NASCAR XFINITY Series - Virgina529 College Savings 250
September 11, 2015 - Richmond International Raceway - Richmond, VA

Austin Dillon will pilot Chassis No. 145 in the Virgina529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway. This Richard Childress Racing-prepared Chevrolet was previously driven by Ty Dillon to two pole awards (Kentucky Speedway and Kansas Speedway) and a victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last year. After transforming into a No. 33 entry, Austin Dillon drove this chassis to a second-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July.

The Welcome, N.C., native has made six NASCAR XFINITY Series starts at the 7/8-mile track, collecting three top-10 finishes. Dillon holds an average starting position of 9.7 and average finishing position of 16.0 with 14 laps led.

So far this season, the No. 33 team has accumulated some impressive stats with Dillon, Paul Menard and Brandon Jones behind the wheel. In 24 races, the RCR team has garnered four wins, five pole awards, 12 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes with 437 laps led.

Menard and the No. 33 Richmond/Menards Chevrolet started from the fifth position after a strong qualifying effort earlier in the day at the Darlington Raceway. On lap four, Menard radioed to crew chief Danny Stockman that he felt a tire going down and came to pit road on lap nine for four tires. The RCR driver was scored in 36th place, two laps down, when he went back green-flag racing on lap 11. A lack of cautions meant the No. 33 team had to pit off sequence, taking away the possibility for Menard to get back on the lead lap relegating him to a 25th-place finish.

According to NASCAR's Loop Data Statistics, Dillon holds some notable stats so far in the 2015 season. The 25-year-old driver ranks first in the following categories: drivers fastest early in a run, drivers fastest late in a run, fastest driver on restarts and green-flag speed. Dillon is second amongst his competitors in fastest laps run (303). He also ranks third in laps led with 413 laps.

So far this season, Dillon has been entered in 13 XFINITY Series events, collecting three victories, 10 top-five finishes, 11 top-10 finishes and five pole awards. Dillon has led a total of 413 laps with an average starting position of 4.4 coupled with an average finishing position of 6.9.

Following this weekend's 250-lap event at Richmond International Raceway, Paul Menard returns to the driver's seat for the September 19 race at Chicagoland Speedway, marking his final race in the No. 33 for this season.

Richmond International Raceway is a short track but it seems like it has more of an intermediate-track type of feel. Can you describe the racing there. Does it feel like a short track to you?
It's probably one of the biggest short tracks we go to because the restarts are so intense and you can really mess up a guy getting into the corner there if you duck under him and put him into a bad spot. It's a place where you have to be aggressive and then have a car that holds on late because that guy that you were aggressive to at the beginning, will come back and get you later in the run. A fast car makes everything easier for sure, and if you've got that you don't have to worry much about Richmond. It's a place that brings the competition really tight together. - Austin Dillon

Radio & TV

Coverage of this weekend's XFINITY Series event at Richmond International Raceway will be televised live on Friday, September 11, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time on NBC Sports Network. It will also be broadcast live on Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM channel 90.

NASCAR XFINITY Series Results at Richmond International Raceway

• Starts: 6
• Wins: 0
• Poles: 0
• Top 5: 0
• Top 10: 3
• Average Start: 9.7
• Average Finish: 16.0