Catchfence

Ryan Gifford

Event: Dover 150 – September 25, 2009

Venue: Dover (Del.) International Speedway

This Week’s No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet Impala SS at Dover International Speedway … Richard Childress Racing developmental driver Ryan Gifford will pilot Chassis No. 166 from the Richard Childress Racing stable in this weekend’s Dover 150 NASCAR Camping World Series East event at Dover International Speedway. Formerly a No. 07 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racer, this car has been reworked to fit NCWS specifications. Earlier this month, the Winchester, Tenn.-native finished sixth with this car in the NCWS West event at Iowa Speedway.

Fifth Start … This weekend’s Dover 150 will mark Gifford’s fifth career start in a NCWS event. In April, Gifford qualified 14th in his NCWSE debut at Tri-County Motor Speedway in Hudson, N.C. After working his way into the top 10, Gifford was spun out by another driver as the field attempted a green-white-checkered flag finish in the Tri-County 150, and was credited with a 17th-place finish. At South Boston (Va.) Speedway, Gifford qualified 10th on his way to a runner-up finish in the Camping World 150 in May, his sixth-career start on an asphalt track. In June, Gifford posted a fourth-place finish in the Heluva Good! 125 NCWSE event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Three weeks ago, he scored a sixth-place finish in the Central Iowa Building and Construction Trades 125 race at Iowa Speedway.

Big Time … When Gifford takes to the “Monster Mile” track, it will mark the third time the 20-year-old driver will be competing on a track larger than a half-mile in length (New Hampshire Motor Speedway was the first, and Iowa Speedway was the second).

Season So Far … Gifford is running a combination of dirt track, asphalt Late Model and NCWS events this season for Team Dillon Racing (owned by RCR vice president of competition, Mike Dillon) and Richard Childress Racing. Some highlights of the year to date include; a visit to the Alltel DIRTCar Nationals at Volusia (Fla.) Speedway, where Gifford posted five top-five feature finishes in seven nights of racing; a sixth-place finish in his first-career start on asphalt at Tri-County Motor Speedway on April 22, and a 10th-place result in the FASTRAK Late Model Challenge race at The Dirt Track at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 22.

Race Broadcast Information … The Dover 150 will be contested Friday, September 25, at 4:45 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The event is scheduled to air on a tape-delayed basis on SPEED, Thursday, October 1, at 3 p.m. EDT (Check your local listings to confirm date and time).

Ryan Gifford Quotes:

You’ve never been to Dover International Speedway. What do you expect from such a notoriously difficult track?

“I’m not really sure what to expect. Everyone tells me how treacherous it is, so I just want to go out there and do my best to learn how to drive the track in first practice. My main goal is to finish the weekend driving the same car that we start the weekend with. I’m going to do my best to be patient and not make any big mistakes while I’m learning, and go out there and run a clean race and gain some experience. If we can pull off a top 10 or a top five, that will be great, but it’s all about learning and gaining more experience right now.”

Have you talked to any drivers about DIS?

What other things have you done to prepare for this weekend? “I’ve talked with a few guys, and I’ve watched some tapes and practiced quite a bit on my racing simulator. I watched tapes from the in-car cameras of a couple of RCR’s drivers, (Jeff) Burton and (Scott) Wimmer (who drove for RCR in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for two seasons) and that gave me some good insight into what I need to do.”

Crew Chief Wayne Orme Quotes:

Gifford’s scored top-10 finishes in all but one of his NCWS starts. Are you expecting the same this weekend?

“Well, the biggest goal for me right now is to survive and get through qualifying. Ryan’s never seen the track (in person) before, and Dover’s kind of a different animal. Once we get past practice and qualifying, I’d be very disappointed if we don’t come out of there with a top-10 finish, for sure.”

Dover is known as the “Monster Mile” for a reason, as it’s a very tough track. What do you think will be the most difficult obstacle for Gifford to overcome?

“I think the toughest thing is going to be getting over the sensation of dropping 25 or 30 feet down into the corner. Everywhere else, you drive into the banking, but at Dover, you drive down to get into the banking. You fall down into the corner. Getting over that sensation is going to take a little time, but he’s adapted quickly to every track we’ve visited. I don’t see Dover as being any different in that respect.”

In your time working with Gifford, what’s the biggest change you’ve seen in him as a driver?

“His understanding of the race cars has really grown leaps and bounds. The understanding of what the race car is and what he has to do as a driver to be there at the end of the race has gotten so much better. Earlier this season, we’d show up at a track and he’d be the fastest car there for the first 50 laps, and then hang on for dear life there at the end. A few weeks ago, we went to Tri-County (N.C.) Speedway and ran a 100-lap race. He took care of his tires and equipment the entire race and finished a solid third.

That’s instead of leading 50 laps and then barely hanging on to a second or third-place finish. He went forward the entire race instead of using his stuff up at the beginning of the race and then hoping no one gets around him at the end. That shows a great deal of maturity for someone who only has 12 or 13 races on asphalt in his career.”

- Richard Childress Racing Press Release