Category: XFINITY Series PR

BURTON ADDS ANOTHER SHORT TRACK TOP-FIVE AT BURTON
Harrison Burton scores back-to-back top-five finishes

BRISTOL, Tennessee (September 18, 2020) – Harrison Burton (fourth) earned a top-five finish to lead Toyota in the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday evening. Burton was joined in the top-10 by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Brandon Jones (eighth) and Riley Herbst (10th). All three drivers have secured Playoff spots and will begin their Playoff journey next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS)
Bristol Motor Speedway
Race 26 of 33 – 159.9 miles, 300 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Chase Briscoe*
2nd, Ross Chastain*
3rd, Austin Cindric*
4th, HARRISON BURTON
5th, Justin Allgaier*
8th, BRANDON JONES
10th, RILEY HERBST
15th, TIMMY HILL
20th, CHAD FINCHUM
23rd, STEFAN PARSONS
36th, STEPHEN LEICHT
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

HARRISON BURTON, No. 20 Hunt Brothers Pizza/DEX Imaging Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

What kind of things did you encounter tonight?

“It’s just a crazy race track. It’s Bristol Motor Speedway. It’s legendary for a reason. Gosh, it’s just so hard to pass here. It puts you in situations where you have to be super aggressive if you have the opportunity to go inside someone because if you can hold them on the outside they are in trouble. It was a fun race. I wish we could have run a little better obviously. Fourth is good, but not great. We will keep working to get better for the Playoffs. I’m super excited going into Playoffs. I feel really, really good about our team and where we are going as a company. I’m excited to get to work here and hopefully we can come out of here with a championship.”

Is a run like this encouraging as we prepare to start the Playoffs next week?

“Yeah, I feel like it’s encouraging because it doesn’t feel like a good day for us. That seems backwards, because we didn’t have a good day but the encouraging part is we still ran fourth. We were kind of off. We had to work really, really hard to get our car better. We mad big adjustments all night. At the end, we were decent but not good enough still. That’s exciting to me because we can hang our heads and be disappointed about fourth and know that we are way capable of a lot more. That’s the big thing for us. Just knowing that we are capable of more and getting after it.”

How are you feeling about how our team is running currently?

“I’m frustrated because I feel like we’re not running up to our potential as far as lap time. Tonight, it was a track position battle big time. It’s hard to pass here. You about have to wreck the guy in front of you to pass. It was a challenge to try to get that track position once you lost it. We did a good job I think all night of kind of getting ready and trying to survive until the end and then it just didn’t work out at the end. I’m excited. I think we’re going to have a really good Toyota Supra in the Playoffs. I know my guys are putting in extra hours and I’m putting in extra hours and I’m just so excited to go to work and have a chance to run for a championship. It’s really going to be fun and I’m excited.”

BRANDON JONES, No. 19 Menards/Inspire Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 8th

Another solid top-10. What did you think about tonight’s race?

“I wasn’t really pleased with the way that it ended, honestly. At times, we were running top-three lap times, and I just didn’t have really a racy car tonight. I didn’t feel like I could ever move anyone out of the bottom of the track like I was getting moved and wasn’t able to get into anyone’s left rears. It just kind of seemed like all day that the bottom was the obviously the preferred grove. That’s where you wanted to be. Restarts weren’t bad up top. I think we made a little bit of ground. I think we learned a little bit there. I had to change up the way I was using the brake pedal a lot. So that was something that I had to adjust too, and it took me a long time to where I was using that effectively. Like I said, we had really good speed in our Menards Supra. We just have to figure out how to get our Supra to run around others a little better.”

What is your Playoff mindset going into Las Vegas?

“I think Vegas is the one we need to go out and just wear them out. That could be the one you just go and win and if we do that and lock ourselves into the next one then Talladega and the ROVAL, those two, you go out and be aggressive and try to get as much as you can. If it doesn’t work out, you don’t have to worry about it too much. That we will our plan going into Vegas, but not putting ourselves in position either to where it’s going to mess us up at the end of the day and make to where we have to be good at those other two tracks. I think we will run really well there. We went to Vegas the first time this year and it seemed like we had really good speed in practice. We thought we were going to win the race. The track changed on us a little bit and we also got some damage early that changed our race too some. I think we will be really good this go round.”

RILEY HERBST, No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 10th

What else did you need to get into the top-five tonight?

