TOYOTA NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)
Post-Race Notes & Quotes
Pocono Raceway – August 2, 2014
· Johnny Sauter (second) was the top-finishing Toyota driver in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Pocono Raceway. Austin Dillon won the race and snapped the Tundra 12 race-winning streak.
· During the record-setting win streak, Tundra drivers won the first 10 races of the 2014 season, and the streak dated back to last November when Erik Jones was victorious at Phoenix International Raceway (11-8-13).
· The 12 consecutive victories is a new NASCAR record — and the longest string of victories by one manufacturer in the 19 year history of the series. The previous mark for consecutive wins in the NCWTS was eight — by both Chevrolet (1995) and Dodge (2001).
· Clint Bowyer earned a fourth-place result in his first career Tundra start, subbing for an injured John Wes Townley.
· Tundra drivers Jones (sixth), Darrell Wallace Jr. (eighth) and Joe Nemechek (10th) also earned top-10 results.
· Sauter sits second in the unofficial NCWTS point standings after 11 races this year. Wallace (fifth), Quiroga (sixth), Timothy Peters (eighth) and Jeb Burton (10th) also rank in the top-10 in points for Toyota.
JOHNNY SAUTER, No. 98 Nextant Aerospace/Curb Records Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
How was your race?
“What a crazy day through pit strategy and whatnot. Just proud of the guys on this ThorSport Curb Records Nextant Aerospace Toyota. It was a great run. This is a tough race track for me. I don’t know what it is about that tunnel turn over there but it’s got my number and just proud of these guys for working hard all weekend long. The 3 truck (Austin Dillon), I pushed him as hard as I could on that restart and obviously where you line up on the restart is extremely crucial. We were just in the right spot at the right time and did all we could do and second was about the best that we were going to get.”
Did you have confidence with the position you were in on the final restart?
“The guys probably had confidence, but I didn’t have very much. For whatever reason Pocono has been an Achilles heel for me — always has been. I think the tunnel turn has got my number. I’m proud of everybody at ThorSport on this Nextant Aerospace Curb Records Toyota. The pit stops were great today. We got just shuffled back and forth. Track position seemed to be the name of the game all day long. Who was pitting, who wasn’t, who was where and restarts are really crucial at the end of these things. I gave the 3 (Austin) Dillon the best push I could and probably pushed him too far away to even have a run at him. He had a really good truck there at the end of the race. Just proud of everybody. This is my best finish here in a place that I’m not particularly that fond of.”
Did you like the extra 10 laps added on to the race?
“As I’m sitting here thinking about how to answer that question you think back to last year. We put so much emphasis on qualifying well and track position because you knew it was a one pit stop race and everybody was going to try to pit around the same lap — lap 20 — so that they could be within their window. So, today that wasn’t the case. At one point I think I was running 15th and one time I was running 10th and we were all over the board and all you could do as a driver was just focus on driving the truck because it didn’t really matter where you were because you didn’t know who you were racing against as far as what tires and what they were on. I think the extra 10 laps was great. If you want to make it real exciting add 5 more.”
How close is your team to getting a win this season?
“This is the deepest we’ve gone into a season without a win I think in the last four years. Today is a step in the right direction. Hopefully it’s momentum for us for sure. We’ve had speed at a lot of places, especially on the long run stuff. I think my biggest emphasis and I don’t know what it is exactly — if it’s the new model Toyota Tundra or like Joey (Coulter) said the body change has definitely changed some things. I’m just lacking short run speed and I think if we ever get that just a little bit better we’re going to be in contention to win races.”
CLINT BOWYER, No. 5 Zaxby’s Toyota Tundra, Athenian Motorsports
Finishing Position: 4th
What happened on the final restart?
“He (Austin Dillon) had a good partner there. It was a good push. The restart before that I was like, ‘Alright, well maybe I could still keep it a game here.’ But, honestly we were a third-place truck. Kyle Larson had everybody and when he blew his engine up that gave Austin (Dillon) and I an opportunity at it. We tried. It was a lot of fun. The Zaxby’s Toyota was pretty strong. Just to be able to jump in and give it a shot I think we all did a pretty good job. I had a lot of fun. These trucks are so much fun to drive, but maybe we’ll get another shot at it someday.”
Did you think you had a race-winning Tundra?
“I think honestly we were a third-place truck. (Kyle) Larson was the class of the field and luckily blew up and gave Austin (Dillon) and I a chance and Austin capitalized. It was a lot of fun to drive this Zaxby’s Toyota. These trucks are a blast when they draft the way they do down there. The restarts are a lot of fun, just come up a little short and got beat but had a lot of fun.”
ERIK JONES, No. 51 ToyotaCare Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 6th
How was your race?
“It was good. I feel like we definitely got the truck better as the run went on. We had a fast Tundra from the start of practice, I just wish we could’ve had a little bit — been on that outside line on that last restart really at the end of the day. We probably should’ve run third, but don’t know if we had anything for the win. It was a good day overall. Made a good call in the pits. Eric (Phillips, crew chief) did a great calling the race and getting us good track position for the end.”
DARRELL WALLACE JR., No. 54 ToyotaCare Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 8th
JOE NEMECHEK, No. 8 Smoke-N-Sear Toyota Tundra, NEMCO Motorsports
Finishing Position: 10th
TIMOTHY PETERS, No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing (continued)
Finishing Position: 12th
MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 RipIt/Menards Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 14th
JEB BURTON, No. 13 Estes/Carolina Nut Company Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing:
Finishing Position: 16th
MASON MINGUS, No. 35 Call 811 Toyota Tundra, Win-Tron Racing
Finishing Position: 17th
GERMÁN QUIROGA, No. 77 OtterBox Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing
Finishing Position: 22nd
