NASCAR Nationwide Series
Great Clips 300 Benefiting Feed The Children Post Race Report
Atlanta Motor Speedway
August 30, 2014
Race Highlights:
Richard Childress Racing teammates Brian Scott, Ty Dillon and Brendan Gaughan finished seventh, ninth and 14th, respectively.
Dillon ranks third in the Nationwide Series championship point standings, trailing current leader Chase Elliott by 35 points, while Scott ranks fifth and Gaughan is eighth.
Kevin Harvick earned his third victory of the 2014 season and was followed to the finish line by Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott.
The next Nationwide Series race is the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway on Friday, September 5 and is scheduled to be televised live on ESPN2 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.
Brian Scott Earns Another Top-10 with Seventh-Place Finish in Atlanta
Brian Scott and the No. 2 Shore Lodge Chevrolet team had another top-10 run in Saturday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. After qualifying ninth, Scott and the Phil Gould-led team remained in the top-10 and crossed under the checkered flags in seventh place. Once the initial green flag waved, Scott moved up to seventh by lap 25 and was sixth when pitting for the first time on lap 51. On that green-flag stop, the No. 2 Chevrolet took four tires, fuel and slight chassis adjustments. From there, Scott said the car became tight on restarts and then loose during the longer runs. More stops for a right-rear spring rubber, adjustments, fuel and tires kept the team competitive throughout the 195-lap race. A slight drizzle slowed the pace of the race from lap 126 to 133, but from that restart on through the rest of the laps was all green-flag action. A final stop for fuel, tires and slight adjustments on lap 176 kept Scott on the lead lap for his seventh-place finish; his 14th top-10 of the year. The NNS now heads to Richmond International Raceway for Friday night under-the-lights action.
Start – 9th Finish – 7th Laps Led – 0 Points – 5th
BRIAN SCOTT QUOTE:
“The car was pretty good all night long, we just struggled on the restarts. I came into this wanting to really have a great race at this 1.5-mile track. We qualified and raced in the top-10, our pit stops were good and we managed our tires really well. I would have liked a better result, but we’ll take this top-10 and head to Richmond this Friday night.”
Ty Dillon Finishes Ninth under lights at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Ty Dillon drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Yuengling Light Lager Chevrolet Camaro to a ninth-place finish Saturday night in the Great Clips 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, recording the team’s 17th top-10 finish of the season. Dillon, who qualified 14th earlier in the afternoon, quickly showed his No. 3 Camaro was a top-five car. He cracked the top-10 by lap 14 and found his way inside the top-five by lap 92. Dillon battled a tight-handling race car, which crew chief Danny Stockman was able to adjust during pits stops on laps 48 and 73. On lap 134, Dillon restarted sixth and raced three-wide for the better part of two laps. The nose-to-nose racing consequently created a tight-handling race car for Dillon, who dropped four spots back to 10th-place. Stockman called the No. 3 Yuengling Light Lager Chevrolet Camaro to pit road one last time on lap 174 for four Goodyear Racing tires, Sunoco fuel and an air pressure adjustment for the race’s final 21 laps. In the end, Dillon crossed the finish line ninth, keeping the team in contention for the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship. The 22-year-old driver was the second Sunoco Rookie of the Year to cross the finish line.
Start – 14th Finish – 9th Laps Led – 0 Points – 3rd
TY DILLON QUOTE:
“I’m disappointed on how we finished, for sure. We had a car that was good enough to finish inside the top-five. We just got too tight there at the end and cost us some track position. Now we’ll move on to Richmond.”
Brendan Gaughan Finishes 14th at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Brendan Gaughan and the South Point Hotel & Casino team unloaded with a newly-prepared Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet for Saturday night’s race. The 39-year-old driver qualified 16th for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Great Clips 300 to Benefit Feed the Children at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Gaughan began reporting tight-handling conditions early in the 195-lap race. The Shane Wilson-led team took every opportunity to improve the handling and on lap 75 took four Goodyear tires, Sunoco fuel and adjusted air pressures. On lap 112, the Las Vegas-native reported he was fighting 50-50 with tight and loose conditions. The No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino team finished the night in the 14th position. Brendan Gaughan remains eighth in the driver point standing as the Series heads to Richmond International Raceway.
Start – 16th Finish – 14th Laps Led – 0 Points – 8th
BRENDAN GAUGHAN QUOTE:
“This was not the night we had hoped for when we unloaded off the truck. I want to thank all of the guys on the No. 62 team, they never give up and did an amazing job on pit road all night. We will leave Atlanta and look forward to Richmond next weekend.”