“If we were coming back to Bristol, I would definitely know what we need. We just started bouncing the nose really bad over there in the PJ1 and rubber build up. Just couldn’t get the handle on our Monster Energy Supra tonight. I need to be better. We need to be better on pit road and me behind the wheel. It was a good wake-up call as we head to the Playoffs here. Going home so maybe we can get some home luck next week and cash in, get a win and advance and spoil some people’s Playoff bubbles.”

# # #

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

SS GreenLight Racing | NASCAR Xfinity Series

Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway | Food City 300
Fast Facts
No. 08 SS GreenLight Racing Team:

Driver: Joe Graf Jr. (@JoeGrafJr)

Primary Partner(s): Bucked Up Energy | Core Development | EAT SLEEP RACE

Manufacturer: Chevrolet Camaro

Crew Chief: Patrick Donahue

Starting Position for Go Bowling 250: 23rd (Event Formula)

Driver Points Position: 22nd

Owner Points Position: 27th

Chassis Intel: SSGLR Chassis No. 708; competed last at Dover (Del.) International Speedway on August 22 and 23, 2020 (Start: 23rd | Finish: 18th)

Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines (ECR)

Notes of Interest:

Full of Energy: Bucked Up Energy and its sister products will continue its role as the primary partner of Graf’s No. 08 Chevrolet Camaro. Bristol Motor Speedway is the 17th race in a multi-year, multi-race deal with the former ARCA Menards Series winner.
Bucked Up is the everyman (or woman) energy drink. We don’t care about the color of your collar; whether blue or white, we all require energy to power our days. We want something that tastes like success, enhances mood and focus, and most of all delivers long-lasting energy.

Richmond Raceway Doubleheader Recap: Joe Graf Jr.’s return to Richmond (Va.) Raceway was filled with mixed results in the final NASCAR Xfinity Series doubleheader at the legendary 0.875-mile paved oval.

During Friday night’s Go Bowling 250, Graf took advantage of a well-balanced No. 08 Bucked Up Energy Chevrolet Camaro to charge to a 19th-place finish.

However, during Saturday afternoon’s Virginia is for Racing Lovers 250, the SS GreenLight Racing struggled with the handling of their Chevrolet Camaro which yielded the team to a disappointing 27th place run.

Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Bristol Motor Speedway Starts: Joe Graf Jr. will make his second career start at Bristol Motor Speedway in Friday night’s race.

In June, Graf Jr. made his Thunder Valley debut where he started 36th and charged to a season-high lead lap 13th place effort in the No. 08 Core Development Group Chevrolet Camaro.

Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Short Track Nuggets: At tracks classified as short tracks with a track length of under 1.0-mile, Graf has five previous NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, including the two most recent races at Richmond Raceway.

He holds an average starting position of 23.6 and an average result of 18.4 and has been running at the conclusion of all five events.

Joe Graf Jr. ARCA Menards Series Career Short Track Nuggets: At tracks classified as short tracks with a track length of under 1.0-mile, Graf has competed in 18 ARCA Menards Series races. He holds an average starting position of 9.8 and an average result of 8.8, including a win at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway in 2018.

Vote For Me: Voting is open for the 2020 edition of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Most Popular Driver.

Approved voters are allowed to vote for their favorite NASCAR Xfinity Series driver at least one time per day for the next two months through Mon., Nov. 9, 2020.

To cast your vote for Joe Graf Jr. visit, nascar.com/xfinitymostpopulardriver.

Back To School Too: While juggling a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule with SS GreenLight Racing, college life has resumed for Joe Graf Jr.

With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Graf Jr. has resorted to online classes at the University of New York, where he is pursuing a degree in business, media and sports management.

The Second Half: Despite the coronavirus pandemic which shuttered NASCAR Xfinity Series races for more than two months, the series recently reached the halfway point of their season at Kansas Speedway in late July.

Now, 25 races down, eight races to go, Graf Jr. is ranked 22nd in the Xfinity Series championship standings and looks to improve his average finish of 23rd over the final seven weeks of the season.

Sneaker Mania: Along with the adrenaline of Motorsports competition, Joe Graf Jr. also has a vogue for hype sneakers. In his current collection, he owns and wears at least 80 limited edition sneakers – and his collection continues to grow every month.

Did You Know? While NASCAR Xfinity Series competition was idle during the coronavirus pandemic for two months, Joe Graf Jr. got busy.

Whether it was working out, spending time on iRacing in the Pro Series Invitational or Saturday Night Thunder, Graf recently gave an insider view on how his quarantine went and offered even a little insight on himself as a person.

