8th, MARTIN TRUEX JR. 10th, KASEY KAHNE 12th, KYLE BUSCH 16th, BOBBY LABONTE 18th, JOEY LOGANO 25th, DENNY HAMLIN 26th, DAVID REUTIMANN 30th, BRIAN VICKERS 32nd, LANDON CASSILL 34th, JOE NEMECHEK 39th, MICHAEL MCDOWELL 43rd, CASEY MEARS
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Starting Position: 8th How was your car during qualifying? “Overall. I mean, we were off a little bit in qualifying trim today with our NAPA Toyota. In race trim, I was really happy with it — it was really fast, comfortable, and good on the long runs. I’m excited about the weekend. I think it’s going to be a good one for us.”
Is there any concern about changing tires? “It’s going to be different, but it’s going to be the same for everyone. It’s going to be weird to race on different tires than we practice — except for one set of rights. So, we’ll just have to put newer tires on at the end of practice and hope that it doesn’t change the balance too much. And, if it does — just kind of have to guess for the race and see what happens. Everybody is in the same boat. Some guys are going to understand the tire or guess a little bit better with the new tire. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”
KASEY KAHNE, No. 4 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position: 10th Is there any concern about changing tires? “I think it’s a really big deal, but I think it’s the right decision. We have to do something — this tire is just not putting rubber down on the track. I thought the tire the last couple of years has been great here. Not real sure why we have a different tire and didn’t tire test. We do and I think they are fixing the call so I think we’ll be fine. We just don’t get a lot of practice with that one set that we’re going to get. It’s going to be equal for everybody. It will turn out to be a really good race on Sunday.”
Why do all the drivers enjoy racing at Bristol? “It’s just exciting. There’s always something going on. Everything is so close and you have to stay so focused all the time. You can get yourself in trouble or behind really quick. It’s a pretty cool track and it’s a great place to race. I think the day race is awesome and then the night race in August is one of the best races we have all year.”
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 12th How was your qualifying lap? “I think this is probably my best qualifying effort around here. The guys have done a great job. We unloaded really good and feel like we’ve had a positive practice and qualifying effort. I would have liked to have been a little bit faster. I didn’t think we had a shot for the pole, but I was hoping for top-five.”
What are your thoughts on Joe Gibbs Racing signing an extension with M&M’s? “I think the extension signed by M&M’s is big. Not only for Joe Gibbs Racing, but big for the sport too. A key player that comes back in and knows the involvement and the importance of the involvement in this sport. Being able to have them on board with myself and Joe Gibbs Racing for a number of years is great for us. Of course, we’re excited about it. Couldn’t come at a better place to announce it here in Bristol. Hopefully, we can make everybody at M&M’s proud — all the partners and all the associates across the world.”
Is there any concern about changing tires? “I don’t know what the tire compounds are they’re coming back with — it doesn’t matter. It’s the same for everybody so you just race with it. When you get out of a good driving car and you have a good feel of how to get around this place, you can pretty much change anything you want and you’ll be alright. I think the only bad highlight we had here was last spring where we didn’t do so hot. The past few years have been good.”
BOBBY LABONTE, No. 47 Bush’s Baked Beans Toyota Camry, JTG-Daugherty Racing Starting Position: 16th Are you happy with your car’s handling? “Well, it’s okay, but it’s not quite as comfortable as I’d like to have it. It was really loose to start with. We tightened it up, and it’s better, but it still feels a little bit like being on the edge for some reason. I haven’t got a good feel for it yet. But, hopefully, it will get a little better.”
Is there any concern about changing tires? “Well, they are going to change it for tomorrow. I feel okay about that. It’s a concern because we don’t know what it’s going to do for us. We haven’t really sat down and talked about the tire for Sunday much yet. So, when we do that, maybe we’ll have a little bit better idea, but you are concerned about what it’s going to do.”
JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 18th Is there any concern about changing tires? “We’ll see about all that I guess. We’re not as good as we were previous times we’ve been here. We’re still trying to get a handle on our car. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise for us. We need to find a better handle on this thing.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 25th
DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position: 26th
BRIAN VICKERS, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position: 30th How was your qualifying lap? “It was not good. I lost the track and the tires in (turns) one and two. I don’t know what happened — I think I was just up too high. Ryan (Pemberton, crew chief) was saying that some of the guys in practice were running a little bit higher. It didn’t work for us.”
Is there any concern about changing tires? “NASCAR ended up making the right decision by changing them back. I remember the tire last year — I didn’t run the fall race, but I remember the spring race and it seemed good. The tire was laying down good rubber. I don’t understand why we changed them. I think they’re making the right decision by changing them back. We didn’t run a lot of race trim. I know a lot of guys were having problems. The track is not rubbering in. The tire that I raced last year in the spring seemed good and it really rubbered the track in. I’m not sure why we changed them to begin with.”
LANDON CASSILL, No. 60 Big Red Toyota Camry, Germain Racing Starting Position: 32nd
JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 NEMCO Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports Starting Position: 34th
MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 66 HP Racing LLC Toyota Camry, PRISM Motorsports Starting Position: 39th
CASEY MEARS, No. 13 GEICO Toyota Camry, Germain Racing Starting Position: 43rd
