MAX PAPIS JOINS RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING AT ROAD AMERICA
By Max Papis Racing | June 18, 2013 at 11:26 amMAD MAX PAPIS IS BACK AT ROAD AMERICA WITH RCR
Race: Johnsonville Sausage 200 presented by Menards
Date: Saturday, June 22, 2013
Location: Road America
Richard Childress Racing’s NASCAR Nationwide Series History at Road America … Richard Childress Racing has four previous starts at Road America, earning one top-five finish with Max Papis in 2012. The Welcome, N.C., organization has a long history of making left and right-hand turns. In 39 previous road course attempts, RCR has three wins with Jeff Purvis at Pikes Peak International Raceway on July 28, 2001, Kevin Harvick at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on August 4, 2007 and at Watkins Glen International on August 11, 2007. In addition to the three wins, RCR has 10 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes in Nationwide Series road-course competition.
RCR in the NNS … In 907 Nationwide Series starts through the last 15 years, Richard Childress Racing has earned 65 wins, 306 top-five, 508 top-10 finishes and 46 pole awards with a 12th-place average starting position and an average finishing position of 12.5 among all races contested. RCR earned the Nationwide Series driver point championships in 2001 and 2006 with Harvick, and in 2008 with Clint Bowyer. The Welcome, N.C.-based team earned the owner’s title in 2003 with Johnny Sauter and Harvick, and again in 2007 with Jeff Burton and Scott Wimmer.
The Season So Far … In the 13 races contested this season, RCR has earned one win in the Nationwide Series, with Tony Stewart at Daytona International Speedway, along with nine top-five and 20 top-10 finishes. Austin Dillon has earned four-consecutive pole awards at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Dover International Speedway, Iowa Speedway and Michigan International Speedway, setting the all-time consecutive pole award record in the Nationwide Series. The organization has led 470 laps in 2013.
Get to the Points … Austin Dillon is ranked fourth in the Nationwide Series driver championship point standings, trailing point leader Regan Smith by 67 markers, while Brian Scott is sixth, 80 points out of the lead. In the Nationwide Series owner championship point standings, the No. 3 Chevrolet team ranks sixth, while the No. 2 team ranks eighth and the No. 33 team ranks ninth.
Social Media … To keep up-to-date with the latest news and information, and to view exclusive content, visit RCR’s Twitter page – @RCRracing, RCR’s NASCAR Nationwide Series team Twitter pages – @RCR2BScott, @RCR3ADillon and @RCR33NNS, RCR’s NNS driver Twitter pages – @BScottRacing and @AustinDillon3, @Brendan62 and @MaxPapis and the official Facebook fan pages – facebook.com/BScottRacing, facebook.com/austindillon3 and facebook.com/maxpapisracing.
Catch the Action … Flag-to-flag coverage of the Johnsonville Sausage 200 presented by Menards will be televised on ESPN beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, June 22 and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio.
Brian Scott
No. 2 Charter Chevrolet Camaro
This Week’s Charter Chevrolet at Road America … This Saturday, Brian Scott will be making both right and left hand turns as the NASCAR Nationwide Series heads to the first of three road-course events on the 2013 schedule. Scott will pilot chassis No. 096 from Richard Childress Racing’s Nationwide Series stable in the Johnsonville Sausage 200 presented by Menards. This chassis was last run in this event one year ago, where teammate Austin Dillon drove it to an 18th-place finish. .
Scott’s Stats in the Dairy State … The 25-year-old Chevrolet driver has three Nationwide Series starts at the 4.048-mile Elkhart Lake, Wis. track, notching his best start of sixth and finish of seventh in this race one year ago. Additionally, the Nationwide Series competitor has a 100 percent lap completion rate at the road course and led 10 laps.
Moving Up in Points … After last weekend’s event at Michigan International Speedway, Scott moved up to sixth in Nationwide Series championship driver point standings, 80 markers out of first place and nine points out of fifth.
