Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Pocono Raceway
Race 14 of 36 – 400 miles, 160 laps
June 11, 2017
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Ryan Blaney*
2nd, Kevin Harvick*
3rd, ERIK JONES
4th, Kurt Busch*
5th, Brad Keselowski*
6th, MARTIN TRUEX JR
9th, KYLE BUSCH
10th, MATT KENSETH
12th, DENNY HAMLIN
15th, DANIEL SUÁREZ
28th, COREY LAJOIE
29th, GRAY GAULDING
31st, REED SORENSON
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA DRIVER POINT STANDINGS**
1st, MARTIN TRUEX JR. 584 points
4th, KYLE BUSCH 463 points
9th, DENNY HAMLIN 386 points
13th, MATT KENSETH 359 points
17th, ERIK JONES 322 points
19th, DANIEL SUÁREZ 300 points
34th, COREY LAJOIE 91 points
35th, GRAY GAULDING 82 points
*non-Toyota driver
**unofficial point standings
· Camry driver Erik Jones (third) was the highest-finishing Toyota driver and earned a career-best result in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race Sunday at Pocono Raceway.
· Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. finished sixth after starting from the rear of the field to give Furniture Row Racing it’s second pair of top-10s this season after Jones and Truex also finished together in the top-10 at Charlotte in May.
· Camry driver Kyle Busch (ninth) started the event from the pole position for the second week in a row, led a race-high 100 laps (of 160) and won the race’s first stage.
· Busch has now surpassed 13,000 career MENCS laps led (13,059), becoming the 11th driver in series history to do so.
· Matt Kenseth rounded out the Toyota top-10s with a 10th-place result at the 2.5-mile track.
· In total, Camry drivers led 127 laps at Pocono with Busch’s 100 plus drivers Jones (20), Truex (five), Denny Hamlin (one) and Daniel Suárez (one) took turns in front of the field at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’
· Toyota drivers have now won 15 (of 29) MENCS stages this season, more than any other manufacturer.
TOYOTA QUOTES
ERIK JONES, No. GameStop/Cars 3 Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
Did you think you could go for the win at Pocono?
“Yeah, I was hoping they were going to get side-by-side like the 21 (Ryan Blaney) and the 18 (Kyle Busch) did and we were able to close that up on them and have a shot there. I could never quite get up there. I was busy holding off the 2 (Brad Keselowski) and 41 (Kurt Busch). Congrats to Blaney for one, that’s really cool, really cool for the young guys. We had a good GameStop Camry all day. We didn’t have the winning car, we didn’t have the speed the 18 had all day or the 21. We worked at it hard all day, it’s definitely a physical race. It’s a lot of fun and really cool to get a top-five.”
How does it feel to get your career-best finish?
“Just happy, happy that we finally get a finish that we deserve. We ran top-five most of the day and had good strategy and it worked out. The last restart played out right into our hands and got it during the third (stage) and knew we had to hold those guys off and we’d be just fine. It’s exciting, happy we had a fast race car. Wish we had a little bit faster one and then we could have gone up there and raced for it, but definitely a good day for us.”
What does this top-five finish mean after the slow start to the year you had?
“It’s just gratifying. You stick with it and stick to your guns and know what you have and keep doing the same thing week in and week out and sometimes it’s tough to do that. You hope it’s going to come back around and I got the finish I felt like we deserved.”
What was your team’s strategy in the closing laps?
“I was doing all I could to hang on. The 4 (Kevin Harvick) had four tires and I knew he was going to get up there. I was hoping I could sneak up there and get around the 21 (Ryan Blaney) and 18 (Kyle Busch) while they were battling, but I just wasn’t close enough to do it. It was good to see Ryan win, really cool for him and really cool for the young guys. Great day for us, great day for the GameStop Camry. I just wasn’t sure when I got here because the driver needed the adjustment on these cars and felt as the week went on we got comfortable and got better. That top-five finish definitely feels good.”
Did you experience any brake issues during the race?
“I didn’t. I started getting a little bit squishy pedal, I don’t know, maybe right at the beginning of the second segment, and really kind of tried to nurse them the rest of the day up until about 15 to go. I think it’s a lot due to the low downforce. We were just really using a lot of brake. Even with the shifting, that helps slow you down, but still, there’s no blade on the cars to slow them down, so it’s just relying all on either the brakes or the drivetrain, so it’s just really hard on it.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR, No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
How would you recap your race day?
“It was a tough day, but we battled hard after having to start at the back due to an engine change after Saturday’s practice. This team never quits, fought right to the end and did have a shot of winning this thing. But when the race restarted for the final time we weren’t in the preferred outside lane. We wanted to be fourth instead of fifth and have the inside lane. But (Ryan) Blaney got that spot by just beating us off pit road. Overall we had to overcome a number of issues, but in the end we found ourselves once again in contention with or No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota.”
