Paul Menard and the No. 2 Richmond/Menards Chevy Races Back to a Ninth-Place Finish at Chicagoland Speedway after
Early Tire Incident
“We had an unfortunate start to our day with the flat left rear tire only a few laps into the race. Justin (Alexander, crew chief) made great calls to get us back on the lead lap and back in contention midway through the race. Once we got back on the lead lap, the Richmond/Menards Chevy would fire off tight, then free up on our drive off. We took two right-side tires there at the end and I think we should’ve stayed out. We had to try something, but two tires didn’t work, and now we know. I’m proud of this team and all the hard work they’ve put into this XFINITY Series program. I’ve enjoyed being in the drivers seat.”
– Paul Menard
Dillon Closes out XFINITY Series Regular Season with an 11th-place Finish at Chicagoland Speedway
“Our entire Rheem Chevy team just wasn’t very good here today, and we’ll definitely need to pick it up for next weekend in the first round of The Chase. We seemed like we were just a few steps behind and the track conditions were changing quite a bit. We’ll just put this aside and prepare for next weekend’s race in Kentucky where these races start to really count. I want to thank everyone on this team, our partners and everyone back at the shop that have gotten us to this point. I’m ready to go win a championship.”
– Ty Dillon
Brandon Jones Overcomes 40th-Place Starting Spot to Finish 10th in the Tide/Menards Chevrolet
“This was definitely a good day for the Tide/Menards team. We came back to the top 10 multiple times today after starting from the rear, getting a pit road penalty and then getting the free pass. These guys on this No. 33 team have never given up all year long and it has definitely shown. This was one of our better weekends. It shows we’re getting better on these mile-and-a-halves. We’re looking forward to when we reset the points next week and kick off the XFINITY Series Chase at Kentucky Speedway.”
– Brandon Jones
Brendan Gaughan Rallies in Regular Season Finale at Chicagoland to Finish Eighth
“We battled back from our speeding penalty on pit road. The guys did a great job today every time we brought the American Ethanol / Thorntons Chevrolet to pit road. Shane (Wilson crew chief) made great calls to adjust with the changing track conditions. We had an excellent strategy which had us on fresh Goodyear tires at the end. We need to improve just a little bit going into the XFINITY Series Chase, but we are consistently top-10 at RCR. We just need to find some more speed to break through to challenge for wins. I know we are going to work hard to perform our best in the next seven races. That’s what Richard (Childress) is all about, hard work and dedication. I’m really excited to go to battle in the Chase, as it makes me want to continue racing. We are looking forward to Kentucky Speedway, the first race in the Chase and one of my statistically great race tracks.”
– Brendan Gaughan