Catchfence

CHINA GROVE, N.C. (September 10, 2011) – Robert Richardson, Jr. and the No. 23 North Texas Pipe Chevrolet team capped off their efforts at Richmond International Raceway with a 22nd place finish in Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

Earlier in the day, the team chose to only take part in the first, of two, practice sessions. When that was completed, the McKinney, Texas native and team were listed 29th on the speed chart.

After starting 39th under the setting sun of Richmond, it quickly became apparent the No. 23 Chevrolet was set up much too loose. Richardson did his best to keep the car pointed in the right direction while new crew chief Greg Conner came up with the right adjustments to help his driver.

When the first caution waved on lap 68, it gave Richardson a chance to hit pit road for fuel, tires and adjustments. All went well and after a few laps on the restart, the driver radioed in the car was handling much better.

From there, Richardson continued to race in the mid-20s biding his time towards the checkered flag. While other drivers were taking out their frustrations on each other causing cautions, the No. 23 North Texas Pipe Chevrolet pilot kept his cool and kept the car out of harm’s way, as well.

The efforts paid off when the checkered flags waved as he crossed under the starter’s stand in 22nd place. This backs up his 20th place effort recorded in the spring race at Richmond.

Next weekend, the NNS heads to the 1.5-mile oval of Chicagoland Speedway for a Saturday afternoon race.

Robert Richardson, Jr. Quotes: “This was a pretty decent night for our team and the first race we all worked with Greg (Conner, crew chief). Once we fixed that loose, and I mean LOOSE, handling condition, everything was much better for me out there.

“That track changes so much from the start of the race after the sun goes down and when the air temperature drops, too. You have to battle that and the other 42 cars out there; makes for an interesting night.

“The guys on the team did a great job getting everything ready for this race and they did a good job on pit road, too. Greg made some good calls on the pit box and we just did what we needed to get a decent finish.

“I like racing this track and each time I learn something else that we can use for the next time.”

- R3 Motorsports Press Release