Richard Childress Racing–Firecracker 250

Daytona Firecracker 250
Daytona International Speedway 
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Daytona Firecracker 250 
Daytona International Speedway
July 5, 2013
 
Race Highlights:
Richard Childress Racing teammates finished fifth (Austin Dillon), 17th (Brian Scott) and 27th (Ty Dillon).
Dillon is fifth in the Nationwide Series driver championship point standings, trailing leader Regan Smith by 17 markers, while Scott is ninth in the standings, 64 points behind Smith.
The No. 3 Chevrolet team ranks seventh in the Nationwide Series owner championship point standings, with the No. 33 team 11th in the standings and the No. 2 team 12th.
According to NASCAR’s Post Race Loop Data Statistics, A. Dillon earned a Driver Rating of 98.1, ranking him eighth.
T. Dillon made 27 Green-Flag Passes, ranking him 10th.
Scott was fifth-Fastest on Restarts (181.007 mph) and ranked eighth in the Closers category, gaining six positions in the final 10 percent of the race.
Matt Kenseth earned his first victory of the 2013 Nationwide Series season and was followed to the finish line by James Buescher, Elliott Sadler, Kurt Busch and Dillon.
The next Nationwide Series race is the CNBC Prime the Profit 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 13. The 17th race of the 2013 season is scheduled to be televised live on ABC beginning at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Satellite Radio.
   
Brian Scott Earns a 17th-Place-Finish Under the Lights at Daytona
 
Brian Scott and the No. 2 Rain-X/Advance Auto Parts team traveled to Daytona International Speedway for a hot Friday night race under the lights. The Phil Gould-led team started the race from the fourth position and ultimately took the checkered flag in the 17th position. When the green-flag waved, Scott hooked on to the No. 60 car and the duo moved into the top two spots, with Scott eventually taking the lead on the third lap. With a desire to run a safe race in order to be in contention at the end, Scott dropped back in the field. The Boise, Idaho-native visited pit road under green-flag conditions for four tires and fuel on lap 36. As green-flag stops cycled through, Scott was scored in the 19th position. The caution flag was displayed on lap 70, giving the Rain-X/Advance Auto Parts driver an opportunity to visit pit road for two tires and a full tank of Sunoco Racing fuel. He restarted in the 17th spot and climbed as high as 11th. As the race progressed, the action on the track picked up. The caution came out once again on lap 89 as Scott just narrowly missed a multi-car wreck. NASCAR displayed the red flag in order to clean up the debris left behind. When the field went back to green he restarted in the 23rd position, but the caution quickly flew once again setting the field up for a green-white-checkered finish. Scott restarted from the 24th-position and took the checkered flag in the 17th spot.
 
Start – 4th                  Finish – 17th                   Laps Led – 1                    Points – 9th
 
Brian Scott Quote:
“We had a really fast Rain-X/Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro tonight. I just waited a little too long to make our move towards the front. It’s the first time I’ve ever been too cautious. I’m really proud of Phil (Gould – Crew Chief) and the guys for their hard work. We were fast all weekend. We’ll take tonight and move on to Loudon.”
 
 
 

Austin Dillon Earns Fifth-Place Finish in NASCAR Nationwide Series Race at Daytona International Speedway
 
Sporting a patriotic, red, white and blue AdvoCare Spark NASCAR America Salutes paint scheme, Austin Dillon earned his sixth pole award of the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series season and led laps in Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro before posting a fifth-place finish under the lights at Daytona International Speedway. The Welcome, N.C., driver entered the race with one-in-four odds to win a $100,000 Nationwide Insurance Dash 4 Cash bonus by finishing ahead of fellow competitors Elliott Sadler, Kyle Larson and Brian Vickers during the scheduled 100-lap affair, and was a strong contender in the early running. He led the field to the American Ethanol green flag after earning his sixth pole award, in his last seven starts, earlier in the day and spent much of the beginning portion of the race in the front of the field before falling in the running order in an attempt to drive a conservative race. Dillon was scored in the 19th position when the caution flag was displayed with 30 laps remaining in the race. Crew chief Danny Stockman directed Dillon down pit road for a fuel-only pit stop and quick work by the AdvoCare crew gained the team several positions as Dillon restarted from the eighth position on lap 77. Just a few laps later, Dillon drafted his way into the second position before the field was frozen for a multi-car incident that occurred behind him, resulting in a 9:49 minute red flag to clean debris off the race track sending the race into a green-white-checker “overtime” finish. The sophomore Nationwide Series driver restarted from the second position and made a plan to tandem draft with Parker Kligerman. Shortly after the green-flag was displayed, their draft was broken up and Dillon dropped to 21st. With just one lap to regain track position, Dillon chose the middle line and raced his way to a fifth-place finish. Although Dillon missed the Nationwide Insurance Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus at Daytona by one finishing position, his fifth-place finish qualifies him for the program and a possible $100,000 bonus at New Hampshire Motor Speedway next week.
 
       Start – 1st             Finish – 5th                 Laps Led – 5            Points – 5th                         
 
 
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
“Man, that was fun. I had a great time racing tonight at Daytona International Speedway. We had a fast Spark Chevrolet. It was a great comeback on the last lap. I used the middle line and I was going for it all. I knew it was all or nothing. I wish we could have stuck with Parker Kligerman at the end there.”
 

Late-Race Incident Relegates Ty Dillon to 27th-Place Finish at Daytona
 
Ty Dillon and the No. 33 Hunt Brothers Pizza team were involved in an incident on the last lap relegating them to a 27th-place finish in the NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Daytona International Speedway. Earning the third-fastest time in qualifying on Friday afternoon, Dillon jumped into a two-car tandem in the early portion of the race.   After losing the draft to pit under green-flag conditions on lap 32, Dillon battled to regain his track position throughout the remainder of the event. The Welcome, N.C., native found a dancing partner in the late stages of the race and battled back inside the top 10. A late-race caution period set the field for a green-white-checkered finish. The Richard Childress Racing team was shuffled back in the running order and was tagged in the rear fender, sending the No. 33 machine through the infield grass. Dillon saved his Chevrolet from making contact with the wall, but ultimately posted a 27th-place finish.
 
Start-3rd               Finish-27th              Laps Led-0  
              Owner’s Points-11th
 
TY DILLON QUOTE:
“It was a tough night. The No. 33 Hunt Brothers Pizza team did a great job putting together a fast race car. We couldn’t get the track position and a drafting partner to be there at the end. We’ll take this as a learning experience for next time.”