Catchfence

Despite two minor crashes during the race, still had fastest car on the track at times

Robert Richardson

Two minor nose benders, multiple pit stops to make repairs and fastest laps were the story of the night under the lights of the 2.5-mile trioval. When the initial green flag dropped, Richardson rolled off 32nd. However, during the second practice the night before, he and the R3 Motorsports team had the ninth fastest time.

This bolstered their confidence for race conditions and it didn’t take Richardson long to show how fast his Chevrolet could go.

The first caution on lap nine brought Richardson down pit road for fuel, four tires and a track bar adjustment to fix the loose conditions in the high-banked turns. In the first 10 laps, he moved up to 26th place and remained in the mid-20s for much of the race going from 27th to 21st to 25th in the running order.

The next caution on lap 44 was a call for tires and another chassis adjustment. This was the one the doctor ordered as the No. 23 Mahindra Tractors Chevrolet roared to life. By lap 53, Richardson logged the fastest laps of the 43-car field for four of the next three laps.

Then, a multi-car wreck unfolded in front of him on the backstretch. As he went low to avoid it, another car went low at the same time pulling in front of him. The front end of the No. 23 lifted up the back of the other causing nose, grill and fender damage to his car.

Several pit stops under caution for repairs and the Mahindra Tractors Chevrolet was good to go for the lap 64 restart in 30th place. In the next six laps, Richardson moved to 21st place. Because of the tires and fuel received on the previous pit stop, the R3 Motorsports team was able to stay out and restart in 16th place on lap 75.

Two laps later, another wreck started in front of Richardson and resulted in some more damage to the left-front fender and nose of the car. And, just like before, the R3 team leapt into action to make repairs through multiple stops.

For the lap 83 restart, Richardson was 29th because he got penalized to end of the longest line for pitting too early. But, they were still on the lead lap.

In just seven laps, Richardson was up to 21st place and looking to break into the top-20 again. Another multi-car wreck on lap 94 took six laps for clean up forcing a green/white/checkered finish restarting in 23rd on lap 100.

Knowing they had a fast car, the plan was to get as many positions as possible for a good finish. However, while coming to the white flag, Richardson got together with another car as it got in front of him and came down and resulted in them wrecking heavily along the outside wall.

Damaged beyond being able to drive back to the garage, the checkered and yellow waved giving the No. 23 Mahindra Tractors Chevrolet team of R3 Motorsports a 26th-place finish.

Robert Richardson, driver – “Wow, what a night. I think we went through just about everything we could here tonight at Daytona. We got caught up in two minor wrecks, made the repairs, got back to racing, passed people, ran three wide and even had the fastest laps on the track at times.

“That car was fast; so fast. We were a little loose in the beginning, but the crew did an awesome job to get it right. Then, they really went to work making those repairs after those two wrecks. I really, really have to hand it to the R3 team because they have been on their game lately and went above and beyond tonight.

“On that last lap deal, we were all fighting for positions out there trying to get all we could. I knew my car was fast, at I also knew I had to work it just right to get a top-20 or 15 tonight. Coming off the turn, I was making a move and the other guy came down and we ended up wrecking into the wall.

“I hated that we ended a great night like that, but the Mahindra Tractors Chevrolet was fast. So, I’ll take that knowledge and put it to use when we come back in February.”

- Packman Public Relations for R3 Motorsports, Press Release