at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Kevin Harvick and the No. 21 Hunt Brothers Pizza team earned a fifth-place finish in the NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The two-time series champion started the 100-lap race from the 15th position and worked his way into the top 10 by lap eight while fighting a loose-handling Chevrolet. Harvick visited pit road on lap 30 for four tires, fuel and chassis adjustments and settled into the sixth spot as green-flag pit stops cycled through the field. As the race progressed, the green and white machine transitioned from a loose to tight-handling condition as the California native continued to work his way toward the front of the field, moving into third on lap 89. Harvick lined up third for the final restart on lap 95, but was shuffled back to fifth where he ultimately crossed the finish line.
Start – 15 Finish – 5 Laps Led – 0 Points – N/A
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:
“This was a solid run by the Hunt Brother Pizza team today. I kind of put us in a hole at the beginning with qualifying, and we never really go into the right position to move out front until the final restart. We never had a chance to play offense today and had to play defense just to finish fifth.”
Menard Brings Home Top-10 Finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
In his third NASCAR Nationwide Series start of the season, Paul Menard maintained a top-10 running position for the majority of the 250-mile race finishing sixth at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday. Qualifying 10th earlier in the day, Menard slipped back several positions during the early laps as he battled with a tight-handling car on entry and a loose condition through the center and exit. Although his No. 33 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet wasn’t quite handling to his liking, Menard was able to work his way back inside the top 10 at lap 22. Crew chief Ernie Cope called for several chassis adjustments on the two ensuing pit stops to remedy the car’s handling condition. The adjustments provided relief to the Eau Claire, Wis., native and on lap 58, Menard relayed to the crew that the car was the best it had been all day. Running in eighth when the caution flag flew on lap 85, Menard brought the No. 27 machine onto pit road for fuel and tires, giving him four fresh Goodyear’s for the remaining 12 laps of the 100-lap event. Restarting in 10th, Menard never gave up and gained four positions in the final circuits to finish sixth at the historic 2.5-mile speedway.
Start – 10 Finish – 6 Laps Led – 0 Owners Points – 13th
PAUL MENARD QUOTE:
“I love racing at Indy (Indianapolis Motor Speedway). It’s one of my favorite race tracks on the circuit. We had a pretty fast Rheem/Menards Chevrolet Camaro, but just ran out of laps at the end preventing us from gaining more positions. Ernie (Cope, crew chief) and the guys did a great job today and I had a lot of fun. Things got a little hairy there at the end on the restart, but we managed to gain some spots. I’ve still got another race with the No. 33 team in Kansas later in the year and hopefully we can improve on this weekend’s sixth-place finish and contend for a win.”
