TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Post-Qualifying Notes & Quotes
Bristol Motor Speedway — March 16, 2012
9th, JOEY LOGANO 28th, DAVID STREMME 13th, KYLE BUSCH 29th, LANDON CASSILL 15th, MARTIN TRUEX JR. 34th, TRAVIS KVAPIL 16th, CLINT BOWYER 36th, BOBBY LABONTE 20th, DENNY HAMLIN 40th, J.J. YELEY 25th, BRIAN VICKERS 41st, JOE NEMECHEK
JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 9th How was your qualifying lap? “It was probably a bit tighter than what we had in practice. Went down in (turn) one and just plowed and got tight. The car is still pretty good though. I think we’re good in race trim. We’ll have a decent starting spot there in the top-10.”
Do you enjoy Bristol? “I like it. It’s pretty fun to race. It’s obviously entertaining for the fans. It’s one of the best race tracks we come to. I’d like to get a win here and it would be even cooler.”
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Doublemint Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 13th How was your qualifying effort? “Obviously, that wasn’t the lap we were looking for. We lost a lot of time in practice working on a few things and only got out long enough at the end to make sure everything was alright. We’ll keep plugging away on Saturday and see if we can’t make this Doublemint Camry a race winning car.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position: 15th How was your qualifying effort? “It was not bad. We picked up a little bit from practice, which is always what you try to do. Just some guys picked up more today. The car was pretty good — about like practice. Just not enough speed in it for today.”
CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position: 16th How was your qualifying lap? “It was okay. I love being here — it’s awesome. Looking forward to the race and seeing how it all plays out.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 20th
BRIAN VICKERS, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position: 25th Does it feel good to make your 2012 debut? “I feel pretty good about the equipment. I think we’ve got some really good cars here. We were good in race trim. I was really happy with the car in race trim. We weren’t quite as good in qualifying trim, but that lap there I think the car was good. I had a little bit of wheel spin late, but the first lap I kind of messed up. I just rushed the throttle the first lap.”
Is it difficult to debut at Bristol? “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. This would not be my pick. If someone said, ‘Okay, you’re going to be out of the car for a while, miss a few races and where do you want to start,’ it wouldn’t be Bristol. That’s alright. I love this race track. What a great track and I look forward to racing here.”
How long have you and crew chief Rodney Childers known each other? “20 years, I would say. I was so young he probably remembers more than I do, but he actually helped put my first go-kart together — my parents and my father, obviously. It really feels good to be back at a race track. I appreciate — everyone’s been so welcoming. Everyone at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) has been great. I spent the last two weeks in the shop and everything has been a pleasure. Obviously a lot of familiar faces — Rodney (Childers, crew chief) being one — but even a lot of the guys on the car here were even on my car the last five years. I can’t thank Aaron’s enough for being on the car this weekend and, obviously, Michael (Waltip, team owner) and Rob (Kauffman, team owner) for putting me up.”
DAVID STREMME, No. 30 Inception Motorsports Toyota Camry, Inception Motorsports Starting Position: 28th
LANDON CASSILL, No. 83 Burger King / Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry, BK Racing Starting Position: 29th
TRAVIS KVAPIL, No. 93 Burger King / Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry, BK Racing Starting Position: 34th
BOBBY LABONTE, No. 47 Clorox-Scott Products Toyota Camry, JTG-Daugherty Racing Starting Position: 36th Do you enjoy racing at Bristol? “It’s a fun track to come to, but if your car is sliding a little bit, it just seems to amplify it here. This is an exciting place to come to and it’s an exciting race for the fans. We love coming here.”
JJ YELEY, No. 49 America Israel Racing Toyota Camry, America Israel Racing Starting Position: 40th
JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 AM/FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports Starting Position: 41st
