Season Kickoff at Daytona

NASCAR XFINITY Series – Powershares QQQ 300
February 25, 2017 – Daytona International Speedway-Daytona, FL

This Week’s Rheem Chevrolet at Daytona International Speedway
In eight previous NASCAR XFINITY Series starts at Daytona International Speedway, Austin Dillon has earned one victory (2015), six top-five finishes and two pole awards. The Richard Childress Racing driver holds an average starting position of 8.4 coupled with an average finishing position of 9.1.

Performance Counts
RCR and Rheem understand that winning is the result of a commitment to unparalleled achievement and continuous improvement. Rheem, a global leader in heating, cooling, refrigeration and water heating products is dedicated to keeping families and businesses comfortable through reliable, energy efficient products and systems customized to any lifestyle, commercial need and budget. As at RCR, Rheem invests in talented professionals, advanced technology, R&D and world-class facilities that deliver Victory Lane performance. Rheem is … The New Degree of Comfort.

Welcome Aboard!
Dillon, the 2013 XFINITY Series Champion and 2012 Rookie of the Year, returns to regular XFINITY Series competition this season. This season, he’ll continue to share driving duties with fellow Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teammate Paul Menard. In addition, Ben Kennedy will join the RCR lineup for nine races thanks to a commitment from Rheem, Menards and RCR to help continue the tradition of developing talent and growing the sport.

Experience on Top of the Box
Veteran NASCAR crew chief Justin Alexander returns in 2017 to work with a multi-driver lineup that includes Dillon, Menard and Kennedy. Together, Dillon and Alexander won the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway in August.

Do you feel you can test the waters when you run NASCAR XFINITY Series races as far as the format and stages go?

“It’s going to be big. I think that’s the cool part about the new format. You have NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races and NASCAR XFINITY Series races leading up to Sunday. You’ll be able to see some strategy play out, and we’ll definitely be using that platform to get better at RCR. Any time you can use, when a format change happens, you can draw from all the series it’s going to be good. I think it’s going to be good for the fans, too. They need to tune in and watch the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Daytona so they can learn more.”

Just as you have in past seasons, you are going to run the NASCAR XFINITY Series a lot this season. How difficult is it to transition from the Chevy SS in the Cup Series to the Chevy Camaro in XFINITY?

“The transition has closed up. We have done a lot, as far as NASCAR, making these cars very similar. We are all on bump stops now, both series. The travel is the biggest difference, the ride height rules, but as far as the bodies, the downforce, there are only small, subtle differences. So, you are really going to be able to use those two more to your advantage.”

NASCAR XFINITY Series Results at Daytona International Speedway

• Starts: 8
• Wins: 1
• Poles: 2
• Top 5: 6
• Top 10: 0
• Average Start: 8.4
• Average Finish: 9.1