Category: XFINITY Series PR

Justin Haley Notes:

First start at Kansas Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS)

Haley will pilot an all-pink paint scheme for Breast Cancer Awareness, featuring 84 names of people from both Kaulig Racing and LeafFilter Gutter Protection who are affected by breast cancer

Kaulig Racing Notes:

Best Start at Kansas Speedway: 9th (2016)
Best Finish at Kansas Speedway: 9th (2016)

Quotes:
“We had an awesome run at Dover – a Top-5 finish for us, but sadly, we were knocked out of the playoffs. That’s ok, because we are running this special, all-pink paint scheme this weekend for the month of October at Kansas Speedway. We’ve got 84 names of people who are affected by breast cancer at Kaulig Racing and LeafFilter Gutter Protection. A huge thanks to LeafFilter for allowing us to run this paint scheme. I know everyone at the Fraternal Order of Eagles (FOE), my personal sponsor, does a lot with Breast Cancer Awareness, so I’m really excited to get this car on track and hopefully we can get it in Victory Lane for all the men and women who are affected.”

About Kaulig Racing™
Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by CEO and owner of LeafFilter Gutter Protection®, Kaulig Capital and Kaulig Media, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016 Kaulig Racing™ has made the NXS Playoffs consecutively, finishing seventh (2016), 11th (2017) and 12th (2018). Maintaining their technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing, Kaulig Racing™ has come to be one of the top-competitors on track each weekend. To learn more about the team, visit  kauligracing.com .

JR MOTORSPORTS TEAM PREVIEW:
TRACK: Kansas Speedway
RACE: Kansas Lottery 300 (200 laps / 300 miles)
DATE: Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019

Michael Annett
No. 1 Allstate Parts and Service Chevrolet
• Michael Annett kicks off the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs as the seventh seed, eight points behind fourth with three races to decide the round.
• Annett’s best NXS finish at Kansas is eighth in 2012.
• Kansas Speedway is a virtual twin to Chicagoland Speedway, where Annett finished third earlier this season.
• On 1.5-mile tracks so far this season, Annett’s average finish is a solid 7.0.
• The next top-five finish for Annett this season will tie his career-best mark in that category, set in 2012. At Dover two weeks ago, he was sixth and tied his season-high in top 10s.

Justin Allgaier
No. 7 BRANDT/TradeMark Nitrogen Camaro Chevrolet
• Justin Allgaier enters the first race in the NXS Round of 8 as the fifth seed, just three points shy of the cutoff for the Championship 4.
• The Illinois native is currently riding a streak of five consecutive top-five finishes and 13 straight top-10 finishes dating back to Kentucky in July.
• In eight NXS starts at Kansas Speedway, Allgaier has two top fives, five top 10s, and a best finish of fifth (twice).
• This season on tracks measuring 1.5 miles in length, Allgaier has three top-five and four top-10 efforts. His best performance on a mile and-a-half track this year came at Charlotte in May when he finished second.

Ryan Truex
No. 8 Marquis Spa Chevrolet
• Ryan Truex returns to the No. 8 Chevrolet for the sixth time this season at Kansas.
• In five previous starts for JRM, Truex has recorded one top five and four top 10s with a best finish of second coming at ISM Raceway.
• Truex has scored a best finish of 10th in three previous starts at Kansas in the NXS.
• Truex has also earned a pair of top 10s in two previous starts in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series at Kansas.
• Through 29 races in 2019, the No. 8 Chevrolet has recorded six top fives and 20 top 10s.

Noah Gragson
No. 9 PUBG Mobile Chevrolet
• Noah Gragson heads into the Round of 8 as the eighth seed, 12 points behind the fourth and final cutoff position.
• Gragson will make his first NXS start at Kansas Speedway on Saturday.
• The Las Vegas native is a previous winner at the 1.5-mile speedway, going to Victory Lane after starting from the pole and leading 128 laps in the 2018 NGOTS event.
• In seven NXS starts on 1.5-mile tracks, Gragson has claimed a best finish of third, earned earlier this season in March at Las Vegas. Overall, Gragson has tallied two top fives and six top 10s.

