TOP-THREE FOR TRUEX’S TOYOTA AT ATLANTA
Ryan Truex Claims Top-Toyota Finish
HAMPTON, Ga. (July 9, 2022) – Ryan Truex finished third in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Truex piloted his GR Supra a the lone Toyota in the waning laps of the race behind eventual race-winner and former Toyota driver, Austin Hill.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Race 17 of 33 – 251 miles, 163 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Austin Hill*
2nd, Josh Berry*
3rd, RYAN TRUEX
4th, Tyler Reddick*
5th, Daniel Hemric*
11th, BRANDON JONES
19th, JEFFREY EARNHARDT
35th, TY GIBBS
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
RYAN TRUEX, No. 18 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
How was your race overall and how do you feel about the third-place finish?
“This place is crazy with this package. I’m just thankful to be in this car. This wasn’t on my schedule and JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing), Toyota and Auto Owners stepped up. To have them on the car with all the success Martin’s (Truex Jr.) had and everything they’ve done for him, it’s really special to me. I was trying to backup and get a run from the 11, but just didn’t have anything for those guys – the top few in front of us, I don’t know if they were more trimmed out or what, but I just could never get that run I needed. Just kind of had to hang out at the top> I was kind of hoping they would have a big jumble in three and four and I was just going to run the top and keep it wide open. Just thankful to be here and hopefully I’ll be back for more.”
What does it say for you as a driver that there isn’t a scratch on this race car?
“I guess I’m a little too patient sometimes. Here’s the thing, I slid through my box twice on pit road and I was so mad at myself. And it’s so hard when you don’t do this a lot. It’s so hard when you don’t do this a lot. I did it the first time and was like, ‘Okay, I’m not going to do it a second time.’ Then I did it the second time. So I was mad at myself and I feel like every time I’m out here in the Xfinity Series, I have something to prove. I know I deserve to be out here. Hopefully this helps and hopefully I’ll be back more with Gibbs.”
When were you hoping to make a move in the closing laps?
“I don’t know, the 21 (Austin Dillon) was so good. I got the lead at one point, but he was just looking for a way around me. He was so fast. I slipped up once off of two and he just turned under me and cleared me all by himself. I think that just shows how strong their car was. We had a good car, but we just didn’t quite have winning speed barring the seas parting on the last lap, which it almost did, it was close. Stevie Reeves (spotter) up top did a good job of just keeping me calm and keeping me disciplined. The big thing there was just don’t give up the top. We saw (Tyler) Reddick make up a lot of spots by going to the top and getting to people’s quarter panels. Really reminds me of truck racing at Michigan, you just can’t give up the top or you’re done and you’re going to the back. Really just a team effort. Spotter means a lot. Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) and these boys do a great job at making good changes. Starting the race I was actually pretty loose and I thought this was going to be a long day. But they fixed it up and got the Auto Owner’s Insurance GR Supra tuned up and rolling fast.”
TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 35th
What happened that took you out of the race?
“We had a very fast Monster Energy GR Supra. Honestly, I’m happy about that and thankful to my team for allowing me to be here. And thanks to Toyota for all the stuff they do and we’ll move onto New Hampshire. We had a fast car and just got a little contact and that’s part of it. We’ll just move on and go hammer down.”
From your standpoint, was it the push or just hard racing that ended your race?
“We had a very fast Monster Energy GR Supra. Thank you to Toyota for all the help. We had a good car and the 98 (Riley Herbst) just slid up and wasn’t clear and hooked us in the left front and got me in the wall. Just hard racing and came out on the bad side of it. Luckily, happy to walk out of this place on my feet.”
How disappointing is it to have this happen after winning this race last year?
“It’s disappointing, but you can’t really control speedway racing. Hopefully the fans enjoy it and we’ll get back at it next week at New Hampshire.”
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