Preview – Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway

RACE INFO – The Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway begins at 3:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 20, 2018. The race will be broadcast live on NBCSN, Sirius XM 90, and MRN Radio.

Christopher Bell / No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry Preview Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway

Kicking Off the Round of 8: Following a one-week break, The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) heads to Kansas Speedway this weekend to kick off the first of three races in the Round 8 of the 2018 Playoffs. Seeded first, Christopher Bell and his Rheem team will look to earn their seventh win of the 2018 season on Saturday afternoon, and become the first team locked into the “Championship 4” at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Bell is no stranger to success at the Kansas City, KS speedway, having started sixth and going on to earn his first-career NXS win the last time the NXS paid a visit to the track last season.

Kansas is a special place for me, as it’s the site of my first-career NXS win, and I would love nothing more than to continue to build on that success this weekend.

Dover Recap: Two weeks ago, the NXS took to the track on Saturday afternoon at Dover International Speedway (Dover) for the last race in the Round of 12 of the 2018 NXS Playoffs. Looking to build momentum heading into the off week, Christopher Bell and his Rheem team went out on Saturday morning and earned the second starting position, running a time of 22.841 seconds around the “Monster Mile.” With his Rheem Camry dialed in from the start of the race, Bell led the entire first segment and never looked back, going on to earn his sixth win of the 2018 season, advancing to the next round of the 2018 playoffs, and becoming the winningest rookie in NXS history.

Giving Back: In conjunction with Toyota, Bell will pay a visit to his hometown racetrack, I-44 speedway in Oklahoma City, on Wednesday morning to give back to his community. Bell and Toyota will be donating a new set of infield bleachers for the track to use when they open their 2019 season.

Connecting with Fans: Bell will make a surprise visit to the Kansas Speedway fan zone and campgrounds this weekend to share with fans a limited supply of one-of-a-kind, not-for-sale t-shirts designed to celebrate the Round of 8 playoff races that begin on Saturday in Kansas.

Points Update: After the points reset following the Round of 12 two weeks ago in Dover, Bell and his Rheem team continue to sit in first in the points standings, five points ahead of second heading into the Round of 8 this weekend.

Joe Gibbs Racing at Kansas: JGR has 42 NXS starts at Kansas with eight wins, 14 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes. The championship-winning organization has four pole awards with an average start of 11.6 and an average finish of 12.3.

Christopher Bell: “I’m looking forward to Kansas and getting the Round of 8 started with Jason and all the guys on this Rheem team. Kansas is a special place for me, as it’s the site of my first-career NXS win, and I would love nothing more than to continue to build on that success this weekend. We’ve been really consistent over the past few weeks, and we need to continue to carry that momentum with us over the next four races. I really enjoy the playoff format, and I hope the fans are enjoying it as much as we are. I can’t wait to get the next round started on Saturday.”

Christopher Bell’s Xfinity Series Stats