TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
Post-Race Notes & Quotes
Texas Motor Speedway
500 miles, 334 laps
April 9, 2016
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS — at Texas Motor Speedway
1st, KYLE BUSCH
2nd, Dale Earnhardt Jr.*
3rd, Joey Logano*
4th, Jimmie Johnson*
5th, Chase Elliott*
6th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
7th, CARL EDWARDS
11th, MATT KENSETH
12th, DENNY HAMLIN
33rd, DAVID RAGAN
34th, MATT DiBENEDETTO
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA DRIVER IN NSCS POINT STANDINGS — following Texas Motor Speedway**
1st, KYLE BUSCH 259 points
4th, CARL EDWARDS 241 points
8th, DENNY HAMLIN 201 points
11th, MARTIN TRUEX JR. 187 points
12th, MATT KENSETH 171 points
30th, DAVID RAGAN 96 points
34th, MATT DiBENEDETTO 77 points
*non-Toyota driver
**unofficial point standings
TOYOTA NOTES
· Camry driver Kyle Busch was victorious at Texas Motor Speedway in Saturday night’s rain-delayed NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
· The win is Busch’s fourth straight NASCAR victory in as many races — Martinsville Speedway’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (April 2), Martinsville’s NSCS (April 3), Texas’ NASCAR XFINITY Series (April 8) and Texas’ NSCS.
· Toyota drivers led 320 laps (of 334) with Martin Truex Jr. (141 laps), pole-sitter Carl Edwards (124 laps), Busch (34 laps), Matt Kenseth (20 laps) and David Ragan (one lap) each taking a turn in front of the field.
· Camry drivers Truex (sixth) and Edwards (seventh) also finished in the top-10 at Texas.
· With his victory, Busch takes control of the unofficial NSCS point standings.
TOYOTA QUOTES
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
What did it take to get your Camry to victory lane at Texas?
“Just communication and to keep talking, making changes to our race car to make it better. This Interstate Batteries Camry was fast. It had really good speed in entry and the center of the corner, but we really had to work on the exit of the corner. The guys did a great job. Adam (Stevens, crew chief) made some great adjustments all night long. I think the race track kept coming to us as the night progressed, too. I can’t say enough about Norm Miller, Scott Miller and the whole Interstate Batteries – they’re great partners with us. What better way than to celebrate 25 years of a partnership than right here in victory lane with them in their hometown here in Texas. That’s pretty special. Can’t forget M&M’s of course, NOS Energy Drink and Sprint. The Fans of course and Toyota – this TRD (Toyota Racing Development) engine was strong all night long. It was really fast and these guys just continue to impress me.”
What does it feel like to win four NASCAR races in eight days?
“It’s pretty darn good, I’ll tell you that. I’ve got a great wife, a great son and I’m having a blast, living the dream with Adam Stevens (crew chief) and these guys, and Joe (Gibbs, JGR owner) and JD (Gibbs, JGR co-chairman), thinking about you guys back at home and of course Coy (Gibbs, JGR COO) is here with us. Everybody back at the shop has been building great race cars, they’ve been doing a great job for us. The crew chiefs here have been really working together, gelling together and putting everything together. It’s just fun, right now it’s all clicking and going together. I think it’s maybe a little bit of a struggle for (Matt) Kenseth right now, but man, I’ve been in that position before, you just have to fight through it. Maybe I can give the old man a little bit of advice this week, I’ll talk to him. Things are great for our team. Can’t say enough about our team. Cool to be here in Texas.”
How was your race?
“Our Interstate Batteries Camry was really fast, especially in entry and center of the corner. As the night progressed, I think the track actually came to us a little bit. Our car got a little bit better. Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and the guys made great pit stops all night long. We were struggling in the beginning, we weren’t very good. Our other teammates, they were really fast. The 19 (Carl Edwards), 78 (Martin Truex Jr.) and I don’t know what happened to the 19 (at the end). I know the 78, we just out tired him there at the end. Just overall a great night for JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) and Toyota.”
What was going through your mind on the final restart?
“We had like two-cycled, three-lap scuffs right there to Martin (Truex Jr.) two-cycled, six-lap scuffs. The restart was going to be key. If I could just get out in front of him, I knew I could protect the rest of the race. They had a good restart, but we got a better one and I just had to get up on his door. He chose the inside and the inside has been winning the race all night long, but this time on the last restart it finally prevailed for us.”
MARTIN TRUEX, JR., No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
Did you have enough for Kyle Busch at the end of the race?
“We just ran out of tires, you know. Made it through (turns) one and two side-by-side, got to three and just didn’t have the grip. Then we fell back because we were sliding around. Everybody had new tires, we ran under caution for a long time, they keep building air pressure and losing grip. Pretty big disadvantage, but can’t say enough about the guys for the race car they brought here and the weekend we had. It hurts. It’s happened a few times to me here. Hurts a little bit, but we’ll get over it and we’ll move on and we’ll take the positives out of it tonight.”
Who made the decision to pit or not pit at the end of the race?
“It was Cole (Pearn, crew chief) who called me in at the last second. Our plan was to stay out and he called me in. I didn’t want to hit the cone. It’s just the way it goes. Had we went green that next restart, we did OK. We got the lead and we drove away. We just kept getting yellows and caution laps and the tires just kept getting more air in them and more air in them. By the time we finally got moving there, we just didn’t have the grip everybody else had. Just sliding around. It’s frustrating, but that’s racing. That’s the way it goes sometimes. I’m proud of my guys for the race car they brought. That thing was so fast all night, we did everything we were supposed to do except for that one deal there. I don’t know. It hurts, it’s tough, but we have a lot to look forward to this year. We have great race cars and we have a lot to look forward to. We’ll go back home and get to work and hopefully come out smarter and stronger.”
CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 Stanley Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 7th
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 11th
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 12th
DAVID RAGAN, No. 23 Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Finishing Position: 33rd
MATT DiBENEDETTO, No. 83 Cosmo Motors Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Finishing Position: 34th
