Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS)
Watkins Glen International
Race 20 of 33 – 200.9 miles, 82 laps
August 3, 2019
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Austin Cindric*
2nd, AJ Allmendinger*
3rd, CHRISTOPHER BELL
4th, Justin Allgaier*
5th, Ryan Blaney*
18th, BRANDON JONES
24th, STANTON BARRETT
29th, TOMMY JOE MARTINS
32nd, KYLE BUSCH
33rd, CHAD FINCHUM
35th, JOEY GASE
*non-Toyota driver
· Christopher Bell was the highest-finishing Supra driver with a third-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) race at the road course at Watkins Glen International on Saturday.
· Bell started from the fourth position and led two laps of the 82-lap event on the New York road course.
· Fellow Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch started from the pole and led a race-high 21 laps before a suspension issue took him out of the race on lap 36.
TOYOTA QUOTES
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
How did you save the car on that final restart?
“I just got lucky. For whatever reason it decided to come back around instead of turning into the fence so that was really good. We had a really good Rheem Supra. It was really fast and obviously with Kyle (Busch) being as good as he was, we knew our package was really good here so it was just a matter of me figuring it out. If I could have just been a little bit better, I think we could have got them.”
How was your race overall?
“It was really good. We were really competitive and I think our cars are really fast. Kyle (Busch) was obviously the class of the field so that showed where Joe Gibbs Racing’s road course program is and I was able to compete, which is good. I still just have to get better.”
Did you feel you had a better chance for the win after Kyle Busch broke and went to the garage?
“Once he (Kyle Busch) broke, we were all kind of right there. That was good, but ultimately whenever Kyle qualifies a second-and-a-half faster than you, I have to get better. I have to get quicker and up to his speed.”
Is this a success knowing that road courses aren’t your strong suit?
“I feel good. If you would have told me I was going to run third before the race, I would have been really happy. Ultimately, I still have to get a lot better on these things. Kyle (Busch), we’re in the same equipment and he was a lot faster than me. I know I’ve got a lot of room to improve and just thankful that I get to drive really fast race cars.”
