TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
Post-Race Notes & Quotes
Talladega Superspeedway
Race 10 of 36 – 500.1 miles, 188 laps
May 1, 2016
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS — at Talladega Superspeedway
1st, Brad Keselowski*
2nd, KYLE BUSCH
3rd, Austin Dillon*
4th, Jamie McMurray*
5th, Chase Elliott*
12th, MICHAEL WALTRIP
13th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
18th, COLE WHITT
23rd, MATT KENSETH
31st, DENNY HAMLIN
34th, DAVID RAGAN
35th, CARL EDWARDS
36th, MATT DiBENEDETTO
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA DRIVER IN NSCS POINT STANDINGS — following Talladega Superspeedway**
1st, Kevin Harvick 351 points
2nd, KYLE BUSCH 342 points
3rd, CARL EDWARDS 337 points
9th, MARTIN TRUEX JR. 274 points
12th, DENNY HAMLIN 269 points
15th, MATT KENSETH 231 points
30th, MATT DiBENEDETTO 128 points
32nd, DAVID RAGAN 124 points
*non-Toyota driver
**unofficial point standings
TOYOTA NOTES
· Camry driver Kyle Busch (second) piloted the top-finishing Toyota in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway.
· Busch’s second-place finish was his eighth top-five result in 10 events to start the 2016 NSCS season.
· Camry drivers led a total of 61 laps (of 188) in today’s 500-mile race at the 2.66-mile Alabama superspeedway.
TOYOTA QUOTES
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Skittles Marvel Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
How do you describe what was going on at the end of the race?
“It was some moves that you made that were just lucky and just trying to get through some of the holes that were there and that were forming and guys bumping and banging each other, pushing all around and everything and trying to get the most out of what we had with our Skittles Camry. You know, second’s not bad. I think the quota of three cars on their lids today is a little high, but its racing.”
What happened in the last couple laps?
“Yeah, it’s just Talladega. Not real sure what all was going on. You’re just trying to make the best moves you can when you get pushed or when you have the momentum and you try to carry through with those moves and do the best you can to get a good spot and get a good finish, but I thought we had a chance. But when you’re the leader and you’re out front and there’s not a lot of formation behind, it’s hard to overtake the leader.”
Are you relieved to leave Talladega?
“When you leave here and you’re okay, yeah. I think having three cars on their lids is a little high for quota.”
Should we keep racing like this at Talladega?
“Yep, what are you going to do? We’re just going to keep going. That’s it. It’s been that way for 30 years, so keep digging.”
What did you think about the last lap?
“It was just a wild last lap – just trying to make moves when you could make moves when you get pushed from behind and carry your momentum through and get all the spots you can get, so proud of the effort for our team. Wish we could have got one spot better.”
Did the threat of rain make the drivers more aggressive?
“No, lap 188 was the end of the race, so everybody was aggressive just trying to get to the best spot that they could for the finish.”
MICHAEL WALTRIP, No. 55 Peak & BlueDEF Toyota Camry, Premium Motorsports
Finishing Position: 12th
MARTIN TRUEX, JR., No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing
Finishing Position: 13th
COLE WHITT, No. 98 RticCoolers.com Toyota Camry, Premium Motorsports
Finishing Position: 18th
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 23rd
How strong was the car and what did you see from your viewpoint of the accident?
“We had a good car and I’m not sure at first what happened – the 22 (Joey Logano) ran me off the race track and that got me way behind so I thought we were done with that, but maybe we aren’t. So he ran me off the track and honestly I was just going straight here and just got ran into and then I was just hanging on.”
What happened that resulted in the accident?
“We got behind a little bit there and I went to pass the 22 (Joey Logano) and he ran me off the race track and lost four or five spots and then got us back there where we didn’t want to be. I don’t know, somebody must have gotten turned out of the top lane and just collected me. I was just going straight and saw a car come from the right side and cleaned our clock.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 31st
DAVID RAGAN, No. 23 Schluter Services Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Finishing Position: 34th
CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 35th
What ended you race?
“Yeah, the biggest thing is just something just let go there and you hate to collect anybody, so definitely sorry to the 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) guys for getting their car involved in that. We had something torn up there, drove down into turn one and I just felt the right front fall down and that was it. You’re kind of just along for the ride, but we appreciate the fans coming out. I appreciate everyone from ARRIS being here – wish we could have had a better run for them, but we’ll go racing at Kansas.”
MATT DiBENEDETTO, No. 83 Dustless Blasting Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Finishing Position: 36th
