1st, CARL EDWARDS
3rd, DAVID RAGAN
7th, CLINT BOWYER
9th, KYLE BUSCH
17th, DENNY HAMLIN
23rd, MATT KENSETH
38th, JJ YELEY
40th, MATT DiBENEDETTO
DNQ, JEB BURTON
CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 Stanley Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 1st
How confident were you about the lap you posted in the second round to secure the pole?
“Tony (Stewart) had me nervous – he was so fast in that first round. Our guys did awesome. Yesterday they worked so hard – everybody in the garage worked hard changing engines. The Stanley tools were flying all over the place. Really big deal for Stanley, they’ve done so much for us and so much for our team. I think this race is going to be hard to pass so it’s a huge thing to start up front.”
Was it nerve wracking to watch Tony Stewart make the final lap?
“I know how good Tony (Stewart) is and you can tell the way he ran that first round, I know he was giving it everything he’s got. That’s really cool. We have a good group of guys and everybody has been working hard. These Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas have been so good. TRD (Toyota Racing Development) has put so much into all this. With all these rules package changes, everybody has worked so hard and it’s really neat to run that well. Kyle Busch was talking a lot of smack before that second round and he left before I could come back and give him some trouble. This is an awesome day for us. I can’t say enough about my guys working so hard.”
How special is it to earn the pole for the Brickyard 400?
“This is really cool. Just to be here racing is cool and with all the work the guys put in yesterday, we started out terribly and we were really slow. Just proud of everybody for digging deep. Darian (Grubb, crew chief) and these guys have done a great job. TRD, Toyota and everybody has put a lot of effort in and to have Stanley Tools on the pole for the Brickyard 400, this is cool.”
Did you know how fast your car was during practice yesterday?
“After yesterday, this is amazing. We started so slow yesterday and we struggled. I think at one point Darian (Grubb, crew chief) and I were looking at each other going, ‘What are we going to do here?’ It was a struggle and everybody buckled down, worked hard – I’m so proud of my guys. TRD and Toyota have been putting so much effort into this whole program. Stanley has been behind us 100 percent – not just me, but Matt Kenseth and our whole team. This is big. It will be neat to start up front.”
How have you been able to qualify so much better this season?
“I believe our performance as a whole, not just within JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing), but with all the Toyota teams, it’s been trending upward, the performance has. It’s been fun to be a part of. We started this season with huge expectations. I definitely did not live up to my expectations the first part of the season and slowly as everything has come together it’s just been getting better and better. Darian (Grubb, crew chief) and I have been working better and better together, we’ve been working better together, we understand each other better. The communication between all the teams and the communication between the drivers is amazing. Hopefully we can just keep working hard and keep building. All of us, everybody at JGR, we’ve all done this long enough and we have enough experience, we are here for one thing and that is to win the championship for our team and for Toyota. I just hope we can continue going this direction. I’m having fun., When you’re running like this and the cars are fast it sure makes it fun.”
When did you know how strong your car would be today?
“Yesterday we put it in qualifying trim and it was fast and I thought, ‘Man, we’re pretty good there.’ Then I saw the times that people were running and I think it was Landon Cassill right off the bat ran a screaming lap. I thought there must be some grip out there. Just coming up to speed I realized that this thing is good, the car is very good. The first round, we weren’t the fastest car. Tony’s (Stewart) lap was spectacular, but I sat there and I thought and I watched the clouds and the timing worked out really well. I thought I would be pretty aggressive on the second one plus Kyle Busch was talking a bunch of smack about how he was going to beat me in the second round. I was really motivated from that and that helped. Then after going through turns one and two, I thought this was a good lap. I was able to be pretty aggressive. This place is really hard to get right for me and I feel like if I ran 10 more laps I couldn’t do a better one than that and that’s rare for me in qualifying. I’m not the best qualifier for a number of reasons. It worked out well.”
What do you think of this qualifying format and the new aero package?
“The qualifying format, I like this style of qualifying. I like both of the qualifying formats, but I like the single car runs a lot because you do feel like you’ve got all the pressure and I like that. I know for me qualifying, when I got away from my little dirt track, it was interesting for me to go to places and realize you get one lap or two laps to go out there and set your position. It was always very stressful and I learned to really enjoy that. That’s fun. As far as the changes to the cars, nobody really knows what’s going to happentomorrow. In my opinion, the best position we could start would be P1 to be in front of whatever happens. I have no clue how this is going to work. In my mind, I kind of go through the scenarios when the green flag drops and we go through one and go through two and then go onto that back straightaway. I have a feeling it’s going to look like Talladega. It’s going to be insane. I hope that we can figure that out quickly. No one really knows what’s going to happen. I have to say, as vocal as I have been about wanting less aerodynamic dependency on these cars, I still have to applaud NASCAR for going through this scientific method in trying all of these different things. I really look forward to the findings and what we’re going to end up racing. I still hope it’s no downforce, but I think it’s neat that NASCAR is trying all this stuff basically just for the fans to make this racing better.”
Do you think one of these new packages will suit you better than another?