Click here to watch the video.

From the Pit Box: Industry veteran Patrick Donahue is Joe Graf Jr.’s crew chief. He will crew chief his 179th NASCAR Xfinity Series races on Friday night. In his previous 178 races, he has two wins, eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes to his resume.

He has nine prior Xfinity races as crew chief at Bristol with a best finish of sixth in August 2019 with Gray Gaulding.

This Is 2020: Entering Bristol, Graf Jr. has 28 career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts to his credit with four top-15 and 10 top-20 finishes. After 25 races in 2020, he stands 22nd in the championship standings with eight races remaining.

Hello From The Other Side: Graf Jr. has a teammate at SS GreenLight Racing. Veteran Gray Gaulding returns to the seat of the No. 07 SS GreenLight Racing Chevrolet on Friday night.

The 22-year-old will make his third Xfinity start of 2020, all with SS GreenLight Racing.

Follow on Social Media: For more on Joe Graf Jr. visit JoeGrafJr.com, like him on Facebook (Joe Graf Jr.), follow him on Twitter (@JoeGrafJr) and Instagram (@joegrafjr).

For more on SS GreenLight Racing, please like them on Facebook (SS GreenLight Racing) and follow them on Twitter (@SSGLR0708) and visit their website at SSGreenLight.com.

Joe Graf Jr. Pre-Race Quotes:

On Richmond (Va.) Raceway: “We didn’t have a terrible weekend at Richmond and after our performance on Friday night, we were looking forward to Saturday, but unfortunately we didn’t make the necessary adjustments to be a factor.

“Still, I’m proud of our No. 08 Bucked Up Energy team, because we learned a lot and made some strides.”

On Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway: “I’m stoked to return to Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend. Surprisingly, we had a relatively clean race in June and I learned so much in my Bristol debut.

“It took me a little while to get comfortable and adjusted to the track’s demands, but during the second half of the race, we had a lot of speed in our car and we left there with our best finish of the season.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to get back on the track and improve on our June finish and hopefully contending for a top-10 finish on Friday night.”

Race Information:

The Food City 300 (300 laps | 159.9 miles) is the 26th of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2020 schedule. The 37-car field will take the green flag shortly after 7:00 p.m. on Fri., Sept. 18, 2020, with live coverage on NBCSN, the Performance Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Eastern).

About SS Green Light Racing:

As one of the most tenured teams in all of NASCAR, SS GreenLight Racing has been a developmental hub for drivers looking to climb the ranks. Led by owner and former driver Bobby Dotter, the team has fielded entries in either the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series or the Xfinity Series competition since 2001.

Coming off a successful 2019 Xfinity campaign, SS GreenLight Racing looks to build further momentum with their two-car program in 2020.

JCR Dials-In new associate sponsor – Fox Sports Radio Spartanburg, Whitetail Smokeless dips in again and All-South Electric returns for Bristol

Spartanburg, SC – JCR is pleased to welcome Fox Sports Radio Spartanburg 1400 / 98.3 as an associate sponsor for three races starting this weekend at Bristol. As well as Talladega and Charlotte. Plus Whitetail Smokeless makes a second consecutive appearance as an associate sponsor and long-time partners All-South Electric returns for their fifth race of 2020.

“It’s pretty exciting to have our hometown Fox Sports Radio station come aboard as an associate sponsor for these three races. These are three really good tracks for us, and we are capable of running in the Top 10 or winning at all three.” Clements said.
“I’m also excited to have Whitetail join the JCR family for their second race this Friday night.” Clements went on to say.

Joining All-South Electric as associate sponsors too will be, Chalew, ELITE Towing & Recovery LLC Circle Body Shop, Mechanix Wear, Wix Filters, Carolina Driveline and ZMAX

RACE PREVIEW
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway
Race: Food City 300
Dates: Friday, September 18, 2020
Broadcast Information – TV: 7:00 pm EST on NBCSN

FAST FACTS:
• Best Start 5th – 8/2019
• Best Finish 4th – 8/2019
• 21st career start at Bristol

JCR TEAM
Team: No. 51
Crew Chief: Andrew Abbott
Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Engine: Clements Racing Engines
Twitter: @JClement51 @JCR_Clements51
Facebook: Jeremy Clements Racing

ABOUT FOX SPORTS SPARTANBURG
Spartanburg Sports are on Fox Sports 1400 / 98.3 Spartanburg. Home to the Spartanburg Vikings, Gamecock Baseball, and of course Open Mic Daily with Hauser and Clary. Fox Sports 1400 Spartanburg will feature: The Dan Patrick 9am-noon The Herd with Colin Cowherd 12-3pm Open Mic Daily 3-6pm SportsTalk with Phil Kornblut 6-8pm On Saturdays: The Saturday Sports Report 7-9am Droppin the Hammer 9-11am. Too listen live check out www.spartanburgsportsradio.com.

