Chandler Smith’s hot streak continued as he led Toyota with a fifth-place run at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in NASCAR Xfinity Series action on Saturday evening. Smith, who previously clinched his spot in the next round, earned his sixth straight top-five finish and eighth-consecutive top-10. Smith led three Joe Gibbs Racing Supras to finish in the top-10 with Josh Bilicki finishing eighth and Aric Almirola in ninth. The Georgia-native will start the Round of 8 as the fourth seed, eight points to the good.
Sheldon Creed, who came into the race 32 points to the good, looked likely to advance early after earning stage points in the first stage, but was involved in a major multi-car incident during the race. The team did the best to repair the damage, but the California-native was unable to continue, ending his quest for the Xfinity Series title.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL
Race 29 of 33 – 155.44 Miles, 67 Laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Sam Mayer*
2nd, AJ Allmendinger*
3rd, Shane van Gisbergen*
4th, Austin Hill*
5th, CHANDLER SMITH
8th, JOSH BILICKI
9th, ARIC ALMIROLA
33rd, THOMAS ANNUNZIATA
35th, SHELDON CREED
37th, ED JONES
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
CHANDLER SMITH, No. 81 Wheelers Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 5th
Another good run, and you are moving on in the round of 8.
“Yeah, it is a testament to everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing. All of the hard working men and women that has been thrashing to make this No. 81 Wheelers Toyota group back to how we were at the start of the season. We went through a rough patch through the summer. We were hit or miss. We would show up and be really good some weeks, and others we would show up and not be great. Very, very happy with the consistency we have shown. I’m looking forward going into the next round.”
How was your car today and what were your thoughts on the changes?
“I actually liked the changes. I thought it was unique and I thought it made it a little more racy in my opinion, but at the same time, I only raced the old ROVAL once, but honestly, we struggled today. We were at-best a top-five car. We couldn’t run hard and have speed at the start and make it last, so definitely have some work to do here at the ROVAL, but we will go back to the shop and keep building fast Supras and make it better.”
JOSH BILICKI, No. 19 Insurance King Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 8th
What do you take away from this opportunity with Joe Gibbs Racing?
“Yeah, just learning how a powerhouse team like (Joe) Gibbs (Racing) operates, from the prep before the race, throughout the race weekend – it is next level. Honestly, I’m forever grateful. It was super cool to lead some laps – really my first consecutive laps led. That was fun. I think I didn’t do a good job on the start of stage three. We went backwards on an adjustment – and we just lost track position and track position was key. We kind of dug ourselves in a little bit of a hole at the start of stage three, got some track position back those last couple of laps. I’m happy – we were at least able to move forward on that last restart and pick up some positions. Eighth isn’t terrible, but I really wanted a top-five, but thank you to Insurance King, Trim-Tex and AMECO for giving me this opportunity.”
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 20 Samaritan’s Purse Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 9th
What were your thoughts on the ROVAL?
“Yeah, I didn’t love it. It seemed like it raced a little better than I probably expected, but it is still certainly calamity corner, right? It just invites you to dive bomb it in there. It seemed like for the most part, everyone was pretty respectful, and got through there okay, but it is really, really tough to manage – do you block? Do you not block? It is really inviting to shove it down in there, even when you are two to three car lengths back.”
SHELDON CREED, No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 35th
How do you summarize this race as a team?
“Yeah, I guess just not our day, I guess. We were running third, and my transmission locked itself in second gear, so that was weird. First time that has ever happened to me. That was the whole reason that we went to the back. I thought I was going to be okay, when they started crashing. I stopped right at it, and then whoever was behind me, pushed me into it even further. Unfortunate. It sucks that our Playoffs will end this way. My guys deserve a lot more. Everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota deserve it. I guess, I don’t know – I will just go grab a beer and watch it unfold.”
What happened out there?
“I had to go to the back. My transmission locked itself into second gear, and then the 5 (Anthony Alfredo) and the 98 (Riley Herbst) just ran into each other and caused a crash. They started stacking up. I stopped right at the crash, and whoever was behind me just piled me into it even further, and I think that is what broke the radiator. I don’t know what to do. It was out of our control there.”
How tough is this?
“It’s out of my control. It’s obviously very frustrating if we don’t get to move on this way. I don’t know.”
Golin for Toyota Racing PR
