NASCAR Nationwide Series
Boyd Gaming 300
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Race Highlights:
Ty Dillon won the Boyd Gaming 300 pole position at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for his first career pole in 15 NASCAR Nationwide Series races. His other RCR teammates Brian Scott qualified fifth, with Matt Crafton and Brendan Gaughan starting 11th and 16th, respectively.
Brian Scott earned a seventh-place finish, Ty Dillon 11th, Matt Crafton 12th and Brendan Gaughan 16th.
Ty Dillon currently leads the Richard Childress Racing drivers in the Nationwide Series point standings in fourth. Brian Scott sits sixth and Brendan Gaughan seventh.
Next up for the Nationwide Series is the Drive to Stop Diabetes 300 from Bristol Motor Speedway next Saturday. Catch all the action live on March 15 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN.
Brian Scott Collects First Top-10 Finish of the Season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Brian Scott qualified fifth for the Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The No. 2 Whitetail Chevrolet Camaro battled loose conditions in the opening laps of the event, but never fell outside of the top-10. Scott was scored in the fifth position when the first caution flew on lap 57 for debris. The team took four tires, fuel and made a chassis adjustment on their pit stop. The Richard Childress Racing team continued to work on the loose conditions during the three pit stops made in Sin City. The hard work paid off for the Camaro team as they gathered a solid foundation for the 1.5-mile program and finished seventh. The finish is the first top-10 of the season for the No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro, moving the team up two positions in the driver point standings to sixth heading into Bristol Motor Speedway next Saturday.
Start – 5th Finish – 7th Laps Led – 0 Pts – 6th
BRIAN SCOTT QUOTE:
“Today was a really great effort by our No. 2 Whitetail Camaro team. I think that track position was definitely key and if we could have gained a few more positions on those restarts, we’d be in good shape. We had a good car. I’m excited for our 1.5-mile program this season. We’ve got a solid foundation and can only get better from here.”
Ty Dillon Finishes 11th at Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Ty Dillon drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Red Kap/Jiffy Lube Chevrolet Camaro to an 11th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which was done after winning his first-career pole award in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The Rookie of the Year candidate led the first seven laps of the race after his dominant qualifying run, but battled a loose race car until adjustments were able to be made on lap 54. A four tire and fuel stop on lap 114 was done to put the Welcome, N.C. driver back inside the top-five, but Dillon was hit with a speeding penalty on pit road. While serving the pass-thru, Dillon was penalized a second time for speeding, setting the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro three laps down. In the final 80 laps, the No. 3 team battled back making one additional pit stop and was able to gain enough track position to earn an 11th-place finish. Dillon was the second rookie to cross the stripe, and currently sits fourth in the Nationwide Series driver points standings going into next week’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Start – 1st Finish – 11th Laps Led – 7 Points – 4th
Ty Dillon Quote:
“We had such a fast race car today and we had the opportunity to be there at the end. Those penalties definitely hurt us and I hate it for my guys. Danny (Stockman) gave me a great car that we were able to put on the pole, but some errors on pit road cost us a top-10 today. I was really happy with how we responded and made the best of the situation. I think we’ve just got to learn from our mistakes, move on and get after it next week in Bristol.”
Matt Crafton Finishes 12that Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Matt Crafton drove the No. 33 Tarkett/Menards car to a 12th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after starting 11th in the Boyd Gaming 300. The Tulare, Calf.-native quickly jumped inside the top-10 in the opening green-flag run, but battled loose conditions. Crew chief Nick Harrison called Crafton to pit road on lap-46 under green flag racing for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. Shortly thereafter, NASCAR displayed the caution flag with the No. 33 driver in the 10th-position. Because of the timing of the caution, the field was sorted out by NASCAR deeming Crafton 17th, one-lap down. For the remainder of the 200-lap event, the No. 33 team battled to get back on the lead-lap running lap times as strong as the leaders. Crafton ultimately took the checkered-flag in the 12th-position.
Start – 11th Finish – 12th Laps Led – 0 Points – N/A
“We definitely had a top-five car today, but we got caught a lap down after a confusing call. All-in-all we had a good Tarkett/Menards, we continued to work on it and made it better. But, it’s a shame because we had a lot better car than where we finished.”
Las Vegas-Native Brendan Gaughan Finishes 16th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Brendan Gaughan piloted the No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro to a 16th-place finish in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Gaughan battled a loose race car from the start of the race. On lap 53, the team brought the car down pit road for a green-flag stop where they took four tires, fuel and made a chassis adjustment. A caution fell on lap 57 for debris and the Richard Childress Racing No. 62 Camaro took advantage of the yellow flag to visit pit road for more adjustments. Gaughan began to work his way through the field and on lap 88 found himself racing for the 13th position. On lap 128.the team received a restart penalty forcing him to serve a stop-and-go penalty on pit road. Gaughan battled through traffic for the remainder of the race trying to make up as much track position as possible. The team finished the day in the 16th position. This finish puts the RCR South Point Hotel & Casino seventh in the driver point standings.
Start – 16th Finish – 16th Laps Led – 0 Points – 7th
BRENDAN GAUGHAN QUOTE:
“Today was my own fault. The South Point Chevrolet did something it hadn’t done all weekend and that was get extremely loose, so we lost a lap early. We have a great team and pit crew. We came in for a green-flag stop and I just screwed up. I know exactly where they caught me speeding and there is no one else to blame but myself. Instead of minimizing the problem, I got caught speeding again. We are going to go to Bristol and make up some ground.”