LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (March 12, 2017) - As the NASCAR XFINITY season kicks off its annual early season "NASCAR Goes West" swing, Dakoda Armstrong and his JGL Racing team looked to kick off the first of the three West Coast races in style. While still working to get a grip on the new package for his No. 28 WinField United Toyota, the 25-year old racer would score a 20th place finish in the running of the Boyd Gaming 300 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
"We battled all day long on the handling of our No. 28 WinField Toyota but were able to come home with a decent finish today," said Armstrong. "It was odd as our car was really loose in the beginning of a run and then would get very tight late in a run. We had good speed in the middle of a run but the long green flag runs just hurt our momentum."
Dakoda would qualify 21st for the 300-mile event as a result of his qualifying effort earlier in the day. Once the green flag flew, the 25-year old racer would slowly fall back in the field as he battled the handling on his No. 28 WinField United Toyota. As his handling improved in the middle of the 45 lap first segment, Dakoda would slowly pick up spots through the field. The end of the first segment would allow for a trip down pit road and much needed adjustments along with four fresh tires and fuel.
The second segment of the race would see the No. 28 WinField United Toyota hover around the top-20 as the adjustments made on pit road seemed to help the handling. Some varying strategy with tires would see Dakoda fluctuate throughout the field before settling right outside the top-20 at the end of second segment.
The last half of the race would prove eventful including Armstrong suffering minor damage from an on-track incident. With the JGL Racing crew making the necessary repairs and playing some tire strategy, Armstrong would make a late charge in the closing laps and come home with his third straight top-20 finish to start the 2017 season.
"We continue to learn more and more on this new package we are running," added Dakoda. "The guys on this JGL Racing team continue to work hard and give me a solid car each week here early in the season. I look forward to going to Phoenix next week and learning more with this package on a track that we have run very well on the last few times there."
The 20th-place finish has Armstrong sitting eighth in the NASCAR XFINITY Series overall driver standings - just six points outside the top-five.
Armstrong and his JGL Racing team will next head to Phoenix International Raceway for the running of the DC Solar 200. The fourth race of the NASCAR XFINITY Series season will be Saturday March 18th and can be seen LIVE on FOX Sports 1 at 4:00 pm ET. It can also be heard on Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM Channel 90.