TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
Post-Qualifying Notes & Quotes
Michigan International Speedway
400 miles, 200 laps
June 10, 2016
TOYOTA STARTING POSITIONS
1st, Joey Logano
2nd, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
4th, DENNY HAMLIN
9th, KYLE BUSCH
11th, CARL EDWARDS
19th, MATT KENSETH
31st, MATT DiBENEDETTO
35th, DAVID RAGAN
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
MARTIN TRUEX, JR., No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing
Starting Position: 2nd
How was the qualifying run?
“It was definitely an exciting run that third round – we freed the car up quite a bit and it was pretty ‘slideways’ going into turn three so it was a lot of fun out there. Sunday is going to be a blast – get the tape off and get the race setups in the race cars and get that sun on the track all day. It’s going to get slick and it’s going to be a lot of fun so looking forward to that. All in all, it was a good day for us. We had to work hard on it today and had trouble getting through tech. Our first run was pretty bad, our second run was better and our third run was pretty good so really proud of the guys on the Denver Mattress Furniture Row Toyota. We came out with a good result so it was good. We just keep digging and never give up – front row starting spot is pretty decent.”
Did your team’s delay in getting through tech impact you in any way?
“Not at all. I think the biggest thing was just the track conditions changing so much. It got so much hotter, the pace slowed down quite a bit and anytime that happens it changes these cars considerably. That was the biggest factor. I was fine, I figured I knew we would get through eventually and we would get a lap in when it was ready. Just calm, cool, collected and wait my turn.”
Does the track seem more temperature sensitive with this new package?
“Definitely it is for sure. The softer the tires get, the blacker the track gets then the more heat sensitive they seem to be. That rubber laying out there just cooks and all the oil comes out and it just gets slippery. Then when we go back out there, the tires just don’t stick to it as well so that’s kind of what goes on and it definitely felt like today it was more temperature sensitive than what we’ve seen here in the past few years. The tires were really hard, the track really didn’t get really black and lay a lot of rubber down. Definitely a bit of a difference and I think it caught some guys off guard for sure. I think some guys were better prepared than others – we were pretty good in the middle and got better as it went.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 4th
How is the heat impacting the race track and this new aero package?
“It’s slippery out there. Even though the speeds are up there, averaging 199, a lot of it is straightaway speed. What we really wanted was slower corners and faster straightaways and that’s definitely been achieved so far.”
How has your team adapted to this new package so far this weekend?
“We’re all still learning it and I think tomorrow we’ll get a little more used to it with the couple practices we have, but my guys are telling me to start the day that we’re going to fire off in qualifying trim for the first lap of practice and I’m like, ‘Well, I haven’t run this package before, that’s pretty scary.’ You have to have confidence that they’ve got great simulation, they know how to tune these cars in and obviously our guys have done a good job of it.”
Do you feel this is a step in the right direction by NASCAR?
“No doubt, our opinion, the slower the pace is the better the racing is going to be. The more off-throttle time, the more opportunity there is for us to make a move on somebody in front of us. From the race fans perspective, they’re not going to notice if we’re running 200 or 185, but I can assure you that the 185 race is going to be better to watch. That’s what we’re trying to get to and this is a step in the right direction.”
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Red, White and Blue Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 9th
CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 Subway Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 11th
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 19th
How does this new aero package feel so far at Michigan?
“I can’t really compare the aero package I think until you get through tomorrow’s practice and really through the whole race and then kind of gauge it from there. I’m not a good guy to ask, we’ve been way off on speed today so probably not the best one to ask about it.”
MATT DiBENEDETTO, No. 83 Cosmo Motors Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position: 31st
DAVID RAGAN, No. 23 Weaver Media Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position: 35th
