ALMIROLA, CREED EARN TOP-FIVES IN WILD FINISH IN INDIANAPOLIS
Fourth-straight Xfinity Series top-five for Almirola
INDIANAPOLIS (July 20, 2024) – Aric Almirola was half a lap away from claiming a marquee victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway but settled for third place in a dramatic last-lap battle in the Xfinity Series race Saturday afternoon. The driver of the No. 20 GR Supra was in contention for the win all day long but had to overcome adversity after a spin late in the race to claim the third-place result at the end. This is the fourth consecutive top-five for Almirola in just his sixth Xfinity Series start this season for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Almirola’s teammate, Sheldon Creed, also ended up in the top-five by finishing in the fifth position when the checkered flag flew. Like his teammate, Creed was in or around the top-10 most of the afternoon, and with the help of intuitive pit strategy, battled his way to the top-five at the race’s conclusion. The result is the ninth top-five for Creed this season.
INDYCAR driver and Indiana native Conor Daly also impressed throughout the day in his first NASCAR Xfinity Series oval start. Daly was running seventh prior to a late race caution. With several pit strategies in play, Daly battled through the closing laps and ended his strong run with a career-best 14th.
With the Olympic Break, the Xfinity Series is off for four weeks before returning to action at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, August 17.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Race 20 of 33 – 250 Miles, 100 Laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Riley Herbst*
2nd, Cole Custer*
3rd, ARIC ALMIROLA
4th, Shane van Gisbergen*
5th, SHELDON CREED
14th, CONOR DALY
17th, JOE GRAF JR.
33rd, CHANDLER SMITH
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 20 He Gets Us Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
Take us through your day and that finish.
“I thought that was our only chance if we were going to steal one. The Stewart-Haas (Racing) cars were the class of the field all weekend. I thought that was my chance to try, when they (Riley Herbst and Cole Custer) got side-by-side and make something happen. I thought it was going to work out. I thought I was going to get clean air and was going to be okay, but Riley’s car was so good, and he got to my left rear and got me tight. It happened earlier in that run. I’d get so tight when he’d get to my left rear. Hats off to those guys, they did a great job. Proud of everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing. Tyler (Allen, crew chief) and the all the guys on this 20 team. They just did as great job. Proud of the effort and dang, that hurts.”
SHELDON CREED, No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 5th
Where did you come from there at the end?
“Just a good call by my crew chief, Sam McAuley, to get tires there. And yeah, picked the right lane that rolled well. And just having tires against some of the cars at the end meant something. I was able to get in line and go forward there at the end, which was great as we were battling all day. Just slow. The car handled well all day, just a little too slow all day.”
How sketchy was it out there today?
“Yeah, dirty air was not fun, especially when you were two or three-wide. Just tried to manage that and obviously, we’ve seen a few wrecks there. Yeah, just put ourselves in position for another top-five run, which is great. But yeah, I want to go lead laps and win races, so we have to find a little bit. Yeah, it’s great to have the consistency we’ve had the last so many weeks and get ready for the Playoffs, so that’s good.”
CONOR DALY, No. 26 Polkadot Toyota GR Supra, Sam Hunt Racing
Finishing Position: 14th
This has got to be a new position where you can repair damage.
“Dude, I was literally in between the wall and two vehicles and thought, this NASCAR thing was fun while it lasted, but the wheels were still somewhat straight. The car was really fast. I honestly had a tremendous time. I think I got moved out of the way a little bit which I expected, but for the most part, I really enjoyed the racing. Racing with Shane (van Gisbergen) was really fun. He’s awesome to race with – the other guys in this series too. It was really fun to race up front with these guys. I watch every week and I enjoy watching the series. This Toyota was fast. It has a lot of character to it now.”
Did you take a moment to take in racing here on the oval, not in an INDYCAR?
“Yeah, honestly. I think my experience here helped – but it is such a different car and there were so many moments that literally just ambushed me. I just didn’t know. I just hadn’t been moved with just air. Austin Hill got to my left rear and didn’t touch me at all, and I was almost crashing. It was just one of those things that was just difficult. This team did a great job. They gave me a great car. We maybe overtightened it at the end, but super thankful for Polkadot, Sam Hunt (team owner) for letting me be a part of his program, and Toyota for letting me be part of their group.”
When you were running with that front group, what kind of confidence did that give you?
“Honestly, when we were seventh, I thought we were stuck behind three of these guys. I thought we were much better. If we could have just cleared (Justin) Allgaier, I think we had much more momentum on that stint – let’s say it ran all the way to the checkered – I thought we were going to be in really good shape. A bit of a gamble to take two tires at the end, which was tough because I had never experienced a car with just two tires. Definitely tightened me up more than I expected, so just part of a new experience.”
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