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July 17, 2012

Austin Dillon Event Preview: STP 300

"We have some confidence heading into this race weekend because we earned a win at Chicagoland Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series last year."

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Event Preview Fact Sheet

Austin Dillon, No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet

Event/Date:         STP 300 – July 22, 2012
Venue:            Chicagoland Speedway – Joliet, Ill.


Race Notes and Quotes:

This Week’s AdvoCare Chevrolet at Chicagoland Speedway … Austin Dillon will pilot Chassis No. 102 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Nationwide Series stable. This is the same Chevrolet Dillon drove to his career-first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory after starting on the pole and leading 192 of 200 laps at Kentucky Speedway on June 29. He also raced this Chevrolet to a sixth-place finish at Dover International Speedway in June, a fifth-place finish at Darlington Raceway in May, a fifth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway in April and a seventh-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.

Winner, Winner … Though Dillon has yet to make a Nationwide Series start at Chicagoland Speedway, the 22-year old driver earned a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win at the 1.5-mile track in September 2011. After beating the field off of pit road following a caution period 13 laps shy of the race’s finish, Dillon crossed the finish line in the No. 3 Chevrolet nearly five seconds ahead of Kevin Harvick.  At the time, Dillon described the win as one of the “biggest of his career” because he won against a field stacked with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars. Dillon also competed in the Camping World Truck Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in August 2010, finishing ninth.

The Season So Far … According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Season-to-Date Statistics, Dillon has completed 99.21 percent of Laps on the Lead Lap, leading all competitors. He has completed 92.9 percent of his Laps in the Top 15, ranking him second and has an Average Running Position of 8.707 in the season’s 17 contested Nationwide Series races, also ranking him second among all drivers. The Nationwide Series rookie is ranked third in the Fastest Laps Run category with 216 laps so far this season, maintains a Driver Rating of 104.0, ranking him fourth, is the fourth-Fastest Driver Late in a Run and has the fourth-fastest Speed in Traffic. He has 229 Laps Led this season, ranking him fifth, has the sixth-fastest Green Flag Speed, is sixth-Fastest on Restarts, is the sixth-fastest Driver Early in a Run and ranks ninth in Quality Passes with 698.

Get to the Points … Dillon is second in the 2012 Nationwide Series driver championship point standings, trailing RCR teammate Elliott Sadler by three points. Dillon currently leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings over Cole Whitt.

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 at Chicagoland Speedway. 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 throughout the week and is a distributor as well. For more information about Dillon’s favorite products, including Spark, Rehydrate, meal replacement bars and Post-Workout Recovery, visit http://www.AdvoCare.com.

Show Me the Money … Dillon bested the on-track performances of Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Elliott Sadler and Michael Annett to lay claim to the Nationwide Insurance $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last weekend. In addition to earning $100,000, Dillon is qualified for this weekend’s Dash 4 Cash bonus at Chicagoland Speedway and will win an additional $100,000 bonus courtesy of Nationwide Insurance if he finishes ahead of the other qualified drivers (Stenhouse, Sadler and Sam Hornish, Jr.) in the STP 300. Fans have the opportunity to win their own cash bonus by entering the Nationwide Series $100,000 Sweepstakes at www.nascar.com/dash4cash.

Celebrate Good Times … Dillon celebrated his Nationwide Insurance Dash 4 Cash bonus and third-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with his race team at Badin Lake in New London, N.C. on Sunday afternoon.

Need for Speed … Dillon spent the week leading into Chicagoland racing his Team Dillon Racing No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet dirt late model at Wytheville Speedway in Virginia.

Meet Dillon … Dillon is scheduled to participate in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver autograph session at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday at 3 p.m. Central Time.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway Recap … Dillon drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet to a third-place finish in the F.W. Webb 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon, marking the team’s 10th top-five finish of the 2012 season.

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:
Do you think you can parlay the success you’ve had at Chicagoland Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend?
“We have some confidence heading into this race weekend because we earned a win at Chicagoland Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series last year. We learned some things last year at Chicagoland Speedway with two-tire versus four-tire during pit stops. Elliott Sadler was really fast in the Nationwide Series race at Chicagoland Speedway last year, and I’m excited to take our car there and use a similar setup to what he had and go out there and race.”

What makes Chicagoland Speedway unique?
“Chicagoland Speedway is getting pretty rough. The track is building a lot of character and as racers, that’s what you really want to see. It gives you a chance to work on the cars and try and make them turn better than the other drivers around you. It’s very fast. I remember going to Chicagoland Speedway for my first time there in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and we had to run wide-open. The Nationwide Series cars will be close to wide-open. We’ll be out there fighting grip and it will be a fun race.”

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