Richard Childress Racing–Save Mart 350

 
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Save Mart 350
Sonoma Raceway
Sunday, June 22, 2014
 
Race Highlights:
 
Richard Childress Racing teammates Paul Menard, Ryan Newman and Austin Dillon finished fifth, 11th and 17th, respectively.
Newman ranks eighth in the Sprint Cup Series championship point standings, trailing current leader Brad Keselowski by 107 points, while Menard ranks 12th and Dillon is 18th.
Carl Edwards earned his second victory of the 2014 season and was followed to the finish line by Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jamie McMurray and Menard.
The next Sprint Cup Series race is the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday, June 28, which is scheduled to be televised live on TNT beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time and is scheduled to be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.
 
 

 
Austin Dillon Earns Top-20 Finish in Career-First Start at Sonoma Raceway
 
Austin Dillon drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Dow Powerhouse Solar Chevrolet to a 17th-place finish in the Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday afternoon, marking the rookie of the year contender’s first career start at the 1.99-mile road course in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Dillon started the 110-lap event from the 26th position and utilized strategic driving, spotters Billy O’Dea and Max Papis and pit strategy to advance his position on the 11-turn course. He noted a tight-handling condition throughout the event, which was alleviated through air-pressure adjustments during routine pit stops. Dillon was running 13th when he made his final pit stop of the event after the caution flag was displayed with just under 20 laps remaining. During the stop, he took four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Restarting in the 15th spot on lap 94, Dillon continued to face a tight-handling condition and ultimately finished 15th.
 
Start – 26th      Finish – 17th    Laps Led – 0    Points – 18th 
                                                  
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
“I’m really proud of this team today. We were just a little front end tight. I learned a lot and had a blast out there. I can’t wait to try road course racing again.”
 
 
 
2011 CC Team Icon 27 NSCS Menards
 
 
Paul Menard Earns Second-Consecutive Top-FiveFinish at Sonoma in No. 27 Richmond/Menards Chevrolet
 
Paul Menard drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 27 Richmond/Menards Chevrolet SS to a fifth-place finish in Sunday’s 218.9-mile event at Sonoma Raceway in California. The Eau Claire, Wisc., driver started ninth and raced in the top 10 for 21 laps of competition. Menard radioed in that he needed more “drive off” and suggested a track bar adjustment during the team’s scheduled pit stop. The Slugger Labbe-led team called for Menard to come down pit road during the lap 30 caution. After a stop for four tires, fuel, air pressure and track bar adjustments, Menard felt more comfortable in the Richmond/Menards Chevy. From there, he was able to race within the top 20 for the remainder of the 110-lap event with only three additional pit stops. In the closing laps, Menard was able to race his way into the top five with fresh tires and a fast Chevrolet. This finish marks the No. 27 team’s third top-five finish, second consecutively after finishing fourth last week in Michigan and ninth top-10 finish. Sunday afternoon’s finish was also Menard’s personal best at Sonoma Raceway. Up next for the No. 27 team is Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway.
 
Start – 9th             Finish – 5th             Laps Led – 0                Points – 12th
 
PAUL MENARD QUOTE:
“Today was another good call today by my team. I think if we had another caution come out there at the end, we could have contended for a top-three finish for sure. My guys gave me great stops on pit road and helped us be where we needed in regards to track position. Overall, it was a good weekend for our Richmond/Menards team.”