Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)
Daytona International Speedway
Race 1 of 23 – 250 miles, 100 laps
Friday, February 24, 2017
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS**
1st, Kaz Grala*
2nd, AUSTIN WAYNE SELF
3rd, Chase Briscoe*
4th, John Hunter Nemechek*
5th, Joe Nemechek*
8th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
9th, JJ YELEY
10th, MYATT SNIDER
11th, CODY COUGHLIN
12th, BEN RHODES
14th, MATT CRAFTON
16th, GRANT ENFINGER
17th, TIMOTHY PETERS
20th, KORBIN FORRISTER
22nd, BRETT MOFFITT
26th, NOAH GRAGSON
28th, RYAN TRUEX
*non-Toyota driver
** unofficial finishing positions
TOYOTA DRIVER POINT STANDINGS**
1st, Kaz Grala 56 points*
4th, BEN RHODES 38 points
6th, AUSTIN WAYNE SELF 35 points
7th, TIMOTHY PETERS 35 points
9th, CHRISTOPHER BELL 33 points
11th, MYATT SNIDER 30 points
12th, CODY COUGHLIN 26 points
13th, MATT CRAFTON 23 points
14th, GRANT ENFINGER 21 points
15th, KORBIN FORRISTER 21 points
*non-Toyota driver
**unofficial point standings
• Toyota driver Austin Wayne Self (second) was the top-finishing Tundra driver in Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway.
• Tundra drivers Christopher Bell (eighth), JJ Yeley (ninth) and Myatt Snider (10th) also finished in the top 10 at Daytona.
• Tundra driver Ben Rhodes (12th) led 20 laps while Christopher Bell (eighth) led six, Brett Moffitt (22nd) and Timothy Peters (17th) led two and Matt Crafton (14th) led one.
TOYOTA QUOTES
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 4 JBL Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 8th
Talk about your race tonight
“Our JBL Tundra was super fast. We could pretty much drive to the front any time we wanted. We got the lead and kind of got caught up there at the end of the first break. I don’t feel like our truck was ever quite 100% again after that point. My team thrashed and used every minute of the five minute clock that we had to work on it and came out of here with an eighth place finish. We’ll take it and move on to Atlanta where we can go racing.”
MYATT SNIDER, No. 51 Louisiana Hot Sauce Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 10th
What did you see in the accident on the final lap?
“There at the end I just saw Matt Crafton flying so it was wild for sure. My Toyota Tundra was fast and I think we got plenty of TV time for Louisiana Hot Sauce. I’m feeling pretty good about it – even though the truck is pretty mashed up, I finished 10th so I’m pretty happy about that other than the damage.”
Were the trucks moving around more than usual in tonight’s race?
“We had a lot of rookies in this race and a lot of them who were getting in their truck for a first time on a speedway. It’s a lot of different feelings for them. Everybody was moving around quite a bit, but it was a blast to run.”
BEN RHODES, No. 27 Safelite Auto Glass Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 12th
What was going through your head there at the end?
“ThorSport was working really, really, really well together. And I had my teammate Grant Enfinger pushing behind me and he was trying to push me to the win. We had the momentum on the high side three-wide and unfortunately we were coming off the corner transitioning from high-low to low and the truck was getting a little low coming off the track and got me a little sideways and I tried to correct it. Then he came back through and hit my other teammate, Matt. Unfortunately, we’re all wrecked. Safelite repair, Safelite replace this weekend. I don’t know what else to say because these guys have worked so hard. I’ve got such good teammates, it’s unfortunate we were all caught up in it.”
MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Goof Off / Menards Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 13th
What happened on the final lap of the race?
“I was coming off (turn) two and I was like, ‘I’m going to win this race, I’m going to win this race.’ I got my Daytona jinx off of me and all of the sudden I looked in the mirror and I saw the 27 (Ben Rhodes) get turned and I’m like, ‘Just don’t let him get in the right rear of me,’ and the 27 of Ben Rhodes gave me the push to win that race and I got out so far going through the tri-oval and then I got hooked and then I felt light and it’s been a long time since I’ve been in the air then I was in the air and then I saw lights and we had the wrong side down boys. All in all we had a very fast Menards Toyota Tundra and NASCAR does a great job with all this safety equipment for us to be able to walk away from this like we did.”
GRANT ENFINGER, No. 98 Jive Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 16th
What happened in the closing laps of the race?
“Just trying to push my teammates to the win there. I had Matt (Crafton) and Ben (Rhodes) lined up there on the outside and I was pushing Ben there as hard as I could and I know they were going crazy in front of them and they got separated so I was just trying to bump Ben there as good as I could and when I did, I don’t know if he just got squirrely or what – I haven’t seen the replay. Just trying to push these Tundras and things just didn’t pan out for us here today.”
Does this change your mindset heading to Atlanta next week?
“My mindset is the same every week – we weren’t content riding around and finishing fifth or sixth on the bottom, we wanted a shot at it. Unfortunately, we ended up with a bunch of wrecked ThorSport Racing Toyotas. Unfortunate for that, but I’m happy with the progress we’ve made and we’re actually getting some speed out of these so just hate we tore them up.”
TIMOTHY PETERS, No. 17 Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing
Finishing Position: 17th
What happened at in the final laps of the race?
“Just got wild there at the end. Got a good run on the outside and the next thing I know the 27 (Ben Rhodes) came across in front of me. I know it’s just a racing deal and just hate that we got collected up in it with as hard as everybody worked on this Tundra in the off season.”
NOAH GRAGSON, No. 18 Switch Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 26th
Are you okay and what happened.
“I’m fine. NASCAR does a great job with the safer barriers and making these trucks safe. I’m fine. I took a few hard hits out there. Just a bummer. I didn’t want to end the race like this, but I had a good time for the lap I got. Felt like the 29 (Chase Briscoe) hit me in the wrong part of the bumper going through the tri-oval, it just got me loose and it got pointed into the outside wall. Just very thankful for the opportunity to come out here to Daytona, racing in front of the fans. It’s going to be a great rest of the race. Just thanks to Switch and everyone who makes this possible for me. We’re going to go out to Atlanta next weekend and hopefully get the W.”
What happened from your perspective?
“I was riding probably around seventh or eighth at the time on the outside and just got popped from behind, it felt like, going through one and two. The 29 got me. He hit me, got me sideways and then I tried not getting into the 27 (Ben Rhodes) in front of me, but it was not our night tonight I guess. I was happy with our Switch Tundra. It’s a bummer but we’ll move on to Atlanta. I had a good time up there for the lap I got, but just very thankful to be here racing at Daytona, racing in the Truck Series. There’s always next week. Just going to keep on digging. Just really appreciate everyone who’s made this possible.”
RYAN TRUEX, No. 16 SeaWatch International Toyota Tundra, Hattori Racing Enterprises
Finishing Position: 28th
Give us your point of view of what happened.
“People just aren’t patient. It’s lap four and we’re bump drafting. There’s no reason for it. It’s disappointing. Chalk it up to inexperience I guess. There’s just no need to race this hard that early. Unfortunately, we’ve got a wrecked truck. I saw smoke and I slowed down and got pushed from behind and got hit three or four times and our truck was stuck in the mud and wrecked. We’ll go on to Atlanta.”
Walk us through what happened.
“I saw smoke. Someone got inpatient. I saw smoke, I lifted and got hit right there and I got hit again right there. I got hit a few different times and also went in the grass and just killed it. Wrong place, wrong time I guess. It all goes back to not qualifying well I guess. In practice we hit debris. I don’t know why we’re racing this hard on lap 4. It was a hard hit and the truck’s killed. We’ll rebuild it and go to Talladega.”
