Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS)
Texas Motor Speedway
Race 31 of 33 – 300 miles, 200 laps
November 4, 2017
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, ERIK JONES
2nd, Ryan Blaney*
3rd, Kyle Larson*
4th, Elliott Sadler*#
5th, Cole Custer*#
6th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
8th, MATT TIFFT#
18th, JJ YELEY
21st, DYLAN LUPTON
*non-Toyota driver
#contender in NXS Playoffs
TOYOTA DRIVER POINT STANDINGS**
1st, Elliott Sadler* 3,103 points*
5th, MATT TIFFT 3,074 points
14th, JJ YELEY 554 points
*non-Toyota driver
**unofficial point standings
· Camry driver Erik Jones captured the NASCAR XFINITY Series win at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday night.
· Jones won both stages of the race, leading a race-high 142 of 200 laps on the way to his third-series win this season.
· Toyota teammates Christopher Bell (sixth) and Matt Tifft (eighth) also finished in the top 10.
· Tifft earned his sixth consecutive top-10 finish as he is currently ranked fifth in the Playoff standings, five points behind the fourth transfer spot.
TOYOTA QUOTES
ERIK JONES, No. 20 GameStop / Call of Duty WWII Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
You made the victory look easy, but you really had to work for it tonight.
“Yeah, we did. I thought starting the race off, man we’re really fast, we’re really good, this is going to be a mostly dominant race for us and didn’t turn out that way. We led a lot of laps, but it seemed like we were really working for it, but you know that’s kind of the way it is. The XFINITY Series has really gotten tighter and tighter year by year and it’s been really close all year long, so just happy to get the GameStop Camry back in victory lane again. It’s been a few months since I’ve gotten a win, since they’ve gotten a win, so happy to come back to Texas again and grab another one.”
You won the two stages and led the most laps, but made a lot of changes on pit road. How difficult and stressful was that for you?
“It’s tough. I knew in that stage, we got that caution right there in that second stage, it was going to be kind of a mixed bag of who’s going to pit before the stage ends and we didn’t. We stayed out and made that chance and made that call. We realized we were gonna kind of be mid pack I really felt like there was some things we needed to work on to have a shot to win. Chris (Gabehart, crew chief) did a really good job of making good adjustments for what I was asking for and it was worth it. I wasn’t sure at the time if we were ever going to come back from 15th – that’s a long way back at a repave, but we were able to work back and the advantages we gained from those changes was big at the end.”
Does this make up for Kansas a little bit?
“Yeah, it does. I wish we were celebrating two in a row right now with these guys, but you know they did a really great job at recovering from that, taking a week off, bringing another fast race car, another dominant race car to the race track and able to come out here to execute and finish it off.”
What makes you so good at this particular place?
“Man, I don’t know. It’s sure been a good race track to me though. On the old track and the repave now. It’s just been a place I’ve enjoyed coming to. The first time I came here in a truck, I’ll never forget, I never thought I’d like the place and ever since then it’s just kind of clicked for me. A great GameStop Camry. Call of Duty and Diamond on the car this weekend, it’s pretty cool for veterans. Just excited to get back to victory lane. It’s been a few months since I’ve grabbed a win and the 20 guys have got a win, so happy to get them back here. They’ve brought fast cars for the last month and we just haven’t found victory lane, so cool to get back here again and just happy for these guys.
How tough was the lap traffic with Ryan Blaney catching you there at the end?
“Well, it was tough. There was two ways to look at it you know. Is it ‘man I can’t believe this lapped traffic is here’ or ‘I’m going to use this to my advantage’ and I was trying my best to use it to my advantage. There was times where he got hung up, there was times where I got hung up, but just a great day for the GameStop Camry, Reser’s, Hisense, Interstate Batteries, JGR Engines, the XFINITY Series, thank you guys. It’s just great to be back in victory lane.”
What were you able to learn for tomorrow night’s race?