“On the packages, I don’t look at it as which package suits me best, I like race car driving to be difficult and I like it to be interesting and dynamic. To me, I watched a YouTube video last night from 1980, I think it was called the North Carolina 500 at Charlotte and I recommend anyone to go back and watch that race or the races from that time period. They were spectacular. In my opinion, they were spectacular because there’s no downforce and a car going through the air at 165 or 170 mph makes a hold behind it with low pressure. These guys are racing around one another and there was a draft in action that they could race very close. To me, I really enjoyed Kentucky and hope we keep going that direction, but like I said just the fact that NASCAR is being proactive and trying all these things, I think that says a lot about the fearlessness of the leadership and the desire to satisfy the fans and give them what they pay for. It’s cool that NASCAR is trying these things.”
What would it mean to get Toyota’s first win here at Indianapolis?
“Being new to the Toyota camp and being just amazed, almost shocked at how much involvement Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) have in the day-to-day operations of JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing). They build the engines, they troubleshoot all the engines, they contribute in really productive ways to basically just going fast. That’s what Toyota does, they race because they want to and they have a good time doing it and want to win. To be able to win here would be huge. Toyota hasn’t won one (here) yet, so we’d like to do that. I’m telling you, Denny (Hamlin) is fast, Kyle (Busch) is fast, Matt (Kenseth) is fast – our car is really fast – it definitely could happen. Regardless of how this race turns out, as a group we’ve been working really good together and I’m hoping it continues to build. Kyle Busch coming back, although it is making us look a little bad the last few weeks, I think it’s been really good. He’s hauling the mail, going really fast and doing a good job. We’re going to keep building on that. It’s neat to be competitive within your own group in a productive way.”
Had you thought of your involvement in the Roush 2015 lineup last year?
“I didn’t think about that. That was a nightmare. We all agreed we would do it that way and then it just couldn’t have been a bigger debacle. Jack (Roush) and I talk. I hadn’t thought about that when I came here.”
Have you ever felt disappointed in how this season started?
“Disappointed is a fine word. I don’t know if that’s a strong enough word for how I felt maybe 10 or 12 weeks into the season. This sounds kind of silly in hindsight, but planned on going and winning the Daytona 500, then going and winning Atlanta – I was on a mission and I think I got a little bit ahead of myself. Darian (Grubb, crew chief) and I, to be completely honest, we didn’t just settle for running seventh where we probably should have ran that week, I was out there driving like a maniac and then we had a little bit of bad luck there with flat tires and all of a sudden here we are with no good finishes. That was tough, that was a little bit of an eye opener. Winning the Coke 600 was huge! It allowed us all to relax and from that point, that gift that we got there, I think that has really helped us and given us a little more confidence and calm and it’s been good. That didn’t start the way I wanted and hopefully we’ll win the championship and forget all about that at the end of the year. It has been a trial, I think in a way it’s been really good for me because I’ve had to dig deep and lean on my teammates and get back to the basics to get what needs to get done.”
Is it frustrating for NASCAR to create aero packages that are opposite of what drivers ask for?
“I don’t know of any racing series in the history of racing has been successful by giving drivers what they want. I think NASCAR knows that, but I do believe we’ve reached a place in the sport where we’ve gone down this road with technology and aero dependency that the drivers are being pretty honest saying, ‘Hey we just want it to be difficult enough to use our skill sets that we’ve worked on our entire lives and race – really race close to one another and race more like we raced back in the 1980s and how we raced at Kentucky. I think that’s what we’re pushing for. The only way to find out what is best is to do what NASCAR is doing. I think they went that direction, taking away a little bit of downforce at Kentucky, and the stats showed it was a lot better. I believe in their mind they are trying that a little more, doing something different. In my book, if you do something and it’s good, you’re not just going to keep doing that. I’m not lobbying for something that fits my style, I like having fun driving a car down the corner sideways, that’s the most exciting thing I can think of doing.”
DAVID RAGAN, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Starting Position: 3rd
How was your Camry in qualifying?
“That was a great lap for our Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota team. Everyone has been working so hard at the race shop and everyone on the 15 (Clint Bowyer) car and Clint and Billy Scott (crew chief) and certainly the 55 team. Just been working a lot of long nights and long days at the simulator, testing and doing as much as we can to get our Toyotas a little bit better. We’re not where we want to be, taking the front row for MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing), but we’re showing some speed and making small baby steps and small progress. Have to thank Clint Bowyer and the 15 team, they tested up here, so they certainly helped share some information. This is a good track for me. I’ve ran decent here over the years. It’s always fun when you have a fast car and now we’ll get a chance to get our race setup put back in and have some fun for Sunday.”
How important is a top-three starting position with the new aero package?
“Anytime you can start in the top-10 at any Sprint Cup race you have a good pit stall selection. Here with the big spoilers and high drag race cars they are going to poke a big hole in the air and I think any time you can get some clean air it’s good. Pit stops are always important so to have a good pit stall selection is going to be good. Just to be up toward the front where we can see the leaders gives us all a little shot in the arm and confidence that we deserve to be here. We’re not where we want to be yet, we’re making some steady progress with our race cars and our speed, but it sure is good to be working in the right direction.”
