Christopher Bell Scores Top-Five Finish at Darlington Raceway
Bell and Brandon Jones Tally Supra Top 10s on Saturday Afternoon
DARLINGTON, S.C. (August 31, 2019) – Christopher Bell scored his 16th top-five finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2019 with a fourth-place result at Darlington Raceway on Saturday afternoon.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Darlington Raceway
Race 24 of 33 – 200 miles, 147 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Cole Custer*
2nd, Tyler Reddick*
3rd, Ryan Blaney*
4th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
5th, Dale Earnhardt Jr.*
7th, BRANDON JONES
22nd, STEFAN PARSONS
23rd, TIMMY HILL
25th, JOEY GASE
30th, CHAD FINCHUM
35th, TOMMY JOE MARTINS
38th, DENNY HAMLIN
*non-Toyota driver
Toyota teammates Christopher Bell (fourth) and Brandon Jones (seventh) finished in the top 10 at Darlington Raceway on Saturday afternoon.
It was Bell’s 16th top-five finish in 24 starts this season as he has already locked in a spot in the 2019 Playoffs.
Jones continues to remain in contention for a Playoff spot with just two races remaining in the regular season.
TOYOTA QUOTES
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 McCall’s Supply Ruud Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
I know you wanted more from your race car, but you still got a top-five finish here today.
“Yeah, that was awful. I don’t know what happened. We weren’t very good there. Very thankful that we got to work on this Ruud Supra throughout the race. We took off and I was really tight there in Stage 1. I was like okay, we can work on it here and get it a little better and then all of a sudden I was just wrecking loose the entire rest of the race. Not what we wanted at all, but really glad to be driving for this team. It was a hell of a lot of fun out there racing that 8 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) car.”
What happened between yesterday in practice, when you were showing speed, to today’s race?
“I don’t know. It was really confusing. We were really, really fast in practice. As good as anybody. Not going to say that we were the best car, but we were as good as anybody and then dropped the green flag and I was super tight, so that kind of concerned me a little bit, but I felt like we could work on it getting better and the rest of the race I was just really loose. I missed something. I don’t know.”
After being taken out of this race so early last year, what was your takeaway this year?
“It’s an awesome race track. It’s really cool. You can really – it’s really narrow, but you can get different lines. Moving just different, small things make a big deal here. That was pretty cool to figure out. I just wish I could have been more competitive.”
BRANDON JONES, No. 19 Mojo Outdoor / iK9 Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 7th
Talk about your run today at Darlington.
“Today went, honestly, really, really well. I had a great qualifying effort. That was a good spot for us to qualify at here. It’s a really tough place to lay a quick lap time down, so it was a great start to the day. I had fun in that first stage getting to race Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. when he came back there. A good time for sure. Just kind of a little bit sloppy on my end on pit road for whatever reason, just didn’t see the sign really well and missed the first one. The second one, we had to come around the 2 (Tyler Reddick) all day, which was hurting us a little bit as well there too. All in all though, running top-four lap times the majority of the race.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 18 Sport Clips Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 38th
How good is your Cup Series car for tomorrow’s race?
“I thought it was pretty decent. I thought we had a top-three or four car today in practice. Who knows how it’s all going to play out. Certainly I thought we gave ourselves a chance with the handling of the car. We need it to fall right for us. I don’t think we had the fastest car, but certainly I think that when handling comes into play, we should be up front.”
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