Toyota NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) Post-Race Notes & Quotes
Daytona International Speedway
Race 16 of 33 – 300 miles, 200 laps
Friday, July 8, 2016
TOYOTA NXS DRIVER FINISHING POSITIONS at Kentucky Speedway
1st, KYLE BUSCH
3rd, DANIEL SUAREZ
4th, ERIK JONES
17th, JJ YELEY
18th, DAKODA ARMSTRONG
33rd, JEFF GREEN
39th, JOHN JACKSON
40th, MATT DIBENEDETTO
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA NXS DRIVER POINT STANDINGS following Kentucky Speedway (race 16 of 33)*
1st, DANIEL SUAREZ 537 points
4th, ERIK JONES 480 points
15th, DAKODA ARMSTRONG 324 points
16th, JJ YELEY 298 points
*unofficial point standings
TOYOTA NOTES
- Camry driver Kyle Busch won his fifth NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race of the season on Friday night at Kentucky Speedway.
- Busch led a race-high 185 laps (of 201) en route to his 81st career NXS victory and 70th in a Camry, which is built in nearby Georgetown, Kentucky.
- This is Toyota’s 10th NXS win of 2016 and 119th since entering the series in 2007.
- Daniel Suarez (third) earned his seventh top-five finish of the season and continues to lead the series point standings.
- Camry driver Erik Jones (fourth) grabbed his ninth top-five result of the year.
TOYOTA QUOTES
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
How does it feel to win the XFINITY Series race at Kentucky?
“This is a great effort by this team and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing. Everything was really, really good about this race car since we unloaded. NOS Energy Drink Camry had really good speed and Chris Gayle (crew chief) and the guys did an awesome job each and every week, this 18 Camry is always the best, always the one to beat. I think that’s just a true testament to everyone at Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and this XFINITY Series program. I want to thank the fans as well with everyone out here and everyone at home watching on TV. It was a new repave and it probably wasn’t one of the best races from the visual, but a couple of odd things were definitely happening at the end when (Erik) Jones got me on the restart then he kind of got back when his motor didn’t re-fire there. That last restart there, I heard three-wide for a second and I don’t know what to do here but I tried to give a little bit of room and then I heard clear and I turned down. It was enough excitement from my vantage point.”
Were you surprised to see Austin Dillon coming for you at the end?
“He kind of struggled a little bit on the restart before that I believe, maybe two restarts before that. Obviously, you learn as a driver and you figure it out so he got it going there. He just made a bold and aggressive move there getting down low like that. He was forcing his way and I haven’t really seen it, but I imagine that’s what it looked like.”
How does it feel to get back to victory lane at Kentucky in the XFINITY Series?
“The JGR cars just haven’t been that great here for a long time. I think Joey Logano was the last win here for a JGR car was in 2010. This certainly means a lot to us as an organization and for NOS Energy Drink and everyone that has been a part of this program. Our cars were so fast here this weekend, it felt really, really good. We were worried about tires and we had some issues today during the race but we were able to make it through the whole event and not have a big problem. That’s just a true testament to Kentucky Speedway and what they did here tonight for this weekend in preparation to have a good race track.”
Was that finish hard work?
“We always get the Kyle Busch cautions. Apparently, this time, it was true. There was some problems with another car smoking. You always have to make your monies worth, I guess. Always have to give the show to the fans and their monies worth. Certainly, means a lot to us to win here and bring our Camry home to victory lane again at Kentucky Speedway. Certainly wish last night went a little bit better for myself, I’m proud of William Byron but we’ll see how it goes – maybe we can make it a Toyota sweep this weekend.”
What did you think at the time of the restart when Erik Jones car seemed to stall?
“The restart before that when I chose the bottom, Chris Gayle (crew chief) and I were just talking about that. When I gave Erik Jones the top, I figured it was going to be the smart thing to do because I had been trying to run around some lap cars on the top side of three and four and you just get so loose on entry and then you get so tight on the middle of the corner that you were taking a really big risk of getting outside of the black and into the grey and potentially crashing your car. That’s why I didn’t want the outside, I didn’t think it would carry the speed like the inside would. Erik Jones proved me wrong. I certainly learned from that and then when he had his problems there with not being able to get the car refired, it just kind of handed the race back to us. I chose to restart on the outside from there on out. That’s what won us the race, just being able to have that outside and that control on the inside. A guy could over push it and make a mistake and try to run you hard and get loose and run into you and push you up in the gray, but smartly, (Austin) Dillon didn’t do that and we ran a good race and we kept a lot of throttle through three and four. I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to clear him but we were able to and set sail from there for the final lap.”
Did Erik’s move on the restart give you the confidence to take the lead for the final time on the last restart?