About Charter … Charter (NASDAQ: CHTR) is a leading broadband communications company and the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States. Charter provides a full range of advanced broadband services, including advanced Charter TV® video entertainment programming, Charter InternSet® access, and Charter Phone®. Charter Business® similarly provides scalable, tailored, and cost-effective broadband communications solutions to business organizations, such as business-to-business Internet access, data networking, business telephone, video and music entertainment services, and wireless backhaul.
Welcome, Charter Media … Charter Media takes center stage this weekend as they display their colors on the No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro for the first time this season. Charter Media is currently aligned with RCR for the second year and serves as an associate sponsor on the No. 29 and 31 Sprint Cup Series cars, as well as the No. 2, 3 and 33 Nationwide Series cars throughout the 2013 season. Earlier this year, Charter took advantage of their relationship with RCR when they utilized Sprint Cup Series drivers Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton to record television commercials with Chevrolet dealers throughout the country, which helped to promote special discounts the various dealerships have taking place.
Heading Home … Ethan Marquardt, rear tire carrier for the No. 2 team, heads to his home state this weekend when the Nationwide Series travels to Road America. Hailing from Merrill, Wis., this former racer joined RCR in 2011 as part of the No. 2 team, and in 2012 he worked with the No. 31 crew and Jeff Burton in the Sprint Cup Series.
Scott’s Top Five … A music aficionado, there’s always a wide selection of tunes available on Scott’s playlist. His current top five includes: Radioactive (Imagine Dragons), Treasure (Bruno Mars), Hey Pretty Girl (Kip Moore), Tupelo Honey (Van Morrison) and Boys Round Here (Blake Shelton).
BRIAN SCOTT QUOTES:
Road America is one of the most challenging tracks the series visits. How do you balance the race to be successful? “I like Road America a lot. It’s a track where I’ve led laps and have been in contention for top-five finishes in the past. Road-course racing is 100 percent racing the track and moderating your aggression for restarts and long runs. The team is really involved on strategy in deciding when to take fuel and tires. There are a lot of factors that make it a fun race for me as a driver, and a challenging race for the teams.”
Do you consider yourself a good road-course racer? “I didn’t until last year, but we had really good success in each race last year. It’s something I’ve dedicated myself to over the past two years. I’ve worked with Marcos Ambrose, bought a go-kart and focusing on my road course education. Of course, I’m still not as good as some of the “ringers,” but I was much more pleased with the results.”
Other forms of motorsports are strictly road racing, but in NASCAR it’s more oval concentrated. Why do you think that is? “I think a lot of forms of racing are road racing because that’s how they were started. They got their start on city blocks, but NASCAR has always been oval racing because it started as an oval on Daytona Beach. American’s do things different, our football and basketball are different. We’ve always had different likings and stock car racing has always been more fitting and gotten into the hearts and imagination of fans being stock cars instead of open wheels and road courses. I’m glad we get to compete on road courses, but I’m glad they’re not all road courses. I’m still a fan of oval racing, but road courses provide a show for the fans.”
Austin Dillon
No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet Camaro
This Week’s AdvoCare Chevrolet at Road America … Austin Dillon will pilot Chassis No. 098 in the Johnsonville Sausage 200 presented by Menards at Road America. Dillon drove this Chevrolet to a 23rd-place finish at Watkins Glen International, and a ninth-place finish at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal last year.
Dillon at Road America … Dillon made his first-career NASCAR Nationwide Series road course start in last year’s edition of the race, earning an 18th-place finish in the AdvoCare Chevrolet after losing third gear on lap 12.
