1st, MATT KENSETH
3rd, CARL EDWARDS
5th, DENNY HAMLIN
11th, DAVID RAGAN
22nd, MATT DiBENEDETTO
24th, BRETT MOFFITT
29th, JJ YELEY
34th, JEB BURTON
37th, CLINT BOWYER
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 1st
How strong was the Camry in qualifying?
“Our Dollar General Camry had some really good speed. Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) and the guys made some really great adjustments. They had the very best for the last lap and we were able to put it together. Glad we’re starting from the pole and we’ve got some work to do tomorrow to get it ready for Sunday, but there’s not a lot of great pit stalls here and it’s a good place to be in front and hopefully stay up there and out of trouble.”
How important is it to start from the pole at Bristol?
“Finishing up front is the most important part, but our qualifying overall this year has been better. Last weekend was an exception and wasn’t good, but overall for JGR I feel like we’ve been qualifying good. We’ve got some work to do tomorrow to get our Dollar General Camry driving good for the race. I’m looking forward to going to work in the morning and hopefully find the balance we need to stay up front Sunday.”
How was the handling on the Camry in qualifying?
“We were really pretty balanced. We were a little too tight the first run and had it closer the second run. It was as free as I wanted it to be that last run. They did a great job with adjustments and making it better each and every run. I think our last run was our best lap on oldest tires so they did a good job adjusting.”
Do you feel things are lined up to get a victory on Sunday?
“I don’t know. Fontana I felt like everything was all lined up there and then got caught by the caution and broke apart in the pits. Then Martinsville there were a couple runs there that I thought we had a really good shot too and got a late caution and couldn’t get going on the last restart. I felt like we were headed that direction and had ourselves in position to win a couple and then Texas happened and we ran just terrible and I did everything wrong – just had one of those days. I hope we can get back on the rebound and run like we did the previous couple of weeks.”
Did you say earlier that you are driving better now than earlier in your career?
“The question I was answering earlier is that they were talking about Jeff Gordon retiring and we’re approximately the same age although he’s a little older than I am and if I thought about retiring and I said no because I honestly feel as good as I felt 10 years ago. I feel like I do as good of a job behind the wheel as I did 10 years ago. I don’t feel like I’m necessarily slowing down or getting worse at my job or any of those kind of things or maybe I would be thinking about it more. Maybe my owner is thinking about it, but I haven’t been. That being said, we need to go out and be able to win races. I think the last year and so far this year haven’t been particularly great obviously for JGR. I think now with Denny (Hamlin) last week (at Martinsville), we’ve had two wins that weren’t a plate race I think in the last year and a half as a company. Obviously as a company we have to get running better. I don’t feel like my teammates are running first, second and third and I’m running 18th. I feel like we have to get all of us running better. Today was a good example that we’re all in the top-12 and we all made the last round. At Martinsville I thought we had four cars that would have been in the top-five there if Carl (Edwards) hadn’t had a flat tire. I think we just have to keep working on it. I have to be better and need to do a better job and I know that and I work at getting better every week. I have since the first day I came into this sport, I realize how hard it is and you have to keep working hard to stay on top of your game.”
Why do some drivers feel starting up front is not as important at short tracks?
“Because you didn’t talk to the guy who’s on the pole. The guys who’s on the pole always says it’s a big deal for Sunday. Qualifying and racing is different I think everywhere. Certainly getting one lap here is a lot different than being good for 500 laps. You have to be able to stay on your tires for a long time and you have to have a good balance at the end of the run. You have to be pretty fast in the beginning of the run so you don’t give up spots on the restart because it is hard to pass later in the run. I wasn’t really thrilled the way my car drove in race trim today, but in qualifying trim it would run a fast lap so I certainly think we have some work to do tomorrow and certainly see throughout practice who the better cars are and the cars that run good for longer runs in practice and can keep their speed are the guys that are going to be the guys to beat on Sunday for sure.”
Were you impacted by the change in the SAFER barriers during practice?
“No, not really. I don’t know what year it was, but they extended those SAFER barriers in the last three or four years. After they extended them when you come off the corner where you had to come up to the wall naturally, the SAFER barrier was already there and then it would go away and you kind of get a hole in the wall so you could kind of go back and arc it in some, but it’s actually easier now because it’s a straight line. You come off the corner close to the wall and it’s a straight line until you get to the corner instead of having to be up next to it and then going away from you and coming back in so it’s actually cleaned it up a lot.”
CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 Comcast Business Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 3rd
How strong do you expect the Camry to be on Sunday?
“I think it’s going to be really good. We have Comcast Business on board and they’ve stepped up in a huge way and to see all the JGR Toyotas in the top-11, I was telling Jimmy Makar that my car wasn’t even balanced perfectly and we still ran really well. We have a very fast car and it’s going to be a fun race. Pit selection is going to be great and the pit crew is fast. If everything goes the way I think it is then I think we should be leading after the first caution and that would be great.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 5th
DAVID RAGAN, No. 18 Snickers Xtreme Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 11th
Are you pleased with today’s qualifying effort?
“We were glad to make the final round in our No. 18 SNICKERS Xtreme Toyota Camry. It’s a spot we can certainly win from. It’s always fun to sit on the pole and be the fastest guy around, but we just didn’t quite have the speed there on older tires. We made some good adjustments that helped the car, but we were a little too aggressive there early on and that hurt us some in the final round. The 11th position is a solid spot; we can win from there. We’ll work on it some in race trim tomorrow”
MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 83 Dustless Blasting Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position: 22nd
BRETT MOFFITT, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Starting Position: 24th
How was the qualifying run?
“On the first run we were alright and put down a decent lap. We were a little tight in the center and we were expecting it to tighten up more than it did on the second run and just got too loose on entry there. I think we’re pretty good in race trim. We were actually pretty happy with it and it has good long run speeds so hopefully it will stay that way tomorrow.”
JJ YELEY, No. 23 Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position: 29th
JEB BURTON, No. 26 Maxim.com Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position: 34th
CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Starting Position: 37th