Driver Quotes

“With the point differential we have in the Round of 8, there’s going to be a priority in getting as many stage points as you can these next three races. Winning is obviously the easiest way to get to Homestead and battle for the championship. You don’t have to win, but you have to be up in the top five and contending for a win or you’re not going to earn enough points to get in that way. My confidence in this No. 1 Allstate Parts and Service team is high, and we’re on a 1.5-mile track. My confidence on those tracks is very high as well, so we’ll go to Kansas and get it done there.” – Michael Annett

“I’m ready to get to Kansas and get the Round of 8 underway. This track wasn’t too kind to us last year, but I’m confident we can go back and rebound for a solid finish. Our mile-anda-half program is strong and we have a nice run of top-five finishes going for us. Our goal is to continue that positive momentum this weekend with our BRANDT/TradeMark Nitrogen Camaro and do what we can to get to Victory Lane and lock ourselves into the Championship 4.” – Justin Allgaier

“I’m really happy to get back behind the wheel of this No. 8 Chevrolet this weekend in Kansas with Marquis Spa. Taylor (Moyer, crew chief) and everyone on this JR Motorsports team have given me a great car each time out this year and hopefully we will be just as quick this weekend. It’s going to be a fun day on Saturday and I can’t wait to get there.” – Ryan Truex

“Kansas is such a fun track to race on. We were able to get the win there last year in the Truck Series after winning the pole and I feel really confident that we will unload with that same kind of speed with our PUBG Mobile Chevrolet this weekend. We’ve kept this momentum on our side through the first round of the playoffs and hopefully we can keep that going on Saturday and put ourselves in a really good position as the final four gets closer. I’m ready to get going and go fight for a chicken dinner.” – Noah Gragson

JRM Team Updates

• JRM at Kansas: In 32 NXS starts in the Land of Oz, JRM has scored 10 top fives and 17 top 10s, with a best finish of second occurring in 2014 with Kevin Harvick and 2016 with Elliott Sadler. Last season, JRM left Kansas with two top-five finishes from playoff drivers Sadler and Tyler Reddick.
• JRM in the Round of 8: Since the elimination format began for the NASCAR playoffs in 2016, JR Motorsports has claimed one win, 10 top fives and 15 top 10s in the Round of 8. In 2017, William Byron and the No. 9 team earned the victory at ISM Raceway after starting from second and leading 17 laps en route to the checkered flag.
• Annett Team Chevy Appearance: JRM driver Michael Annett will be stopping by the Team Chevy Display at 12:45 p.m. CST on Friday, Oct. 18.
• Allgaier Media Availability: JRM Driver Justin Allgaier will be participating in NXS media availability in the media center at Kansas Speedway on Friday, Oct. 18 from 1 – 1:15 p.m. CST.
• JRM Souvenir Autograph Session: JRM teammates Justin Allgaier and Noah Gragson will be signing autographs at the JR Motorsports / Hendrick Motorsports souvenir trailer at Kansas on Friday, Oct. 18 from 5:45 – 6:15 p.m. CST.

John Hunter Nemechek, No. 23 Fire Alarm Services Inc., Chevrolet Camaro

Sugarlands Shine 250 | Talladega Superspeedway Race Advance
Team: No. 45 CarShield Chevrolet Silverado
Driver: Ross Chastain
Follow the Team: @NieceMotorsport; @RossChastain

Ross Chastain on Racing at Talladega: “Talladega is definitely a wild card in this playoff,” said Chastain.  “There’s a lot that’s out of our control, so we’re going to focus on the things we can control.  I know this team will bring a fast CarShield Chevrolet Silverado.  We’ll do our best to stay out of trouble and put ourselves in contention at the end of the race.  I enjoy superspeedway racing and am looking forward to Saturday’s race.”

The Playoffs: Chastain enters Saturday’s race third in the driver point standings. Following Saturday’s race, the playoff field will be trimmed from eight drivers to six.

Chastain at Talladega: Saturday’s race will mark Chastain’s fourth NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series start (NGOTS) start at Talladega Superspeedway.  In his three previous starts, Chastain has two top-15 finishes, with his best finish of third coming in 2013.

The Alva, Florida-native has five NASCAR XFINITY Series starts to his credit at the 2.50-mile track.

