Tim McCreadie
No. 21 AutoZone Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: NASCAR Busch Series 250 – July 21, 2007
Venue: Gateway International Raceway – Madison, Ill.
NOTES:
This Week’s AutoZone Chevrolet at Gateway International Raceway … Tim McCreadie will pilot Chassis No. 067 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) NASCAR Busch Series stable. Built new for the 2007 season, this is the same AutoZone Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Kevin Harvick drove to victory at New Hampshire International Speedway after capturing the pole position that same day.
Stat Facts … In his only career NASCAR Busch Series start, McCreadie started 24th and finished 28th at The Milwaukee Mile earlier this season. The 28th-place finish was the result of being collected in an incident of another driver’s making on lap 48 of the 250-lap event.
Did You Know … The Watertown, N.Y., native is one of two RCR developmental drivers currently competing in both the West Series and East Series in NASCAR’s Grand National Division. The 2006 World of Outlaws Late Model champion, 2006 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals champion and 2006 Eastern Motorsports Press Association Driver of the Year also runs his own dirt late model program.
RCR at STL … RCR has won two Busch Series races at Gateway International Raceway – both with Kevin Harvick behind the wheel (2000 and 2001). In 14 NBS starts at the 1.25-mile egg-shaped oval, RCR has earned five top-five and eight top-10 finishes. RCR cars have also led 305 laps outside the Gateway City.
RCR Busch Brigade … In 20 Busch Series races this season, RCR has claimed seven victories with the most recent coming last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway with Kevin Harvick (Jeff Burton – 2, Clint Bowyer- 2 and Kevin Harvick –3). Additionally, all three RCR Busch teams (No. 2, No. 21 and No. 29) have a total of 25 top-five and 35 top-10 finishes while leading for a total of 1,002 laps.
Team Standings … Team AutoZone is fourth in the NASCAR Busch Series owners’ point standings, 456 markers behind leader Jack Roush’s No. 60 team and only 54 points behind Joe Gibb’s No. 20 team’s third-place tally.
Up to Speed … The NASCAR Busch Series 250 from Gateway International Raceway will take the green flag Saturday, July 21 at 8:30 p.m. EDT. The race will be televised live on ESPN2 beginning at 8 p.m. EDT and broadcast from coast-to-coast on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 21st stop on the 35-race Busch Series tour will be televised live on ESPN2 the same day at 4:30 p.m. EDT.
TIM MCCREADIE QUOTES:
You competed in your first NASCAR Busch Series event earlier this season at Milwaukee. How would you grade your performance?
“I definitely learned a lot during that race. We started somewhat deep in the field and during the beginning of the race, I just ran laps trying to get to know the track. Unfortunately, we got caught up in an incident and spent the remainder of the race logging laps and gaining experience. Mike Dillon was my spotter for the race and he gave me pointers on how to get around the track while making good lap times.”
Team AutoZone is coming off a win this past weekend in Chicago. Does that give you momentum going into this weekend’s race at Gateway?
“It definitely does. Kevin (Harvick) also won the race at Loudon with this car earlier this year so I’m hoping we have a nice, clean race. Shane (crew chief Shane Wilson) has been great to work with and all the guys at the shop have prepared good race cars all season. I’m really looking forward to running this weekend and I hope we can leave there with a top-10 finish.”
Have you competed in any races since Milwaukee?
“I actually competed in two asphalt races since I ran at Milwaukee. I competed in NASCAR’s Busch East Series race at Loudon in June and was running in the top five until we had a miscue on pit road which sent us to the tail end of the longest line. Then I was involved in an incident which caused me to finish 36th. After Loudon, I went to the west coast to compete in a West Series race at Irwindale Speedway. Our finish was better there than in was at Loudon. I was a victim of circumstance toward the end of that race but with some minor repairs, I was able to leave with a seventh-place finish.”
