- Denny Hamlin (fifth) was the highest-finishing Toyota driver in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, an event won by Kevin Harvick.
- Hamlin started 19th on the 1.5-mile track before racing with the leaders to record his second top-five result in 2015.
- Camry driver Matt Kenseth (ninth) also finished in the top-10 overall and led one lap (of 267) in the 400.5-mile event.
Kenseth’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Carl Edwards led the field once for two laps. - Two Camry drivers are currently in the top-10 in the unofficial NSCS point standings — Hamlin (eighth) and Matt Kenseth (10th).
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 5th
Does your Camry look like it raced in the Short Track Showdown?
“Well, we’re not at South Boston (Speedway) yet. We’ll be there in a few months for the Short Track Showdown, but this FedEx Office team did a great job. They did a great job with the overnight adjustments. We got better. Daytona we ran fourth, Atlanta we probably should have ran fourth if I didn’t wreck and here we were fourth to fifth, so I think we know where our program is at right now. We’ve just got to get a little bit more speed and we’ll be able to race these guys, but right now we just need to optimize our weekends, finish where we’re supposed to and execute.”
How close were you to Kevin Harvick?
“I kept him (Kevin Harvick) in sight all day, but that was about it. I just could see him. Besides that, those guys are on another level as far as speed is concerned, so we’re just trying to plug away and do all the right things. I made a big mistake last week wrecking and kind of put ourselves behind the eight ball, but we’re steadily getting back in the groove. We’re just trying to gain some momentum and I think next week will be a big tell for our race team. Even though we finished fifth at Phoenix in the Chase race last year, we got lapped twice under green and were able to battle back and I think that is a track we really need to perform well at if we’re going to be a part of this Chase and part of the championship picture.”
Did you see what happened between Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne?
“I saw those two (Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne) get together and then they were side-by-side down the straightaway and I went three wide at the bottom. I didn’t want to catch the 19 (Edwards) off guard, but I didn’t know what happened that caused him to get in my right rear, but those two both had damage. It actually probably made my car a little bit better with the damage. It could have a millimeter worse and it would have been catastrophic for our car. It’s obviously been a lot of fun these last few weeks racing with Carl and he’s obviously – even though the finish didn’t show it – he’s showing a lot of speed.”
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 9th
BRIAN VICKERS, No. 55 Aaron’s 60th Anniversary Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Finishing Position: 15th
How was your race today?
“It was good. A top-15 considering where we were at three months ago – I’ll take it. Real proud of the guys. They made the car better all day. The stops were great. You always want to do better. You always want to win, but I think for us this was a victory in a lot of ways and I’m just really proud of everyone on this Aaron’s Dream Machine crew. The Camry was great at times and we always need a little more to be a winning car, but we were a top-seven car at times and kind of finished there in the top-15. We took two (tires) at the end and it made us really tight and we kind of lost a little bit there. Like I said, thankful to be here.”
How did it feel to run your first race since surgery?
“It’s incredible. It feels so good to be back in a race car – so happy, so thankful and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be here again.”
CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Finishing Position: 21st
DAVID RAGAN, No. 18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 22nd
How was your race?
“It was certainly unfortunate to just get behind from the get go and our M&M’s Crispy team made some really good adjustments early on and we helped the Camry a tremendous amount. But when you’re that far behind the eight ball to start, it’s tough to beat everyone. Proud of the adjustments and proud of the effort everybody put in. We’ve still got to put a whole weekend together. We’ve got good speed, a good team and a good crew and it’s just some of the small things that we’ve got to get behind us. Certainly a mistake on my part Saturday evening – it cost us a little bit, but we learned a few things and can’t wait to talk and learn about Phoenix and get ready for Phoenix.”
JJ YELEY, No. 23 Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Finishing Position: 36th
JEB BURTON, No. 26 MaximFantasySports.com App Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Finishing Position: 40th
CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 Comcast Business Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 42nd
What happened in the accident with Kasey Kahne?
“I was being too aggressive on that restart. Kasey (Kahne) got on the outside of me and he got just the right position. I started to slide up and I should have backed out of it way earlier. That’s completely my fault and that’s what ruined our day. It’s tough. I feel really bad for Comcast Business and everyone. I feel bad for Kasey Kahne’s team. That’s not something I normally do, so I have to make it up to everybody next week at Phoenix.”
Is it frustrating to wreck when you have a fast Camry?
“It’s not just frustrating – it’s pretty stupid. I just should have been a little calmer, but it’s kind of fun racing up front like that and it got me going and I just got a little over-aggressive. That’s the way it goes sometimes in racing.”
