Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS)
Dover International Speedway
Race 10 of 33 – 200 miles, 200 laps
May 5, 2018
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Justin Allgaier*
2nd, Elliott Sadler*
3rd, Daniel Hemric*
4th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
5th, Tyler Reddick*
7th, NOAH GRAGSON
10th, BRANDON JONES
25th, CHAD FINCHUM
29th, JOSH BILICKI
33rd, STEPHEN LEICHT
35th, TIMMY HILL
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA DRIVER POINT STANDINGS**
1st, Elliott Sadler* 401 points
2nd, Justin Allgaier* 368 points
3rd, Tyler Reddick* 363 points
4th, CHRISTOPHER BELL 349 points
5th, Daniel Hemric* 343 points
7th, BRANDON JONES 304 points
*non-Toyota driver
**unofficial point standings
· Camry driver Christopher Bell (fourth) had the top-finishing Toyota in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) race at Dover International Speedway in Delaware.
· Bell started from the 34th position, but raced into the top-10 overall by the end of the race’s first stage.
· In addition to Bell’s finish, his Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammates Noah Gragson (seventh) and Brandon Jones (10th) also claimed top-10 finishes on the one-mile track.
· Gragson recorded a third-straight top-10 result in just his third start in the NXS.
· Jones started from the pole and led twice for 33 laps (of 200). The pole marked the second of Jones’ NXS career and his first since joining JGR for the 2018 season.
TOYOTA QUOTES
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem/Comcast Salute to Service Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
How hard did you have to work for a fourth-place finish today?
“Yeah, that was work right there, man. But, you know, you’ve got to have days like this to test your mental toughness and that’s something that I’ve been preached and preached about and it’s something that I try and make a priority in my racing career is being strong – being mentally strong – and today definitely was a test for that and all of our team. They worked their butts off and we had a super, super fast Rheem Camry, so that’s something I’m really proud of. To come home fourth on a day like today is something I’m really proud of as well.”
How tough was it to get a top-five finish with no power steering at Dover?
“Yeah, it’s really tough, man. You just – you’re kind of along for the ride there and thankfully our Rheem Camry was really, really strong and we had a lot of speed, so I was able to hang on, but it’s not much fun whenever you’re out there. You just can’t attack.”
Is their solace in walking away fourth with the issues today?
“Well, like I said, our car was extremely fast, so that’s something that I’m really proud of and glad that we finished the race without any problems there and to come home with a top-five on a day like today, it was a win for us.”
NOAH GRAGSON, No. 18 Switch Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 7th
How was your effort today?
“It was good – just kind of struggled though the middle of the race and had a few pit road issues. One was myself and really I don’t want to say it took us out of contention ‘cause we managed to get back up front, but it took our shot – a lot of it – away for the win. Just kind of bummed I made that mistake on pit road just pitting outside the box on that last pit stop and kind of hurt our team, but hell of an effort all weekend by my guys at Joe Gibbs Racing. We had a really fast Switch Toyota Camry and that’s really all I can ask for as a driver. Made some good adjustments and made some bad adjustments on pit road, but good thing we made some good one there at the end that helped me get to the front. Just struggled with being free at the beginning of the race and kind of got shuffled back in the pack.”
How do you think your first three starts in NASCAR Xfinity Series have gone?
“Man, these past three races in the Xfinity Series have been a dream come true and a second, a fourth and a seventh is not terrible for me, so just really happy with my team and very thankful.”
Do you feel like you can win at this level?
“Yeah, I think so. I think if – I mean, these things are really hard to win, so you just have to be perfect and execute all day and I feel like I need to get a little bit better at that. Just need to keep on digging. We’ve got some good tracks coming up in the Truck Series and just a lot of confidence going on from here.”
BRANDON JONES, No. 19 XYO Networks Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 10th
How was your race?
“Well, not what we wanted. Positive note is we got the pole today. We kept it inside the top-10, so we kept that streak going at least. Brutal restarts all day – they were really tough to get going. The track would pick up all that rubber and so it was really hard for our car to start getting going, but once the rubber got laid down we were actually running top times – as fast, if not faster than the leader there – so all in all great day for our new sponsor, XYO Networks. Great day for Toyota as well – we all had really good finishes here, so we’re just going to put that in the notebook. We’ve got some things to work on when we come back I think, but go to a mile and a half in a couple weeks here and be really good there.”
