KYLE BUSCH SCORES TOP-FIVE FINISH IN NASCAR’S LONGEST RACE
Four Camry drivers earn top-12 finishes
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (May 24, 2020) – Kyle Busch (fifth) was the highest-finishing Camry in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday evening.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Race 7 of 36 – 600 miles, 400 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Brad Keselowski*
2nd, Jimmie Johnson*
3rd, Chase Elliott*
4th, Ryan Blaney*
5th, KYLE BUSCH
7th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
10th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
12th, ERIK JONES
29th, DANIEL SUÁREZ
30th, DENNY HAMLIN
33rd, TIMMY HILL
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Red, White & Blue Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 5th
How did the handling of your car change throughout the 600-mile race?
“During the middle stages of the race, I thought we were really fast. I feel like we had a great M&M’S Red, White, and Blue Camry and ran up front and got back up front from having to go to the back. But we put tires on it and it was never the same after that from about lap 280 or 290 when we put tires on it and it wasn’t the same as it was before that. We were lucky to steal a fifth place finish out of it today and we’ll have to go back to work and figure out some things to make our stuff better for when we come back on Wednesday and get back after it. I certainly want to give a huge shout out and a huge thanks to all the men and women who have served for our country her on Memorial Day weekend, we appreciate you. Everyone be safe tomorrow and have fun.”
Was there a consideration to stay out and not come to pit road during the final caution?
“No, no there was never a discussion to stay out. It was always going to be two or four and if we did two, which two to do. We had already made our mind up to pit.”
What do you attribute the drastic changes to grip and handling of the car throughout the race?
“The only thing I can really attribute it to is tires, that’s the only thing that makes sense. When you go and you have two runs that are really, really good and you have tires on and you don’t make any changes and then you make one slight air pressure adjustment with the next set of tires and it goes haywire. You have to think it’s the tires. You didn’t put a wedge wrench in the thing, you didn’t change anything too crazy. Also, track position sometimes too is a factor. When you’re further up towards the front, the cars drive way, way better. When you get back in the seventh to ninth to 11th range, you are just out of control and have no grip.”
With track position being so important, how will you approach Wednesday night with the inversion?
“It’s definitely going to be more of a sprint race. Thankfully, my guys are really, really, really good on pit road and they probably passed the most cars today – more than I did. It’s definitely beneficial when you can come down pit road 15th, 10th, eighth, seventh, whatever it is and those guys are going to get you five or six spots. I’m not too upset about where we have to start.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats & ATVs/USO Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 7th
Can you talk through the ups and downs of your 600 miles?
“It was a long and typical 600. You battle the car all night long and you just keep making adjustments and trying to stay up with the race track. The Bass Pro Toyota was really strong when we started off and I was able to pick off a few spots and work our way towards the front. I really rode there behind the 88 (Alex Bowman) for the first two stages. I felt like at times we were stronger than he was and just couldn’t make the move. Track position was crazy important tonight with the cooler temperatures and everybody having a year under their belts now with this car. Everybody is getting so close and they changed the tire and it was way different. It just felt really hard and had really low grip and it was really bouncy. We tried to keep up with the track, and at times, I felt like we were the best car. When we could get the lead, we could pull away. We had the lead late there in the last stage – early in the last part of the last stage and just had some trouble in the pits. It seems like every week we’re having a little bit of hiccups here and there and it set us back. The guys are working hard trying to get better. We win and lose as a team. That was a little bit frustrating, but good job by everyone. We had a strong car and a solid day.”
Was there a consideration to stay out on the track for the final caution rather than come to pit road?
“Yeah, for sure. We basically felt like if we couldn’t start on the front row, we were going to pit. If one more guy had pitted, we were going to stay out. I feel like that was a good decision on James (Small, crew chief) part because the guy that started third finished 20th. Third is just a tough spot to be. You’re just kind of a sitting duck. We felt like if we couldn’t be on the front row, we were going to pit and that’s what we did. We got back to seventh. I would have liked a few more laps because we were blowing by people left and right, but that’s the way it goes. We came home in one piece with a lot of points – a lot of stage points – and obviously we want to win, but we have to fix some little mistakes if we’re going to do that.”
How do you approach Wednesday’s night’s much shorter race with the invert?
“It’s going to be tough with the invert. I think that’s going to be a big deal after everybody gets a chance to work on their cars and the track just seemed like it was really one groove and really, really difficult to pass. You give everybody two or three days to work on their cars and everybody is going to be closer yet. The invert is going to be a challenge in the shorter race for sure. We’ll see what we can do with it and do our best.”
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 95 Rheem Toyota Camry, Leavine Family Racing
Finishing Position: 10th
How good does it feel to see improvement over these couple of races?
“I think we are headed in the right direction. We have to obviously keep making gains – getting a little bit faster, me doing a better job. We’re gaining on it. We are creeping up on it. I think we snuck a little bit of a better finish out than what we probably deserved, but we will take it after the first couple weeks.”
What was it like running the Coke 600 for the first time and what did you learn?
“That was a long one. Whenever we had that rain break, obviously, we did not want to see that, because we were just getting into a rhythm. The first 50 went by pretty quick, but the last 50 seemed to drag on a bit. I’m glad I got to experience the full Coke 600, because now all of the rest of them are going to be shorter than that.”
Early in the race, what went into the save after the contact with Ryan Blaney?
“The 12 car (Ryan Blaney) was probably a little faster than me at that point. I guess he just ran in the back of me, and thankfully I was able to get it back under control and we didn’t go a lap down. That could have really been a day ruiner, but luckily it worked out to where we were able to stay on the lead lap.”
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