Toyota Post-Race Recap
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Kentucky Speedway
Race 18 of 36 – 400.5 miles, 267 laps
July 8, 2017
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, MARTIN TRUEX JR
2nd, Kyle Larson*
3rd, Chase Elliott*
4th, DENNY HAMLIN
5th, KYLE BUSCH
6th, ERIK JONES
17th, MATT KENSETH
18th, DANIEL SUÁREZ
27th, RYAN SIEG
35th, GRAY GAULDING
36th, JOEY GASE
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA DRIVER POINT STANDINGS**
1st, Kyle Larson 710 points*
2nd, MARTIN TRUEX JR. 709 points
3rd, KYLE BUSCH 609 points
7th, DENNY HAMLIN 538 points
11th, MATT KENSETH 478 points
14th, ERIK JONES 426 points
18th, DANIEL SUÁREZ 373 points
34th, COREY LaJOIE 124 points
36th, GRAY GAULDING 84 points
*non-Toyota driver
**unofficial point standings
· Camry driver Martin Truex Jr. captured his third win of the season in Saturday night’s race at Kentucky Speedway.
· Truex led a race-high 152 laps (of 267) and collected all stage wins, remaining the only driver to sweep all stages in a race this season.
· Camry teammates Denny Hamlin (fourth) and Kyle Busch (fifth) also finished in the top five at Kentucky with Busch leading 112 laps.
TOYOTA QUOTES
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 78 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
When everyone else pitted, what were you thinking?
“I thought we were dead. I thought we were done. It’s just – this is completely unbelievable. I’m so excited to win here. It felt like we had a shot last year and it got away from us on fuel mileage and just wanted to win here so so bad after that. This is sweet redemption. I got to say hi to Sherry (Pollex) back home. She didn’t make it this weekend, so I love you babe. And all these awesome fans, thank you guys so much for coming out. What an awesome crowd. I hope they enjoyed it and that was a whole lot of fun. “
When you have a dominant car like you did, how worried are you in those final 100 laps?
“Worried every lap waiting for a caution. Especially at the end. You’re counting them down – you know 30, the last 30, the last 20, the last 10 and then you get inside of five and you’re like oh my god, there’s no way there’s not going to be a caution and sure enough there was. Fortunately able to hold them off. This thing was just so stout tonight. A good push from (Kyle) Larson helped us a bunch.”
What were you thinking when everyone behind you went to pit after that last caution?
“I can’t say enough about him (Cole Pearn). This whole team and everybody back in Denver. Everybody at Furniture Row, Denver Mattress, all of our partners, Bass Pro Shops, WIX, Tracker Boats, 5-Hour Energy. Who’d I miss? Toyota, TRD – unbelievable engine obviously. Just got to thank all of those guys. Barney (Visser) – lucky we got an awesome car owner who lets us do our thing. This guy (Cole Pearn) runs one hell of a show.”
This wasn’t just a win, was it a statement?
“Yeah, for sure, it was awesome. Can’t leave out Auto Owners Insurance. We won one with them this year. This is the first win with Furniture Row on the car this year so thanks to everybody in Denver, all those folks. All the fans, they were awesome up there, screaming and yelling. I could definitely feel their energy. Most importantly hi to Sherry (Pollex) again. She’s back home. Couldn’t make it this weekend. We love you babe and can’t wait to see you again at the race track.”
You went from having a 16-second lead to having a green-white-checkered finish, what was going through your mind after that last caution?
“I thought we were done. Honestly, we had such a – just such a good race car I think my main concern was just trying to get out front. If I could get to the lead I thought I’d be okay. Got to thank (Kyle) Larson. He gave me a heck of a shove. I kind of waited until late in the restart zone just hoping I’d get a push cause I knew I was going to be struggling and then there was a lot of speed driving down on that bottom groove. I thought that might play into it and I think that helped us a little bit. I was able to clear Kyle (Busch) into one and then the rest was history.”
Were all the near misses this season going through your mind in the closing laps?
“You try to lap everybody you can, just so they don’t come back and beat you on tires at the end for some crazy strategy. For us tonight, the car was just so good. I got so worried that when that caution came out with two to go that we were going to be in trouble. I’m just glad I was able to hold on for these guys and everybody on this team that put so much effort into this and into what we do and gives me such awesome race cars to drive. Glad I could hold up my end of the deal and we’re going to celebrate a little bit here tonight.”
Is there anything stopping the 78 right now?
“Not right now there aint – other than luck.”
COLE PEARN, crew chief, No. 78 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing
The energy right now is all around the 78…
“Yeah, we’re a fun bunch. We work really hard and everybody enjoys it. I know everybody in the shop is probably yelling and screaming at their tv right now. It takes everybody. We’re real fortunate. It’s like a family and when you can win with family it makes it that much more special.”
This wasn’t just a win, was this a statement?
“I don’t know. I mean I think it’ll be a statement if we go to win Loudon next week and shut ‘em up about the mile and a half thing. Hopefully we’re holding some lobster next week, but we’ll enjoy this one for sure.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
Did you need the caution flag there at the end?
“We were seventh I think before the caution, but good stops, fast car all day. Had a speeding penalty early and was able to rebound from that, so pretty proud of it. Overall pretty good day for our FedEx Camry team. Just got to keep chipping away and keep knocking on the door and our opportunity will come.”
What more did you need in the 11 car?
“A little bit of speed here and there. I thought we really actually had a fast car, but every time we went up front, we had a tire disadvantage. A lot of it came from me having a speeding penalty early. Only my second of the year, but nonetheless at a race track that’s very very difficult to pass on. We did a great job of rebounding. The whole FedEx Camry team did a great job. No mistakes and had a good top five.”
How does running strong tonight help Joe Gibbs Racing?
“We’re getting closer for sure. I think that there’s some things that we’re doing that we’re obviously improving and I think that we’re gaining on the field, but I definitely don’t think we’re all the way there yet. We are solidly a contender week in and week out now. We just got to get a win.”
ERIK JONES, No. 77 SiriusXM Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
How successful is this night for you?
“It was a good night for us. You know we just – we didn’t have the track position all night and it was kind of unfortunate. I think we had a car that probably could’ve ran up with the 78 and the 18 at times. We’re just kind of fighting from behind from all – from our starting spot. Just work from behind with that and finally got some track position at the end for that last restart. I spun the tires some and got split, so it’s unfortunate but it’s a good day for us. A good top 10. The SiriusXM Camry was fast. We ran well all day. A good building block for us again. I learned a lot and hopefully some good momentum for New Hampshire.”
With Martin Truex Jr.’s win, how much optimism does that give you to be at Furniture Row Racing too?
“It’s nice to know you’ve got good stuff. We had good stuff tonight, we just never – never got up there. We’re trying to improve our whole weekend and get one solid weekend together, but it’s really good to see and know that the 78 is so fast every week and is winning these races. Hopefully we can get up there soon and battle them out for one.”
