Catchfence

Richard Childress Racing

Race: Kentucky 225

Location: Kentucky Speedway

Richard Childress Racing

RCR’s NCWTS History … In 149 NCWTS starts, RCR has earned 21 wins, 64 top-five finishes, 96 top-10 finishes and 19 poles, along with the inaugural series championship in 1995 with Mike Skinner. The organization has an average starting position of 10.6 and an average finish position of 9.7.

Welcome to the Bluegrass State … This weekend’s 225-miler marks RCR’s first NCWTS appearance at Kentucky Speedway.

Social Media … To keep up-to-date with the latest news and information and to view exclusive content, visit RCR’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team Twitter page – @RCR3ADillon, Austin Dillon’s personal Twitter page – @AustinDillon3, and the Official Austin Dillon Facebook fan page -http://www.facebook.com/adillon3.

Vote for Austin … Online voting is underway for the 2010 Most Popular Driver of the Year Award in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The link to the Most Popular Driver ballot is hosted on the NCWTS page on NASCAR.com and results will be announced at the combined awards banquet for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series on Monday, Nov. 22 at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel.

Catch the Action … Flag-to-flag coverage of this weekend’s race will be televised live on Friday, Sept. 3, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on SPEED and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio at 7:45 p.m. EDT.

No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Silverado

This Week’s Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet at Kentucky Motor Speedway … Austin Dillon will pilot chassis No. 002 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Camping World Truck Series stable. Dillon has raced this chassis, built in-house by the Danny Stockman-led Bass Pro Shops team, on four previous occasions, including at Michigan Int’l Speedway in June, where he finished fifth after starting on the pole. He was well on his way to a top-10 finish at Dover in May but finished 21st after an oil pump failure on the Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet just three laps shy of the race’s finish. He also finished 14th after starting 13th at Nashville Superspeedway in April and 10th after starting fifth at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March.

Congratulations, Little Bro! … Austin’s younger brother, Ty Dillon, earned his first career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race win at Gresham Motorsports Park on Saturday, August 28.

Back to School … Dillon started his sophomore year of course work at High Point University last week. The 20-year-old student is seeking a Communications degree and is taking courses in Communications, English, Philosophy and American Politics this semester.

Austin Dillon at Kentucky … Although Dillon has not previously competed at Kentucky Speedway in a truck, he made one ARCA Racing Series start at the track in 2009, finishing 15th after starting 34th. The race marked his first time on a 1.5-mile oval.

Raybestos Rookie Contender … Dillon is currently the leading candidate for the 2010 Raybestos Rookie of the Year award and has earned Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors in 11 out of 17 races.

All About Points … Dillon is currently seventh in the NCWTS Driver Point Standings, just nine points shy of Matt Crafton in sixth and 393 points in arrears to point leader Todd Bodine.

Austin Dillon (Photo Credit: Jason Smith / Getty Images for NASCAR)

What’s Kentucky Speedway like?

“I don’t have as much experience at Kentucky as some of the other NCWTS regulars, but I have raced at the track on one previous occasion. I was in one of the ARCA races at Kentucky last year, and from what I remember, the track is very race-able. The entire track is wide from the frontstretch to the backstretch to the corners, so you really have a lot of options for getting around the track.”

Talk about your progress this season.

“I’ve learned a lot since Daytona. Every race, we’ve gotten better and better as a team. Our trucks have gotten better and, at this point in the season, our pit stops are pretty much spot on during every stop. I’ve learned a lot about driving the trucks, too. We’ve been fortunate enough to qualify up front often, but we’ve also spent some time mid-field, and any time you can work your way up through traffic you are learning. One of the goals for the rest of the season is to win another race, and I think our team is very capable of that.”

School started last week. Is it difficult to juggle between your classes and racing?

“It’s not easy to maintain both school and racing, but luckily, everyone at High Point University has been great to work with. They are really understanding and I’m looking forward to the semester.”

- Richard Childress Racing Press Release