TOYOTA NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS)
Post-Race Notes & Quotes
Michigan International Speedway – June 14, 2014
· Sam Hornish Jr. (second) was the first Toyota driver to the finish line in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Michigan International Speedway.
· Hornish, a native of Defiance, Ohio, crossed the finish line behind race-winner Paul Menard at the two-mile speedway.
· Fellow Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammate Kyle Busch started from the pole and went on to finish fourth.
· Ross Chastain (12th), James Buescher (15th), Elliott Sadler (17th) and Mike Bliss (18th) also registered top-20 finishes in the 300-mile race.
· Sadler is currently second in the unofficial NNS point standings and sits 14 points behind leader Regan Smith. Camry driver James Buescher (ninth) is also in the top-10 in the point standings.
· The next race on the Nationwide Series schedule is at the Wisconsin road course of Road America, June 21.
SAM HORNISH JR., No. 20 Sun Energy 1 Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
How were you able to recover from the spin at the beginning of the race?
“It was really just something that we fought all day long. Lap two I went down in the corner and didn’t want to dive bomb down underneath the 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) and went to the outside and as soon as I got clean air on the nose it just pinned the nose of the car and the backend came around. I thought, ‘Well, that didn’t really start off the way that we wanted to.’ Everybody that works on this Sun Energy 1 Camry did a great job for us. We had good pit stops and went up and down throughout the day, but we had a good car. We just needed long runs and we got that streak there of three or four yellows and 10 laps if that in between them and that hurt us as far as track position. We were able to work our way back up there and just didn’t have enough for the 33 (Paul Menard) there at the end. Real proud to have the opportunity to come out here and run. I feel really blessed to come out here and get to race at my home track. I think this is now my third second-place finish at MIS (Michigan International Speedway) in three different series. I haven’t figured out how to win here yet, but we didn’t give up and we kept working hard. Even when it looked like we were going to finish third there we got a bonus at the end.”
How have you been able to ‘knock the rust off’ and be so strong with a part-time schedule?
“I just feel like the opportunities that I’ve been given this year — I’m really blessed to have those so the fact that it’s not really a knocking off the rust thing because I’m at the shop every week talking to whether it’s Kevin (Kidd, No. 20 NNS crew chief) or Adam Stevens (No. 54 NNS crew chief) — whoever I happen to be racing for that week I’m talking to them and I’m trying to figure out what we’re going to be doing or even the things that I saw that happened or asking questions about what they felt like needed to be better. I feel like I’m keeping from being rusty by the amount of things I’m doing as far as that. I’ve gotten to do a little bit of testing and they’ve given me good cars. Everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing has really been super nice to me so far and glad that we could come out and have another good day for them.”
Are you still hoping to find another full time Sprint Cup ride?
“I’ll be looking at a shot for a good Cup ride until I hang up my driver’s gloves, but I feel like at this point in time I continue to — the best way I can put it without sounding too spoiled is that I enjoy my time with my wife and my family and if I’m going to be away from them I want to be able to hopefully have an opportunity to win a race and so far in the three races that I’ve been scheduled to do this year we’ve got a win and a second and a fifth. I feel like it’s productive when I’m away from home and away from my family and I’ll keep continuing to try to put myself in rides, even if I have to be part-time. My overall goal is to be in something full time that I can compete for wins in whether that’s on the Nationwide side or the Cup side. That’s where I want to be so I’m probably a little choosy at this point in my career, but I also know what my objectives are to go out there. I don’t necessarily need to have driver beside my name, I just want to have the opportunity when I do go out there and drive to win races.”
What went through your mind during the early spin and again when the 22 car had issues in the final laps?
“My first thought when I spun out was that I sure hope nobody hits me. I got really lucky that nobody did and after that I thought that I knew we were going to move our way back up towards the front — they are going to tighten the car up a little bit and we’re going to get a little extra TV time because of it. I had a good run on the 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) and I just didn’t want to go throw it underneath him on lap two and tried to play it safe and actually lifted a little bit early for the corner and then I got a bunch of air on the nose and it just pinned the front and it came around on me. When Joey (Logano) had his issue at the end I thought, ‘Man I wish I could have held the 33 (Paul Menard) off.’ I don’t know how all that would have worked out. There’s times when you can go out there and race your guts out with somebody and both of you stay exactly where you’re at, but sometimes when you think better of it and they get a run on you and get by you then you can work together and try to work your way up. I believe it was for the best that I was following Paul there for the first 20 laps of that run. I felt like we might have been able to catch him there at the end, but catching him and passing him is a whole different thing.”
KYLE BUSCH, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
How was the race?
“We just got too far behind there on track position there late for the final pit stop. Then we ran too many caution laps and didn’t have any yellows thereafter to try to get the field bunched back up. We just fought hard and ran as hard as we could there to get ourselves back up towards somewhere closer to the front and that was all she had. I would get stuck back there about eight lengths back of anybody in front of you just getting tight or getting loose or whatever it might be — just not having the downforce that you would have if you were running by yourself. That was sort of a struggle, but another top-five for this Monster Energy Camry.”
How were the grooves coming in during the race?
“You can move around a little bit. It was somewhat racy, but anytime you try to go out of the groove that you want to run in you tend to fight handling issues. You’re trying to find some of that clean air to see if you can’t make your car a little bit better to pass the guy in front of you and it just doesn’t quite end up that way.”
ROSS CHASTAIN, No. 80 Aisin Toyota Camry, HRE Racing
Finishing Position: 12th
JAMES BUESCHER, No. 99 Rheem Toyota Camry, RAB Racing
Finishing Position: 15th
ELLIOTT SADLER, No. 11 OneMain Financial Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 17th
MIKE BLISS, No. 19 SupportMilitary.org Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 18th
JEFF GREEN, No. 14 Hefty Ultimate/Reynolds Wrap Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 23rd
BLAKE KOCH, No. 44 CompassionRacing.com Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 24th
CARL LONG, No. 13 Headrush Toyota Camry
Finishing Position: 34th
KEVIN LEPAGE, No. 10 SupportMilitary.org Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 39th