Does it give you any additional confidence knowing Toyota and Ford are in the top starting spots?
“It gives me a little confidence when they drop the green flag, but after that there’s a lot of good guys out there that have very fast race cars that will be at the front of the field before it’s all over. I think the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) and the 24 (Jeff Gordon) and even the 5 (Kasey Kahne) had some really good runs yesterday on old tires so I know they’re spread out through the field. It gives you a little bit of confidence for a few minutes maybe tonight, but when they drop the green flag I guarantee you that in order to win this race tomorrowwe’re still going to have to out run the 4 (Kevin Harvick) and the 14 (Tony Stewart) looks good and the 24, the 5. I don’t think there’s anything to get too excited about.”
What do you expect to see tomorrow in the race?
“I think lap times are going to slow down a couple of seconds overall absolutely. Your straightaway speeds will be faster I think from yesterday’s practice. Straightaway speeds when you’re out there even in race trim, you could catch a tow if a couple cars were positioned right in front of you and you could see it on our telemetry you could see the speed increase, but you could also see the brake pressure increase a lot when you get to the corner. I’m sure there’s going to be some guys to probably make some bad decisions and bad mistakes driving in three and four wide and they’ll definitely have to be a little give and take tomorrow. Lap times always slow down overall just because you’ve got older tires and you’ve got to take the lightweight qualifying fluid and un-tape the race cars and things like that. You’ll see a couple seconds I would guess and then it will be fast down the straightaways.”
Are there any concerns with tire wear?
“I think the tire wear is normal. We haven’t had any concerns. Tires will be important tomorrow when you can put four on. I think tire wear looks good.”
How were the track conditions during qualifying and were you holding your breath?
“I thought the track had a lot of grip and I was surprised at how fast the cars were. They started telling me that there in the middle of the pack guys were picking up a lot of speed and I was a little surprised. Cloud cover came over just right this morning and the track had a lot of grip. I guarantee the guy that qualified 30th or 40th probably held his breath a lot more. When you have a good handling car, it’s pretty easy to maneuver and make it work for you.”
CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Starting Position: 7th
Is there a particular part of the track that is the trickiest part to drive here?
“That’s a really good question. It seems like I always have trouble with turn two. If you arc it too much to get that long – you’re getting into the throttle, you can get loose getting in there if you overcharge a corner and arc it like I’m saying. If you underdrive it, you pick up the throttle quicker and you’re over toward the wall quicker with a lot more momentum pulling and you get loose there. It’s just the right combination of not overdriving a corner, and not under driving a corner is really important too because it’s such a long straightaway.”
How do you find the right combination for this aero package at this race track?
“Any time there’s a change it throws all these teams for a loop. The good news is, for all of us drivers it’s a tremendous amount of highly intelligent people behind us and they usually figure it out pretty quick. As far as the package itself, none of us have an idea. We think we have a gauge and an opinion, we all formulate an opinion very quickly, until this package is displayed in front of all of our fans, it all goes into the history books will we be able to have a true assessment.”
Is it important to start the race at the front of the field?
“It’s very important. Indy is Indy. I’ve been coming here for a while and I’ve never seen it relatively easy to pass at a track like this, whether it’s our race or the Indy race that we watch on TV, it’s about being up front and having that clean air and that goes a long ways towards a good run.”
How will the restarts be with this aero package?
“It all goes back to what I said before, everyone can form an opinion and we all have one. Everybody knows that saying and I like to say it. Nonetheless, we can have the facts in front of us after this race.”
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Skittles Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 9th
Have you all had enough time to work with the new aero package?
“Everybody got a chance to work on it and we certainly tried to make the best of it and get it a little bit better from what we unloaded with. It’s okay. We’re just going to continue to evolve and learn about it and make some changes to our car tonight based on where we start for tomorrow.”
Were your qualifying runs different from run one to run two?
“Mine wasn’t, mine was actually pretty close. Just overall too tight.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 17th
How was your qualifying run?
“Disappointed with the speed, you know going really late was not a benefit for us. I thought maybe I could have gained two-tenths would have put us right on the bubble. Just didn’t have it. We’ve been working on race trim so much yesterday that we kind of lost a little overall speed with our car. We’re going to start 17th and try to do our best to march forward.”
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 23rd
What are the positives or negatives you’ve experienced with the new aero package?
“I haven’t experienced any positives, but the negatives are like when you catch cars it’s just really hard to drive and everybody has been really loose in traffic. That’s been the biggest negative, but we haven’t raced yet so curious to see how it’s going to race. I thinktomorrow we’ll see a lot of single file racing, no pack racing. On restarts things will get mixed up, but I don’t think we’ll see any shape or form of pack racing at all.”
JJ YELEY, No. 23 Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position: 38th
MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 83 Burger King Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position: 40th
JEB BURTON, No. 26 Maxim Fantasy Sports Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position: DNQ
