Richard Childress Racing

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June 12, 2012

Austin Dillon Event Preview: Alliance Truck Parts 250

"Truthfully, Michigan International Speedway is one of my favorite tracks. The bigger tracks always seem to suit me well because there is a lot of room to slide around and some of the sensations are similar to dirt track racing, which is my background."

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Event Preview Fact Sheet
Austin Dillon
No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet   


Event/Date:         Alliance Truck Parts 250 – June 16, 2012
Venue:            Michigan International Speedway – Brooklyn, Mich.

Race Notes and Quotes:

This Week’s AdvoCare Chevrolet at Michigan International Speedway … Austin Dillon will pilot Chassis No. 109 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Nationwide Series stable. This is the same Chevrolet that Dillon drove to an 11th-place finish after securing his best Nationwide Series starting position of second at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. 

Dillon at Michigan International Speedway … Dillon battled his way to a 19th-place finish after starting 37th in his lone Nationwide Series appearance at Michigan International Speedway in 2009. The 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion has two starts at the track in the Truck Series, earning his best finish of fifth in the June 2010 event after starting from the pole position. In the August 2011 Truck Series race at the track, Dillon was making a move for the lead on the outside line with 10 laps remaining in the race when a car running the bottom groove clipped him, causing significant damage to Dillon’s truck. He was unable to complete the race and posted a 22nd-place finish. He also has one ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards start in 2009, where he finished second after starting 36th.

Spark your Engines … Dillon and his team will sport the colors of award-winning premier health and wellness company AdvoCare on the No. 3 Chevrolet this weekend. AdvoCare offers nutrition, weight loss, energy and sports performance products of the highest quality developed through comprehensive research and backed by a Scientific and Medical Advisory Board. Dillon trains with AdvoCare products during the week and is a distributor of AdvoCare products. For more information about Dillon’s favorite products, including Spark, Rehydrate, meal replacement bars and Post-Workout Recovery, visit http://www.AdvoCare.com.

The Season So Far … According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Season-to-Date Statistics, Dillon has completed 99.27 percent of laps on the lead lap, leading all competitors. He has completed 95.4 percent of his laps in the top 15, ranking him second and is the third-fastest driver late in a run. The Nationwide Series rookie has an average running position of 8.189 in the season’s 12 contested Nationwide Series races, ranking him third among all drivers and has made 541 Quality Passes, ranking him fourth. He maintains a driver rating of 102.5, ranking him fifth, has the fifth-fastest speed in traffic and is the fifth-fastest driver early in a run. He has the sixth-fastest green-flag speed and is ranked seventh in the Fastest Laps Run category with 103 laps so far this season.

Get to the Points … Dillon is third in the 2012 Nationwide Series driver championship point standings, 14 points behind leader Elliott Sadler and two markers shy of the second position. Dillon currently leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings over Cole Whitt.

Questions, Please … Dillon and Sadler will field questions from the media in the MIS Infield Media Center on Friday at 10:45 a.m. ET.

Meet Dillon … Dillon is scheduled to make an appearance at the Team Chevrolet Stage located near the track’s main Gate 24 ticket office in the New Holland Fan Plaza beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET on Friday.

Happy Father’s Day … Dillon will spend Father’s Day with his family at MIS by making his first Sprint Cup Series start of the season in the No. 33 American Ethanol Chevrolet. Both his grandfather (car owner Richard Childress) and father (RCR Vice President of Competition Mike Dillon) will be in attendance.

Livin’ the Dream … Dillon spent his Nationwide Series off weekend racing his dirt late model at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. On Wednesday evening, June 6, he drove Team Dillon Racing’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet to a third-place finish in the invitation-only Prelude to the Dream, following Sprint Cup Series veterans Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart across the finish line. Dillon was the fastest qualifier and won his heat race in the charity event that benefitted Feed the Children.

For a Cause … On Thursday, Dillon and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer will travel to Lake County Speedway in Painesville Township, Ohio to take part in a Cometic Gasket appearance designed to raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House. Dillon and Bowyer will participate in a Question and Answer session on the race track’s front stretch and give rides in a Lake County Speedway ride-along truck. The event is free and open to the public.

Rewind to Dover … Dillon drove the No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet to a sixth-place finish after starting 11th at Dover International Speedway on June 2 after developing a tight-handling condition in the late stages of the race.

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:
What do you think about Michigan International Speedway?
“Truthfully, Michigan International Speedway is one of my favorite tracks. The bigger tracks always seem to suit me well because there is a lot of room to slide around and some of the sensations are similar to dirt track racing, which is my background. Our team always seems to run well at Michigan International Speedway and it’s a big, fast, fun and very smooth track. I’ve heard that the speeds are really up there now that the track has been repaved, so I think it will be fun to see what it’s like. I’ve been told that the corners are very smooth and fast but the track still has the bump that it previously had, so there is still some character to the track. There is a test session for the Sprint Cup Series teams on Thursday, so that will provide us with an opportunity to gain some information before the race weekend officially begins, and I hope that will give our team an extra edge for both the Sprint Cup Series race and the Nationwide Series race.”

Do you like going to Michigan?
“Michigan is a fun place to visit. The fans are great. The track is located near Chevrolet’s headquarters so I always feel like we have an extra incentive to go out and do well for them. Plus, Michigan International Speedway is located in the Irish Hills and it’s a really pretty area.”
 

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