RCR XFINITY Series Post Race Report – Talladega Superspeedway

Brian Scott finished second, Austin Dillon third, Ty Dillon eighth and Brendan Gaughan 39th.

Next up for the NASCAR XFINITY Series is the race at Iowa Speedway. Catch all the action live on Sunday, May 17 at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Fox Sports 1 and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90. 

Brian Scott Captures Career-Best Restrictor Plate Finish at Talladega Superspeedway

The NASCAR XFINITY Series returned to restrictor-plate racing at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon. The No. 2 Shore Lodge Chevrolet qualified in the third position for the 113-lap race. Within the first 25 laps of competition, Scott radioed he had a tight-handling Chevrolet through the corners and exit off the corners. During green-flag pit stops on lap 36, the Mike Hillman, Jr.,- led team elected to take two Goodyear Racing tires and two cans of Sunoco Green E15 Racing Fuel. When the caution came out just two laps later, the Shore Lodge team was scored fifth. The 27-year-old led the outside line staying inside the top 10 as the laps wound down. The outside lane soon became the middle lane as the field went three wide. With 42 laps to go, Scott was ninth while still leading the outside line. A multi-car accident brought the field to red-flag conditions with 40 laps to go with Scott scored as the race leader. The red flag was lifted after nearly eight minutes and the Shore Lodge Chevrolet team took to pit road for two tires and two cans of fuel. Scott led the field to green with 32 laps to go and was quickly halted by a debris caution. The final restart was on lap 98 and the Richard Childress Racing team was sixth. When the field restarted with five laps to go, Scott pushed the 22 car to the lead but was shuffled back to the sixth position on the final lap. Scott found momentum and took the high line around the 2.66-mile track to make a charge for the race win, gaining four positions on the final lap and finishing second. The finish was the fourth second-place finish of Scott’s career, first top-five finish and seventh top-10 finish of the season.

Start – 2       Finish – 2             Laps Led – 10     Points – 6

BRIAN SCOTT QUOTE:
“I wanted it so bad. But the top four broke away pushing each other and I just couldn’t quite get there at the end. Off of turn four I got a huge run when they finally separated. I got a good shove and went to the outside and tried to make something happen. Finishing second here is by-far my best restrictor-plate racing finish. These races always seem to snake bite me. I’m really proud of our guys, everyone at RCR and ECR. It was a solid run for our Shore Lodge Chevrolet. Thank you to everyone who supports this program.”

 

Ty Dillon Battles to Finish Eighth, Builds on Series Points LeadTy Dillon drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Chevrolet Camaro to an eighth-place finish after being collected in two on-track incidents Saturday afternoon. He remains the NASCAR XFINITY Series points leader. Dillon qualified second earlier in the day and started on the outside pole along older brother and teammate, Austin Dillon. Dillon was able to take the lead on lap 10 and held on to the top spot for 26 laps. Dillon, who was forced to the back of the pack on lap 46 to serve a pit road speeding penalty, was collected in a minor on-track incident on lap 74. He came to pit road for repairs to the rear quarter panels, but work was put on hold after the red flag was displayed. After diligent work by the No. 3 crew, Dillon returned to the race track and managed to stay on the lead lap. He raced inside the top 20 from laps 81 to lap 98, only to be collected in another on-track incident, this time causing damage to the nose of the No. 3 Chevrolet. Three more pit stops and crew chief Danny Stockman’s team had the damage repaired. The race’s final restart came on lap 105 where Dillon made a charge to the front. He was scored in the 15th position on the white-flag lap, and moved up to eighth place when the checkered flag fell. Dillon’s finish was the team’s seventh top 10 of the season and kept him in the XFINITY Series points lead.
Start – 2      Finish – 8     Laps Led – 26       Points – 1

TY DILLON QUOTE:

“Wow what a finish. I’m so proud of my guys for battling through two incidents today and keeping this Bass Pro Chevy on the lead lap. We hung in there, made the right fixes and managed to finish eighth. It was a great points day for us. It was great to have Johnny Morris (Founder, Bass Pro Shops) and Uncle David here today to cheer us on.”

 

 

 

Austin Dillon Finishes Third at Talladega Superspeedway

Austin Dillon and the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet team finished third at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon. Dillon and the No. 33 crew posted the fastest time in qualifying on Saturday morning to start on the pole. His pole award at Talladega was his third of the season and the seventh time he’s started an event  inside the top 10 this season. The Welcome, N.C., native remained a fixture in the top 15 for most of the 113-lap event. After missing a large accident on the front stretch on lap 74, Dillon was scored in the second position. NASCAR officials told the No. 33 team it did not maintain pit road speed and was forced to start sixth on the ensuing restart. Working the draft, Dillon was able to climb back into the top five in the running order en route to the third-place finish.

Start – 1           Finish – 3         Laps Led – 0    Owner’s Points – 5

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
“Man we had a really good car today. I should have pulled out there at the end and helped Brian (Scott) out more. We could have made a run for it.. I’m really proud of this No. 33 Rheem team. They never give up. We didn’t get the finish we wanted last week, but we came back on won the pole this weekend and finished third.”

 

 

Late-Race Incident Relegates Brendan Gaughan to 39th-Place Finish

Brendan Gaughan and the No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet qualified seventh for the NASCAR XFINITY Series event at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon, the team’s seventh top-10 start of the season. Only three laps after the green flag was waved, Gaughan was collected in an on-track incident. The Las Vegas native was able to save the Chevrolet and come to pit road for repairs. The Shane Wilson-led team worked diligently and returned to the track in the 38th position. The Richard Childress Racing team fought to earn track positions and was inside top 20 by lap 11. On lap 74, green flag pit stops were underway when Gaughan and nine other cars were collected on the front stretch at the 2.66-mile superspeedway. This accident ended the day for the 39-year-old driver and his No. 62 teammates. Gaughan finished the day in the 39th position and is now 10th in the XFINITY Series driver point standings.

Start – 7th           Finish – 39th        Laps Led – 0         Points – 10th

BRENDAN GAUGHAN QUOTE:

“The South Point Chevrolet was running so good today at Talladega. Our day had to end because guys don’t know how to get on to pit road. It is frustrating to me because Talladega is not a track where getting on to pit road is hard, guys just need to figure out what to do when people around them are signally they are pitting.”