1st, MATT KENSETH
3rd, CARL EDWARDS
8th, KYLE BUSCH
19th, DENNY HAMLIN
20th, CLINT BOWYER
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
How does it feel to kick off Daytona with a victory?
“This is a great feeling. It’s always fun to win at Daytona for sure – it’s fun to win anywhere. Just really proud of this whole team at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) – a lot of new additions this year with Carl (Edwards) and a lot of great personnel at the shop. Everybody has been working hard and all four of our cars were really fast yesterday. I had a feeling that it was going to be a good week. We have a lot of racing left to do, but all our cars have speed, which is the first thing we look for. We have to thank Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) for all the power and of course our great sponsors – Dollar General, Dewalt and all the great partners that make this all happen.”
How were you able to pull away from second-place in the closing laps?
“Martin (Truex Jr.) let off the gas – he kind of let off and did a great job at trying to get a run. I’m usually never smart enough to do that. I saw him backing up and our Dollar General Camry just had so much speed I thought throughout the night and throughout practice. I didn’t want to back up with him — I didn’t know who was going to get a run with him so I just kept going. We had enough speed – surprisingly enough being that far ahead – to kind of get the block in front of him there. Martin had a strong car. Carl (Edwards) had a real strong car there at the end too. It’s a good start to the week.”
Who were you most worried about in the race tonight?
“I was worried about every single one of them. All the cars out there are pretty fast. Kevin (Harvick) gave me a great push there at the end to get out in the lead and I knew he had a lot of damage on his car and he was still figuring out how to get that thing up there. Then the 78 (Martin Truex Jr.) was strong all night. I think all my teammates’ cars were strong all night, but I didn’t spend a ton of time up there. I kept getting shuffled back early just being too impatient and trying to learn as much as I could, so once I got in the lead we just had a lot of speed and I tried to manage the line as best I could.”
What did you learn from tonight’s race for the Daytona 500?
“The wreck didn’t hurt anything, that got us five or six spots and we were able to miss that thankfully. I have no idea how. That helped and we had good stops and a couple of the restarts we were able to get through the pack and make up a little bit of ground. Once you got halfway to two-thirds of the way back, it was just hard to make any passes. Most of the guys would just pile up top and I couldn’t make it happen.”
CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
How was your first race in the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry?
“Man that was crazy. I need to see a replay with the 78 (Martin Truex Jr.). It felt like he just all but wrecked me that one time, but fortunately we got it straightened out and it was a good start for ARRIS and for Stanley and our relationship with Toyota. I’m glad Matt (Kenseth) won that race, but, man, I could taste it there. That was a lot of fun – a cool event. The car is one piece. We can go work on qualifying tomorrow. I learned a bunch, so that will be great for the 500.”
Do you feel like you proved yourself in your first race with a new team?
“Yeah, that was a good day. I got to do a little bit of driving down there in turn one. That worked out well and then to be a very small part of what Matt did there for the win – even though we raced, we didn’t really give each other much there at the end, but there for a little while we tried to work together very well and that was fun. I think we’re off to a great start.”
Should Matt Kenseth switch positions with you to conclude the Daytona 500?
“That’d be great. Matt had a good one. Now next week would be great for us.”
Did you learn anything you can apply to the Daytona 500?
“I did learn a bunch and our ARRIS Toyota was good. Matt’s car was very good. I think all of our JGR Toyotas are good for next week. We’ll qualify tomorrow. Hopefully that goes well. We’ve got a very good car. If we don’t crash that thing or something tomorrow, I think we’re going to have a good race.”
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 8th
What was the racing like tonight?
“I don’t know. I just never really got into the right line and found anything that worked. There were a few times we started moving forward, but it was after the car was damaged and it just didn’t seem like it had any speed when it was leading a line and everybody would just kind of go around us. I don’t know. Just tried to stay out of all the messes and got a couple close calls and was able to finish at least, but not where we needed to. Need to get some learning done here this week and try to come back with a vengeance for the 500.”