Record Breaker …. Dillon set the all-time record for consecutive pole awards in the Nationwide Series last weekend by earning his fourth one. The Welcome, N.C., driver has led the Nationwide Series field to the American Ethanol green flag at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Dover International Speedway, Iowa Speedway and Michigan International Speedway. The Michigan pole set a new track record and was among the top-nine quickest times in Nationwide Series history. In all, Dillon has seven-career pole awards in the Nationwide Series and 12 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
The Season So Far … According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Season-to-Date Statistics, Dillon leads the Nationwide Series in Average Starting Position (3.9), ranks second in laps in the Top-15 (88.4 percent), has led the second-most laps (318), ranks fourth in Fastest Laps Run (131), is the fourth-Fastest Driver on Restarts (8.923), ranks fourth in Average Running Position (9.408) and maintains the fourth-best Driver Rating (100.1). He currently ranks fourth in the driver championship point standings, 67 markers behind leader Regan Smith.
Spark your Engines … Dillon and the RCR team will sport the colors of award-winning premier health and wellness company AdvoCare on the No. 3 Chevrolet at Road America. 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.
AdvoCare Supporting the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma … If Dillon wins this weekend’s Nationwide Series race at Road America, AdvoCare will make a $5,000 donation to the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma. The health and wellness company will pledge $2,000 to CIPT for a top-five finish and $1,000 for a top-10 finish. So far this season, the No. 3 team has raised $10,000 towards the cause. The Childress Institute invests resources in research, education and awareness to improve the treatment for critically injured children in the U.S. and AdvoCare’s generous donations are aimed at helping to raise awareness for pediatric trauma, the No. 1 killer of children in America. You can help save the lives of injured children by making a contribution to the Childress Institute in two ways: donate $33 in honor of Dillon via his website, or text WIN to 80077 to make a $10 donation.
Double Duty: Driving for COPD This Weekend … In addition to driving the No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet in the Nationwide Series this weekend, Dillon is scheduled to race the No. 52 DRIVE4COPD Chevrolet for Ken Schrader Racing in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards prior to the start of Saturday’s Nationwide Series event. Dillon is racing the ARCA event in memory of his paternal grandfather, Stan Dillon, who passed away in May last year from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a serious and progressive lung disease that is the third leading cause of death of Americans. Dillon is helping to encourage all Americans aged 35 or older to log onto www.drive4copd.org/screener to take a brief, five-question screener to see if they might be at risk for COPD. If the screener indicates risk, patients are encouraged to take the next step and speak with their healthcare professional or call the C.O.P.D. Information Line (1-866-316-2673) to discuss what their score may mean. Because COPD is a progressive disease that causes irreversible lung damage, early diagnosis and disease management are critical to helping patients breathe better in the future.
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
What are your goals for this weekend? “I feel really prepared for this weekend. Our No. 3 team has made testing for the road courses a priority during the off-season and into the summer, and I have a lot of confidence heading into the race weekend at Road America. The biggest thing with these road-course races is to stay on the track, and that is what I intend to do. I think if I can do that, we will have a good points day and a good finish.”
Brendan Gaughan
No. 21 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro
This Week’s South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro at Road America ... Brendan Gaughan will pilot chassis No. 502 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Nationwide Series stable in Saturday’s event at Road America. This Chevrolet was last used by the No. 2 team in August 2012 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where it was driven to a second-place finish.
Road-Course Racing in the Dairy State … In 2010, Gaughan made his lone Nationwide Series appearance at the 14-turn road course. The Las Vegas native earned a third-place result after starting from the sixth position, completing 100 percent (50 of 50) of the laps contested.
South Point Hotel & Casino … Opened in December of 2005, the South Point resort was the first megaresort located south of McCarran International Airport and the Las Vegas Strip. The facility consists of a 25 story hotel tower and 90,000 square feet convention center located on a 60 acre site along Las Vegas Boulevard in Enterprise, Nevada. South Point Hotel offers a total of 2,163 rooms and 160,000 sq. ft. meeting and convention space; the largest of any hotel in Las Vegas that is not on the Strip. For more information, visit www.southpointcasino.com or call 1-866-796-7111.
Summertime Dairy Treat … In 2012, Kate’s Corner ice cream shop in the South Point Hotel served more than 125,506 scoops of ice cream.
