This Week’s Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Darlington Raceway … Austin Dillon has made nine career starts in the NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington Raceway, posting a career-best second-place finish in his most recent appearance at the track, missing Victory Lane by a narrow margin over Kevin Harvick. Dillon also has a fourth-place finish in 2017. He has made three appearances at “The Lady in Black” in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, securing his best finish of fifth in 2012. The 2011 NASCAR Truck Series champion has two starts at the track in the Truck Series, earning his best finish of fifth in August 2010.
Tracker Off Road … Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE prominently features TRACKER ATVs, a game-changing new line of all-terrain vehicles and side-by-sides offering breakthrough performance, service and value in the off-road industry. TRACKER OFF ROAD was born out of a powerhouse partnership formed between Bass Pro Shops and TRACKER founder Johnny Morris and Textron Specialized Vehicles, bringing together the undisputed world leader in boating with a global leader in innovation and technology.
Bass Pro Shops … Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Founded in 1972 when avid young angler Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri, today the company provides customers with unmatched offerings spanning premier destination retail, outdoor equipment manufacturing, world-class resort destinations and more. In 2017 Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela’s to create a “best-of-the-best” experience with superior products, dynamic locations and outstanding customer service. Bass Pro Shops also operates White River Marine Group, offering an unsurpassed collection of industry-leading boat brands, and Big Cedar Lodge, America’s Premier Wilderness Resort. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Forbes as “one of America’s Best Employers.” Bass Pro Shops has a long relationship with NASCAR, dating back to 1998. For more information, visit http://www.basspro.com/.
Throwing it Back … Richard Childress Racing and Bass Pro Shops are teaming up to pay tribute to NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts with a special throwback No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE driven by Austin Dillon this weekend at Darlington Raceway. Fireball Roberts is one of seven NASCAR Hall of Fame driver who have won driving the No. 3 since 1949. His win came during the 1959 Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway after starting from the pole position.
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:
How does Darlington Raceway suit your driving style?
“I think long races in the past have fit my racing style. There is plenty of time to make the car better during a long race, and all of our wins have come in races 500 miles or more. So, I think that bodes well for Darlington. Even though this weekend’s race is only 400 miles, I think we were able to learn a lot in the Southern 500 last year that we can translate to this weekend. Darlington is a place that falls off, so tire management becomes important and I really like that. It’s nice that we’re going to a place that long run speed matters a bit.”
How important is it to make sure that not only the pit crew is executing on pit road, but also the driver is hitting their marks in the car?
“It takes everybody to win a race in the NASCAR Cup Series. We’ve been working really hard on the No. 3 team. We recently had a team-building exercise for the pit crew, and I got to join them. A Navy SEAL came in and we worked for a week together on accountability, teamwork, what it takes to be a good teammate to each other and how to talk to each other. It’s been great and we’re starting to see some benefits from what we did a couple of weeks ago. Its helped us put together solid races.
Who in the NASCAR garage has had the best throwback paint scheme of all time?
“I’ve really enjoyed some of our throwback paint schemes over the years. I really loved ours last year, the Jr. Johnson car was really awesome. We did some awesome stuff early on as well. Our Wrangler scheme was awesome. One of our coolest schemes was the silver secret. We just backed the car off the trailer, and that was the first time anyone saw it, just like it was done originally. The media didn’t see it until we backed it off the trailer. Our scheme this year is special, too. We are paying tribute to Fireball Roberts, who won in the No. 3 in 1959. Pretty cool to honor a NASCAR Hall of Famer, and to do it with Bass Pro Shops and TRACKER Off Road.”
Richard Childress Racing at Darlington Raceway… In 131 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington Raceway, Richard Childress Racing has found success at the ‘Lady In Black’ with eights victories, 24 top-five, and 43 top-10 finishes. The Welcome N.C. organization has yet to find victory lane in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the historic South Carolina speedway, but has accumulated 10 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes.
Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway… Richard Childress Racing has fully embraced a popular tradition known as ‘throwback weekend’ at Darlington Raceway. Teams and partners use this as an opportunity to honor NASCAR greats from the past and present. This weekend Austin Dillon will pay tribute to Fireball Roberts with a special gold and black No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet scheme. Tyler Reddick will honor Marty Robbins with a colorful Quartz Hill Records Chevrolet paint scheme that showcases the deep roots between NASCAR and country music. Myatt Snider and TaxSlayer will pay homage to Snider’s grandfather who owned Jimmie Lewallen’s No. 2 Grand National Series car.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
