(Jun. 21, 2017)
No. 18 Sport Clips Toyota Camry News and Notes:
· BENJAMIN AT IOWA SPEEDWAY: Kyle Benjamin will make his first Iowa Speedway XFINITY Series start this weekend piloting the No. 18 Sport Clips Toyota Camry. While this may be his first start at the track in the series, Benjamin is no stranger to the Newton, Iowa track. Benjamin has four starts in the K & N East Pro Series earning one win in 2016 where he started from the pole and led 36 laps. He has three top-10 finishes with an average start of 6.0 and average finish of 7.8 in K & N East Pro competition. In addition, Benjamin has two Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) starts at the track. His most recent ARCA start in 2016 resulted in a pole, 41 laps led and a second-place finish. His other lone ARCA start resulted in a fifth-place finish.
· JGR AT IOWA SPEEDWAY Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has 40 total starts at Iowa Speedway in NXS competition earning four wins, 14 top-five finishes, 26 top-10 finishes and four pole starting positions. The team has led 1,128 laps, completed 9,895 of 10,057 attempted laps (98.4%) and earned an average start of 6.1 and an average finish of 9.8. Kyle Busch earned the team its first win at the track in 2010 followed by Sam Hornish Jr. in 2014 and 2016 with Erik Jones earning the most recent win in 2016.
· SPORT CLIPS ON POINT: Long time JGR partner Sport Clips will join Benjamin this weekend for his third-career NASCAR XFINITY Series race. In addition to sponsoring Benjamin this weekend at Iowa Speedway, Sport Clips also serves as a primary sponsor for both Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones during the 2017 season.
· RACE INFO: The American Ethanol E15 250 at Iowa Speedway is scheduled for Saturday, June 24, 2017 at 8:30 p.m. ET. Watch and listen live on Fox Sports 1, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.
Benjamin 2017 Season and Career NASCAR XFINITY Series Stats:
|
Starts
|
Wins
|
Top 5
|
Top 10
|
Poles
|
Laps Led
|
Avg. Start
|
Avg. Finish
|
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
28
|
1.5
|
24
|
From the Cockpit:
Kyle Benjamin: “I’ve had Iowa circled on the schedule and I have a lot of experience there in the K & East Pro Series and the ARCA Series. This will be my first race with the 18 team and Eric Phillips. I’m confident they will bring a fast Sport Clips Camry this weekend and I will need to draw from my past experience at Iowa to get them the finish they deserve.”
From the Pit Box:
Eric Phillips: “Kyle has done a great job in his two previous races with JGR. The 18 team is very excited to have a young talented driver like this behind the wheel in Iowa and with this being a standalone race, we're really looking forward to the opportunity this weekend and with Kyle's background short-track racing and having run some K&N races at Iowa, we hope to maximize our opportunities.”
No. 18 Sport Clips Toyota Camry/Joe Gibbs Racing Team:
Driver – Kyle Benjamin Crew Chief – Eric Phillips Car Chief – Chris Meyers
Engineer – Chris Whitenight Engineer – Dustin Zacharyasz Engine Tuner – Roger Purcell
Mechanic – John Egbert Mechanic – Tyler Paxton Tire Specialist – John Lanham
Shocks – Brad Rothlin Spotter – Gasman – Clint Smith
Jackman – Tony Cosentino Front Tire Changer – Nick Krizmanich Front Tire Carrier – Bryce Hildebrand
Truck Driver – David Hicks Rear Tire Changer – Ryan Zunk Rear Tire Carrier – Robert Miolen