Catchfence

“Flat right front tire just nine laps after green flag deflates team’s efforts”

CHINA GROVE, N.C. (July 11, 2010) – Robert Richardson, Jr. and the No. 23 Chevrolet of R3 Motorsports came into Chicagoland Speedway with high hopes for a good finish.

However, after enduring motor problems at the end of the first practice that forced them to bolt in the back-up power plant, they were only able to make two laps in the final practice. This led to them starting 41st in the 200-lap race on Friday night.

Thinking all of their bad luck was out of the way; the fickle finger of fate reached out again and tapped the team. Actually, it tapped the right front tire on the team’s Chevrolet forcing Richardson to pit road just nine laps into the event with a flat.

After losing two laps on pit road to change tires, Richardson returned to action in 40th place. From there, it was a night of survival to try and gain as many positions as possible before the checkered flags waved.

As frustrating as it was not to be able to race, the worst part was Richardson was logging top-15 lap times in the middle of the race passing competitors that were laps ahead of him. Throughout the race, crew chief Steve Plattenberger and team made several air pressure and chassis adjustments for Richardson.

But, as noted before, it was tough to race forward when you’ve been caught on your own lap since the ninth circuit of the race because of that flat. The team made their final stop on lap 144 and returned to action in 32nd place.

When the final flags flew, Richardson was credited with 31st place at the 1.5-mile oval. The team remains in the top-30 Owner’s Points positions in 28th place as the NASCAR Nationwide Series heads to Gateway International Raceway to race under the lights next Saturday night.

Robert Richardson, Jr. quotes: “I keep saying we just can’t catch a break more and more lately, it seems. First, we have to change the primary motor out after we discovered something broken at the end of the first practice. That left us with just enough time to only get in two laps of the final practice.

“So, we started 41st and were looking to start moving forward as fast as possible. But, we got a flat right front tire that forced us to pit road just nine laps into the race. We went down two laps and then just tried to gain as many positions as possible for the rest of the race. The car was great through the turns and really stuck for most of the race. I can’t thank the guys on the team for swapping out the motor so fast and getting us ready for qualifying and the race. Just wish we could’ve had a better finish for the effort.”

- R3 Motorsports Press Release