2nd, DENNY HAMLIN
8th, MATT KENSETH
10th, DAVID RAGAN
14th, BRETT MOFFITT
17th, CLINT BOWYER
18th, CARL EDWARDS
37th, MATT DiBENEDETTO
39th, JJ YELEY
DNQ, JEB BURTON
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 2nd
How was your qualifying effort?
“Initially, I didn’t think that our car after the first round was going to be capable for a pole position, but after the second it looked like our car was pretty good and we just lost a little bit too much grip that final run and came up a little bit short. Still if you would have asked me before the day, I would have taken second and moved on. I think the longer runs typically suit us a little bit better and to have a good starting spot though will definitely be a benefit for us tomorrow night.”
How are you feeling after stepping out of your Camry in Bristol?
“Yeah, I’m 100 percent for sure. I thought I was really 100 percent probably on Tuesday, but just had something pop out of place and it affected the muscles in my upper back and kind of went to the back of my head. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t move my head. I couldn’t even look in the mirror, so luckily we had that caution. For myself, it was – given the format and the points reset and everything – we do have a win – it all did play a factor in obviously getting out, but I would not have been a contender for sure if I chose to continue to run all 500 laps. It would have been an ugly race, so I just thought the better thing to do to make sure – given that I had back problems in the past, I didn’t know what it was, so I didn’t want to chance anything and make it worse and then not be 100 percent here. I thought it was best to sit it out and be 100 percent when we got to Richmond and here we are.”
Does the new rule allow drivers to miss races?
“Yeah, I think it does change things for sure and it’s not anyone taking advantage of the rule – it’s people doing the right thing. I think that drivers have raced with injuries in the past and toughed it out, but we’re running speeds faster than we ever have been and hitting walls faster and harder than we ever have been. I didn’t want to take a chance on getting in a wreck and I was already in bad shape, so for me knowing I had a win, absolutely, call up somebody else to come in this thing and do a better job than what I can. It’s different obviously had we not – we’d already started the race. It’s not like – I probably still would have got out even if I didn’t have a race win simply because I knew I wasn’t going to be very competitive that day, but I think that this rule was set out to protect us from injuries and it’s done its job. We missed a race last year at California with an eye injury and won a race and put ourselves in there, so that’s what this thing is all about and I think that just like any other sport, they’re paying more attention to concussions and injuries and all that stuff. It’s better to be safe than sorry because we’re seeing now that past injuries are starting to rear its head in some of these people physically.”
Is Joe Gibbs Racing improving?
“I think as a team we’re getting better and obviously I personally take a lot of pride in our short track program and making sure that we’ve got cars that are capable of winning. We haven’t had it in really a couple years and to say the least our performance has been pretty embarrassing here over the last couple of years, but we went to work and Joe Gibbs Racing has stepped up and our short track program obviously is a lot better this time of year than what it was last year. I’m very encouraged by it. I think that we still have got a little bit more to go to be top of the heap, but we for sure have taken steps in the right direction on these types of race tracks.”
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 8th
How was the car in qualifying?
“It was okay – the second round it was pretty fast. We weren’t real sure on the lap times I guess, so we ran an extra lap and I think that really hurt us at the end and it just overheated the tires. The third round we just had nothing left. It’s hard on tires and you run that extra lap and it’s not very forgiving. I think that’s what happened to Carl (Edwards) – he ran three (laps) the first round and then couldn’t go anywhere in the second round. I think that extra lap just kills them and we ran three laps that second round.”
What do you expect in race trim?
“I have no idea – I really don’t. This is a track that I can predict the least out of any track. When they drop the green, I don’t know whether to expect to go last or first. This is a tough one for me to predict.”
DAVID RAGAN, No. 18 M&M’s Crispy Camry Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 10th
How was the car in qualifying?
“The last session, I felt like we made some good adjustments. Just didn’t get a great lap and we were a little too loose. Our third lap had been our best lap in all three sessions and I adjusted the track bar a little bit after lap two just trying to get a little extra and got a little too loose getting into turn three. A top-10 starting spot is certainly a great starting spot and we can win the race from there. It’s a little disappointing – I felt like if I could have hit my marks then I could have qualified a little better. M&M’s Crispy is sponsoring the pole day here today and I would have liked to have had a shot at that trophy, but just wasn’t quite good enough there in that third round.”
BRETT MOFFITT, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Starting Position: 14th
How was the car in qualifying?
“We were pretty happy with the Aaron’s Camry. We cut off a little on our adjustments there in between rounds and got a little bit loose on entry. Pretty happy with our car and I think we have a good race car. Tomorrow night should be fun.”
CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Starting Position: 17th
How was the car in qualifying?
“We were hoping for a little better in qualifying but the good news is our AAA Insurance Toyota is really good in race trim.”
CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 18th
How was your qualifying effort?
“I think what I needed and what I wanted it to feel like are two different things. I think I needed it to be more like it was the first round. We made an adjustment and we just went too far, but I feel like in race trim we’re going to be really good. We were pretty fast all day. The car has a ton of speed. I don’t think the 18th starting spot really is reflective of what this car is capable of, so our ARRIS Toyota should be okay tomorrow night. We were just talking about it. I love racing here – it’s a fun place, so we’ll go forward.”
Why do you enjoy this track?
“There’s enough room to really get out and go. You can go real fast. There’s multiple grooves. The tires fall off, so you’re sliding around. You’re really searching the whole time. It’s a driver’s race track. It’s just a lot of fun.”
MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 83 Dan Bilzerian Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position: 37th
JJ YELEY, No. 23 MaximFantasySports.com Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position: 39th
JEB BURTON, No. 26 Estes Express Lines Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position: DNQ
