Toyota NSCS Daytona Post-Race Notes & Quotes

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
What happened in the accident coming to the checkered flag?
“The 4 (Kevin Harvick) was pushing me or trying to push me to the line and he had us jacked up. We crossed the line I thought or we were close. He was trying to help, but it just wrecked a bunch of stuff. None of us were going to win the race for second and third. We all have wins so at some point you have to hit the concede button. Austin (Dillon) took one heck of a ride.”

Do you believe the catch fence did its job?
“Yeah, I think so. It looks like it kept the car in the race track, which is good. I rode in the ambulance with Austin (Dillon) and he said he felt fine. I think everything has gone really well and I think NASCAR has done a great job and this track has done a good job of stepping up. Anytime you get these cars turned around backwards at these speeds there’s going to be lift and we’re going to get these cars in the air, it’s just part of physics. I think everything did its job there.”

Are you okay and how crazy was the incident at the finish of the race?
“I’m good and a crazy finish for sure. We kind of knew it was coming at some point, but we escaped all the wrecks and stayed up front most of the day with our FedEx Ground Camry and battled with the best of them. Those Hendrick guys, not only are their cars fast, but they’re good drivers and they work well together. It’s hard to break through with them. You can get help from those guys every now and then, but they do a good job of sticking together and their cars are so fast and you can’t clear them at the right times. I was just happy to kind of be in the mix of them there late in the going. Worked well with all those guys at one point or another and still a decent day for us.”

What can be done to keep the cars from flipping?
“A certain element of danger is part of our sport and a lot of that is what resonates with the race fans, but of course we don’t want cars going in the air, but when we cross the line at 200 and the car gets turned around backwards immediately and then someone hits its nose, it’s going to go up. It doesn’t matter if you’re running 160 or 200, it’s going to happen. It’s just part of the racing when you get close. The safest thing is to not have any people sitting right there where we typically crash in that same area most of the time. They have an option to maybe do that now – only have upper level seats in that area. That’s right at the start-finish line, that’s right where all these race fans want to be when their favorite driver wins the race. It’s a tough balance, but Austin (Dillon) wasn’t hurt. The catch fence kept his car inside the race track. I’m not sure what else we could really do about it. It’s those freak incidents that happen and really the only thing you can do without making crazy, wholesale changes is don’t sell seats at the lower level right at the start-finish line.”

Does NASCAR need to eliminate green-white-checkered finishes at superspeedways?
“I don’t believe so. You want to make the sport as safe as possible, but we’re going to make those mistakes and we’re going to make mistakes like that on lap one sometime down the road at a superspeedway. Trying to eliminate at the end of the race where it’s deciding a winner probably should get played out. It’s just part of the speed and the cars and the package that we have. I’m happy with the package personally. I believe we have something that races really well, we’re running a decent speed – do we want it to go in the air? No, but it’s just going to happen sometimes.”

Were you surprised at how many fans stuck around with the delay to start the race?
“I was absolutely shocked at how many fans stayed here, just an unbelievable job that the track has done and the people that committed themselves to be here on race weekend. Hopefully, they got their money’s worth and for the fans that like crashes, they love the end. Luckily, no one was hurt obviously. You owe it to the fans to give your best effort – anybody that followed my tweets, I called three hours in advance when we were going to get called to the cars and when we were going to go green flag racing. They stuck it out and they deserved a great race. We would like to have our few days off and we were probably already down here a day or so too long.”

What do you think Kevin Harvick was trying to do coming to the line?
“He (Kevin Harvick) was pushing me trying to make as much ground as we could. We weren’t going to win the race, but I was side-by-side with the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) and he was kind of side-by-side with the 48 so he was probably trying to get third or something like that and just pushed me until I had my rear tires off the ground and couldn’t control it anymore. It caused a wreck and I realize he was also trying to help.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Finishing Position:  10th
What happened on the last-lap wreck?
“He (Austin Dillon) went over me. I went under him and thank God the seas kind of opened a little bit. It’s just Daytona — it’s wild. I got up there and got in position. Our old hot rod wasn’t quite what it needed to be but it was a decent day.”

What caused the wreck?
“The 3 (Austin Dillon) I think checked up. I don’t know the reason why but I was right behind Austin – they checked and he was already shooting up and I hit him and it just went right over the top of me and that was scary. I haven’t seen the whole wreck but I damn sure lived it through the windshield there for a second. This is entertainment. It’s certainly dangerous as hell, but its part of the sport.”

DAVID RAGAN, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Finishing Position:  12th

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position:  17th

MATT KENSETH, No. 20 DEWALT Made in USA Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position:  23rd

MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 83 Dustless Blasting Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Finishing Position:  26th

JJ YELEY, No. 23 Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Finishing Position:  33rd

JEB BURTON, No. 26 Maxim Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Finishing Position:  36th

CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 Subway Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 41st
What happened in the two accidents you were involved with that ultimately ended your race?
“I want to point out a couple things, number one, I don’t think I’ve spun completely out yet so that’s big. Also, Subway serves breakfast so for all the folks when the race is over, they can go check it out. Really frustrating, we knew that we were just going to go race and go for it. That first one, I never have flat tires – Goodyear does a good job and I’m pretty sure I had a left-rear go down and we got everything back together and got back on the lead lap. That whole wreck happened and I thought, ‘Man, I got this,’ a couple times and Brian Scott was real curious about the underside of the car. I had no clue what happened, I thought I was going to flip over frontwards. Thankfully nobody got hurt and now we’ll go race at Kentucky next week.”

Can the team get the car fixed to return to the track?
“It’s still in generally the right shape. It still looks like a Toyota Camry, but I think it’s best to just go back and get a sandwich. I think our night is over.”

What was your strategy for this race?
“We went for it in this race and basically wrecked twice. The second one, I thought I had it saved a couple times and it just wasn’t meant to be. That’s just this style of racing. Fortunately, I don’t think anybody got hurt. For us, this was just a checkers or wreckers type of race and we were going to go for it. Tore up the car a little early, it was already a backup car. I don’t think I actually spun out tonight so we kept it going the right direction.”

Are you surprised NASCAR was able to get the race in tonight?
“I’m glad they got it in. NASCAR did a good job with the Air Titans and I’m glad we got this race in.”