In addition, Chastain has three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Talladega Superspeedway.

On the Truck: CarShield continues to support Chastain and the No. 45 Chevrolet.

CarShield visited victory lane with Chastain and the No. 45 team earlier this year at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

Headquartered in Saint Peters, Mo., CarShield offers vehicle service contracts designed to pick up where automobile owners’ existing warranty drops off and to fill gaps in coverage. CarShield was founded in 2005 by principals Nick Hamilton, Mark Travis, and Rick Brettelle and specializes in shielding its members from the high cost of automobile repairs by offering a wide range of flexible vehicle service plans.

About Niece Motorsports:

Niece Motorsports is owned by United States Marine Corps Veteran Al Niece.  In 2019, Niece Motorsports enters its fourth season in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series.  Niece also owns Niece Equipment, which has for over 40 years provided clients with reliable products at competitive prices.  Niece Equipment’s reputation is built on service, integrity and dependability.  The company provides water and fuel / lube trucks that are engineered with quality and durability in mind for the construction and mining industry.  Follow the team on Facebook and Instagram @NieceMotorsports as well as Twitter @NieceMotorsport.

DOVER, DE – October 7, 2019 – Cole Custer was the golden winner at Dover International Speedway, winning on his 100th NASCAR Xfinity Series career start. The No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang won the Golden Miles Monster trophy on the 50th Anniversary of the Dover International Speedway.

“Congratulations Cole, Tony, Gene, and the No. 00 crew,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Our Ford Performance teams were fast in qualifying, going 1 through 3. Cole drove a great race and his team put him in position to capture the win. It’s great to see all three Ford Mustang drivers in the Playoff hunt and running strong.”

The weekend started off fast with the Ford Mustangs going 1, 2, 3 in qualifying. Chase Briscoe won his second career pole and marked the 130th NXS pole for Roush Yates Engines. Austin Cindric and Custer took P2 and P3 respectively.

The three Ford Mustangs led a manufacturer high, 131 laps out of the 200-lap race; led by Briscoe with 71, Custer 31 laps, and Austin Cindric with 29 laps.

With seven laps to go, Custer held off the field of playoff contenders on the late race restart and pulled away from Justin Allgaier to record his 9th career NXS win and 7th win in the 2019 season.

“I’ve wanted to win here so bad for so long,” Custer said. “I’ve been close a number of times but just to win the Gold Monster (trophy) is unbelievable.”

All Ford NXS drivers advance to the Round of 8. Custer is currently ranked P2 overall in the NXS Playoff Standings while Cindric is P4 and Briscoe P6.

In the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Kevin Harvick finished P4 and Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Clint Bowyer finished P10 in the Drydene 400 on Sunday.

As MENCS returns to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend, the current Ford MENCS Playoff Driver Standings will be led by Harvick in P5 and Brad Keselowski in P6.

Reference the full 2019 schedule on roushyates.com.

23 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 376 WINS – 355 POLES!

About Roush Yates Engines
Roush Yates Engines is a leading-edge engine development company based in Mooresville, NC consisting of three state-of-the-art facilities – Roush Yates Engines; Roush Yates Performance Engines Group focused on road racing; and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class ISO 9001 / AS9100 certified CNC manufacturing facility. The company’s core business includes designing, building and testing purpose-built race engines.

Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder of the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine and twin-turbo EcoBoost Ford V6 race engine that powers the Ford GT super car in the IMSA and FIA series.

With an unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide winning engines through demonstrated power and performance.

5 Series – 3 Countries – 98 Races

Tyler Reddick and No. 2 Freightliner Team Survive Early Race Chaos and Advance to Round of 8

Finish: 12th
Start: 4th
Points: 3rd

“Unfortunately, our No. 2 Freightliner Chevrolet just got away from me on the first lap, and we received some damage to our right rear quarter panel that had to be fixed. Luckily, my team is one of the best and they got our Camaro fixed up pretty good. We were able to stay on the lead lap and not lose any ground there. After the damage, I just lacked the rear lateral grip that I need at a place like Dover. We kept after it though and fought for every spot we could get today. We clinched our spot in the Playoffs to advance to the Round of 8 during the middle of Stage 2, which helped keep some pressure off. We’ll regroup over the off-weekend, and be ready to kick off the next round with a strong run at Kansas Speedway, a place that we’ve been fast at before.” -Tyler Reddick

