Toyota NSCS Charlotte Post-Qualifying Notes & Quotes

TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
Post-Qualifying Notes & Quotes
Charlotte Motor Speedway – October 10, 2013

9th, KYLE BUSCH                                         27th, BRIAN VICKERS
14th, CLINT BOWYER                                      30th, COLE WHITT
17th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.                                  36th, DAVID REUTIMANN
18th, DENNY HAMLIN                                      38th, JOE NEMECHEK
20th, MATT KENSETH                                      41st, TRAVIS KVAPIL
24th, BOBBY LABONTE

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position:  9th
How was the car in qualifying?
“The M&M’s Camry is not too bad — certainly wish for a little bit more.  We would have liked to have been quickest, but it seems like the track is similar in qualifying to what it was in practice, but a lot of guys are running the same.  We kind of slowed down a little bit.”

Do you consider this race to be a bounce back race?
“It’s certainly a bounce back week.  I feel like we’ve had good runs this year.  We’ve been really fast and we’ve shown consistency.  We have to show that consistency getting back into the thick of things and being able to run well here.  I feel like if we can come out here and win this weekend, that will put us right back in it and give us an opportunity to gain points on people and also show everybody that what happened last week is last week and this is this week.  We look forward to the final five that are left.”

What would it mean to get a Cup win at Charlotte?
“It would certainly be nice to get a win here whether it’s Nationwide or Cup and especially Cup — we haven’t done that yet here.  It’s been a track where we’ve been really good at over the years and I think the most important thing is that if we can get a win here, then that sets the tone that we  are back in the thick of things.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 Raspberry 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Starting Position:  14th

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Starting Position:  17th
How was the qualifying lap?
“It was just like practice, but unfortunately we were a lot  tighter.  I knew it was going to be a challenge when we were tight coming to the green.  We’ve got some work to do tomorrow but we should be fine.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position:  18th

MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 20th
Why did you take a second qualifying lap?
“We were a half second off the first lap, so I had to try ano ther one and see if we could do better.  Just kind of been off with our Dollar General Toyota today.  Hopefully, we’ll hit it tomorrow and have a decent race.  This will be one of our worst qualifying efforts of the year so we have a lot of work to do.”

Do you feel comfortable coming back to Charlotte after what happened in Kansas?
“I feel great, but I don’t think the ground gets any more comfortable in Kansas with the success we had there before last weekend.  The tire kind of threw us for a loop a little bit more than some others I think and it was just a struggle.  We kind of missed it there and salvaged what we could.  Hoping for better things here.  Today I don’t think was the start of that so hopefully we’ll figure it out tomorrow and be good Saturday.”

Did the draw of going out first in qualifying impact your lap?
“I don’t feel like the draw is a bad draw.  We just weren’t very good.  I don’t think the draw matters all that much — it’s been cloudy all day and it’s dark right now, so I don’t think that really put us at a deficit.”

How do you feel about the Chase so far this season?
“You always want to do better and I was pleased with the first two weeks obviously — Dover our performance was pretty good, but we slipped a little bit and then Kansas we were kind of off.  To have a legitimate shot at winning this thing you have to be in the top-three or five every week I think — you have to at least be in that group.  Hopefully we can get a good finish Saturday.”

BOBBY LABONTE, No. 47 Scott Products Win My Car Toyota Camry, JTG-Daugherty Racing
Starting Position:  24th

BRIAN VICKERS, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Starting Position:  27th
How was the qualifying lap?
“It was horrible.  I have no idea why.  It felt good, but it was not good on the timing charts.”

COLE WHITT, No. 30 Swan Energy Toyota Camry, Swan Racing
Starting Position:  31st

DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 83 Burger King/Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position:  36th

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports
Starting Position:  38th

TRAVIS KVAPIL, No. 93 Burger King/Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position:  41st