Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 may have been the opening race in the Round of 8 of the NASCAR XFINITY Series Playoff, but the real drama involved two Joe Gibbs Racing teammates outside the championship battle.
Camry driver Christopher Bell captured his first-career NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) victory at Kansas Speedway in only his fifth-series start.
Recap: Ryan Blaney started third and finished third in the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford in Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway. Blaney showed speed in the Mustang all weekend and wasted no time working his way to the second position at the drop of the green flag. In the opening 45-lap stage, Blaney’s Ford built loose over the long green-flag run. The third-generation driver would remain in the runner-up position before the first caution flag of the race at lap 45, ending the first stage of the 200 lap event.
Austin Dillon Recovers from Challenges to Earn Sixth-Place Finish in Rheem Chevrolet "We started off really fast today in the Rheem Chevrolet. I found grip early, and we were posting the fastest lap times of the field. Once the track started to rubber up, the rest of the field moved up to my line and caught up. Then, we got behind there with a tire that corded. We fought back and finished sixth. The car handled really well, and it was a good recovery for our team. It makes me excited for Texas. ."
COLE CUSTER – No. 00 Haas Automation/Code 3 Associates Ford Mustang – WALK US THROUGH YOUR DAY: “We were a solid car, could have done better. We fought hard to keep it in the top 10. We got good stage points. Nothing we could do at the end of the race because we ran over something late in the race and crippled the right front. It’s just how it goes. There was a big cut in the tire and had to pit.”