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Joe Graf Jr. / No. 19 CoverSeal Toyota GR Supra Preview – Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway

by MikeSeptember 18, 2024

GRAF JR. 2024 NXS 4^th AND FINAL RACE OF SEASON: The September 17^th race at Bristol Motor Speedway will mark Joe Graf Jr.’s 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) 4^th and final race of the season. Joe Graf Jr. has steadily been improving on his finishes this season (17^th, 12^th, 11^th). Joe has performed well with Joe Gibbs Racing equipment with an average qualifying position of 12^th. He will aim to continue the trend collecting a top-10 at Bristol to finish off 2024 before he looks to be back in a race car in ’25.

RETURN TO JGR: Graf Jr. competed in the full, 33 race NXS season in 2023 where he had three impressive top-10 performances at Daytona, Homestead, and Kansas, highlighted by a best finish of seventh at Daytona.

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Ty Gibbs — No. 54 He Gets Us Toyota Camry XSE — Bass Pro Shops 500 – Bristol Motor Speedway

by MikeSeptember 18, 2024

SECOND SEASON: Ty Gibbs is competing in his second full NASCAR Cup Series season driving the No. 54 He Gets Us Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. He has 11 top-10 and seven top-five finishes and is 12^th in points, six points ahead of Denny Hamlin. The top-12 advance to the second round after the Bristol night race on September 21.
LAPS LED: He has led 389 laps this season, which is the most he has led in any Cup season.

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Christopher Bell – No. 20 DEWALT Outdoor Solutions Toyota Camry XSE Preview – Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

BELL AT WATKINS GLEN: Christopher Bell has earned one top-five finish and three top-10s in three NASCAR Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen International. Bell’s best finish of third came last year at The Glen. Bell also has two NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) starts at Watkins Glen, including a runner-up finish in 2019.
2024 PLAYOFFS: Bell finished fourth in the playoff opener at Atlanta and is currently second in points heading into the second race of the Round of 16.
DEWALT OUTDOOR SOLUTIONS: The No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE will have a new look this weekend showcasing DEWALT Outdoor Solutions. To view DEWALT Outdoor Solution products, visit https://www.dewalt.com/products/outdoor.

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Chandler Smith – No. 81 Smith General Construction Toyota GR Supra Preview – Mission 200 at Watkins Glen International

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

SMITH AT WATKINS GLEN: Chandler Smith made his track debut at Watkins Glen International in last year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) race. Smith finished the race in eighth-place. Smith has finished in the top-10 in two road course races so far in 2024 – Circuit of the Americas and Sonoma Raceway.
ATLANTA RECAP: Last weekend, Smith returned to his home track, Atlanta Motor Speedway. The No. 81 started eighth and earned a few stage points with a ninth-place finish in Stage 1 and a eighth-place finish in Stage 2. Smith led twice in Stage 3 for a total of 28 laps. Smith made a run at the lead on the last lap, but fell back for a fourth-place finish.

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Aric Almirola – No. 20 Go Bowling Toyota GR Supra Preview – Mission 200 at Watkins Glen International

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

ALMIROLA AT WATKINS GLEN: Aric Almirola has made 14 NASCAR national series starts at Watkins Glen International. His best finish was a fifth-place result in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the track in 2018.
ALMIROLA’S SEASON: Almirola has earned one win and four top-five finishes overall in six Xfinity Series races this season. He has finished inside the top five in his last four starts, including a win at Martinsville Speedway in April and a third in his most recent start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July.
20 TEAM: The No. 20 team is currently ranked second in the Xfinity Series owner’s points standings, only 11 points out of the top spot. Through 24 races, the No. 20 team leads the Xfinity Series in wins (seven), top-five finishes (12), and laps led (702). The team has won races with four different drivers – Aric Almirola, Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek, and Ryan Truex.

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Sheldon Creed / No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Toyota GR Supra Preview – Misson 200 at the Glen

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

CREED AT WATKINS GLEN: Sheldon Creed heads to Watkins Glen International for the Mission 200 at the Glen this weekend with a chance to lock himself in the playoffs via points. The Glen has been good to Creed in his two prior Xfinity Series starts there, as he has one top-five, two top-10s and an impressive average finish of 5.0. Most notably, Creed finished second in the race last year, as he lost the lead in overtime to Sam Mayer after hitting a part of the track that had been treated for oil in the caution prior. The track was still slick and sent him out of the groove, leading to his chances at a win slipping away once again. With a strong run this weekend and no new winners, Creed is in a prime position to secure his 2024 playoff bid this weekend.
ATLANTA RECAP: Creed’s day was marred by issues on pit road, which led to a result that was not indicative of the speed the team showed throughout the race. After starting fifth, Creed kept with the lead pack and scored a fourth-place finish. Creed ended up falling back to 11^th for stage two, but it was not until the final stage that trouble arose. Creed started the final stage with an uncontrolled tire penalty during pit stops, and after working himself back up to the top-20, he had to pit for a cut tire under green following contact with another car. While servicing the cut tire, Creed received a pass-through penalty for having a crew member over the wall too soon, which left him three laps down late in the race. Creed ultimately finished 25^th on the day.