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Use Your Melon Drive Sober 200 | POST RACE

FORD FINISHING RESULTS
1st – Cole Custer
3rd – Austin Cindric
5th – Chase Briscoe

COLE CUSTER, No. 00 Production Alliance Group Ford Mustang – Finished 1st

POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE

CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH YOUR FEELING WHEN THAT CAUTION CAME OUT AND YOU WERE UP FRONT PLAYING THE STRATEGY THAT CYCLED YOU TO THE LEAD? “I thought it was good. You don’t know until everybody cycles around but I knew we were probably in a good spot staying out there. It was a great pit call by Mike to stay out. It is all about track position here. Whatever you can do on strategy and pit stops to get track position, it is what you need to do.”

JUSTIN (HALEY) SAID THAT IF YOU GUYS WERE ON EVEN TIRES HE FELT HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN JUST AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER THAN YOU. DO YOU THINK IF YOU WERE ON EVEN TIRES YOU COULD HAVE HELD HIM OFF? “It is a toss-up. I think we were fairly equal on the short run but on the long run we would definitely catch him. It is hard to say but I definitely think clean air is king here.”

YOU HAD ALREADY CLINCHED A SPOT IN THE NEXT ROUND, WHAT DOES THE WIN MEAN BEYOND THE PLAYOFF POINTS YOU EARNED? “I think it is confidence. Going into Kansas and Texas, we can just go in there and know that we are firing on all cylinders and we can go in there and win. It is having confidence on the first lap you hit the track and we can now go in there next round and be one to fight with.”

WITH EVERY WIN, DO YOU GET MORE AND MORE ANXIOUS TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING NEXT YEAR? “I really just live in the moment. It is what it is. You win as many races as you can and whatever happens, happens. Usually it fixes itself.”

YOU SAID YOU WERE ITCHING TO GET THIS GOLD TROPHY. WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH IT NOW? “It will go in my living room or something. I have wanted to win this trophy and this race for such a long time. We got really close here a couple times in a truck and a couple times in the Xfinity car. To finally win is pretty huge. It is a trophy everyone wants and a track everyone wants to win at. It is pretty huge.”

THIS WAS YOUR 100TH XFINITY SERIES START. HOW DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE PROGRESSED IN THAT TIME? “It has been huge. I think if you look at the progression of me and of our team also, when we started it was a new team and we had really fast cars, it was just a matter of gaining experience for both me and the team. Mike coming on this year was huge to bring us even more experience. It has been huge for sure.”

MIKE SHIPLETT, CREW CHIEF, No. 00 Ford Mustang

YOU WORKED WITH A LOT OF DRIVERS AND COLE HAD SOME EXPERIENCE COMING IN. HOW HAS HE PROGRESSED AND WHAT HAVE YOU TRIED TO REFINE WITH HIM THIS YEAR? “Cole is a very good driver. Very exceptional. Very good at what he does. It is just fine tuning things and getting 100-percent all of the time. That is what we are looking for. From restarts to long run speed and short run speed, we keep working on everything and making it just a little bit better.”

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 22 MoneyLion Ford Mustang – Finished 3rd

“We feel like at all three races in the round of 12 we were the best car and the worst finish was 3rd, so I am really proud of this MoneyLion Mustang team. I don’t think we had a car capable of winning today. In clean we could hold our own but once we got behind we were probably a third place car and that is where we finished. I am proud of that effort and proud of the recovery. We will keep trying to bring this momentum to the next round.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 98 Ford Performance Mustang – Finished 5th

“It is encouraging how fast of a car we had but that is two weeks in a row I feel like we had the best race car and didn’t get the win. There are so many circumstances that go into winning these races and one little thing that you don’t catch at the right time just kills you. It is really good that we are moving on to the next round of the playoffs but at the same time if we hadn’t had to go to the back we probably would have had seven points going into the next round and that would have been big. It is frustrating to have a winning race car and not win with it but it is nice that we have had really fast Mustangs and that is encouraging going into the next round. Hopefully we can have just as fast race cars but seal the deal.”

