NASCAR Nationwide Series VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 Darlington Raceway Friday, April 11, 2014 Race Highlights:
Brian Scott Finishes 11th in Friday Night Showdown at Darlington Raceway
Brian Scott and his No. 2 Shore Lodge Chevrolet Camaro had another solid qualifying effort at Darlington Raceway starting the NASCAR Nationwide Series VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 in seventh place. Early on at the Lady in Black, Scott reported fighting both loose and tight conditions in his Chevrolet Camaro as he drove around the 1.33-mile track looking for the fastest groove. The Shore Lodge pit crew made adjustments through the four visits to pit road during the 147-lap event. On the final restart, Scott found himself in position to move from the sixth position to the front of the field. On the wild green-white-checker restart, Scott was shuffled to 11th where he would ultimately finish the race. The finish moved Scott into sixth in the driver championship point standings heading into Richmond International Raceway in two weeks.
Start - 7th Finish - 11th Laps Led - 0 Pts - 6th
BRIAN SCOTT QUOTE:
"That wasn't the finish we were looking for tonight. Our Shore Lodge Chevrolet Camaro fought both tight and loose conditions during the race. We knew our car would loosen up as the track cooled down, so we didn't want to make too big of adjustments. We are going to move onto Richmond and hopefully pick up the one spot that we missed there last fall."
Ty Dillon Finishes 10th in Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway
Ty Dillon drove the No. 3 Yuengling Light Lager Chevrolet Camaro to a 10th-place finish at Darlington Raceway Friday night, collecting the team's sixth top-10 of the season. After qualifying fifth and taking the green flag, Dillon quickly lost track position because the front splitter was hitting the racetrack. After the race's first caution on lap 13, crew chief Danny Stockman called Dillon to pit road to allow the team to release pressure off the splitter. Even after a lengthy pit stop, the team remained on the lead lap restarting in the 25th position. By lap 39, Dillon had his No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro in 15th place and by lap 61 he was back inside the top-10, thanks to a solid pit stop that gained the team three positions. For the remainder of the race, Dillon battled to stay inside the top-10 recording lap times faster than the race leader. On lap 140, the last caution lag flew setting up for a green-white-checker finish. Dillon gained speed before seeing the white flag, ultimately finishing 10th for his fifth consecutive top-10 finish. The No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro moved from third to fourth in the driver point standings heading into Richmond International Raceway.
Start - 5th Finish - 10th Laps Led - 0 Points - 4th
TY DILLON QUOTE:
"Losing some track position in the beginning definitely hurt us, but our Yuengling Light Lager team responded well. After that second pit stop we gained some track position back, made the right adjustments and we were able to stay competitive on both the restarts and long green-flag runs. I heard Danny (Stockman) say a couple of times on the radio we had the fastest car on the track, but it was difficult to get to the front tonight. This race track is tough, for sure."
Late Race Incident Relegates Cale Conley to a 32nd-place finish at Darlington Raceway
Cale Conley returned to the seat of the No. 33 OKUMA Chevrolet Camaro for the second time this season, this time at Darlington Raceway. The 21-year-old driver qualified 11th and battled inside the top-20 for a better part of the evening until a late-race incident relegated him to a 32nd-place finish. From the drop of the green flag, Conley reported an extremely loose condition through the corners. The evening's first caution flag waved on lap 16 and the Vienna, W. Va-native brought his No. 33 machine to pit road for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. Conley restarted in the 13th spot and continued to fight the handling of his Chevrolet Camaro. As the laps ticked away, the Nick Harrison-led team continued to make gains in the pits. On lap 95 while running 13th, Conley made contact with another competitor which sent him spinning to the inside wall causing significant damage to the No. 33 Chevrolet Camaro. The crew went to work on pit road and Conley returned to the track several laps down, but was able to take the checkered flag for a 32nd-place finish.
Start -11th Finish - 32nd Laps Led - 0 Points - 0
CALE CONLEY QUOTE:
"What a tough night, it's really not the finish I wanted to leave Darlington with. We had a really strong OKUMA Chevrolet in practice and qualifying, but fought loose for a majority of the race. The guys were great on pit road all night long, I hate that we weren't able to get the finish we deserved."
Brendan Gaughan Relegated to 22nd-place Finish at Darlington Raceway
Brendan Gaughan and the No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro qualified 13th for the NASCAR Nationwide Series VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway. Gaughan started Friday night's race battling a loose race car. The yellow flag fell on lap 19 and the No. 62 Chevrolet hit pit road for chassis adjustments, four tires and fuel. Gaughan reported the handling was improving after the changes the team made. By the halfway point. the car's handling went the opposite direction and Gaughan began experiencing loose conditions. The Richard Childress Racing team fought with the loose and tight conditions all night. On the final restart at lap 142, Gaughan was racing for position and got loose coming out of turn four resulting in a 22nd-place finish. The No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino driver heads to Richmond International Raceway seventh in the driver point standings.
Start - 13th Finish - 22nd Laps Led - 0 Points - 7th
BRENDAN GAUGHAN QUOTE:
"That's a tough way to end the night for the South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet. I am proud of the No. 62 guys for giving their all. We battled hard here at Darlington. All we can do is continue to improve and head to Richmond ready to race."