Did the field learn any lessons tonight?
“There were some lessons learned tonight – yeah, for sure. I thought that the bottom was able to make progress more often than it did last year. Last year, it seemed like it wasn’t able to, but it kind of depended on who was doing it and who was making the moves work.”
Could you tell what happened during the on-track incidents?
“I was just trying to miss them all. I didn’t see how any of them really started. I think the one with me and the 14 (Tony Stewart) though – the 4 (Kevin Harvick) kind of came up to the middle and the 14 was following him and I was already in the middle and it kind of forced me up a little bit. I don’t know that we touched, but maybe we did and Tony went around. I hate it for those guys.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 19th
Did you see what happened to cause the accident?
“I didn’t even see what happened up front. It was two or three cars in front of me, but I think I saw the 1 (Jamie McMurray) or something get sideways in front of the field. I checked up and whoever was behind me got in the back of me. It was just a train wreck and you really can’t help it when you’re in the middle of the pack like that – it’s pretty high risk. We fought hard and this FedEx team did a great job preparing the car. Once we got to the front, we got hung out again and it’s just a lot of side-drafting, a lot blocking going on. It was inevitable that it was going to happen at some point. Didn’t think it would happen this early.”
What was the racing like tonight?
“It was intense. I thought it was as intense really as any speedway race we’ve seen in a long time from beginning to end. This race last year got single file at some point, but this one it just never did. Everyone is just so aggressive trying to keep that track position. I don’t know that the 500 will be like this since its 500 miles, but certainly at the end you’re going to see intense racing like this.”
How difficult was it to make passes?
“It’s very tough to move through the field just because there’s a lot of side-drafting. Once you get a run, the guy beside you pulls you back and the guys up front are just blocking. That’s superspeedway racing now. Track position is key and it’s very, very key on race tracks like this – more so than it’s ever been. Since handling doesn’t come into play that much, it’s about getting out front and then using that rearview mirror.”
Did you realize you were airborne in the grass?
“I didn’t realize I was airborne until I felt it come down and I was like, ‘Wow, that’s some pretty good hang time.’ These tracks, when you hit the grass now, it’s death. Your day is done and it’s going to be lucky not to have a completely demolished car when it’s over and that’s kind of what happened. It ripped our whole front end off.”
Was there any surprise at the timing of the accident?
“Not for the drivers. They knew that was coming – it was a matter of time that we were going to wreck. We were side drafting so aggressively really since the first lap of the race. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that aggressive driving from the start. Just tough day for our FedEx Camry – we were in the middle of the pack and that’s kind of where this stuff all starts and happens. We were trying to get to the front and protect our track position as soon as we could because I knew this was coming, but just couldn’t get there quick enough.”
CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Finishing Position: 20th
Did you see what happened in the accident?
“The cars really pull up and suck up pretty good, so you’re pushing and beating and banging on each other. Denny (Hamlin) and I kind of moved up there and we were making some hay in the center. I saw a car backwards and then I hit it. My spotter told me to get low, get low and low is in the grass. These things don’t seem to like to go through the grass very well. Not the way we wanted to get started. Kind of a bummer – I was just starting to have some fun and get up there. The good news is that we have a long race and a big race coming up next week and we’ll go at it again.”
What happened to take you out of the race?
“It’s just too bad. These guys work so hard on these cars. Unfortunately, we go out there and tear them up pretty quick. It’s just a bummer because I was just starting to have a little bit of fun. Denny (Hamlin) and I were starting to get some air in the middle and got up there to where I felt like we were in the ballgame. Unfortunately, there was a car backwards and I hit it. It’s never a good idea when there’s a car backwards in front of you going 200 mph. Brett (Griffin, spotter) saw it happen and told me to go low. Low is through the grass and these things don’t like the grass very well. It’s a bummer and these guys work so hard on this 5-hour ENERGY Toyota. I was hoping for more out of this race, but we’ll have to wait until next week.”
