Richard Childress Racing

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May 9, 2012

Austin Dillon Event Preview: VFW Help a Hero 200

"It's even more challenging since they repaved it. It's a tough track, but I love it."

RCR/HHP Photo RCR/HHP Photo

Event Preview Fact Sheet

Austin Dillon
No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet

Event/Date:
VFW Help a Hero 200
May 11, 2012

Venue:
Darlington Raceway

Race Notes and Quotes:

This Week's AdvoCare Chevrolet at Darlington Raceway ... Austin Dillon will pilot Chassis No. 102 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Nationwide Series stable. This is the same Chevrolet that Dillon drove to a fifth place finish at Texas Motor Speedway in April and a seventh-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.

Dillon at Darlington ... This weekend will mark Dillon's first Nationwide Series start at Darlington Raceway, but the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion has two starts at the track in the Camping World Truck Series. He earned his best finish of fifth in August 2010, coupled with a 15th-place result in March 2011.

The Season So Far ... According to NASCAR's Loop Data Season-to-Date Statistics, Dillon is the second-fastest driver late in a run. He has completed 99.22 percent of laps on the lead lap, ranking him third in that category and has completed 93.1 percent of his laps in the top 15, also ranking him third. The Nationwide Series Rookie has an average running position of 9.092 in the season's first eight Nationwide Series races, ranking him fifth among all drivers and has the fifth-fastest green-flag speed. He maintains a driver rating of 100.0, ranking him sixth, has the seventh-fastest speed in traffic and is the seventh-fastest driver early in a run. He is ranked seventh in the Fastest Laps Run category with 73 laps so far this season and has made 443 Quality Passes, ranking him seventh in that category.

Get to the Points ... Dillon is third in the 2012 Nationwide Series driver championship point standings. He trails point leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr by 35 points and he is 30 markers behind second-place Elliott Sadler, his RCR teammate. Dillon currently leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings over Cole Whitt.

Keeping Cool, AdvoCare Style ... The No. 3 AdvoCare team plans to stay at peak performance at the track this weekend with the newest product by AdvoCare, Rehydrate Gel. Rehydrate Gel is an electrolyte replacement energy gel designed to help you enjoy activity at your highest level. With a light lemon flavor and just 80 calories, this portable pouch is easy to use and carry during the most strenuous exercise. Whether you want to boost, replenish or recover, Rehydrate Gel provides the electrolytes and carbohydrates needed to help you get the most out of any run, workout, swim, ride or NASCAR race. The No. 3 team tried Rehydrate Gel for the first time last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway and plan to continue using the product to battle the heat throughout the summer races.

Happy Mother's Day ... With no NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race scheduled for Sunday, Dillon plans to spend Mother's Day with his family at Childress Vineyards enjoying the venue's Mother's Day Grand Buffet, followed by an afternoon at the lake with his brother (Camping World Truck Series Sunoco rookie contender Ty Dillon), father (RCR Vice President of Competition Mike Dillon) and mother, Tina Dillon.

Rewind to Talladega ... Dillon started the Aaron's 312 at Talladega Superspeedway from the fifth position made dramatic position changes from first to 29th throughout the race as the field entertained race fans with two- and three-wide racing. In the closing laps of the race, Dillon was running in the fourth position when a multi-car incident broke out. He attempted to avoid the wreckage but ended up with front bumper damage and a crinkled hood in the process. He was able to salvage a 17th-place finish.

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:

What are your thoughts heading into Darlington Raceway?
"I've never raced there in the Nationwide Series, but I have raced there a couple of time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and it's a challenging track, for sure. It's fun. You drive up high right next to the wall, so if you make any type of a mistake you pretty much end up right in the wall. It's even more challenging since they repaved it. It's a tough track, but I love it. I really want to run every lap. The best way to learn is to actually race and experience different situations for yourself."

 

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