DARLINGTON, SC (May 8, 2009) – R3 Motorsports is placing veteran driver Jeff Fuller behind the wheel of their No. 23 Chevrolet for tonight’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Darlington Raceway.
Fuller will replace Robert Richardson, Jr. for the 200-lap event. Richardson, who shares the ride with Ken Butler III, experienced exactly why the historic oval is called the track “too tough to tame” during the morning practice session. The decision was mutually reached by all parties of R3 Motorsports; thanks in special part to Richardson Jr's character and willingness for the team's achievements in the future.
Richardson Jr. has made five starts this year with a best finish of 16th at Talladega Superspeedway. Friday morning’s practice session was the first time he has ever seen or raced on the tricky Darlington oval.
“We all came to this decision for the betterment of the team,” said Rob Fuller of R3 Motorsports. “This was Robert’s first time coming here and, like many other drivers before him, he struggled with the track. What makes it even tougher on these young drivers is you can’t come and test like we could in the past.
“We are too close to slipping out of the top-30 guaranteed starting positions to take a chance this weekend. So, we asked Jeff to step in to help Robert Jr. with his learning curve here at Darlington. If you watched the Cup practice, you saw a lot of those guys have problems, too. So, it’s not just Robert Jr. who is having a tough go of it here.”
“Again, this is a positive move for the betterment of the team because we need to stay in that top-30 in owner’s points. With so many cars entering the race at Lowe’s (Motor Speedway) next week, we needed to get through this week to be good for next.”
R3 Motorsports is currently 26th in owner’s points; 21 markers ahead of the guaranteed top-30 position. Richardson Jr. posted the 45th, of 47, practice times in the morning session.
Jeff Fuller has 185-career NASCAR Nationwide Series starts to his credit earning one victory; Bristol Motor Speedway in 1996. At Darlington, he has made 12-career starts earning one top-10 finish (1997) with a best start of seventh in 1996.
This will be his first series start since the Montreal road course race last year.
For more information:
Tim Packman - 704-507-1838 – timpackman@yahoo.com