ABOUT ALL SOUTH ELECTRIC
All South Electrical Constructors, Inc. was founded on June 1, 1993, by Chuck and Charlie Koon as a single family and small multifamily/commercial electrical contractor.

By 1996, All South Electrical had created one of the most creditable reputations within the State of Georgia for its outstanding support to its customers.

All South Electrical has employed a group of professionals whose goals and objectives are the same as its founders, to provide a quality product at the most economical price while maintaining a safe environment within the workplace.

Today, All South Electrical is one of the most competitive electrical contractors within the multifamily market. Presently we average 5000 units per year as well as our service department.

All South Electrical is licensed in all of the southeastern states and continues to grow and expand with the market’s needs. For more information see www.allsouthelectric.com

ABOUT WHITETAIL SMOKELESS
Whitetail Smokeless is a small family company that was started because we wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. Over the last ten years, our family has lost several family members to cancer caused by tobacco use. We know first-hand how hard it can be to completely drop nicotine cold turkey. Being former dippers ourselves we found the market severely lacking in a quality alternative that actually looked, felt, smelled, tasted, and buzzed like real dip so we started making our own for our personal use. We would occasionally share it with friends looking for a safer alternative. We got so many “Dude! You need to make this shit and sell it” requests that we decided to perfect that product and prepare it for mass market. Since our ultimate goal was to ditch tobacco completely, we also wanted to provide the option to step down to lower nicotine levels when we were ready. Of course, we think we nailed it, but we want to hear what YOU think. After all, this product was made FOR DIPPERS, by dippers and we won’t stop until our customers are satisfied. Feedback is strongly encouraged.

See deerdpip.com.

Ross Chastain Notes
Best start at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS): 6th (2020)
Best finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NXS: 9th (2018)

Kaulig Racing Notes
Best start Bristol Motor Speedway in the NXS: 4th (2020)
Best finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NXS: 7th (2019)

Race Notes
Friday, September 18 at 7:30PM ET on NBCSN
Stages: 85/170/300 Laps

Ross Chastain Quote
“We’re heading to Bristol. It’s an awesome track and my favorite! We did not have the run that we wanted in the spring. We blew a tire early in the race. We took out Austin Cindric and Michael Annett – I hate it for those guys, and I still do. I hurt myself in the process – I had a little brace on my hand for a few months as I recovered from that wreck. We’re looking for better things. The car felt good, and we were running in the top five at the time.

We’re going after second place in the overall points standings. We’re chasing that 98 car. We’re only three points back, so that will be a big race and a big deal to finish the regular season second. If not, third will be ok, and we will get our eight playoff points, which will put us at 10 if we don’t do anything special (this week), but we’re definitely expecting to run up front and compete for this win on Friday night. We will have our No. 10 Dyna-Gro Seed car back!”

About Kaulig Racing™
Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time multi-car NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016 Kaulig Racing™ has made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started. Kaulig Racing fields two full-time entries; the No. 10 Chevrolet driven by Ross Chastain and the No. 11 Chevrolet driven by Justin Haley, as well as, a part-time entry – the No. 16 driven by AJ Allmendinger. Kaulig Racing™ earned two wins in 2019 and have come to be one of the top competitors on track each weekend. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

About Dyna-Gro Seed
Dyna-Gro Seed, has a 30-year history of delivering quality seed with industry-leading performance and cutting-edge science. Marketing a broad selection of eight crops in 44 states, Dyna-Gro is focused on local success with regional seed solutions and retailers.

About Nutrien Ag Solutions™
Nutrien Ag Solutions™ is the retail division of Nutrien™ Ltd. It combines global innovation with local expertise to provide full-acre solutions through a network of trusted crop consultants at retail locations around the world. Nutrien Ag Solutions strives to help growers achieve the highest yields with the most sustainable solutions possible, offering a wide selection of products, including our proprietary brands: Loveland Products, Inc.®, Proven® Seed and Dyna-Gro® Seed.