“When Erik (Jones) drove off into turn three, I started to roll out just a little bit because I knew I needed to in order to run the bottom. He drove right on past me and I was like, ‘Well, alrighty then.’ I was waiting for him to slip and not be able to control his car in the black, in the rubber and it stuck for him and it worked. From there I definitely learned there was some speed up there at least for one lap, for one corner on being on the outside of a guy and also it kind of disturbed the air on my car a little bit. I knew that having that opportunity again if I could have the top I’d be able to do the same thing, so that’s what I did at the end.”
What will you do with this Juke Box?
“I’m not sure. Getting the one that we got last year was really cool and being able to win the Cup Series one, that was really special. We’ll see how tomorrow goes, maybe we can get another one and have too many to deal with. This one right here for the XFINITY guys and Brexton (son) will be fighting over that one. We’ll see who wins that battle.”
How were you able to save your Cup car in practice?
“The car was good, it was fast. Three laps earlier than that we were the fastest lap of practice and then all of a sudden just going through one and two a little bit loose on me and then I throttled up and drove through that and it was fine. Then, I hit that bump out of the exit of turn two on the bottom side of the race track and it jumped sideways on me. Lost traction and somehow I held on to it from sliding and spinning out this way and then when it came back the other way, I had to make sure I had the steering wheel cranked so it wouldn’t cut back and nose into the wall or hit the wall some way or spin out the opposite way. You just had to be ahead with the steering so it was definitely a very tense moment, one that I would not want to do again, but certainly was a good show, I guess. It scared me enough that there’s no more need for that.”
CHRIS GAYLE, Crew Chief, No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
What type of preparation did you need to do to prepare a winning race car for a new track surface?
“Really there wasn’t a whole lot of adjustment. We were definitely worried about the tires. We had 10 laps or so in practice having blisters so we kind of went into the night wondering how long we were going to be able to go. We knew when we would start blistering them, but we didn’t know how much longer we could go before they came apart and created a problem. I don’t think anyone knew what it was going to be until we got to the race tonight. Once we got those two right side tire stops earlier and got the full laps on that one set of tires and we could go 50 laps. They looked bad, but not as much as we saw in the truck race last night, not as bad as we expected. It relieved all of us a little bit and we didn’t have to adjust on the car too much. Kind of had to make it take off a little better for him on one four tire stop and he got loose toward the end of the last stop so we made a few small adjustments. It was a pretty good night to not have to have too many issues.”
STEVE DESOUZA, EVP of XFINITY and Development, No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
What is it like to see JGR’s XFINITY Series program perform so well this season?
“We have two that are contending for the driver’s championship, then the 18 contending for the owner’s championship, so all three of them are going after championships. Obviously of the way and the effort that they are all putting together. All three teams work really well together and the results are showing up on the race track. We’re really proud of all the guys. Kyle (Busch) is our senior guy helping the young guys come along and it’s paying dividends for the entire group.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
How was your race?
“I knew that the old tires on the bottom wasn’t the place to be. I knew with Austin (Dillon) behind me he was going to go. My team did a really good job. We had the best car for the first half of the race. I’m pretty much in the same situation as Austin with the first stop was rights and then lefts and then four and then rights. My car was really good in four, but it wasn’t as good in rights and we ended up with rights. That’s part of racing. I feel like we learned some good stuff for next time here, our first race of the Chase. We still have some homework but overall so did everyone. I think there’s some things we could have done a little bit better. We lost some track position and I went sideways in three and four for a couple laps. I’m really looking forward to seeing that on TV. I’m looking forward to next week in Loudon.”
How important is it for you to run well and continue a strong season with your family at the race with you?
“It feels really good. My family doesn’t have the opportunity to come very often. Actually, this is the first race that they came this year and it’s exciting and fun to have them here and enjoy and to have some racing and family time at the same time. It was cool. I’m really looking forward to the next couple races that they are going to stay here as well.”
What did you think of the new track surface?
“For me, I really like it. It’s fast and I know it’s hard but I think that the second groove was coming. I really think that by the second part of the race we had some good racing going on. I’m really looking forward to seeing tomorrow’s Cup race because I’m sure they are going to start making that second line work. I really think Kentucky did a good job with this race. It’s really fast, has a lot of grip and I think everyone is learning about this race, Goodyear is learning. There were some issues with tires, but it’s all a learning process the first time.”
ERIK JONES, No. 20 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
JJ YELEY, No. 44 Zachry Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 17th
DAKODA ARMSTRONG, No. 28 WinField Toyota Camry, JGL Racing
Finishing Position: 18th
JEFF GREEN, No. 14 Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 33rd
JOHN JACKSON, No. 40 CrashClaimsR.US Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 39th
MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 10 Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 40th
