- Boris Said was the top-finishing Toyota driver in Saturday’s NASCAR XFINTY Series (NXS) race at Watkins Glen International with a fourth-place result in the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) No. 54 Camry. The race was won by Joey Logano.
- Camry drivers JJ Yeley (12th), Daniel Suarez (15th) and Blake Koch (18th) also recorded top-20 finishes at the upstate New York road course.
- Six Camry drivers are currently in the top-20 in the unofficial NXS point standings –Suarez (seventh), JJ Yeley (13th), David Starr (16th), Blake Koch (17th), Cale Conley (19th) and Eric McClure (20th).
BORIS SAID, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
Are you thrilled to get a top-five finish today?
“Oh what a feeling. It was a perfect Toyota day. I just had a blast. I don’t get to do this every weekend so it’s hard to come in here right out of the box and run with these guys, but I think a top four is really good and I’m really happy with it.”
How was your race?
“This Monster Toyota was so fast. I can’t say enough about Monster to put their faith in me, an old guy. I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I love racing and I love NASCAR. Watkins Glen is my favorite track in all of the world and I hope all of the fans support Monster. Go out and buy a case of Monster drink. Any time I turn on the TV no matter what it is – X Games, motorcycle racing, any kind of auto racing — Monster supports our sport so we need to support them. It’s just a great day and every NASCAR race finishes like this and that’s what great about it.”
JJ YELEY, No. 28 Toyota Camry, JGL Racing
Finishing Position: 12th
DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 18 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 15th
What happened with your shifter during the race?
“It got stuck. I don’t know. I felt like we had issue and then it got stuck several times and we just had to race with third and four (gear) and we were working fine. I wanted to use second on the restarts, but in the middle of the race for some reason it got stuck in third and fourth. There was nothing to do on the restarts — I knew that was my weak point by far.”
Did you feel like you had a Camry that could finish in the top-10 today?
“The car wasn’t great but it wasn’t horrible either. I feel like we could’ve finished maybe in the top-10 or top five. The shifter problem very much killed all of our opportunities.
BLAKE KOCH, No. 8 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 18th
CALE CONLEY, No. 14 IAVA Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 21st
ERIC MCCLURE, No. 24 Reynolds Wrap Toyota Camry, JBL Racing
Finishing Position: 24th
TOMY DRISSI, No. 26 Straight Outta Compton Toyota Camry, JGL Racing
Finishing Position: 25th
DAVID STARR, No. 44 Zachry Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 26th
KENNY HABUL, No. 20 SunEnergy 1 Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 29th
Did you think you had the corner there?
“I didn’t hear nothing from my spotters and just looking at how deep he (Ryan Reed) went in there, there was just no way he would’ve turned himself without me. But, anyway that’s alright. Thanks to Joe Gibbs. It was a good run. We were in the top-10 all day and looking for a top-five at the end there. We had some speed at the end and that’s the way it goes. Off to Mid-Ohio.”
Would this have been a win for you if you finished in the top-10?
“It would’ve been a great day. We didn’t have much qualifying pace which was unusual but the race pace we did the same times that we did in qualifying the whole race without too much drama. The car was great and would’ve been great but you know what I’m still happy with a good run.”
Are you okay after that hard hit?
“Yeah, it’s alright. A couple scratches — I’ll be fine.”
JEFF GREEN, No. 19 Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 40th