Justin Haley Notes
Best start at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS): 4th (2020)
Best finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NXS: 7th (2019)

Kaulig Racing Notes
Best start Bristol Motor Speedway in the NXS: 4th (2020)
Best finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NXS: 7th (2019)

Race Notes
Friday, September 18 at 7:30PM ET on NBCSN
Stages: 85/170/300 Laps

Justin Haley Quote
“We had an awesome weekend in Richmond finishing second and sixth. What an amazing short track car we had, and that only makes going to Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend under the lights so much better. Friday night race! We were so fast there in the spring – it was incredible how much speed we had. Alex Yontz and the boys on the No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet have been killing it on the short tracks recently. As a driver, that’s what you love to have. You love to have that speed, especially at the short tracks where driving comes into play. I can’t wait to get to Bristol, based off how we ran there last time, and based off all the momentum we have. We can get fifth in the championship points for the regular season. We’re sitting fifth right now. We can’t go forward, but we can drop a few, so hopefully we have another strong run and maintain that fifth-place regular season spot. I think there’s some fans in the stands this weekend, as well, so that’s awesome to see and have the roar of the fans and the crowd. I can’t wait for it!”

About Kaulig Racing™
Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time multi-car NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016 Kaulig Racing™ has made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started. Kaulig Racing fields two full-time entries; the No. 10 Chevrolet driven by Ross Chastain and the No. 11 Chevrolet driven by Justin Haley, as well as, a part-time entry – the No. 16 driven by AJ Allmendinger. Kaulig Racing™ earned two wins in 2019 and have come to be one of the top competitors on track each weekend. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

About LeafFilter Gutter Protection™
Since 2005, LeafFilter Gutter Protection™ has revolutionized the gutter protection industry. The company is proud to have grown from one small office in Hudson, Ohio to the largest direct to customer home products company in the nation and the leading choice in gutter protection systems. Once installed on a homeowner’s existing gutters, LeafFilter Gutter Protection eliminates gutter cleaning for life. With more than 70 million feet of gutter guards installed on homes across the United States and Canada, LeafFilter Gutter Protection has the knowledge and expertise to guarantee that nothing, but water, will get into your gutters. Learn more about LeafFilter Gutter Protection and request a free estimate at www.leaffilter.com.

JR MOTORSPORTS TEAM PREVIEW:
TRACK: Bristol Motor Speedway
RACE: Food City 300 (300 laps / 159.9 miles)
DATE: Friday, Sept. 18, 2020
Broadcast Information – TV: 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN / Radio: 6:30 p.m. ET on PRN and Sirius XM Ch. 90

Michael Annett
No. 1 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet
• Michael Annett hits Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend with three top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in his last 14 races. His average finish over that span is 7.9.
• National Truck Driver Appreciation Week began on Sunday, and Annett’s No. 1 machine will pay homage to the road warriors who make our country work. The TV panel carries a “Thank You Truck Drivers” message as it did this past week at Richmond.
• Annett’s best NXS finish in 16 starts on Bristol’s high banks is sixth, in 2011.
• BMS is also the home track of Pilot Flying J, based in nearby Knoxville, Tenn.

Jeb Burton
No. 8 LS Tractor Chevrolet
• Coming off a career-best finish of second at Richmond last weekend, Jeb Burton will make his fifth NXS start at Bristol on Friday evening.
• The Halifax, Va. native has a best start of seventh and a best finish of 12th in four previous starts in the NXS at Bristol.
• Overall, Burton has made a combined seven starts across the NASCAR Cup Series, the NXS and the NGROTS at the famed .533-mile short track.
• LS Tractor, one of the fastest growing tractor companies in North America, will be on board the No. 8 Chevrolet for the fifth time this season.

Noah Gragson
No. 9 Bass Pro Shops / TrueTimber / Black Rifle Coffee Chevrolet
• Noah Gragson returns to Bristol as the defending race winner after going to Victory Lane in the most recent event at “The Last Great Colosseum” in June.
• Overall, Gragson has three previous NXS starts at the .533- mile with an average finish of 9.0 and has paced the field for 60 circuits.
• After 25 races in the 2020 season, Gragson sits fourth in the championship standings with two wins, 11 top fives, 18 top 10s and has led 524 laps.
• At tracks that are less than a mile in length, Gragson has one win, four top fives, eight top 10s and holds an average finish of 8.1.

