Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS)
Watkins Glen International
Race 20 of 33 – 200.9 miles, 82 laps
August 4, 2018
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Joey Logano*
2nd, AJ Allmendinger*
3rd, Justin Allgaier*
4th, RYAN PREECE
5th, Aric Almirola*
7th, BRANDON JONES
9th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
29th, CHAD FINCHUM
32nd, JASON BILICKI
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA DRIVER POINT STANDINGS**
1st, CHRISTOPHER BELL 737 points
2nd, Cole Custer* 715 points
3rd, Daniel Hemric* 714 points
4th, Elliott Sadler 711 points
5th, Justin Allgaier* 700 points
6th, BRANDON JONES 609 points
*non-Toyota driver
**unofficial point standings
· Camry driver Ryan Preece scored his first top-10 finish at a road course in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS), after placing fourth at Watkins Glen International on Saturday afternoon.
· Preece was the highest-finishing Toyota driver in Saturday afternoon’s event and led eight laps (of 82).
· Brandon Jones (seventh) and Christopher Bell (ninth) also placed in the top-10 to score their highest finishes at NXS road course events.
· Bell continues to lead the NXS point standings while Jones is sixth.
TOYOTA QUOTES
RYAN PREECE, No. 18 Craftsman Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
How was your run out there today?
“I am pretty happy. Pretty happy we got a top-five today. Wish that caution didn’t come out when I was behind Brad (Keselowski). I know Joey (Logano) was coming but it takes experience and laps here to really get better. I am not a road racer by trade by any means. To come out with a top-five is really good. It’s a good start with Craftsman being on our car. It’s a good showing and hopefully we can build some momentum for my next race in Indianapolis.
How did it feel to lead some laps?
“I like restarts. I think that’s something I am trying to prove to people, was restarts is a big part of the sport. I wanted to be one of the better ones at it. I made sure everyone on the outside, even me, the first time around Brad. Brad’s really good at it. I didn’t want to finish outside the top-three. My worst fear was getting beat on that restart and getting shuffled into traffic. I did whatever I had to do to make sure I wasn’t the guy getting shuffled back. A great day for Craftsman, Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing.”
BRANDON JONES, No. 19 Toyota Service Centers/Mobil 1 Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 7th
Talk about finishing in the top 10 today after an exciting race at Watkins Glen.
“Despite the craziness that happened with the rain, we had an issue – we got on a curb pretty hard and got into the barrier some and I thought I hurt it worse than I did, which we actually just kind of had some body damage and nothing really too critical. We salvaged and stayed after it all day and came home with seventh in our Toyota Camry. We stayed after it and it was a pretty phenomenal day by everybody. I think it definitely gives every one of our guys and myself some confidence going to Mid-Ohio.”
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 9th
Were you excited racing in the rain?
“Yeah, I got to run a rain race in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series last year in Canada. I felt like I was competitive there and I haven’t really been that competitive in road course racing in the dry. I was looking forward to rain if it came. Sure enough it did come. I felt like I was doing okay. I was keeping up with the guys in front of me. I passed a couple of guys, so that was a lot of fun – searching for grip. Then the track dried out and it was a subpar day. Not really competitive.”
What was the coolest part about racing in the rain?
“It was cool. The hardest part was seeing and the fast straightaways. You get so much spray. I don’t know if the sun came out right away or not. The track dried really fast. We never got to run on a damp race track where you could attack, run hard and still slip and slide. We were pretty much trying to not run into one another because the spray is so bad, you just can’t see. It’s fun. When you get to the corners, you’re searching for grip. It opened up so many grooves. What I love at 1.5-mile tracks and dirt racing is you have so many options. That was a lot fun. I just wish I would have been faster on the dry when it mattered. My road course stats haven’t been that good. I need to get more competitive.”