“I think anytime you get track time on a repave is pretty valuable. Just seeing how the line moves around, how wide it really gets – this track is light years better than it was in the spring, it’s a lot wider and a lot more forgiving than it was and not only that, we’re on the same tire as well that we are in the XFINITY series as the Cup cars are this weekend too. Just seeing how hard you can push the tire and what kind of payback you would get for it or not is going to be valuable for tomorrow so that’s really what I can take. It is a lot different with it being a day race, there was a ton of grip tonight. The throttle time in three and four was pretty spectacular for the downforce levels on these cars. A lot of grip tonight, it’s going to be a lot slicker tomorrow and it will be really hot, but definitely some things I can take away.”
Why was it difficult to pass tonight?
“I think Ryan (Blaney) was somewhat faster, obviously he was able to run us down before we made the pit stop and I think we were trading lap times and I would be faster and there was few times when he would be faster depending on how each of us would hit the lap. We were so close in speed that I think with it being the repave and being one groove and predominantly being the bottom, the guys chasing has to be substantially faster than the guy they’re chasing. I just don’t think it was quite fast enough to really be able to make a move. I was able to watch him a few times when I was in traffic and guard against some of the moves he was trying to make and fortunately some of the lapped traffic I was able to give myself a buffer and clear for a second and really try to hammer out a lap and get a small gap. That was enough those last 10 to really keep us out front. It’s just really tough on those repaves and on the bottom with one line, it’s hard to find air and make the pass.”
CHRIS GABEHART, crew chief, No. 20 GameStop / Call of Duty WWII Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
How did the race unfold for you tonight?
“We’ve been awfully fast on the 20 team the last several races with the 20 team and Erik (Jones), he’s been doing a tremendous job. I think it’s taking him a little bit to adjust to these XFINITY cars and the rules changes – he’s not a full time XFINITY driver now. Over the last off-season, we went through a lot of changes and he’s done a great job adjusting to that and really helped dial the cars in the last several races and we found something that’s been working for him. It’s been a pleasure. Kansas was tough on everybody so this is a nice rebound. I couldn’t be happier with his performance here.”
STEVE DESOUZA, EVP of XFINITY & Development, No. 20 GameStop / Call of Duty WWII Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
How big is it for you to win in Toyota’s new backyard?
“It’s huge for us, we just had a chance on Thursday to visit Toyota’s new headquarters here and what a spectacular facility it is. It’s unbelievable how big it is and how many employees they have there – I think there’s 4500, which is huge. That was great and also this is the home of GameStop that was on Erik’s car this evening so that was big for them. They’ve been on the edge of winning so many times this year so that was really good and satisfying to see them finish the laps and get the checkered flag was big in a number of ways for us. Both Toyota, GameStop and the points for the owner’s championship, this was huge as well. Congratulations to the 20 team and all the guys.”
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 18 Safelite Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
How do you feel about your race tonight?
“I just wasn’t good enough – I made a mistake there and spun out. Strategy-wise, it worked out really good because we were able to pit before the stage there and came out good. We were okay, but just not good enough to run with those guys up front.”
How do you look ahead from tonight’s race?
“Move forward. There’s not another Texas on the schedule so it’s not like we have to come back here next week, but definitely before we come back here next year I’ll have to regroup and figure out what I can do better to be faster.”
MATT TIFFT, No. 19 Surface Sunscreen / Fanatics Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 8th
How do you feel about your finish tonight and looking ahead to Phoenix?
“It’s a night we needed as far as the stage points, but unfortunately at the end we just needed a few more spots there. We capitalized on the stage points like we needed to, but we needed a few more spots there at the end. We had a little mishap where we had to go to the back again. We just have to overcome those things to be able to move up front and stay up there. That’s the biggest thing at these a fast track like this where track position is just so key. Our Surface Sunscreen/Fanatics Camry was really good and it was about one of the most consistent cars we’ve had throughout the year. We’re bringing the speed, we just have to have a no mistake weekend in Phoenix. We did our job tonight, we just need to get a few spots better at the end and that’s all we can really do.”