Tough day for Toyota at the Monster Mile
All three Joe Gibbs Racing entries suffer issues before the end of the first stage.

DOVER, Del. (October 5, 2019) – Stefan Parsons was the highest-finishing Toyota driver with a top-20 finish.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Dover International Speedway
Race 28 of 33 – 200 miles, 200 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Cole Custer*
2nd, Justin Allgaier*
3rd, Austin Cindric*
4th, Justin Haley*
5th, Chase Briscoe*
19th, STEFAN PARSONS
22nd, JOEY GASE
25th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
26th, TIMMY HILL
27th, CARL LONG
31st, CHAD FINCHUM
37th, BRANDON JONES
38th, HARRISON BURTON
*non-Toyota driver

• Christopher Bell had no fuel pressure on lap 15. His team took the car behind the wall, and the team was able to fix the issue.

• Bell advanced to the second round of the Playoffs on the strength of his win at Richmond Raceway.

• Brandon Jones and Harrison Burton were in a first lap accident that forced both cars behind the wall, ending their days.

TOYOTA QUOTES

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 25th

Talk about the rough finish.

“Yeah, that was disappointing. I honestly have no idea what really happened. Going down the front straightaway it shut off. Then I coasted onto pit road. We changed carberators and it seemed to run fine, but at that point, we were 10 laps down.”

Solid tracks in the next round of the Playoffs.

“They’re three really good race tracks for us, so I think we should be in good shape. Hopefully, we got all the bad stuff out of the way.”

BRANDON JONES, No. 19 Menards/Atlas Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 37th

I can’t believe we are talking this early, Brandon. What happened?

“Yeah, I always try to find the positives with this kind of stuff. Obviously, none today. But the good thing is, we can still go win one of these races. I think we can still get to fifth in points. You can’t do anything when these guys spin out. This is a self-cleaning race track; you always get guys going down to the bottom if they have an incident, which is what happened. I was going to go to the top, and I guess he just didn’t have enough momentum yet to start coming across the track. I don’t know man. I’ve had one race like this where I’ve wrecked at the start of the race, so these are tough. I know it’s going to be tough for my guys to rally back from them, but as I’ve mentioned, we’ve got some good tracks coming up. Texas is on my mind. So maybe we will get there and I can win that track.”

HARRISON BURTON, No. 18 DEX Imaging Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 38th

What happened out there Harrison?

“So many things that go into this place. I’ve five different stories from five different people – if we got sucked around or if there was oil or whatever it may be. The bottom line is it’s just upsetting and frustrating. Not a lot of grip out there. I think the 2 (Tyler Reddick) was slipping and sliding as well. Frustrating deal. These guys work so hard, and to go out in the first lap of the race is tough. It’s frustrating, but we will move on and come back next time and try to win.”

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 38 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 2.8 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2018.

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 ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Toyota Racing – Brandon Jones
NASCAR Xfinity Series Quotes

DOVER, Del. (October 4, 2019) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Brandon Jones was made available to media at Dover International Speedway:

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

Take us back to the Roval. Did it seem different than the year before?

“I think Goodyear brought a better tire for us. It was a definitely a more forgiving tire. The track didn’t seem as slick as it was the last time I went there. I ran a ton of laps at the Toyota simulator this time going into the track, so I think my confidence was up. I think the confidence was the biggest thing going into it. I had a lot more fun than I did the last time.”

Assuming everything goes smooth here, what are you looking forward to in the next round?

“If we make this next round, this is my strong suit round with the tracks that are on that schedule. You have Texas, which is really good to us. We were really fast there last year, and we’ve been really fast there in the past at Texas. So strong mile-and-a-halves in that area, so hopefully that will be my strong suit when we make it to that. Homestead, if we get there – that’s my goal to make the Final Four – that’s going to be a tough one. Definitely going to have to do a lot of focusing on that track. The high line is obviously the strong one at that track. Growing up, short track racing asphalt you always run the bottom. You get some of the really strong dirt guys that know how to run the top and that is where their strong suit is.”

Talk about the pit road here at Dover.

