TOYOTA NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS)
Post-Race Notes & Quotes
Homestead-Miami Speedway – November 17, 2012
Kyle Busch (second) was the highest finishing Toyota driver in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Busch started from the pole position and led the field three times for a race-high 89 laps (of 200) at the 1.5- mile Florida oval.
Camry driver Brian Scott also earned a top-10 result with a seventh-place finish in the season-finale. The Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) No. 18 Camry earned its fourth NNS owner’s championship. The 18 team had seven wins, 22 top-five results and 28 top-10 finishes in 2012.
Other Toyota drivers in the field at Homestead included Kenny Wallace (15th), Joey Logano (16th), Joe Nemechek (18th), Mike Bliss (19th), David Starr (24th), Eric McClure (27th), Jason Bowles (29th), Hal Martin (30th), Ryan Truex (38th), Blake Koch (39th) and Jeff Green (40th).
KYLE BUSCH, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry, Kyle Busch Motorsports Finishing Position: 2nd How was your race? “We had a good car. It was really fast early on and then we made some adjustments to it and got off base a little bit and had to come back. When we did that, it came back to life and we drove through the field. With two restarts to go, we were 10th I think, and got all the way up to third and then there the last restart I got to second. Just couldn’t get to the front and couldn’t pass Regan (Smith). I don’t know that I’ve lost so many different ways in a season, but this is that year.”
How was the first NNS season for Kyle Busch Motorsports? “The second half of the year, I tell you man, these guys made some huge gains and we were phenomenal. I just can’t say enough about all of the work that they put into this thing and everybody that works so hard to give us good equipment. All of the guys in the chassis shop and the body guys. Monster Energy and Toyota give us a lot of support and we appreciate them.”
How did your race car handle? “It was a really good race car there early. We were really fast and we were leading a lot of laps and running up front there and then we made a couple of adjustments to the car and kind of got off base a little bit. So, we had to muscle our way through the field and hold onto a really loose race car. There in the late going, we made some really good adjustments to it late and restarted I think 10th with two restarts to go and made it all the way back up to second. So, I’m pretty proud of that. The guys have worked hard all year long. Monster Energy and Toyota and everybody, they deserve to win and I wasn’t able to deliver. We’ll have to move on into next year and try to do it there.”
BRIAN SCOTT, No. 11 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 7th How was your race this evening? “It was fun at Homestead. This place is so wore out you have to manage your tires. It’s old school racing. It’s really hard to pass people when you have old tires because the preferred groove is on the outside. We had a great Dollar General Camry tonight. I feel like track position was the only thing that kept us from being able to go up front and challenge for the lead. The guys did a great job all year. It was a lot of fun to end on a real racey race track, as racey as we were, and challenge those guys that were racing for a championship. Feeling like we were competitive enough to get up there in our Toyota Camry and challenge for the win, if we just could have had a couple good restarts and get some track position.”
How do you feel about your two years at Joe Gibbs Racing? “I can’t rave enough about Joe Gibbs Racing. They provided me with a great opportunity for two years and put really competitive cars under us. For a number of reasons, I regret leaving there. I regret that I wasn’t able to get them in victory lane. I learned a lot. This was just a stepping stone in my career and I’m going to grow over the next couple years. Joe Gibbs Racing was a great place that nurtured my talents and progress them forward.”
What are your future plans? “I’m always optimistic about the future whatever it may hold. I’m not sure what I’m doing. Hopefully, it’s going to be back in the Nationwide Series again for another year. We’ll just see. We’re going to have a fun offseason of relaxing and trying to put together another deal. I’ll be antsy to get back to Daytona in February and get 2013 underway, hopefully back in the Nationwide Series.”
KENNY WALLACE, No. 99 Toyota Camry, RAB Racing w/Brack Maggard Finishing Position: 15th
JOEY LOGANO, No. 18 GameStop/Afterglow Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 16th What did you struggle with tonight? “I fought loose in and thought we really focused on making sure we cannot do that this time, because every time I come here it’s been like that and I’ve never run good here. I thought we did the right thing in practice and as soon as the race started I knew we were in trouble. The only thing we could really do was just tighten it up and then the car is too tight and it’s not very good. I told the guys to forget about this one and remember that we won nine races this season. To win the owner’s championship for Toyota and for Joe Gibbs Racing means a lot. We had one heck of a season and that’s pretty awesome. Nothing to put our heads down about today.”
JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 AM/FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports Finishing Position: 18th
MIKE BLISS, No. 10 G-Oil Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports Finishing Position: 19th
DAVID STARR, No. 24 Headrush Toyota Camry, SRT Motorsports Finishing Position: 24th
ERIC McCLURE, No. 14 Hefty/Reynolds Wrap/Embassy Suites Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports Finishing Position: 27th
JASON BOWLES, No. 81 Thrush & Sons Toyota Camry Finishing Position: 29th
HAL MARTIN, No. 19 American Custom Yachts/US Forensics Toyota Camry Finishing Position: 30th
RYAN TRUEX, No. 20 Grime Boss Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 38th
BLAKE KOCH, No. 00 teamboom Toyota Camry Finishing Position: 39th
JEFF GREEN, No. 91 Bandit Chippers Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports Finishing Position: 40th
