- Toyota driver Matt Kenseth (eighth) recorded the top-finish by a Camry in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, an event won by driver Kevin Harvick.
- Camry driver Daniel Suarez (14th) recorded his best-career NXS finish on the 1.5-mile track in his fourth series start.
- Fellow Camry drivers Erik Jones (13th) and JJ Yeley (19th) also finished in the top-20 overall in the 250-mile race.
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Resers Main Street Bistro Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 8th
How difficult was it to pass?
“I don’t know why, this is the worst it’s ever been here since I’ve raced here to pass. Literally, there was a half a groove and if you missed that by a foot or two, there was just no other groove. The caution just fell after we pitted and had to do the lucky dog and started dead last. Just worked our way back to eighth or whatever. I just couldn’t really pass. I needed one more caution and one more shot at it.”
How strong was the car?
“I thought we had a top-three car most of the day with our Main Street Bistro Camry. Had to pit a little early and saw what Kevin (Harvick) did by pitting early – once he took the lead, nobody could catch him and pass him back. Just tried to make the call to make a few seconds up on those guys. The caution just came out at the wrong time. Once I got in the back, I don’t know why, but it was the hardest it’s ever been to pass here. We couldn’t get around anybody.”
Are the XFINITY cars closer to the Sprint Cup cars with the new rules package?
“I would say they’re more similar than they’ve been now that they took the horsepower out of the Sprint Cup car, but they’re still pretty different.”
ERIK JONES, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 13th
How was your race?
“It was just a long day overall with a lot of factors that went into it – really just started too tight. The Monster Energy Camry was good at the end. I just wish we could have been on the lead lap and in contention, so just unfortunate the way it worked out. I wish we could have been up there. I felt like we had a better car than that, but just a lot of things that weren’t going for us today. You can’t always have a great day at the race track, but we’ll come back and be better and be stronger next time.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 18 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 14th
How was today’s race?
“Man, like I said on the radio, the toughest race of my life so far. It’s just a difficult place. It’s a very, very difficult place. I’m really looking forward to the future because I take it as a challenge. It wasn’t bad – 14th place – but we have to keep learning and keep working. Every single time, we are getting more familiar with everyone on the team. I think it’s a decent finish.”
JJ YELEY, No. 28 Texas 28 Spirits Stage Toyota Camry, JGL Racing
Finishing Position: 19th
BLAKE KOCH, No. 8 Celsius Negative Calorie Cola Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 22nd
MIKE BLISS, No. 19 Holiday Inn Club Vacations Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 25th
DAVID STARR, No. 44 Zachary Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 26th
ERIC MCCLURE, No. 24 Hefty Ultimate/Reynolds Wrap Toyota Camry, JBL Racing
Finishing Position: 28th
CALE CONLEY, No. 14 Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 35th
CARL LONG, No. 40 Braille Battery Grafoid Toyota Camry
Finishing Position: 39th
