KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 iK9 Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
What did it take to finally get your Camry out in front of the field to win this race?
“Not taking any tires was certainly a help. We jumped the field there and I was worried about the restart. I just didn’t think there was going to be enough grip. This car certainly had enough grip in it. I can’t thank iK9, the First Foundation – this Toyota Supra was awesome today. It was really fast. Really fast on the long run, I just could never get people away from me on the front side of the run to just settle into my rhythm and settle into my run and be able to go. Every time I got to the outside people would just drive by me on the bottom, and then I’d get to the inside and somebody would bust it on the outside on me and make me lose. We were just all over the place. Certainly, a fast race car once I could get rolling. Overall, Christopher Bell ran a great race. He should’ve won this thing today. I want to thank the fans and everybody for coming out and supporting the Xfinity Series and what we do here. Thank Monster Energy, Cessna, DVX Eyewear and Black Cover.”
How were you able to balance your car on long and short runs?
“Not very well. Just on the short run on the restarts everybody would get alongside of me and they would pull me backwards and mess up my hair and get me to the high side, which was the slow side and our car just wouldn’t run up there at all. Finally, once I could get inline and get everybody away from me I could start my momentum going back forward and pass some guys. It just took a while to get that going. We were better on the long run. This iK9 First Foundation Toyota Supra was awesome today. They gave me a really good piece on the long run. We worked on that in practice and it worked. It was better. Just track position. Once you all get rolling and start running a rhythm it was hard to catch the 20 (Christopher Bell) and the 2 (Tyler Reddick) there at the end. I could gain on them some, but then lapped cars would mess with you and take you backwards. Overall, just want to say thanks to the fans, Monster Energy, DVX Eyewear, Cessna, Black Clover and all of our friends and partners.”
What does it mean to have some of J.D. Gibbs friends here today in victory lane with you today?
“Any victory is special and to continue to live the J.D. (Gibbs) legacy all life long and what he meant to us and meant to this organization and the things he did for me, especially. It was cool to see that car out there today — I wish it had a better day. Overall, was excited for my group of guys to bring home a win for Joe Gibbs Racing and Joe (Gibbs), Norm Miller at Interstate Batteries – they’re all around here somewhere too. I look forward to hopefully getting another one of those tomorrow.”
