TOYOTA Post-Race Recap
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Duel #1 at Daytona International Speedway
Qualifying Race – 60 Laps, 150 Miles
Thursday, February 23, 2017
TOYOTA QUALIFYING RESULTS
1st, Chase Elliott*
2nd, Jamie McMurray*
3rd, Kevin Harvick*
4th, Brad Keselowski*
5th, MATT KENSETH
7th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
11th, DANIEL SUAREZ
12th, KYLE BUSCH
17th, JOEY GASE
18th, COREY LaJOIE
21st, REED SORENSON (DNQ)
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Duel 1 Finishing Position: 5th
How was your race and were you able to learn anything for Sunday’s Daytona 500?
“Yeah I think so. It was pretty good. We got in a lot of different situations out there. I felt like we had pretty decent speed. Wish we would’ve finished better but it was a productive race and didn’t get wrecked and got in a lot of different spots and kind of got a pretty good feel for what we’ve got.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 78 5-hour Energy Extra Strength Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing
Duel 1 Finishing Position: 7th
How was your Duel?
“It was okay. I made a few bad decisions and got shuffled out and had to work my way back up. At the end I thought we made some good moves and made up some spots. I’m happy with how we did. Definitely have some tweaking to do on the car but I feel like it had good speed. Just have to tweak it here and there. Overall happy with the Bass Pro Toyota and the job the guys did. Car’s in one piece and starting about thirty spots better than last year so all in all it was a decent day.”
Did you notice a difference in the racing tonight with points on the line?
“Without a doubt it was more aggressive than I expected. I thought it was just as aggressive as the Clash on Sunday. That’s really saying something when you’re talking about a non-points race and everybody going for the win compared to a qualifying race, so Sunday is going to be a wild one for sure with the sun is out. Guys had their hands full tonight. I can’t imagine what Sunday is going to be like. It should be a lot of fun. We’re going to have to work on handling a little bit tomorrow and hopefully we’ll get a bunch of cars out there to do that with.”
COREY LAJOIE, No. 83 Dustless Blasting Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Duel 1 Finishing Position: 18th
What are your thoughts on qualifying for your first Daytona 500?
“That’s amazing. Every kid in a race car dreams of racing in a Daytona 500 and I get to do that on Sunday. I really do feel bad about Reed (Sorenson). I just tried to fill a hole and it was getting down to it and I probably did have position on him but man when I’m trying to get into the Daytona 500 if my mom was in that spot I’d probably wreck her too. I’m racing on Sunday. Chase (Elliott) is in victory lane – good job to him and I’ll see you guys on Sunday in the Dustless Blasting Camry.”
What does it mean to get a chance to represent the LaJoie family in the Daytona 500?
“It’s amazing and it’s not even just my family. It’s every person that’s helped me get to this moment too. It’s been a hard road and I’ve still got a long way to go but it starts Sunday.”
What are your emotions of making your first Daytona 500?
“Man, you come here just idolizing these guys. Jimmie (Johnson), Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. all of these guys. I’m fans of all of these guys and I get to race all of them on Sunday. It’s amazing. The big man has got a plan. I’m excited to get up there and dice it up. They really wanted me to protect the thing today because the backup in a smaller team isn’t as good as the primary so we had to protect that thing at the end of the race. I felt like we could’ve got up there and maybe could’ve got a couple more spots but regardless when it all shakes out on Sunday we’ll see where we land.”
