Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Talladega Superspeedway
Race 10 of 36 – 500.08 miles, 188 laps
April 29, 2018
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Joey Logano*
2nd, Kurt Busch*
3rd, Chase Elliott*
4th, Kevin Harvick*
5th, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.*
10th, DANIEL SUAREZ
13th, KYLE BUSCH
14th, DENNY HAMLIN
20th, DJ KENNINGTON
24th, GRAY GAULDING
26th, MARTIN TRUEX, JR.
39th, ERIK JONES
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA DRIVER POINT STANDINGS**
1st, KYLE BUSCH 447 points
7th, DENNY HAMLIN 314 points
9th, MARTIN TRUEX JR. 303 points
13th, ERIK JONES 234 points
21st, DANIEL SUAREZ 188 points
**unofficial point standings
· Camry driver Daniel Suarez (10th) was the highest finishing Toyota in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.
· Daniel Suarez led one lap while Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin led two laps around the 2.66-mile Alabama circuit.
· Busch remains the leader in the unofficial MENCS standings by 30 points over the next closest competitor.
TOYOTA QUOTES
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Flavor Vote Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 13th
How difficult was the car to drive today?
“Once we got in that wreck, it was over, but we had a decent car up until then. We got the car handling better all day long and every adjustment we made to it was an improvement and gave us more on the race track, but we just lack speedway speed.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 19 AARIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 10th
“It was ok, made a lot of mistakes through the day. We went out there to survive and tried to get a decent finish and that’s what we got. We have to keep working to get these race cars a little bit better. There were a lot of people who were having issues handling wise; we were one of them as well. We don’t have a lot of luck at superspeedway racing, but there’s definitely work to be done.
ERIK JONES, No. 20 XYO Networks Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 39th
What happened in the accident that ended your race?
“I’ve been fighting a loose car all day and the XYO Networks Camry has been free. I believe I got down on the apron there a little bit and after that it took off on me and I got up into the 1 (Jamie McMurray) and that was kind of it from there. I feel bad that I ruined everybody’s day that was around me and also for our day. These cars are just really challenging to drive now and I think that’s why you’re not seeing a ton of racing early on. Unfortunately, I just pushed it to the limit a little too much and got up in an accident that took us out.”
What were you fighting with the race car?
“We’ve been fighting a loose car all day and unfortunately just got down on the apron there and kind of fighting it being free and then it took off up the hill after that. I was out of the throttle with it cranked left and there’s only so much you can do. Unfortunately, it ruined our day and took out a few others along the way so it’s really unfortunate for them and for us. It’s not what you want to have happen. We’ll move on and go to Dover next weekend and hopefully have a better weekend.”
Did you feel that accident coming before it happened?
“I did, I’d been loose all day and I was thinking that I had finally gotten the car to where I could race it and unfortunately I just pushed too hard early and just caused a wreck. It’s not what you want, we probably should have been more patient. We were getting the car better, but it was very loose, which is too bad. We’ll move on to Dover and hopefully have a better weekend.”