“You practice that a bunch in practice. We have some really good markers picked out if we have to come to pit road under the green flag. Obviously, coming under caution is not as big of a deal as green flag stops are. It’s a tight pit road. There are some sections that are a little bit hot on pit road, as well, when you run it. So, you have to be really mindful of the hot sections on pit road. You are really watching your lights a bunch here. The stalls are pretty short, and it’s normally pretty slick getting out of here.”

Go back to the race in the spring. Anything that you can take from it?

“We ended up in the race with a totally different package than we practiced with and we obviously didn’t have any time to fine tune on it. So, this time coming back, we went with the same package that we ended the race with, and I feel like the two practices here working on this setup are going to make it a lot better for us.”

Talk about your weekend.

“If you look at the tracks in the first round of the Playoffs, this one was going to be my strong suit this weekend. Richmond, the Roval are two tough tracks. They are the two toughest ones that I have had for me on the schedule. The Roval was going pretty good for us until the end of it. I’m looking forward to this weekend. I think we will advance pretty easily.”

What’s it like to race here?

“You hear guys all the time talking about it. It’s really like a rollercoaster. You fall off from the track so much in turn one. You pop back out off of (turn) two. It’s a trip. To start the weekend, you have no rubber on the track, so there’s tons of grip. You can just hammer the throttle as hard as you can, but as the Cup cars and we start running, the rubber gets laid down a bunch. You have to be really mindful of that or you are going to start getting really tight or vice versa, really loose.”

It’s a cutoff race.

“Yeah, we will see. There will be a lot of action this weekend with that cutoff. I feel like we’re going to make it just fine and when we do these next couple tracks are really strong for us.”

# # #

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 38 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 2.8 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2018.

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 ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Toyota Racing – Christopher Bell
NASCAR Xfinity Series Quotes

DOVER, Del. (October 4, 2019) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was made available to media at Dover International Speedway:

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No.20 Rheem Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

How happy are you to finally have the announcement done?

“So happy. It has been a long time coming, because everyone has already known for a long time, but we have not been able to publicly say it and now it’s out there.”

For Dover, people say that you are just on the ragged edge when you are driving out there. Can you at all compare that to what it feels like driving dirt?

“I would say that is a little bit of a stretch. It’s pretty tough to relate anything to dirt racing, but one thing it does reward here, especially where we come from – sprint car racing, is you have to drive hard. It rewards driving hard.”

With the announcement, do you think it’s going to help you focus even more on the task at hand?
“It’s about, now I don’t have to hide anything anymore. I don’t have to avoid coming in here, that’s for sure. It’s nice that it’s out there, but people ask you ‘What are you doing to prepare for next year?’ and me and Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) have rarely talked about next year, because we are so focused on trying to win every race that we go to.”

How important was it taking Jason Ratcliff to the next level?

“It was very important just because he understands me; he understands who I am as a race car driver. It’s going to be really easy to start doubting things when we get up there, and if we don’t go good – it’s like is our car not good, is the driver not good – and now I feel like working with Jason, he’s going to trust me and believe in me with the ups-and-downs.

Do you feel like you can be harder on the non-Playoff drivers knowing that they can’t come at you?

“Fortunately for me, I haven’t been on the other side of the fence, but from what I hear from everybody getting to Homestead – if you are not part of the Final Four – it’s a pretty tough race because you are just trying to stay out of the way. Fortunately, I have never been on the outside looking in, so I can’t really comment on that. It wouldn’t be very much fun to not be in the hunt.”

What about how do you race the non-Playoff drivers?

“I don’t race anybody any differently. We are all trying to win. Getting to Homestead and you are in the Final Four, then you are only focused on those red spoilers. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if you finish 30th or if you win the race as long as you beat the other three.”

Dover practice. How was it for you?

“Yeah, it’s been nice. The Rheem Supra has been turning really good. I’ve been a little bit loose at times. Got to work on that a little bit, but I like where we are at.”

Speed versus handling here.

“In our cars, with the rules package that we have, typically handling equals speed. If you handle good, you are really fast.”

Did the Roval turn out the way you expected?

“Yeah, it was a pretty standard Roval. Pretty calm at the beginning. I say ‘standard Roval’ and we’ve only had two of them. Calm at the beginning and hectic at the end.”

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 38 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 2.8 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2018.

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 ToyotaNewsroom.com.