Richard Childress Racing at Sonoma Raceway… In 73 starts at the 10-turn stadium course, Richard Childress Racing owns a storied history with two wins (with Dale Earnhardt in 1995 and with Robby Gordon in 2003), one pole award (Earnhardt, 1995), 14 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes. The Welcome, N.C.,-based team has led 140 laps at Sonoma Raceway, completed 7,623 of the 7,670 laps contested (99.4 percent) and has recorded just one DNF since the NASCAR Cup Series made its debut at the track in 1989.
Richard Childress Racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course… In 23 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 2.258-mile road course, Richard Childress Racing has accumulated nine top-five finishes, 12 top-10 finishes, one pole award, led 72 laps and averages a starting position of 10.8 and finishing position of 11.2. The Welcome, North Carolina, organization has completed 1,817 laps of the 1,827 (99.5 percent) that they have competed at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Catch the Action… The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Mid-Ohio 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will be televised live Saturday, June 5, beginning at 1 p.m. ET on FS1 and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
The NASCAR Cup Series’ Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway will be televised live Sunday, June 6, beginning at 4 p.m. ET on FS1 and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Sonoma Raceway… Austin Dillon has made six previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Sonoma Raceway, earning his best finish of 16th at the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course in 2018. In his most recent road course start, Dillon finished 12th at Circuit of the Americas on May 23rd.
About The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation… Since 1989, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) has maintained a singleness of purpose that has guided the organization to become the most respected and trusted sportsmen’s organization in the political arena. CSF’s mission is to work with Congress, governors, and state legislatures to protect and advance hunting, angling, recreational shooting and trapping. The unique and collective force of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC), the Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus (GSC) and the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses (NASC), working closely with CSF, and with the support of major hunting, angling, recreational shooting and trapping organizations, serves as an unprecedented network of pro-sportsmen elected officials that advance the interests of America’s hunters and anglers.
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:
We’re in the midst of a heavy stretch of points-paying races on road courses in the NASCAR Cup Series. Do you find that particularly challenging?
“I think it’s definitely challenging. The Circuit of the Americas race kicked off the stretch and we were able to earn our career-best road course finish, so that gives us some confidence heading into Sonoma Raceway. We’ve worked really hard on preparing for these races. We’ve been solid all year long. The Daytona Road Course was a positive for me, as a road course racer. I got stage points in both stages and we were on our way to earning a top-10 finish. We just have to go out there, attack, be aggressive, and try to take the things that I’ve learned in the off-season and use them to my advantage. We’re going to try to get better at each and every road course that we go to. We know that there’s going to be some challenges ahead, but we’ll do the best with what we have.”
How do you prepare for Sonoma Raceway?
“A lot of simulator time. Get in the simulator and run a lot of laps. We’ve been finding some time to do that within the busy schedule. This winter we put in a lot of time on the road courses and getting ready for them. It’s a lot of fun. Road courses haven’t been a strong suit for us, but both the Daytona Road Course and COTA were good for us. At Daytona, we ran in the top-10 in the first two stages, and then barely missed finishing in the top-10. We got caught up in some other peoples’ mess there. Then we went to COTA and earned our best road course finish. There’s a lot of beating and banging at the end of those road courses. It seems like they’ve become rougher and rougher as we go. I’m looking forward to those challenges. I did put in a lot of work this off season.”
How do you feel like your team has done so far this year?
“We’ve been pretty consistent week in and week out. We’re just showing up and doing our job; keeping all four tires on the ground and working hard to make the car better throughout the race. Hopefully we will have a win soon, but for now we are just doing the best we can to be consistent and earn stage points. That’s what you have to do.”
Talk about the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation being on your car this weekend.
“I love the outdoors, and one thing my grandfather taught me growing up is the importance of conservation and protecting our natural resources so that future generations can enjoy the outdoors as much as I do. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation works hard to advance this mission, so it means a lot to be able to race with them at Sonoma Raceway this weekend.”
Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Childress Vineyards Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Sonoma Raceway… Tyler Reddick will be making his first start at Sonoma Raceway, his home track, during this weekend’s event. The northern California-native ran well at his first visit to Circuit of the Americas, another new road course for him, earlier this year and earned both his first NASCAR Cup Series career pole and a top-10 finish there. Reddick looks to continue that success with another strong performance during his debut on the California road course this week.
About Childress Vineyards… Childress Vineyards is a premier winery located at the southern gateway of the Yadkin Valley in Lexington, North Carolina. Owned by Richard Childress, NASCAR team owner and Hall of Fame member, Childress Vineyards has been producing award-winning wines with the expertise of Winemaker Mark Frizsolowski. Open daily for tours, tastings, and lunch in the Bistro. Information about Childress Vineyards can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/childresswines/, on Twitter at @ChildressWines and on Instagram at Instagram.com/childresswines.
TYLER REDDICK QUOTES:
RCR has continued to have strong runs across both Cup teams recently. Has anything in particular helped push the teams forward?
“It’s definitely a good direction we’re going in. The intensity and detail we are bringing to our debriefs and pre-race strategy remains the same. We are still all aggressively hungry to continue to push and be better. Between Austin and I, our crew chiefs and our alliance teams, we’re just all working really well together and paying a lot of attention to all the little details that make up the difference between spots on the track. The same mentality and drive is there that we had last year on the Cup side. We’re focused on continuing to improve, which is the name of the game. You don’t want to become content or complacent. We’ve had a great stretch of runs with the No. 8 team over the past month or so, but we haven’t changed our mentality at all. If anything, we’re continuing to turn up the intensity to find what we’re looking for.”
How are you preparing for Sonoma Raceway, knowing you’ve never raced there before?
“I’ve never seen or step foot on property at Sonoma Raceway, but I’m really excited about this weekend. Obviously, the road courses are something myself and my team have worked really hard on being better at. I feel like the things we made gains on as a team and the things I made gains on as a driver at COTA will help if we get into a tire management on a road course situation this weekend. I’ve also got a lot more sim time scheduled for this week, but we’ve been working on Sonoma for quite a while now. AJ Allmendinger has been a big help as well, coming over and sharing some of his knowledge with me on how to approach the course. He has really helped me on the road courses over the past few years and changed the way I approach them. I have zero laps of experience at Sonoma, so it’s going to be a learning process on Sunday for sure, but I’m ready for it with the No. 8 Childress Vineyards team.”
Myatt Snider and the No. 2 Louisiana Hot Sauce Chevrolet Camaro at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course… Myatt Snider’s first lap at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will be when the green flag waves on Saturday afternoon, as the Charlotte, N.C. native has never competed at the 2.258-mile road course. Despite not having prior experience at Mid-Ohio, Snider does enter the weekend armed with a substantial amount of road course starts in the NASCAR Euro Series.
About Summit Hill Foods… Summit Hill Foods is a fourth-generation, family-owned food company headquartered in Rome, Georgia. Founded in 1941, the company’s core strength is the development and manufacture of ingredient systems used to deliver texture and superior flavor. Summit Hill Foods is an ingredient supplier to food service manufacturers and restaurants. The company also markets nationally distributed brands including Better Than Bouillon®, Louisiana Brand Hot Sauce™, Southeastern Mills®, Shore Lunch® and Better Than Gravy®. Southeastern Mills operates six manufacturing facilities located in Rome, Georgia; New Iberia, Louisiana; and Salt Lake City, Utah. To learn more, visit www.SHFoods.com.
MYATT SNIDER QUOTE:
Although you’ve never been to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course before, you have a good amount of road course experience. Will that help you this Saturday?
“I think so. Road course racing is something I personally enjoy and I did get quite a bit of experience doing it overseas when I competed in the Euro Series. I’m excited to get to Mid-Ohio this weekend and drive our Louisiana Hot Sauce Chevrolet to the front. Andy (Street, crew chief) and I have been working on the sim and watching video, so I feel like we are prepared and ready. The Richard Childress Racing Xfinity Series program has been consistent at Mid-Ohio in the past, so we are looking to do that again on Saturday.”
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