Catchfence

Austin Dillon

Event: Kroger 200 – July 25, 2009

Venue: O’Reilly Raceway Park – Indianapolis, Ind.

· This weekend’s Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Impala SS at O’Reilly Raceway Park … Austin Dillon will pilot Chassis No. 065 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Nationwide Series stable in this weekend’s Kroger 200. This chassis is the same No. 2 Chevrolet that he drove at Phoenix International Raceway in April when a broken suspension part relegated him to a 34th-place finish. In 2007, Scott Wimmer drove this former No. 29 Monte Carlo SS to Nashville Superspeedway’s Winner Circle in March, a sixth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in August, a fourth-place finish at Dover International Speedway in September and a 13th-place effort at Texas Motor Speedway in November. Since then, this chassis was rebuilt over the winter to meet 2009 Chevrolet Impala SS specifications.

· ORP Debut … Dillon will attempt to make his first-career ORP start Saturday evening.

· RCR at O’Reilly … In 20 NNS starts at ORP, RCR has earned two wins, both coming with Kevin Harvick in 2001 and 2006. Additionally, RCR-prepared cars have earned six top-five and nine top-10 finishes, led 190 laps and have completed 3717 of 4008 (92.7 percent) laps contested.

· Fourth NASCAR Nationwide Series Start … Dillon, an Asheville, N.C., native, is attempting to qualify for his fourth career NNS race. In his three previous starts, Dillon has one top-five result and a respectable 21.3 average finish.

· Recent success … Dillon finished second in his last two ARCA RE/MAX Series starts this season. In both starts, which came at Iowa Speedway on July 18 and Michigan International Speedway on June 12, the 19-year old drove his way from the rear of the field to score the runner-up finishes.

· Race Broadcast Information … The Kroger 200 will be televised live on ESPN Saturday, July 25 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will also be broadcast worldwide on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius/XM NASCAR Radio Ch. 128. Qualifying for the 20th event of the 2009 NNS season will air on ESPN2 at 4:30 p.m. EDT. MRN and Sirius/XM NASCAR Radio Ch. 128 will also air live updates of time trials.

· Mark Your Calendars … In honor of its 40th anniversary, RCR will host a Fan Day at the Welcome, N.C. complex on Thursday, October 22 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET. Activities include driver and pit crew autograph sessions, self-guided tours of RCR’s Sprint Cup and Nationwide shops as well as ECR’s engine shop, radio remotes, musical entertainment, pit crew competition, viewing of the DALE movie, question-and-answer session with team owner Richard Childress and much more. General admission to RCR’s Fan Day is just $5, which will benefit the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma.

· Online With the Times … To keep up with the latest news and information about Richard Childress Racing and to view exclusive online content, visit the team’s official website at www.RCRRacing.com. For qualifying and race results, check us out at www.twitter.com/RCRRacing.

AUSTIN DILLON Quote:

“I’m looking forward to this weekend’s race at O’Reilly Raceway Park. It’s the first time I’m racing there, but I’ve been able to learn a lot about the track from my RCR teammates. Dan Deeringhoff (my crew chief) has also been helpful in teaching me where the braking points are and how to handle the tight corners. It seems like a fun race track and we’ll have the No. 29 RCR team’s help for information to improve our car’s handling. I’m pumped to getting back into this No. 2 Chevy and hope for solid run.”

DAN DEERINGHOFF Quote:

“Our initial focus will be getting Austin comfortable with the track. Then, we’ll start preparing him for the race. I think we can have a solid run, but our main objective is to get Austin used to driving these Nationwide Series cars there. He’s done a good job so far in other competitive racing series and I’m excited to see how he runs on the Nationwide front.”

- Richard Childress Racing Press Release