Dominate Performance Culminates with Second-Place Finish for Austin Dillon at Iowa Speedway

Austin Dillon, driver of the #3 AdvoCare Chevrolet, stands in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Nationwide Series 5-hour ENERGY 200 at Dover International Speedway on May 31, 2013 in Dover, Delaware. - Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images

Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon led 207 of 250 laps in the Iowa Pioneer 250 at Iowa Speedway on Sunday afternoon, but ultimately settled for a second-place finish in the No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet after losing forward drive during a long green-flag run in the closing stages of the NASCAR Nationwide Series event. Dillon started the 12th race of the 2013 season from the front row after earning his third-consecutive Nationwide Series pole award on Saturday afternoon, tying the record for most consecutive poles in the Series’ history.

The green-flag was displayed to the 40-car starting field shortly after 11 a.m. Eastern Time on Sunday afternoon after rain showers on Saturday caused NASCAR officials to postpone the start of the 200-mile event. Dillon showed speed from the start of the race, immediately driving away from the field and only briefly relinquishing the point position from laps 9 through 24. At times, Dillon extended his lead by as much as six seconds over the second-place competitor.

He never fell outside of the top-nine during the course of the race, maintaining an average running position of 1.244. With less than 50 laps remaining, the Welcome, N.C. native had a 2.6-second lead over eventual race winner Trevor Bayne. However, a long green-flag run, combined with changing track conditions as the sun poked out of the cloud cover, created a lack of forward drive for Dillon. With less than 10 laps remaining the duo battled side-by-side for the lead with Dillon eventually settling for a second-place finish.

Start - 1

Finish – 2

Laps Led - 207

Points - 4th

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:

“It was a disappointing finish to a strong day. We lost grip when the sun came out and the No. 6 car took off. It’s part of racing, though, and I’m still proud of this team for what we were able to accomplish this weekend. On to Michigan International Speedway.”

Source: Richard Childress Racing Press Release

The article Dominate Performance Culminates with Second-Place Finish for Austin Dillon at Iowa Speedway is from Catchfence.

Source: http://www.catchfence.com/2013/nationwide/06/10/dominate-performance-culminates-with-second-place-finish-for-austin-dillon-at-iowa-speedway/

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