Toyota Racing Post-Qualifying Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Kansas Speedway – May 11, 2018
TOYOTA STARTING POSITIONS
1st, Kevin Harvick*
2nd, Ryan Blaney*
3rd, KYLE BUSCH
4th, Aric Almirola*
5th, Brad Keselowski*
6th, DENNY HAMLIN
7th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
12th, ERIK JONES
14th, DANIEL SUÁREZ
29th, GRAY GAULDING
38th, TIMMY HILL
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Caramel Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 3rd
How was your qualifying run?
“It was all right. Thought we had a pretty good piece but misjudged the speed we needed to run there in the final round to carry good speed through the corner and have enough speed down the straightaway. I just got too tight.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
How was your qualifying run?
“We were average. I think our end position was a good improvement over the runs, which is something we’ve struggled to do. That was good. We just struggled with the speed in the car to run as fast as what the Fords were able run right now.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 78 5-hour ENERGY/Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing
Starting Position: 7th
How was your qualifying run?
“We got a little better in each of the qualifying rounds but it’s not where we wanted to be. We were loose all day long. Had a short practice because of inspection and some other issues. We just needed more time in practice to sort things out. We definitely gained on it throughout the (qualifying) rounds but not enough to be better than seventh. We need to be a lot better for tomorrow night race. Luckily our guys are very good about figuring things out overnight.”
ERIK JONES, No. 20 Reser’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 12th
How was your qualifying run?
“It was okay. We qualified okay today. We’re in a solid starting spot. We have to get our Camry a little bit better and find some more speed to get up there with the rest of them. We’ll work on it tomorrow and we’ll see what we got.”
DANIEL SUÁREZ, No. 19 STANLEY Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 14th
How was your Camry once you were able to get out and qualify?
“It was okay. I feel like we have more speed than that. We just missed it by a little bit. Just not as good as I was expecting. The race track gained a lot of grip and a lot of speed and we just got a little bit too tight. The car is good, it just needs a little adjustment right there, but overall fine. I feel like we’re going to be good for tomorrow night.”
Do you feel your team has momentum for tomorrow night’s race coming in with three straight top-10 finishes?
“I think we’re heading in the right direction for sure. We have had the speed pretty much everywhere we go, but in the last month and a half we’ve been able to put races together which is always really important. I like the momentum we have right now and hopefully we can keep it up.”
