NASCAR Cup Series

“Our No. 17 team is ready to get back to the race track after a weekend off. Richmond is typical short track racing which is always a lot of fun. It is important to have a car that turns in the center with good drive off. We had our best finish of the year at Bristol, another short track, so hopefully we can get another top-five finish this weekend in our Nationwide Insurance Ford."

“I like Richmond, I think it is a great track for racing and for the fans in general. It’s kind of an in-between track. Fans get to experience the thrill of speed while also getting the feel of side-by-side racing. Unlike most short tracks you get a lot of side-by-side racing in the corners at Richmond.

“Richmond is always a fun race track. It drives like a mile-and-a-half, like a superspeedway, but yet it’s got little short corners. There’s big, long, fast straightway and little tight corners, lots of technique to getting around Richmond.

“Getting to pick my favorite tailgate at Talladega last year, thanks to Coca-Cola Zero, was pretty cool, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the fans can come up with this year to impress me. There’s an abundance of creativity out there. And for me, it’s fun spending time with the fans and getting to check out where they party.

Richard Childress has nine NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories as a car owner at Richmond International Raceway - five with Dale Earnhardt, three with Kevin Harvick and one with Clint Bowyer. Additionally, in 141 starts at the Richmond, Va. track, RCR drivers have claimed 36 top-five and 65 top-10 finishes.

Aric Almirola and the No. 43 Smithfield Foods team have proved they are a force to be reckoned with at short tracks this season. The team currently has an average finish of 8.6 at tracks one mile or less. They head to Richmond (Va.) International Raceway poised to continue that success and look to head to Victory Lane at Smithfield Foods' home track.

Kyle Petty registered the first win of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career at Richmond International Raceway on Feb. 23, 1986 driving for the Wood Brothers.

"I like our chances at Richmond with the new rule package this year. I think the cars drive a lot better and help us to be more competitive as a team. We're looking forward to going there. We felt like we had a strong racecar in Phoenix, and usually a lot of stuff transfers over from Phoenix to Richmond.

"I love Richmond. I think it's a blast. I've got a couple top-fives up there and have had some shots to win. Man, it's a lot of fun to go up there with a good racecar. It seems like anyone with a top-10 or top-12 car, depending on strategy with tires at the end of the race, you can have a shot to win.

Many NASCAR fans are hoping history repeats itself this season for Dale Earnhardt Jr. In 2004 when Dale Jr. claimed the Daytona 500, he went on to win at NASCAR’s Most Competitive Track – Talladega Superspeedway – that same year. Dale Jr. won the season-opening Daytona 500 this year, and fans hoping to see a repeat performance at Talladega live and in person have some incredible ticket offers to choose from for the Aaron’s Dream Weekend, May 2-4.