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William Sawalich – No. 18 Starkey/SoundGear Toyota Camry Preview – General Tire 100 at Watkins Glen International

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

SAWALICH ON ROAD COURSES: Last year at Watkins Glen International, Sawalich finished the race in fifth. Since working on his road course program over the off-season and throughout the first half of 2024, Sawalich has earned two road course wins this year – his first career road course win coming at Portland and his second at Mid-Ohio.
LAST TIME OUT: Sawalich most recently ran his No. 18 Toyota Camry on dirt at DuQuoin. Sawalich earned the pole for the race and finished second.
2023 ARCA EAST CHAMPION: Sawalich claimed the 2023 ARCA Menards Series East (AMSE) championship at Bristol Motor Speedway. He ended the AMSE season with four wins and finished in the top-five in all eight races on the AMSE schedule. He became the second AMSE champion for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and the first Minnesotan to win the series championship.

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Christopher Bell – No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE Preview – Atlanta Motor Speedway

by MikeSeptember 5, 2024

BELL AT ATLANTA: Christopher Bell has one top-five and two top-10 finishes in his previous eight starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS). In the spring race this year Bell suffered damage from an incident early in the race, resulting in a 34^th-place finish. Bell’s best finish of third came in the spring of 2023 at the 1.54-mile track.

BACK ON THE BOX: Crew chief Adam Stevens will return to the track this Sunday at Atlanta.

STEVENS PLAYOFF HISTORY: Adam Stevens has guided his teams to playoff berths in each of his 10 seasons as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief. The 2015 and 2019 championship-winning crew chief also holds the record for most Championship 4 appearances by a crew chief with seven, including the past two years with Christopher Bell. (more…)

Ryan Truex / No. 20 Gazoo Racing Toyota GR Supra Preview – Focused Health 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

by MikeSeptember 5, 2024

TRUEX AT ATLANTA: Ryan Truex and the No. 20 Gazoo Racing Toyota GR Supra crew head to Atlanta this weekend for the Focused Health 250, fresh off back-to-back wins for the No. 20 car at Daytona and Darlington. Truex has five starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, including three on the new configuration. In five starts at the track, Truex has two top-fives, four top-10s, eight laps led, and an impressive finish of 7.0. Truex has a best finish of third which he has earned twice in 2022 and 2023. Since joining JGR and running on the track’s new configuration, Truex’s worst finish at Atlanta is ninth which came earlier this year when he ran out of fuel coming to the checkered flag.

LAST TIME OUT: Truex’s last start at Daytona turned into a career highlight as he scored his third career Xfinity Series win, and his second win in just eight starts this season. Truex ran up front for most of the night as he started sixth and earned sixth and third place finishes in the first two stages, respectively. Truex led 28 laps en route to his victory, which included the final eight laps to secure the sixth win on the year for Tyler Allen and the No. 20 Toyota GR Supra crew. (more…)

Sheldon Creed / No. 18 CW Sports Toyota GR Supra Preview – Focused Health 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

by MikeSeptember 5, 2024

CREED AT ATLANTA: Sheldon Creed takes his summer hot streak and his CW Sports Toyota GR Supra to Atlanta this weekend for the Focused Health 250. In five starts at the track, Creed has scored one top-five, two top-10s, 55 laps led, and an average finish of 16.2. In his last start at the track earlier this season, Creed scored his best finish at Atlanta, which was a fourth-place performance.

DARLINGTON RECAP: Creed showcased one of the greatest Xfinity Series performances as well as perhaps the worst heartbreak of his career last week at Darlington. After starting second, Creed ran in the top-five for the entire day, proving to be the class of the field along with teammate Christopher Bell. After a fifth-place finish in stage one, Creed came back to score his first stage win of the year in stage two. In the final stage, Creed chased down Bell from four seconds behind to take the lead with eight laps to go before a late-race caution sent the race in overtime. Creed lost the lead on the last minute round of pit stops and could not overcome the setback in overtime, leaving him to finish third despite leading 30 laps on the day. (more…)