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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Richard Childress Racing drivers Ryan Newman and Paul Menard qualified for last year's Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Austin Dillon didn't make NASCAR's playoff in his sophomore season at the sport's highest level, but this year, he's determined to change that scenario and put his No. 3 Chevrolet "where it deserves to be."
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Dillon's Chevy got a jump-start after the 15th race of the 2015 season when veteran crew chief Richard "Slugger" Labbe took over the pit box. Four of Dillon's top-10 finishes last year came after Labbe's arrival.
"I'm really excited about what we've built on last year," Dillon told the NASCAR Wire Service on Thursday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame after RCR's formal presentation during the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour. "I think Slugger switching over halfway through the year gave a new life to our team.
"I'm looking back at my seasons in Truck and Xfinity and what I've been able to accomplish in the Xfinity races I ran last year (four victories and 16 top 10s in 20 starts). I'm beating guys that run well in the Cup series on Saturday and I want that same result on Sunday."
The difference was a pickup in speed. In the second half of the season, Dillon started running at or near the front of the Sprint Cup field.
"I think last year, leading laps at Michigan and running up front in a lot of races toward the end of the year was big," he said. "I think it was just a good change of momentum. Working with Slugger -- he has the same mentality that I have toward sports in general and that's to eliminate mistakes, talk about 'em and trying to be the best we can be at every aspect of racing."
Though both Newman and Menard made the Chase in 2015, no Cup driver at RCR won a race. That's something else Dillon plans to change.
"Getting to Victory Lane is by far our main goal," he said. "Then, when you get to the Chase, I think the aspect changes again to the championship. Our first goal is to win at least one of the first (26) races to get in the Chase, and then to win again to move on to the next round.
"I truthfully think we made some headway last year on our speed at RCR. When you can go out and lead laps and run up front, eventually that win is coming. You have to be able to lead laps and run up front to accomplish things. Before halfway through the season, I don't think we had the speed to do that.
"That's hard on your confidence. It's hard to get up for every race and to be confident with what you've got. We've put a lot of effort into it. I think the equipment's there at RCR and now it's a matter of putting it all together."
If Dillon is determined to win a race this year, team owner Richard Childress, Dillon's grandfather, all but guaranteed that would happen.
"We've got to win this year in Cup," Childress said. "We've been consistent, and that's what it takes, but we want to win in the Cup series -- and we will this year."
RCR forms new alliance with Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing
With former RCR partner Furniture Row Racing switching from Chevrolet to Toyota this season, Childress has taken on a new alliance as a technical partner and engine supplier to Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing.
That team, in turn, is a new partnership between Circle Sport Racing owner Joe Falk and Leavine Family Racing owner Bob Leavine, who last year fielded Fords for Michael McDowell in 16 of 36 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races.
Circle Sport-Leavine will run the full schedule in 2016, with McDowell sharing the seat time of the No. 95 Chevy with Ty Dillon, as the younger Dillon brother prepares for a full-time Cup career.
"This is a big step for our competition program," McDowell said. "The technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing is a huge asset to our growing team, and we'll have access to some of the top equipment in the Cup series."
Circle Sport-Leavine joins JTG/Daugherty Racing and Germain Racing as an RCR partner.
New entitlement for Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway announced Thursday a new title sponsor for its July 8 NASCAR Xfinity Series race. Alsco, which has supplied race-day uniforms to the track and which also has a sponsorship presence with Richard Childress Racing, has expanded its role with the entitlement of the Alsco 300.
"This is one of the most important sponsorship deals we've ever done at Kentucky Speedway," track general manager Mark Simendinger said. "This deal says a lot about where we want to go and where Kentucky is right now. This is a huge win for us, and we couldn't be more proud to be associated with them."
By the time that race takes place, Kentucky Speedway will have finished repaving the racing surface, a project that includes reconfiguring Turns 1 and 2 to different specifications from Turns 3 and 4, a la Darlington.
