DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
What happened at the end of the practice session?
“Just trying to get a tire sheet late and missed the line and went through the grass. It was pretty exciting for a little while.”
How did the car feel in practice?
“The car was good. It’s definitely gaining on some things. Feel pretty good out it. It’s definitely a long run car — feels really good on the long run.”
What is your confidence level following today’s sessions?
“As high as it should be. We’ve got a car that we can compete with and that’s the main thing. You worry when you come down here if it’s going to be like it was or how it was previous years and how it was in the test, but it’s pretty good.”
Are there any specific strategies your team will focus on tomorrow?
“No, I think it’s going to be four tires all the time. This track really uses up tires and let the pit crew do their job and we should be fine.”
Do you have the same plans for tonight — birthday party with friends and family?
“Pretty much have birthday dinner and relax. Come in here in the morning ready to go.”
What do you have to do to win tomorrow?
“We don’t know — we don’t know what the competition is going to do. We’ll do just a little bit better than each one of them has to do.”
Do you believe Kevin Harvick is trying some mind games with Joey Logano and Ryan Newman?
“I don’t know. Maybe, but everyone has to just focus on what they’re doing. Mind games don’t make that car go any faster.”
DARIAN GRUBB, crew chief, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
How was the practice session?
“Practice went pretty well. We ran through all of our sets of tires and Denny (Hamlin) is pretty happy with the last run. Feel like we have that feeling like we had last year.”
What was the feeling last season that led to the victory?
“It was a winning feeling I hope. This FedEx Toyota has been pretty good and pretty solid. Denny (Hamlin) has been happy with it. We know the conditions are going to change quite a bit during the race and we’re going to adjust for that.”
What is the confidence level of this team?
“It’s an excitement. We’re not going to be any worse than fourth leaving here so we’re going to go out and fight for the championship.”
Was there a problem during the practice session?
“There was some radio somewhere around here that is bleeding over ours. Denny (Hamlin) is the only one that can hear it because he’s got the biggest antenna on his car so we changed channels and that’s all gone now. Then our hood actually broke during practice there so we have to replace it with our backup car hood.”
Is there any particular strategy for the race?
“We’ll see what happens when the race starts, that’s all we can do. It’s 400 miles and have to be in front at the end.”
