Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Texas Motor Speedway
Race 6 of 36 – 500 miles, 334 laps
April 9, 2017
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Jimmie Johnson*
2nd, Kyle Larson*
3rd, Joey Logano*
4th, Kevin Harvick*
5th, Dale Earnhardt Jr.*
8th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
15th, KYLE BUSCH
16th, MATT KENSETH
19th, DANIEL SUÁREZ
22nd, ERIK JONES
25th, DENNY HAMLIN
32nd, COREY LaJOIE
34th, GRAY GAULDING
37th, DERRICK COPE
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA DRIVER POINT STANDINGS**
1st, Kyle Larson 315 points*
3rd, MARTIN TRUEX JR. 275 points
7th, KYLE BUSCH 211 points
14th, ERIK JONES 159 points
16th, DENNY HAMLIN 151 points
22nd, MATT KENSETH 126 points
23rd, DANIEL SUÁREZ 125 points
34th, COREY LaJOIE 39 points
38th, GRAY GAULDING 17 points
*non-Toyota driver
**unofficial point standings
· Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. (eighth) had the highest-finishing Camry in Sunday afternoon’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Texas Motor Speedway.
· Truex led the field three times for 49 laps (of 334) on the 1.5-mile track.
· Camry driver Kyle Busch started 34th and finished 15th in the event.
TOYOTA QUOTES
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing
Finishing Position: 8th
How was the race?
“It was an up and down race – track position was everything. We had a good car at times and we struggled at times. The track was really, really difficult and the tires were definitely a challenge. It seemed like every time we put a set on, the car was a little different. We weren’t good on restarts and short runs and we’d lose all our track position that took us so long to get. Overall, it was a decent day, but needed to be better on short runs for sure.”
How disappointing was it to see the final caution and the longer pit stop?
“Obviously, I didn’t want to see that or any more cautions. Neither of them came through. We built up a good lead there and that’s what we needed because the short run – they were a lot better than we were. Once (Kevin) Harvick got me out of the pits and I was in his wake getting going, I used my tires up and then the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) jumped on me and then I was done. That’s the way it goes and that’s the way racing plays out. The guys did a good job with the car and we changed about everything on the car from yesterday so hats off to them, they did a good job with it. We’ll keep working on it.”
What was the most difficult part of the track today?
“Just the repave and the hard tires. The second groove definitely started coming in at the end, but it still was really hard to drive and really on edge. Just hard to keep the balance where I thought we needed it, but when we got it we were really fast and when we missed it, we would lose quite a bit. Just one of those deals where we need to keep working on it.”
ERIK JONES, No. 77 5-hour ENERGY Camry, Furniture Row Racing
Finishing Position: 22nd
Is there anything you were able to learn from the race for November?
“Not really, just need to get better for next time. There’s nothing we can really take and nothing that will apply to next time. Just need to get our stuff better and have a better car for next time.”
CHRIS GAYLE, crew chief, No. 77 5-hour ENERGY Camry, Furniture Row Racing
How can you summarize today’s race?
“Frustrating – Erik (Jones) had his hands full all day. One of those days that you hope it doesn’t happen very often at all where you just don’t know what’s wrong with the car and the speed is just off and not consistent enough to race hard. We just struggled. Could be a little bit of nose damage or something, but totally missed it and it’s frustrating.”