Justin Allgaier
No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet
• Justin Allgaier is coming off of a weekend sweep at Richmond heading into this Friday’s event at Bristol.
• In 19 NXS starts at the Tennessee short track, Allgaier has one win (2010), eight top fives and 11 top 10s.
• The Illinois native has led a staggering 638 laps at Bristol, more than any other track on the circuit. Of those laps, 425 have been tallied in the last three events at the track.
• Allgaier’s two wins in Richmond catapulted him to third in the projected playoffs standings with just one race left in the regular season. To date in 2020, the veteran driver has collected 25 playoff points from his three victories and 10 stage wins.

Driver Quotes

“Our No. 1 Pilot Flying J team is performing well. We had two good runs at Richmond, clinching a playoff spot on Friday night. We’ve worked hard all season for the chance to race for a championship, and we can race for wins instead of chasing points. We had a really good car earlier this season at Bristol, but got caught in someone else’s mess. We are looking forward to a good run to thank all the truck drivers who keep our country moving as part of National Truck Driver Appreciation Week.” – Michael Annett

“I feel like our No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture team is hitting its stride at just the right time. Last weekend at Richmond was incredible and gives us some great momentum heading to one of my favorite tracks on the circuit. Bristol is a place that really suits my driving style and the past few races I feel like we’ve had the car to beat, but circumstances just didn’t work in our favor. Hopefully we can get it done this weekend and end the regular season on a high note as we look ahead to the playoffs.” – Justin Allgaier

“I can’t wait to see what we can do on Friday night with this LS Tractor Chevrolet. Taylor (Moyer, crew chief) and all the guys on this JR Motorsports team gave me a great car both races last weekend on the short track in Richmond and I feel really confident that we will unload with that same speed this weekend at the short track in Bristol. This is definitely a place that I have always enjoyed coming to and hopefully we can keep this momentum from our second-place finish last Saturday going and fight for the win come Friday night.” – Jeb Burton

“The last time we were at Bristol we came away with the win but it came at a cost. It’ll be nice to go back and get the Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Camaro into Victory Lane to get a few more playoff points before the playoffs begin next week. I know the guys are working hard at the shop and I don’t doubt them a bit that we will unload with a lot of speed on Friday night.” – Noah Gragson

JRM Team Updates

• JRM in Thunder Valley: In 76 NXS starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, JR Motorsports has scored two wins, 20 top-five and 46 top-10 finishes. Brad Keselowski earned the organization’s first victory at “The Last Great Colosseum” in August of 2008 after starting 37th and leading the final 24 laps. The 37th-place starting position is the deepest in the field a winner has ever started for JRM. Noah Gragson scored the organization’s most recent victory at the famed short track in June of this year.
• JRM on Short Tracks: In 232 starts on short tracks in the NXS, JRM has recorded 11 wins, 66 top fives and 141 top 10s. Brad Keselowski earned the organization’s first victory on a short track at Bristol Motor Speedway in August 2008. Justin Allgaier scored the most recent victories on a short track after sweeping last weekend’s events at Richmond Raceway.
• National Truck Driver Appreciation Week: Michael Annett’s No. 1 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet celebrates National Truck Driver Appreciation Week with an homage to the drivers who make America go. National Truck Driver Appreciation Week is an important time for America to pay respect and thank all the professional truck drivers for their hard work and commitment in undertaking one of our economy’s most demanding and important jobs. These 3.5 million professional men and women not only deliver our goods safely, securely, and on time, they also keep our highways safe. This year it takes on a special significance considering the crucial role truck drivers have played during the COVID-19 pandemic

Mayer to pilot JRM entry in second half of 2021 NXS season and fulltime in 2022

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 15, 2019) – JR Motorsports announced today that Sam Mayer, alumnus of the organization’s Late Model program and 2019 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion, will reunite with JRM in 2021 to begin the next phase of his racing career. The 17-year-old Mayer has been tabbed to drive a JRM Chevrolet in the second half of the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season before taking the reins fulltime in 2022.

A native of Franklin, Wis., Mayer is the son of former IndyCar and road racing star Scott Mayer. Following a successful stint with JRM’s Late Model team in 2018-19, which included a victory in the prestigious Bobby Isaac Memorial, Mayer transitioned to K&N Pro Series competition, winning four races in 2019 en route to a championship that crowned him the youngest champion in any NASCAR series at the age of 16 years, three months and eight days. Mayer leveraged those achievements into 2020 success, tallying eight wins and 15 top-five finishes in 16 starts across ARCA and its East and West divisions.

