Toyota NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) Post-Race Notes & Quotes
Daytona International Speedway
Race 15 of 33 – 250 miles, 103 laps
Friday, July 1, 2016
TOYOTA NXS DRIVER FINISHING POSITIONS at Daytona International Speedway
1st, Aric Almirola
7th, JEFF GREEN
10th, ERIK JONES
12th, DAKODA ARMSTRONG
17th, JJ YELEY
21st, DAVID RAGAN
23rd, BENNY GORDON
30th, COREY LAJOIE
31st, MARK THOMPSON
32nd, DANIEL SUAREZ
36th, JOE NEMECHEK
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA NXS DRIVER POINT STANDINGS following Daytona International Speedway (race 15 of 33)*
1st, DANIEL SUAREZ 499 points
6th, ERIK JONES 442 points
15th, DAKODA ARMSTRONG 301 points
17th, JJ YELEY 274 points
*unofficial point standings
TOYOTA NOTES
· Camry driver Jeff Green (seventh) was the top-finishing Toyota driver in Friday night’s NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race at Daytona International Speedway.
· Erik Jones also earned a top-10 result for Toyota with a 10th-place finish after being involved in an accident early in the race.
· David Ragan, a substitute driver in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Camry for Matt Tifft, led twice for 18 laps (of 103) at the Florida superspeedway before being involved in a last-lap crash and finished 21st.
· Camry driver Daniel Suarez leads the NXS point standings by six points over second-place Elliott Sadler.
TOYOTA QUOTES
JEFF GREEN, No. 17 Carport Empire Toyota Camry, Rick Ware Racing
Finishing Position: 7th
ERIK JONES, No. 20 DEWALT FLEXVOLT Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 10th
How was your race?
“Just really up and down day for the DEWALT FLEXVOLT Camry. Not really sure – we just got drug down at the end. We had a lot of right rear damage and knew it wasn’t going to be too good by ourselves there but just had a tandem at the end and tried to give yourselves the best shot to get out and break away from the field but we just couldn’t do it. Too bad. I feel bad for the 18 (David Ragan) car. We both got drug back together. Nice to come out of here with a top-10 finish and it’s something we can build on here for the future superspeedways.”
DAKODA ARMSTRONG, No. 28 WinField Toyota Camry, JGL Racing
Finishing Position: 12th
JJ YELEY, No. 44 Zachry Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 17th
DAVID RAGAN, No. 18 Surface Sunscreen/Rugged Maniac Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 21st
Can you describe the final laps of the race?
“Yeah, it was a crazy finish. Speedway racing produces crazy finishes and I didn’t really want to see that last caution come out. I felt like we were in control enough. Our Camry was fast enough that I could’ve held those guys off. But it was the worst case scenario when you’re out in front of the field coming to take the white flag and you’ve got five or six guys that have really good runs coming behind you, you can only block and do so much. I hate that I got the car torn up in the race but we were trying to do what we could to win the race. Thanks to Joe Gibbs Racing team for a good race car. I had a lot of fun, just came up a little short.”
Was it the right move to try to block the outside line?
“Yeah, you’ve got to. (Tony) Hirschman (spotter) did a great job, but I was kind of a sitting duck up there. I felt like my teammate Erik Jones, he did a great job on that white flag lap and we just got separated. I didn’t know that third lane was coming as fast as it was and I saw that the 98 (Aric Almirola) and the 7 (Justin Allgaier) had a decent run and thought I could block the very top, but you only have so much room and that’s just a product of speedway racing. I really enjoyed the ride tonight from Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota, this Camry was fast. We made the right moves, we were patient when we had to and a little aggressive when we had to, but sometimes the leader is a sitting duck. I didn’t really want to see that caution come out because I felt like I was in control enough that I could make the right decisions, but on a green-white-checkered you have so many guys getting good runs that I needed to be two or three-wide up front and not by myself. I have to say hello to Matt (Tifft) back home and all the partners.”
Before the caution did you feel you had played the race perfectly?
“I made one mistake with about 30 (laps) to go or so, I got lazy and stayed on the bottom because I didn’t feel like the outside line had enough good cars to move and I stayed on the bottom and that outside lane surged and I got a little mad at myself for not being more aggressive when I saw an opportunity where I could have made a move and when I did it kind of paid off and we were up front. Sometimes you’re the fly and sometimes you’re the windshield, but we were close. I had a lot of fun and thanks to the Joe Gibbs Racing guys, Toyota, TRD (Toyota Racing Development). We had fun and we almost got one, but came up a little short.”
BENNY GORDON, No. 14 VSI Racing Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 23rd
COREY LAJOIE, No. 24 Youtheory Toyota Camry, JGL Racing
Finishing Position: 30th
MARK THOMPSON, No. 13 Phoenix Air Toyota Camry
Finishing Position: 31st
DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 19 Juniper Networks Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 32nd
How were you taken out of the race early?
“Pretty much everything started the first 15 laps before the competition caution everyone was racing crazy in the back straightaway. A bunch of cars wrecked. My car wasn’t right after that. The car was super tight and I wasn’t able to go anywhere and that point I had a car really close to my right side and he didn’t know it but when I had a car very close to my right side it was getting super tight and that’s exactly what happened. I was just trying to turn the wheel. I feel like I barely touched him and then I went to turn around. I guess that’s how it works sometimes in superspeedways.”
Why do you think everyone was racing so hard so early in the race?
“I don’t know. Really everyone wants some position before the competition caution but it was crazy. I knew it was going to happen. It was three-wide and everyone was bumping – all three lines were bumping. I knew it was going to happen. Actually, I think, I’m not sure but I think I called it one lap before. I said to my spotter ‘Things are getting crazy here.’ Luckily I was at the bottom, I felt like it was safe at the bottom but sometimes you are not safe in the bottom, middle or top.”
Are you feeling okay after the hard hit?
“Yeah, I’m fine. NASCAR does a very good job with safety on these cars and I’m fine.”
JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 Fleetwing Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports
Finishing Position: 36th
