Richard Childress Racing–Pocono Post Race

Party In The Poconos 400    
Pocono Raceway  
 
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Pocono Raceway     
June 9, 2013 
 
Race Highlights: 
Richard Childress Racing teammates finished ninth (Kevin Harvick), 11th (Jeff Burton) and 30th (Paul Menard).
Following the event at Pocono Raceway, Harvick remains fifth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings, trailing leader Jimmie Johnson by 87 markers, while Menard ranks 12th, 136 points back, and Burton sits 21st, 165 points out of the top position.
The No. 29 Chevrolet SS team ranks fifth in the Sprint Cup Series owner championship point standings, with the No. 27 team 12th and the No. 31 team 23rd.
According to NASCAR’s Post-Race Loop Data Statistics, Harvick posted two of the Fastest Laps Run during the 160-lap event.
Harvick earned the eighth-best Driver Rating (98.8), had the eighth-fasted Green Flag Speed and made 31 Quality Passes, ranking him eighth in the loop data category.
Burton completed 73 Green Flag Passes, nine of which came while running in the top 15 (Quality Passes).
Menard posted 76 Green Flag Passes and 12 Quality Passes.
Jimmie Johnson earned his third victory of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and was followed to the finish line by Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman.
The next Sprint Cup Series race is the Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, June 16. The 15th race of the 2013 season is scheduled to be televised live on TNT beginning at Noon Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio.
 
 
 
Late-Race Incident Relegates Menard to 30th-Place Finish at Pocono Raceway
 
Paul Menard and the No. 27 Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet team had their afternoon spoiled by a blown tire on the final lap and finished 30th in the 400-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway. Menard started the race in the ninth position after persistent rain showers forced NASCAR officials to cancel Friday’s qualifying session. The 32-year old driver maintained a top-15 position during the first 60 laps while battling a loose-handling condition on his green and yellow machine. After falling out of the top 20 during the middle stages of the race, crew chief “Slugger” Labbe and the No. 27 pit crew went to work and made several adjustments to the car during multiple pit stops. As the race progressed, the Richard Childress Racing driver climbed back into the top 15 where he remained until bad luck struck on the final lap when a right-front tire went flat causing the Eau Claire, Wis., native to lose control of his car and slam into the outside retaining wall. In the end, Menard settled for a 30th-place finish and now sits 12th in Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings.
 
Start – 9          Finish – 30          Laps Led – 0         Points – 12th
 
PAUL MENARD QUOTE:
“Our Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet was pretty good for most of today’s race, but it was a tough way to end the day with a blown tire on the final lap. We’ll keep our heads up and look for a better result in Michigan next Sunday.”
 
 
 
 
    
Harvick Salvages Top-10 Finish at “The Tricky Triangle”
 
Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Rheem team rallied back to a ninth-place result at Pocono Raceway on Sunday afternoon after receiving a mid-race pit road speeding penalty. The Richard Childress Racing driver started the 160-lap event from the fifth position after rain canceled qualifying Friday afternoon, setting the field by the NASCAR rulebook. During the early laps of the Party in the Poconos 400, Harvick informed crew chief Gil Martin he was battling a tight-handling red and black Chevrolet that transitioned to a loose condition as the run progressed. The Rheem pit crew executed scheduled two and four-tire pit stops on laps 26, 54 and 67, along with chassis and air pressure adjustments, in an effort to alleviate the handling issues their driver was battling. Harvick maintained a top-five position in the running order until a lap 99 green-flag pit stop when NASCAR officials issued a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road, forcing him back to the 28th position. As the race progressed, the California native methodically and patiently worked his way back toward the front of the field, crossing the finish line in the ninth position. Following his sixth top-10 finish of the season, Harvick remains fifth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings.
 
Start – 5         Finish – 9         Laps Led – 0            Points – 5th
                      
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:
“The Rheem crew did a great job today at Pocono Raceway, especially coming back from that mid-race set back on pit road. Recovering from that mistake to finish in the top 10 is proof of how hard this team works each week.”
 
 
 
      
Burton Finishes 11th at Pocono Raceway
 
Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet team battled back to a top-15 finish of 11th at Pocono Raceway. Starting the 400-mile event from the 24th position after rain forced NASCAR officials to cancel Friday’s qualifying session, the 21-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner worked his way into the top 20 early while battling a loose on exit and tight in the middle-handling condition. Burton began to find speed as the race progressed, but a missed shift on a restart relegated the Richard Childress Racing driver to the 27th position on lap 75. By the time the next caution flag was displayed on lap 126, Burton was solidly back in the top 20. The Caterpillar team didn’t give up over the course of the race, making several chassis adjustments to remedy the ill-handling condition during multiple pit stops and finally started to showcase speed in the latter stages of long runs. The 45-year-old driver restarted in the top 15 on lap 129 and worked his way into the top 10 five laps later, making it to as high as seventh on the leaderboard. Over the final 19 laps, Burton battled through multiple restarts and managed to bring home the black and yellow machine in 11th place. Burton is now 21st in the Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings.
 
