Event statistics following the eighth race of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond International Raceway in Virginia.
Christopher Bell held off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and series debutant Noah Gragson to score his second career victory.
ToyotaCare 250
Richmond International Raceway – Richmond, Virginia
- Winner (starting position): Christopher Bell (2nd)
- Top Five: Christopher Bell, Noah Gragson, Elliott Sadler, Matt Tifft, Austin Cindric
- Full Results: Christopher Bell, Noah Gragson, Elliott Sadler, Matt Tifft, Austin Cindric, Cole Custer, Ryan Truex, Jeremy Clements, Ryan Reed, Brandon Jones, Tyler Reddick, Jeb Burton, John Hunter Nemechek, Justin Allgaier, J.J. Yeley, Alex Labbe, Spencer Gallagher, Ross Chastain, Brandon Brown, Michael Annett, Ryan Sieg, Joey Gase, Tommy Joe Martins, Tony Mrakovich, Joe Nemechek, Chase Briscoe, Garrett Smithley, Spencer Boyd, Daniel Hemric, Kaz Grala, Vinnie Miller, BJ McLeod, Josh Bilicki, Chad Finchum, David Starr, Mike Harmon, Stephen Leicht, Timmy Hill, Morgan Shepherd, Jeff Green
- Laps Completed: 250
- Race Leaders: 6
- Laps Led: Christopher Bell (120), Cole Custer (43), John Hunter Nemechek (36), Elliott Sadler (30), Daniel Hemric (11), Noah Gragson (10)
- Pole Position: Cole Custer (121.332 mph; 22.253 seconds)
- Hard Charger: Jeremy Clements (+18; 26th to 8th)
- Margin of Victory: 0.423 seconds
- Car Count: 40
- Cars Entered: 40
- Cars Running at Finish: 35 (of 40; or 88 percent of the field)
- Drivers to Finish on Lead Lap: 14
- Cautions: 5 for 39 laps
- Average Speed: 93.284 mph
- Lead Changes: 9
- Stage Winners: Daniel Hemric (1), Elliott Sadler (2)
- Manufacturer Breakdown: Chevrolet (26); Ford (6); Toyota (6), Dodge (2)
- Weather at End of Race: 57 degrees Fahrenheit, clear, winds N 3 mph
Notes of Interest – Race/Weekend Recap
- This is Christopher Bell’s first victory of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and the second of his career. He won the 2017 fall race at Kansas Speedway. He has now won Xfinity Series races in two consecutive seasons and two seasons overall.
- This is Bell’s first at Richmond and the first on a track less than one mile in length.
- Bell is the 34th driver to win in 69 Xfinity Series races at Richmond. Kyle Larson was the 33rd and most recent driver to win an Xfinity Series race at Richmond, in the 2017 spring race.
- Bell is the eighth driver in as many races this season to win an Xfinity Series race, joining Tyler Reddick, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Ryan Preece. The eight different drivers to win in the opening eight races is the most in a single season since 1998 (also eight). Thirteen drivers won in the opening 13 races in 1988, and 10 drivers won in the first 10 races of 1987.
- Overall, each of the last 11 races has been won by a different driver. The streak was at 12, with Bell’s victory last fall at Kansas Speedway the second race in that previous streak.
- Bell has five top-four finishes this season, while his other three finishes have been outside the top 20.
- Both of Bell’s victories have come with Joe Gibbs Racing and both in a Toyota. His first victory came in the No. 18 and Friday’s victory came in the No. 20.
- This is Bell’s second top-10 finish in as many races at Richmond. His initial race at the three-quarter mile track resulted in a sixth-place finish in the 2017 fall race.
- This is Bell’s first Xfinity Series victory from the second-starting position as well as from the front row. Bell is the fourth driver this season to win from the second-starting position and fifth driver to win from the front row. Joey Logano was the last driver to win from the second-starting position, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
- Bell is the first driver to win an Xfinity Series race at Richmond from the front row since the 2015 spring race and the first to win at Richmond from second since Jason Keller won the 2002 spring race.
- Bell is the first Xfinity Series regular to win at Richmond since Chase Elliott in 2015.
- This is Toyota’s ninth Xfinity Series victory at Richmond, and first since the 2016 fall race (won by Kyle Busch).
- Bell led 120 laps, and has led a season-high seven races this season – all in succession – for 192 laps (had led 72 laps in the previous six races). He is 11 laps behind Kyle Larson for most laps led this season (Larson has led 203 laps in two races).
- Bell’s 120 laps led are the fifth most led in a race this season, behind Kyle Larson (142, Las Vegas); Kevin Harvick (141, Atlanta); Joey Logano (139, Fontana); and Ryan Blaney (132, Texas).
- Drivers who have led the most laps in an Xfinity Series race at Richmond have gone on to win that race now 32 times, and the first time since the 2016 fall race, won by Kyle Busch.
- Bell climbed from fifth to second in the points standings with his victory.
- Bell is the second driver to win for Joe Gibbs Racing this season and second in succession, after Ryan Preece won last weekend’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
- Noah Gragson finished second in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut. Gragson led 10 laps, and gave Joe Gibbs Racing its first 1-2 in the Xfinity Series of the season and first since the 2017 summer race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
- Gragson was attempting to become the first driver since Kurt Busch in 2006, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, to win in his series debut.
- Series points leader Elliott Sadler finished third, his eighth straight top-10 finish to start the season. Sadler led 30 laps, the most in a race for Sadler this season. With his third-place finish, Sadler also earned a $100,000 Dash for Cash bonus.
- Sadler – driving the highest-finishing Chevrolet – now has six top fives and 15 top 10s in 30 races at Richmond in the Xfinity Series, having finished in the top five in four of the last five races.
- Sadler has finished in the top 10 in 16 of the last 17 races dating back to last season, and has completed all but one lap this season (1,605 out of 1,606).
- Sadler remains the only driver to finish every race this season better than what he started. He made up five positions at Richmond, and has advanced an average of 9.75 positions per race. He owns an average finishing position of 4.88, best among drivers who have contested all eight races.
- Matt Tifft finished a season-best fourth, his fourth career top-five finish. Tifft has finished in the top 10 in four of the last five races.
- Austin Cindric recorded a career-best fifth-place finish, and his third career top 10. Cindric was the highest-finish Ford driver.
- Polesitter Cole Custer, who claimed his second consecutive pole, finished sixth. Custer has recorded six straight top 10s.
- Ryan Truex finished seventh, matching his season-best finish set at Daytona International Speedway.
- For the second consecutive race, the hard charger came from the 13th starting row. Jeremy Clements finished eighth after starting 26th, making up 18 positions. Tyler Reddick – who finished 11th at Richmond – also made up 18 positions at Bristol, coming from 25th to seventh. It was Clements’s first top-10 finish of the season and 14th career top 10.
- Ryan Reed was ninth in his third top-10 finish of the season and first since finishing 10th at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
- Brandon Jones was 10th, his fourth top 10 of 2018 and second straight.
- John Hunter Nemechek finished 13th. He led 36 laps, in his first race led this season.
- Justin Allgaier finished 14th, the final driver on the lead lap.
- Others who earned or tied season-best finishes were: Jeb Burton (12th; season debut); J.J. Yeley (15th); Brandon Brown (19th); Tommy Joe Martins (23rd); and Tony Mrakovich (24th; series debut).
- Josh Williams and Dylan Upton missed their first race of the season. A total of 27 drivers have competed in all eight races this season.
- A total of 22 drivers improved on their starting position in the race.
- The next race will be Saturday, April 28, with the Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.
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