LONG POND, PA (June 11, 2017) - Pocono Raceway is properly referred to as "The Tricky Triangle" and its distinctively three different corners can present multiple challenges to driver and car. As the NASCAR XFINITY Series made its second visit to the track, Dakoda Armstrong would deal with a tight handling condition on his No. 28 WinField United Toyota as he claimed a 20th place finish in the running of the Pocono Green 250 at the Lond Pond, PA track.
"Our No. 28 WinField Toyota was just too tight from the center of the corner through exit," said Armstrong. "We were pretty good early in a run but the longer we went the tighter we got. We had an issue with getting fuel into our car on our first pit stop so we had to take it easy in that second stage and conserve fuel. We had a great stop on our last pit stop and gained some valuable track position but our No. 28 WinField Toyota just got too tight at the end."
The No. 28 WinField United Toyota would start 22nd for the 100-lap event as a result of the morning qualifying session. The first 25 lap stage would find Dakoda battling a tight handling condition on his No. 28 WinField United Toyota. As the first stage came to an end, Dakoda would remain in the 22nd position.
A fueling issue on the first pit stop would plague Armstrong throughout the second stage as he was forced to conserve fuel during the 25-lap run. With varying pit strategy, the No. 28 WinField United Toyota would be just inside the top-20 at the halfway mark of the race.
The final half of the Pocono Green 250 would see a few adjustments seem to help the handling of the No. 28 WinField United Toyota. With multiple pit strategies again being utilized and a little better handling on his car, Armstrong would find himself inside the top-10 before a caution came out on lap 78. A solid pit stop on lap 80 would put Dakoda in position for a solid finish. However, the tight handling condition would hamper the progress in the closing laps. As the checkered flag flew, Armstrong would come home with his 10th top-20 finish of the season.
"As always everyone on this JGL Racing team worked hard and we battled all day," added Dakoda. "We continue to stay alive in the points race and we need to keep focused and collect some solid finishes here in the coming weeks."
The 20th-place finish kept Armstrong in the 12th spot in the NASCAR XFINITY Series overall driver standings - 11 points behind 11th place.
Armstrong and his JGL Racing team will next head to Michigan International Speedway for the running of the Irish Hills 250. The 13th race of the NASCAR XFINITY Series season will be Saturday June 17th and can be seen LIVE on FOX Sports1 at 1:30 pm ET. It can also be heard on Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM Channel 90.