Start – 24          Finish – 11          Laps Led – 0           Points – 21th
 
JEFF BURTON QUOTE:
“Today was just another day where the No. 31 team showed we are making progress with our 1.5-mile and above track program. I dug us a hole early in the race by missing a shift on a restart and restarts were so important today. You had to be aggressive. I also expected to run well here after our successful test session last week. We’ll continue to make progress next weekend at Michigan (International Speedway).”
Iowa Pioneer 250    
Iowa Speedway  
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Iowa Pioneer 250
Iowa Speedway
June 9, 2013
 
Race Highlights:
Richard Childress Racing teammates finished second (Austin Dillon) sixth (Brian Scott) and 31st (Max Papis).
Dillon is fourth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver championship point standings, trailing leader Regan Smith by 46 markers, while Scott is eighth in the standings, 67 points behind Smith.
The No. 3 Chevrolet team ranks sixth in the Nationwide Series owner championship point standings, with the No. 2 team 10th
in the standings and the No. 33 team 11th.
According to NASCAR’s Post-Race Loop Data Statistics, Dillon maintained the best Average Running Position (1.244), had the best Driver Rating (144.9 out of a possible 150), was the Fastest Driver Early in a Run (130.999 mph), led the field in Fastest Laps Run (73), was Fastest on Restarts (130.356 mph), had the best Green Flag Speed (128.552 mph), spent 100 percent of the race running in the top-15 and led 207 of 250 laps.
Scott was the third-Fastest Driver Late in a Run (126.811 mph), maintained the fifth-best Average Running Position (4.832) had the fifth-best Driver Rating (108.3), was fifth-Fastest on Restarts (128.343 mph) and posted the Fastest Lap for eight circuits.
Papis made 31 green-flag passes.
Trevor Bayne earned his first victory of the 2013 Nationwide Series season and was followed to the finish line by Dillon, Elliott Sadler, Sam Hornish, Jr. and Kyle Larson.
The next Nationwide Series race is the Alliance Truck Parts 250 at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, June 15. The 13th race of the 2013 season is scheduled to be televised live on ABC beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Satellite Radio.
 
 
Brian Scott Earns a Sixth-Place Finish at Iowa Speedway
 
Brian Scott earned his sixth top-10 finish of the 2013 season at Iowa Speedway after starting third in Sunday morning’s Iowa Pioneer 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race. Scott battled among the leaders throughout the opening laps of the event. Once settling into his groove, the Boise, Idaho, native reported to crew chief Phil Gould that he was free in and off the corner. The caution flag was displayed on lap 50, which allowed Scott to make a trip down pit road for four fresh tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. Racing resumed on lap 56 with the Richard Childress Racing driver lined up third. Laps ticked away while the skies became darker and rain eventually put the race under a red-flag condition. When track drying was complete, Scott took the green-flag in the third position with less than 100 laps remaining. Scott battled with the No. 32 car in the final stage of the race, ultimately taking the checkered flag in the sixth position.
 
Start – 3         Finish – 6         Laps Led – 0         Points – 8th
 
BRIAN SCOTT QUOTE:
“We had a really strong car all afternoon, but just needed one more adjustment to get up there and contend for the lead. Phil (Gould, crew chief) and the guys did a good job on pit road. It was a strong finish for the No. 2 team and we’ll move on to Michigan International Speedway next weekend looking be just as good.”
 
    
Dominate Performance Culminates with Second-Place Finish for Austin Dillon at Iowa Speedway
 
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon led 207 of 250 laps in the Iowa Pioneer 250 at Iowa Speedway on Sunday afternoon, but ultimately settled for a second-place finish in the No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet after losing forward drive during a long green-flag run in the closing stages of the NASCAR Nationwide Series event. Dillon started the 12th race of the 2013 season from the front row after earning his third-consecutive Nationwide Series pole award on Saturday afternoon, tying the record for most consecutive poles in the Series’ history. The green-flag was displayed to the 40-car starting field shortly after 11 a.m. Eastern Time on Sunday afternoon after rain showers on Saturday caused NASCAR officials to postpone the start of the 200-mile event. Dillon showed speed from the start of the race, immediately driving away from the field and only briefly relinquishing the point position from laps 9 through 24. At times, Dillon extended his lead by as much as six seconds over the second-place competitor. He never fell outside of the top-nine during the course of the race, maintaining an average running position of 1.244. With less than 50 laps remaining, the Welcome, N.C. native had a 2.6-second lead over eventual race winner Trevor Bayne. However, a long green-flag run, combined with changing track conditions as the sun poked out of the cloud cover, created a lack of forward drive for Dillon. With less than 10 laps remaining the duo battled side-by-side for the lead with Dillon eventually settling for a
second-place finish.
 
 
Start – 1             Finish – 2             Laps Led – 207          Points – 4th              
         
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
“It was a disappointing finish to a strong day. We lost grip when the sun came out and the No. 6 car took off. It’s part of racing, though, and I’m still proud of this team for what we were able to accomplish this weekend. On to Michigan International Speedway.”
 
 
      
Max Papis Finishes 31st after Multi-Car Incident at Iowa Speedway
 
Making his 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series debut with Richard Childress Racing and the No. 33 Rheem/Menards race team, Max Papis put together a solid race weekend effort before a mid-race collision took him out of contention on Sunday at Iowa Speedway. Qualifying 25th on Saturday afternoon, Papis challenged for a top-20 running position for the first 150 circuits of the 250-lap event while battling a tight-handling No. 33 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet Camaro. The crew made a few small adjustments through the course of several pit stops in an attempt to remedy the tight condition. After the Como, Italy born driver communicated to the team that he dialed in more front brake, he began to log top-five speeds during the second green-flag run. Papis was in position to work his way toward the front of the field when an incident between the No. 20 and No. 60 cars collected him on lap 155. He sustained race-ending damages and was unable to return to the track, leaving the team to settle for a 31st-place finish.  

      Start – 25            Finish – 31         Laps Led – 0            Points – N/A

MAX PAPIS QUOTE:
“It was a rough end to the day we were having. Ernie Cope (crew chief) and the No. 33 guys did a great job giving me a solid Rheem/Menards Camaro. I really felt we found a line and the adjustments we needed to be competitive. I’m not sure what happened really, I was on the apron and I had nowhere to go. Proud of the run we had, just frustrated it ended the way it did.”