Toyota NSCS Atlanta Post-Qualifying Notes & Quotes – Feb. 27, 2015
4th, DENNY HAMLIN
5th, CARL EDWARDS
17th, DAVID RAGAN
22nd, BRETT MOFFITT
25th, CLINT BOWYER
30th, JJ YELEY
36th, MATT KENSETH
40th, JEB BURTON
DNQ, MATT DIBENEDETTO
DNQ, REED SORENSON
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 4th
How was the car in qualifying?
“It wasn’t bad. Our car shows pretty decent speed, which is good. Interested to work on it in race trim and kind of see where we’re at. I thought the test went pretty well for us, but we definitely showed more speed today than what we did on Thursday. Excited about our run – top-five starting spot is a pretty good place here in Atlanta. It will give us a good pit stall and we can go from there.”
Is this considered a strong track for Joe Gibbs Racing?
“It’s one of my better race tracks for sure. Just seemed like the last four or five years here we’ve kind of figured something out, but we haven’t racked up many wins. It’s all about closing the deal here in Atlanta and that’s hard to do especially after 500 miles.”
CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 5th
How was the car in qualifying?
“It was good. I’m happy with that – I would like one more shot at the last lap, but I’m sure everybody would say that. A fifth-place starting spot will be on the inside and will give us a good pit stall. It’s a 500-mile race. I don’t know if I’ve started that well here in a long time, so I don’t have much to complain about. I’m not the greatest qualifier. We ran well each round there, so I was real happy with it.”
How is the car with the new rules package?
“I’m all for less and less downforce, so the farther we go that direction, the better it is.”
DAVID RAGAN, No. 18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 17th
How strong was the car today in practice and qualifying?
“I felt like our first session, the car was really good. Just tried to be a little conservative on tires and second session just missed the adjustment a little bit. Probably could have gone a little bit more the second round just to go a little faster. I was a little too free the first run. One of those things that when I say it’s a little loose, learning what a little bit means. Adam Stevens (crew chief) and everyone on the No. 18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota has done a great job. I think we’ve got a good car and we can work on it some in race trim. I definitely would have liked to have made the final round and qualify a little better — just missed it on balance that second run.”
How has the learning curve been this weekend with the new rules package?
“We’ve definitely worked on it a lot since we unloaded on Thursday. I’m very fortunate to have a few hours on Thursday to practice. When you’re driving for a different team, different manufacturer, different set of rule packages this year – there’s a lot of things to work on. We’ve made some pretty good gains and our car is close. It’s just a matter of fine-tuning and just getting it perfect. I think when you’re that close, sometimes that’s the hardest point to hit. Our M&M’s Crispy Toyota Camry – it’s got speed, which is important and if we can adjust on some of the small details that will make life a lot easier for us on Sunday.”
What has the communication been like with Adam Stevens and the team?
“I feel like our communication has been going great. Adam (Stevens, crew chief) is really good on these race cars and he can make the adjustments that we need. The big thing is just me being as specific as I can, so a little here, a little there – he doesn’t really know what that means yet. I haven’t gotten upset and raised my voice yet. I think our weekend has gone well so far. We’ve got a very important practice on Saturday. We’ll talk a little about qualifying tonight, but for our first day at the race track to have some speed in practice and have some speed in qualifying is good. It will just make it more fun on Sunday to pass some cars.”
BRETT MOFFITT, No. 55 Aaron’s 60th Anniversary Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Starting Position: 22nd
How was your qualifying effort?
“It went well. Our Aaron’s Toyota Camry was really strong. I wish we could have ended up a little bit better. Our first lap went really well and with the changing track circumstances we just didn’t hit it like the rest of them did. Still, to go out there and roll out 22nd my first time in a Michael Waltrip Racing Camry, I’m really happy. I think we deserve better and tomorrow we’re going to get it better in race trim and have a better day on Sunday.”
How do you feel for your first start in the No. 55 Camry?
“It’s going to be fast. This place has a lot of fall off and you’re still going to see that. I think the starting speeds are just going to be faster. The restarts, the first three to four laps, if you have a good car you’re really going to be able to get it done and make something happen there. Hopefully, we can adjust for that. We’re pretty good on long runs. We have good top-10 speed. After four laps into a run, from then on we’re really pretty happy with it. If we can just get it driving a little bit better those few laps we’ll have a good, strong day on Sunday.”
CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Starting Position: 25th
JJ YELEY, No. 23 Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position: 30th
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 36th
What caused the issues with tech inspection?
“Yeah, I don’t know. Obviously, they weren’t organized enough to get everybody through tech it appears, so I don’t know. We’ve got all the people up there to watch qualifying and they don’t really get top watch everybody qualify, so it’s kind of confusing and disappointing for sure.”
Are you upset to start in the rear of the field?
“It’s better than not starting. I feel bad for whoever didn’t get through there and didn’t make the race. I’m glad they’re still on last year’s points instead of this year’s points or probably we wouldn’t have made the race either, so I’m not really sure what the issue was, but when I walked up 10 minutes before qualifying was scheduled to start and it was only 14 cars on pit road, so I have a hard time believing it was the teams.”
Do you know why this happened?
“I don’t really know. I’m not educated enough on that to give you a good answer. I think you’d have to ask Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) or somebody there. I don’t really know. I don’t typically go with the car through inspections, so I don’t know.”
JEB BURTON, No. 26 Maxim Fantasy Sports App Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position: 40th
MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 83 Burger King Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position: DNQ
REED SORENSON, No. 29 Toyota Camry, RAB Racing
Starting Position: DNQ
