R3 Motorsports to make Nationwide Series debut this weekend

By SceneDaily Staff

Monday, May 19, 2008

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A new Nationwide Series team debuts in this weekend’s Carquest Auto Parts 300 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway: R3 Motorsports.

R3 Motorsports, owned by Robert Richardson Sr., competed in the Craftsman Truck Series a few years ago with Robert Richardson Jr. as driver. Other than the team’s hauler driver, however, the Richardsons are all that remains from the original R3 team.

R3 Motorsports will compete in at least eight races this season, Richardson Jr. said recently. The team bought cars from JR Motorsports and Dale Earnhardt Inc., and Rob Fuller will serve as crew chief for the No. 23 Chevrolet.

“We’re going to focus on the tracks we’ve run decent at in the past,” Richardson Jr. said. “In 2009, we’ll probably run about 15 races and then rent out the seat the rest of the time.”

Richardson ran 10 races this year for Jay Robinson Racing, with a best finish of 19th, twice.

“We’re not trying to set the world on fire, by any means,” Richardson Jr. said of R3. “I do want to run better than what I had done at JRR and want to capitalize on what I did other there, incorporate that over here and try to get better finishes.”

For now, the team is looking for sponsorship, meaning Richardson Sr. is footing the bill.

“I keep telling him, ‘Are you sure you want to do this? Are you sure you want to keep dumping money into racing?’” Richardson Jr. said. “He says, ‘Absolutely. You’re getting better every year.’ He just wants to take matters into his own hands again and see where things progress.”