Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Texas Motor Speedway
501 miles, 334 laps
November 5, 2017
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Kevin Harvick#*
2nd, MARTIN TRUEX JR.#
3rd, DENNY HAMLIN#
4th, MATT KENSETH
5th, Brad Keselowski#*
10th, ERIK JONES
14th, DANIEL SUÁREZ
19th, KYLE BUSCH#
39th, COREY LAJOIE
40th, GRAY GAULDING
*non-Toyota driver
# Playoff contender
TOYOTA DRIVER POINT STANDINGS**
1st, MARTIN TRUEX JR. 4,168 points#
2nd, KYLE BUSCH 4,118 points#
5th, DENNY HAMLIN 4,092 points#
9th, MATT KENSETH 2,255 points
19th, ERIK JONES 802 points
20th, DANIEL SUÁREZ 755 points
#Playoff contender
**unofficial point standings
· Camry driver Martin Truex Jr. clinched a spot in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway with a second-place finish in the Cup Series race.
· Truex joins Toyota teammate Kyle Busch as two of the four drivers who will compete in the championship race.
· Denny Hamlin (third), Matt Kenseth (fourth) and Erik Jones (tenth) also represented Toyota in the top 10.
TOYOTA QUOTES
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 78 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
Did you feel like you had anything for Kevin Harvick once he got around you in the closing laps?
“I knew he (Kevin Harvick) was quicker – once he got around the 11 (Denny Hamlin) I guess it was, he started coming really fast and that’s all I had. Just struggled a little on the long run today, which was normally where we’re our best. He seemed to be better when he got out front – we were good when we got out front toward the middle of the race and we just got too loose in those long runs. I did all I could do on the inside, but we had the 6 (Trevor Bayne) and some other dummy racing side-by-side in front of us and I was way loose in traffic and I got loose going into one and Harvick jumped to my outside. One of those deals, I think we could have held them off on a clean race track, but the 6 car is in the damn way every week – that’s pretty normal.”
What does it mean to clinch a spot in the final championship round at Homestead?
“It’s unbelievable, awesome season and can’t thank everybody enough – Bass Pro Shops, Toyota, TRD, Furniture Row, Denver Mattress. It was hot out there today. Just everybody and all our partners. Everybody that helps us, we couldn’t do it without them, it’s been an amazing season and I love this team. We’re excited for Homestead, we had a great test down there and looking forward to going down there and getting another win.”
How does it feel to lock into the championship round a week early?
“It feels great. It feels amazing – that’s what we set out to do this year was to make it to Homestead and fight for the title and we feel like we’re right there. I just can’t wait to get there and get back to work. I wish we could have won today, it would have been a little sweeter going and locking it up in victory lane, but we were off a little bit there at the end.”
Did the handle of your car go away in the final laps?
“I don’t really think we got any worse than we had been the laps prior, I think the 4 (Kevin Harvick) just got better. Once he got around the 11 (Denny Hamlin), he was coming fast. I knew if we got in the draft, we were going to be in trouble. I was so loose and I got behind those lapped cars and turned sideways and he jumped to my outside. He had a better car and he deserved to win, but thought for sure we could have held him off if it weren’t for the lapped cars.”
Does this season feel like a dream after last year?
“It’s a dream come true after last year’s disappointment, coming into this year with that as our focus and working so hard all year long. Just the fight in this team, we never quit and we never give up. To win seven races, it’s been an amazing season. When you get two seconds in a row and you’re disappointed, it says something about your team and your confidence in them. Just can’t thank everyone enough for their support throughout the years. I’m really excited to go to Homestead and I think we’ll have something for them.”
COLE PEARN, crew chief, No. 78 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing
What does it mean to clinch a spot at Homestead a week early?
“It’s huge, it’s a bittersweet way to do it, but it was a really good run for us and we did what we needed to do. We can for sure focus on Homestead now, which is a relief and kind of just take next weekend off a bit. We can just go and get ready for Homestead.”
How important was the test session at Homestead last week?
“It was really beneficial for us, but of course it was just a test. I know we’re in a lot better shape now than if we hadn’t gone and tested. Either way, we’ll do what we have to do and give it all we can there.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
Seemed like a little bit of a struggle out there on the two tires, did that have anything to do with it?
“Maybe a little bit, but you know obviously the 4 (Kevin Harvick) and 78 (Martin Truex Jr.) were really fast all day. We had a really good FedEx Camry, just had a couple bad restarts there where I went high, lost my track position and we had to take two (tires) to get that track position back that I lost. Overall, a good day. I mean great points day. We scored a lot of points, but lost, lost positions there with the 4 winning, so we’ll – we’ll just keep digging, keep giving ourselves a shot to win and hopefully next week will be our week.
Seemed tough out of the groove. What was it like when you get up high a little bit?
“Yeah, this race track’s just so treacherous. Short of forcing us to run higher in practice for maybe thirty minutes or something, we’re never gonna work the groove higher. Not anytime soon. I’m not sure what the answer is, but this race track’s got a lot of speed and anytime you have a lot of speed, aero is king and you just can’t overcome it.”
How was that battle out front in Texas today?
“It was a battle for sure. Just really tough to keep track position. I mean doing everything we could to just stay up front, but we had a couple bad restarts, got us back in the pack there and then we took two tires to try to get some track position back. It worked, but we just couldn’t hang – hold off those guys with four.”
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 XFINITY Team USA Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
How do you feel about this top-five run?
“First run of the day was fun. Everybody was on three-cycle scuffs and we were on stickers. We got to the end, we had a good car when we got to get up through there pretty quick, but just got tight on that last set of tires for some reason and then I would just – I’d always draw the outside lane on a restart and lose a couple spots. It’s just hard to overcome that. That was our worst run of the day and it was still pretty competitive, so it was nice to be competitive.”