‘Eye’ Spy a Badger … Ben Brust, guard for the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team and a friend of Gaughan, will provide an extra set of eyes to help guide the Las Vegas native around the 4.048-mile road course this weekend. A senior at UW-Madison, Brust is working to obtain his Life Sciences Communication degree, but this weekend he will be put to work as an additional spotter for Gaughan. Teams use multiple spotters during road course events because of the track size and layout, and the Wisconsin Badger will be put to the test helping maneuver the former Georgetown Hoya men’s basketball player around Road America.
Meet that Man … Fans will have an opportunity to meet Gaughan and other Nationwide Series drivers during a NASCAR autograph session on Friday, June 21 from 3:45 – 4:30 p.m. Central Time in front of the Road America Media Center.
BRENDAN GAUGHAN QUOTE:
What are your thoughts on racing at Road America? “The last time I was at Road America, I finished third. I’ve been racing at Road America since the mid 1990’s, and it’s honestly my favorite road course to race. To me, it’s one of the toughest road courses ever built. It has elevation changes, big braking and high-speed corners. It’s just a fantastically built road course. Going there with equipment from Richard Childress Racing and working with my NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team is going to be a lot of fun. It should be neat for all of the guys and will be a good to revisit my old stomping grounds in Wisconsin.”
Max Papis
No. 33 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet Camaro
This Week’s Rheem/Menards Chevrolet … Max Papis will pilot chassis No. 095 at Road America. This No. 33 Chevrolet Camaro was previously tested this season at Virginia International Raceway. It was also utilized last year at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where Brendan Gaughan drove it to an 11th- place finish.
Stats at Elkhart Lake … The Italian road-course veteran has two-career starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Road America. His best start of second came in 2011 and best finish of fourth came in 2012. Papis has completed 105 of 107 laps attempted (98.1 percent) at the 4.048-mile road course, leading one of them.
Gotta Have a Rheem … Rheem Manufacturing Company (www.rheem.com) is privately held with headquarters in Atlanta and U.S. operations in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Indiana, North Carolina and Texas. In its 88th year of operation, the company manufactures a full-line of eco-friendly, technologically advanced residential and commercial heating and cooling systems; tank, tankless, solar and hybrid heat pump water heaters; whole-home standby generators, controls, swimming pool and spa heaters; indoor air-purification products; and commercial boilers throughout North America and world markets. The company’s premium brands, including Rheem, Raypak, Ruud and Richmond have been recognized with countless industry and consumer awards for reliability, innovative design and high quality. Rheem is the official heating, cooling and water heating supplier to Richard Childress Racing, and is a primary sponsor of RCR’s No. 29 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and RCR’s No. 33 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Meet Max … Papis is scheduled to participate in the Nationwide Series autograph session at Road America on Saturday from 3:45-4:30 p.m. Central Time. The session will take place in front of the Media Center.
Store Appearance … Papis is scheduled to make two Menards store appearances in Wisconsin on Thursday evening to sign autographs and take photos prior to on-track actives beginning Friday. He will visit Menards in Fon du Lac (1200 Rickmeyer Drive) from 4-5:30 p.m. CT and Menards in Sheboygan (4825 Vanguard Drive) from 7-8:30 p.m. CT. Both appearances are open to the public.
Race Rewind … Papis last turned laps at Road America in 2012, where he started fifth and finished fourth at the Wisconsin road course.
MAX PAPIS QUOTE:
What are your thoughts on Road America, and what is your favorite part about going to the track? “I’m very excited about going to Road America because we are so close to Menards headquarters. I’m looking forward to making this weekend my first win for Menards, Rheem and Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. My favorite part about going to Elkhart Lake is the race fans. They are extremely knowledgeable about road-course racing and NASCAR in general. The track puts on a great event for everyone, and in my opinion, there is no better road-course track for a stockcar to race on than Road America. It has long straightaways, which make for good passing opportunities. So far, it has been the track that has given me the most satisfaction to drive a stockcar on.”
