Catchfence

CHINA GROVE, NC – For the first time in awhile, Robert Richardson will be a little more wide-eyed than normal heading to a race track. Being that it’s his first time at the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway, he needs to keep his attention focused on learning a new track as he’s been making return trips the past few races.

He and the No. 23 Mahindra Tractors Chevrolet team of R3 Motorsports have the talent, tenacity and equipment to get the job done. But, like any other young athlete learning as they go, Richardson can only do that one way – by actually doing the task at hand.

With 39 career NASCAR Nationwide Series starts to his credit, Richardson has been finding his way one lap at a time this year driving a limited schedule. Notching his career-best finish of 16th at Talladega Superspeedway, the Texas native keeps getting better each week.

R3 Motorsports battled back from being out of the coveted top-30 in NASCAR Nationwide Series owner’s points for two weeks and are now concentrating on improving every weekend. With the Mahindra Tractors Chevrolet ready to roll at Chicagoland, they and Richardson feel good about their chances of success.

Tune in for the Win – After two practices on Thursday, the Nationwide Series qualifies at 3 p.m. (ET) on Friday live on ESPN2-TV. Hours later, the 200-lap race airs on ESPN starting at 8 p.m. with radio coverage on MRN Radio and Sirius/XM NASCAR Channel 128.

- R3 Motorsports Press Release

Robert Richardson, driver – “Going to a new track like this isn’t my favorite thing to do in a race car. But, I also know it’s what you have to do to learn and get better. The good news is I like the 1.5-mile tracks and seem to adapt to them fairly quickly.

“Not having to worry about qualifying our way into the race helps the entire team out. That allows myself and them to work on the car, make some mock qualifying runs and make some long runs to see how the car handles after multiple laps.

“Once I get the feel of how the car is on the track, then I can get behind some veteran drivers and see where their entry and exit points are on the track. I look forward to learning a new track any time I can, but I look forward to coming back again to put it to good use. And, we get to race under the lights on a Friday night again; I love racing under those conditions.”