TOYOTA Post-Race Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Atlanta Motor Speedway
500 miles, 325 laps
March 5, 2017
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS**
1st, Brad Keselowski*
2nd, Kyle Larson*
3rd, MATT KENSETH
4th, Kasey Kahne*
5th, Chase Elliott*
8th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
14th, ERIK JONES
16th, KYLE BUSCH
21st, DANIEL SUÁREZ
34th, COREY LaJOIE
37th, GRAY GAULDING
38th, DENNY HAMLIN
*non-Toyota driver
** Unofficial finishing positions
TOYOTA DRIVER POINT STANDINGS**
1st, Kevin Harvick 90 points*
7th, MARTIN TRUEX JR. 67 points
16th, MATT KENSETH 41 points
19th, DENNY HAMLIN 37 points
25th, KYLE BUSCH 32 points
28th, MICHAEL WALTRIP 29 points
29th, ERIK JONES 27 points
31st, DANIEL SUÁREZ 25 points
*non-Toyota driver
**unofficial point standings
• Camry driver Matt Kenseth (third) had the top-finishing Toyota in Sunday afternoon’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
• In addition to Kenseth’s result, Camry driver Martin Truex Jr. (eighth) also finished in the top 10.
TOYOTA QUOTES
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 DEWALT FLEXVOLT Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
How was your Camry today?
“Yeah, our DEWALT Camry was really fast. We just sped on pit road there some – all our lights were right, so I don’t know. We must have – something happened there and that got us behind. Then we were trying to get caught up and it happened again, so we just had to forgot about our indications, just go real slow down pit road and finally came back from it all. Just couldn’t get rolling in that top lane. It’s such a disadvantage on restarts and we were going to line up third and I was like, ‘Man, I don’t think anybody is going to beat Kevin (Harvick). He led all day, but we might at least have a shot,’ but I ended up second and those two first guys cleared me and I just couldn’t get around them in that many laps.”
How were you able to come back?
“Yeah, it was a good comeback. It was an uphill battle all day. For some reason, our speed was off on pit road and we got two penalties there that put us behind and just the cautions fell and everything and it took all day to get our laps and get back in position, so everything kind of when our way at the end, except for that outside restart hurt us, but we had a good car and glad we got a decent result.”
Were you aware the extra timing lines might lead to the pit road speeding issues?
“Yeah, everybody’s got the map, but I don’t know what happened there because I was plenty safe from how we set everything, which is the same as last year. I was plenty safe when we got caught and when we went out the second time, I was still playing it safe and we got caught again leaving under that yellow, so there was something that just didn’t jive to our calculations for whatever reason.”
Do you think Atlanta Motor Speedway should be repaved?
“Heck no, don’t ever repave. I don’t think you should ever repave a race track. I know there’s a certain time where you have to do it or it’s going to fall apart, but like Michigan and some of those places, man, they’ve been tough since they paved them. They were some of the most fun tracks at least for us to race around and to pass and to do all that stuff and certainly it’s challenging when they pave it, but I think they should pave it the year after I retire.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing
Finishing Position: 8th
How was your race?
“We needed longer runs. Once we got them, we were really good. Then we had a speeding penalty that got us back and at the same time the clutch went out and then we were just – kept losing spots on pit road because I’d have to shut out off to stop to pit and then we push started every time and we’d lose a bunch of spots, so really proud of the effort of my guys – everybody all weekend. New package, new Camry – new ’18 Camry – to run as good as we did, I thought it was a pretty good day. Just had a few little gremlins here or there and we’ll figure those out and we’ll move on and hopefully have a better car in Vegas.”
Why did we see so many speeding penalties today?
“I think everybody is just trying to get all they can get and for me personally it was just a mistake. I was too slow coming in and I gave it a little gas to speed up and I just crossed the limit and with the timing lines being so close, it’s real easy to jump over and go too fast at the beginning of the section and not catch it at the end because they’re so short, so just a mistake on my part and I’m sure most of the other guys would say the same – just pushing it and trying to get all they can get.”
ERIK JONES, No. 77 SiriusXM Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing
Finishing Position: 14th
How was your race?
“It was good. I thought we had a seventh to ninth place car probably most of the day – ran around there, maybe a little bit farther back. Just last restart we came in, put tires on and just got super tight. Not sure why. Didn’t really know. Can’t really figure it out, so it’s going to be tough to figure out why, but it’s unfortunate. I wish we could have went up there and finished I feel like where we deserved, where our car was capable of. Just didn’t work out. Good day overall – I learned a lot and definitely going to – good momentum for next week, good finish, good points finish to get us up there in the points a little bit and get some momentum going.”
How important was this finish after Daytona?
“Yeah, I mean for sure it’s nice just to get settled in, you know? When you go to Daytona and Talladega, they’re kind of their own animals and you come here and you really get to see what you’ve got for the year, so I felt like we weren’t quite where we needed to be.”
GRAY GAULDING, No. 23 Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Finishing Position: 37th
What happened to end your race?
“Yeah, it’s just one of those deals. It’s part of racing. You’re going to have blown engines, blown tires and wreck and it’s all part of the deal, but I thought we had a solid run going. We had a couple bad breaks on pit road, but my fault. I sped on pit road one time, but I’m going to live and learn. I felt like I passed a lot of good cars. We beat some cars that – we were in front of some cars that usually should be in front of us. Everybody knows who they are. Unfortunate, but I feel like BK Racing, Dr. Pepper, can’t thank them guys enough. Unfortunate how it ended, but it’s part of racing.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 38th
Did damage from early in the race lead to this issue?
“I don’t think so. It looked like a hub burned up. That’s something totally different. It’s a shame for our FedEx team. We had a decent car – top-10 car – and it’s up here hanging out around seventh or eighth all day. We kept gaining on them, which is a good thing, but just had a mechanical failure here and if there’s no wreck in the next 10 minutes or so – 20 laps – we’ll probably pack it up.”
