Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS)
Texas Motor Speedway
Race 31 of 33 – 300 miles, 200 laps
November 3, 2018
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITION
1st, Cole Custer*
2nd, Tyler Reddick*
3rd, Austin Cindric*
4th, John Hunter Nemechek*
5th, Justin Allgaier*
6th, BRANDON JONES
17th, CHAD FINCHUM
21st, BAYLEY CURREY
31st, RYAN PREECE
32nd, CHRISTOPHER BELL
34th, BOBBY EARNHARDT
35th, TIMMY HILL
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA DRIVER POINT STANDINGS**
1st, Cole Custer* 3081 points
2nd, Tyler Reddick* 3105 points
3rd, Elliott Sadler* 3098 points
4th, Daniel Hemric* 3097 points
5th, Justin Allgaier 3085 points
6th, Matt Tifft* 3083 points
7th, CHRISTOPHER BELL 3063 points
10th, BRANDON JONES 2122 points
*non-Toyota driver
**unofficial point standings
· Camry driver Brandon Jones was the highest-finishing Toyota driver in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) Playoffs race at Texas Motor Speedway after finishing sixth.
· Toyota Playoffs driver Christopher Bell finished 32nd at Texas after being involved in an incident in the final stage. He led 35 laps after starting on the pole.
· Bell sits below the playoffs cutoff line heading into next week’s NXS cutoff race at ISM Raceway in Phoenix.
TOYOTA QUOTES
BRANDON JONES, No. 19 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
You were able to fight back for a solid top-10 finish, what were your thoughts on the race overall?
“For sure, especially how the day went. I don’t know, we never changed anything from practice to the race on this Interstate Batteries Camry and I feel like we had a totally different race car. I know the temperatures were a little different and we had some more wind today too so a couple different factors today for sure. Wish we could have got a little bit more, but we made the call that we had to with the couple spins that we had. We were also limited on our tires at the end and everyone was really limited on fuel there until that last caution. I was kind of hoping it would keep going and we could run it out until everyone would run out of fuel and hopefully we gain some spots that way. Not a bad day to end on and looking forward to the last two that we have.”
Was track position critical in today’s race?
“It was and I feel like every time we come back, this track is starting to get some wear on it and I can definitely tell that there’s some new patches in three and four that’s kind of affecting the car more and more when we come back. I think it’s going to continue to move around a little bit, but it’s just a bottom groove race track.”
RYAN PREECE, No. 18 Rheem Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 31st
What happened in the accident?
“I think the 19 (Brandon Jones) just got loose and we were the guy on the outside. It’s unfortunate because we’re teammates and it just happened. We all make mistakes sometimes and it’s just unfortunate for us because we probably could have ended up with a decent day to help us with the owner’s points. Just going to have to crawl out of a hole at Phoenix.”
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 GameStop NBA 2K19 Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 32nd
What happened during the wreck?
“I don’t know I haven’t seen it. Tough racing. This place is tough. It’s the toughest it’s been since they repaved it. I don’t know if it’s the tire combination or what.”
How tough was the start of the race for you?
“It caught me off guard. You saw the same thing from the No. 7 at Kansas. I didn’t feel like I was up to speed at all. The next thing I knew, I spun out. I don’t know, it has to be the tire combination. It’s tricky. There wasn’t much room for error.”
Where is your head at right now?
“I won six races this year. I’ve had a great season. We had a solid GameStop Camry today. We got a chance to win two more.”
We saw you shift with your left hand, is your right wrist okay?
“Yeah, I am good.”
What happened that took you out of the race?
“It’s just oddly similar to what happened at Kansas. Just driving along and get poked in the left-rear and around you go. Got away with one spin earlier in the day, just didn’t quite get away with the other one later on.”
How will you approach Phoenix?
“It doesn’t matter. This format, it’s very tough and it creates a lot of drama. I’ve always been proud of myself for winning races and I’ve won six races this year and I’ve got a chance to win two more. I’m going to go out there and try to win races. I’ve never been a points racer and my results show for that. I’m either up front or crashing. I’m going to go out and try to win two more races.”
What was it about turn one that was treacherous for so many drivers?
“It’s got to be the new tire that they brought. I’ve won two races in the Xfinity Series here and neither one of them have been near as sketchy or on the edge as what it was today. Very, very difficult to run side-by-side in one and three, that’s for sure. Just looking forward to the future at this place where it will spread out a little bit.”
How will you race at Phoenix with your back against the wall?
“It doesn’t matter that my back is up against the wall, we’re going to go out there and try to win two races and that’s the only thing we can do. At least we know what we have to do. Today, I came in here with a different mentality to just survive and I didn’t survive so screw that, I’m going to try to win.”
Did you feel you gave Austin Cindric enough room?
“Obviously, I didn’t give him enough room. How much more room can I give him on this race track? It’s a knife’s edge, I don’t just want to let off the gas and keep letting guys go on the bottom so I was trying to hang in there on the top and try to get a hold. I felt like I almost had a hole behind the 18 (Ryan Preece), but I didn’t.”
How do you describe the last two races for you?
“Crappy. That’s auto racing. Sometimes you’re going to win and sometimes you’re not going to win. The good thing that we have going for us is that we’re competitive and can fight for the win every single week. I love Phoenix and ran good there in the past so I think we’ll have a really good shot at it and if it’s not meant to be, it’s not meant to be and I’ll have another shot next year.”
