Press release:
CHINA GROVE, N.C. (August 10, 2010) – Robert Richardson, Jr. and the No. 23 Chevrolet of R3 Motorsports are looking to make the most of some recent momentum and luck while racing in the Irish Hills of Michigan this week.
Making their only trip of the year to the two-mile oval of Michigan International Speedway, the R3 Motorsports team will do so with a brand-new Impala for the second NASCAR Nationwide Series race using the new-style car. This one was built from the chassis up in the R3 Motorsports shop under the watchful eye of crew chief Steve Plattenberger.
Richardson is hoping his Irish heritage will come to good use in the Irish Hills. And, the team is looking to capitalize on the momentum of their top-15 and two top-20 finishes in the last three races, as well. Those accomplishments allowed the team to move up to 26th in Owner’s Points, with their sights set on the next three positions within reach just ahead.
Fast Facts: Richardson will be making his third-career start at MIS, 16th of the season and 62nd of his career. His best outing at MIS was last year when he finished 24th. To date, his best finish was 15th at ORP last month; which was also a career best and third top-20 of the year.
Car Facts: Plattenberger and team will roll out chassis No. 52, which will be making its debut in NNS competition. This car was recently taken to the 7 post for a thorough test to acquire more information for this weekend’s race.
Welcome home, Jeff: R3 Motorsports team engineer Jeff Kirkendall returns to his home state. He hails from Onsted, Michigan; which is a whole six miles from MIS.
Did you know: In the previous 18 NNS races at MIS, no driver has repeated as a pole winner. And, only two drivers (Jeff Burton ‘98/Carl Edwards ’08) have won from the pole. The farthest anyone has started from the back was 38th (Ryan Newman ’05) to win.
Robert Richardson, Jr. quotes
What are some of your favorite things about racing MIS: “It’s a big, fast track that gives you multiple options in regards to where to race on the track. You can use the low groove, the middle groove and the high groove to get around there. This track is a lot of fun and I’m hoping this new-style car works well enough here to use all those grooves. As long as you can get good grip out of the corners and can keep your momentum down the straights, you’re going to have a good day.”
Speaking of the new car, you haven’t raced it since Daytona. What are you looking for this weekend: “I’m hoping it drives better than the first car we had for that race. It was heavier than what we wanted, so this new car should be a lot better. Steve and the team busted their butts to get this car ready on this new chassis, and having that 7 post time really helped, too. If we can roll off the truck and get all we can out of the car during Thursday’s test session day, we’ll be good to go for the rest of the weekend.”