“When Sam first came to run the late model a couple of years ago, he was adamant he would be racing an Xfinity car for us someday,” said Kelley Earnhardt Miller, JRM general manager. “I admired his initiative then, and now we’re happy to help make his dream a reality. It will be quite a step up, but it’s one he’s ready to make. He’s shown he has the skills to be successful at a very high level.”

Currently, Mayer leads the ARCA Menards East and ARCA Showdown championship standings. Mayer has also made six starts to date in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, earning a best finish of fourth at World Wide Technology Raceway earlier this season.

“Having the opportunity to return to JR Motorsports after racing late models with them in 2018 is definitely very special to me,” Mayer said. “Being able to share this news makes me very excited for the coming year. I hope I can learn as much as I can in the second half of next season and to be ready to go race fulltime for the NXS championship in 2022.”

If Mayer’s path seems familiar, that’s because it is. He is the second driver from the JRM Late Model pipeline to return to the organization for NXS competition, joining 2017 NXS champion and current Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron, who piloted a JRM Late Model in 2014-15. Additionally, Mayer is the first racer to make the move to the NXS as part of Chevrolet’s Drivers Edge Development program. He’ll turn 18 on June 26, 2021.

ABOUT JR MOTORSPORTS:
JR Motorsports is the management company and racing operation for Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s 15-time Most Popular Driver and winner of 50 NASCAR-sanctioned races. Now in its 19th year of overall competition, JR Motorsports races in multiple divisions, including the NASCAR Xfinity Series where it won championships in 2014, 2017 and 2018. The company also competes in Late Model competition and owns four championships in regional late model divisions. To learn more about the organization, its drivers and its sponsorship opportunities, visit www.jrmracing.com.

ROOKIE BURTON DRIVES TO TOP-FIVE FINISH AT RICHMOND
Rookie of the Year leader Harrison Burton drives to 12th top-five run of the year

RICHMOND, Virginia (September 12, 2020) – Harrison Burton (fourth) earned a top-five finish to lead Toyota in the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 250 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday afternoon. Brandon Jones (eighth) joined Burton in the top-10, while Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Riley Herbst clinched his spot in the Playoffs.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS)
Richmond Raceway
Race 25 of 33 – 187.5 miles, 250 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Justin Allgaier*
2nd, Jeb Burton*
3rd, Ross Chastain*
4th, HARRISON BURTON
5th, Noah Gragson*
8th, BRANDON JONES
21st, MASON MASSEY
22nd, STEPHEN LEICHT
28th, CHAD FINCHUM
34th, RILEY HERBST
36th, TIMMY HILL
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

HARRISON BURTON, No. 20 DEX Imaging Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

What did the team do to your Supra from last night’s race to today’s race to improve?

“We went the convenience store and we bought the kitchen sink and threw it at the car. We changed everything – whole package change. That always makes me nervous. You don’t have practice, you don’t have a chance to feel out what’s going to work or not. We knew that we had to do something different because last night was embarrassing and really, honestly horrible. I was really happy with today. We ran top-five pretty much all day and I was so proud of that. That’s such a big improvement. Even after finishing fifth in the first stage, I was pumped up, which I’m normally bummed about finishing fifth in the first stage. Just the way our weekend has been so far and then to turn it around overnight with those guys burning the midnight oil and putting in the work and me looking at data at night and trying to relate to see what we needed to do for today, to get that result out of it is a huge confidence booster and I think that’s what builds championship teams.”

Kyle Busch mentioned talking with all of you last night about some of what he experienced in his Xfinity car in last night’s race. Was any of that beneficial to help with your performance today?

“Kyle (Busch) stayed after the race for about 30 minutes and talked to me on pit road. Kind of verified what I was feeling and was helping me find ways and helping our team find ways to kind of go a direction conceptually to go with it. Kyle definitely helped us out. It was a good deal for us to get his notes and what he thought and what they did throughout the race. I think we got better today partially because of that and partially because of or in large part because of the guys on my team just put in the midnight hours and worked really hard last night. Stayed up until about 12:30 or one o’clock last night doing data on my computer as well. Just proud of everyone because it was a tough race last night. It was embarrassing honestly. That was a good turnaround and that’s what makes for really great teams is when you find a way. Normally in racing you don’t turn things around that quickly. You don’t come in the next day with a new idea and say, ‘Hey, this might work,’ and try it and it works. That was the first time I’ve ever had that happen. That’s a testament to this team.”

How are you feeling with one race before Playoffs start?

“I think we’re really confident. We’ve had the speed recently, other than this weekend, to win a lot of races and just haven’t executed. Then today was a little bit of the opposite. We weren’t amazing, but we put things together at the end to have a chance to win the race, which was fun. That’s what it takes from a team is you have to make the best out of the days that aren’t the best car. That was really, really good for us to do that going into the Playoffs and now we’re going to Bristol where we have laps and we have experience as a team. I’ve been there twice with this team now. It’s time to go, time to get some Playoff points before the Playoffs start and then once we get going, we’re going to be locked in and ready to go.”

Did your Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) Cup teammates lean on you or your team for information around Richmond in preparation for tonight’s Cup race?

“I think that Kyle (Busch) is the connector between the two. I haven’t had any Cup guys ask me any questions, but I certainly asked them a lot of questions. I think that they learned from us and we learned some things that I think can apply to the Cup cars as well, especially with their package this weekend. Hopefully the JGR guys do well.”

BRANDON JONES, No. 19 Menards/Inspire Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 8th

A solid bounce-back performance after the run from last night. How was your race this afternoon?

“After yesterday’s race, I didn’t know what to even ask. So, I just didn’t, because, typically if you ask the wrong questions, you get the goofy answers back. I stayed away from that a little bit and I went this morning and looked at SMT as much as I could. I didn’t watch any of the race back, but just studied SMT a bunch and put a bunch of notes in my notebook that I have. For today, it finally clicked with me in the race that where I need to be braking at and so I picked up on that. It was really good. A huge gainer for us. I kind of realized today that you cannot drive this track to the limit of the car. The way the track is designed – it’s almost like, you can have a lot of front turn on the entrance and the center, but the way the exit is, you have to wait so much longer on the car. It was quite a challenge in that sense. I think I finally found a couple things that helped that. So now, yesterday, we were great on the short run and weren’t really good on the long run, and I feel like we flip flopped today. We lost some short run speed and gained a bunch on our long run. There’s a lot of things that I’m going to go and study. We can use our sim tools at TRD and even iRacing on my own time to pick out a couple more markers, because I feel like you have to drive this track with markers a bunch.”

One more race before the Playoffs, do you feel like you and the team are ready for the charge for a championship?

“Yeah, we have to clean up some things after today, I feel like. I made a bunch of really small mistakes. Those add up over time, eventually, put us outside of where we really should have finished, which is top-five. I think we are ready. When we go the Playoffs, it needs to be solid, and everyone needs to be on the same page. That’s going to be the key to that, but Bristol is a dang good track for us. We’ve been so close to winning there multiple times, so it’s time to take that one, I think. We have the momentum. We have the confidence and speed, and everything is lining up to have a really good day there.”

# # #

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2020
Virginia is for Racing Lovers 250 – RICHMOND RACEWAY
FORD PERFORMANCE DRIVER – POST RACE QUOTES

FORD FINISHING RESULTS:
10th – Austin Cindric
16th – Chase Briscoe

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang — NOT THE RESULT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR WITH YOUR FINISH TODAY, BUT CONGRATULATIONS ON WINNING THE REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP: “Thanks. I am trying to get over it. I had a very frustrating day and I wish we would have been able to do more with our PPG Ford Mustang today. We sat down as a team at the beginning of the year and we all wrote down our top-three goals. I am not a big proponent of setting goals but we put something on paper and my number one was the regular-season championship. From the outside looking in that was maybe a lofty goal but we have a lot of speed and a lot of fight and I am really proud of that effort. We can’t have days like today, especially if we get to make it to the Championship Four. A lot of emotions right now but at the end of the day it is mission accomplished for sure.”

AT TIMES THIS SEASON DID YOU THINK THE GOAL WAS ATTAINABLE? “It was frustrating because it felt so attainable. Especially in the months of June there when we were at Atlanta and Pocono and Homestead, places where we had so much speed. The races just didn’t go our way and it felt like nothing was going our way. Then we go to Indy and had the same thing there. But then we went on that run and it was really big for our points and the stats and the numbers show our consistency throughout the year.”

YOU GET TO GO TO BRISTOL AND RELAX WITH 15 BONUS POINTS IN THE BANK AND A REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP: “Relax at Bristol? That doesn’t happen. I am looking forward to it and looking forward to pushing hard and seeing what this team is capable of over the next couple of months.”