BUSCH SCORES TOP 10 RUN TO LEAD TOYOTA AT THE BRICKYARD
Denny Hamlin crashes from the lead with less than 10 laps remaining due to a tire failure
INDIANAPOLIS (July 5, 2020) – Kyle Busch (sixth) led Toyota with a top-10 finish at the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday evening.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Race 16 of 36 – 400 miles, 160 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Kevin Harvick*
2nd, Matt Kenseth*
3rd, Aric Almirola*
4th, Brad Keselowski*
5th, Cole Custer*
6th, KYLE BUSCH
12th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
20th, DANIEL SUÁREZ
28th, DENNY HAMLIN
29th, TIMMY HILL
33rd, ERIK JONES
38th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Skittles America Mix Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
What were you battling throughout the race?
“We just kept getting off on pit strategy with the Skittles America Mix Camry. We had a valve stem come out fo the left rear on a stop and that put us in the back. Then we had vibrations at various points throughout the race with different sets of tires so we had to stay on top of that and make sure we changed those. Each time, that would put us on the back. I struggled to pass anybody most of the day, but somehow got spots on restarts. I was able to salvage a sixth-place finish and will head to Kentucky next week.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 28th
What are you thinking following that hard hit in the closing laps?
“It’s just tough. I hate it for the FedEx team. We didn’t do what we needed to do and it didn’t work out for us today. I had a fast car obviously and was stretching it out there but wasn’t pushing right front at all. It’s kind of roulette if you’re going to get one that will stay together or not and mine didn’t. You saw the end result. These big races — things don’t go my way all the time. We’re still going to go next week and try to win the next one. We’ll do all we can.”
What has it been like battling with Kevin Harvick each week?
“It’s been a great battle and those guys are great competitors. The last few weeks, it’s been a head-to-head with me and him. There’s probably not another guy I would rather battle with each and every week. Congrats to them and their team, they did a great job. Obviously, we had two very, very close and equal cars. They got it today.”
ERIK JONES, No. 20 Stanley Security Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 33rd
That was a really hard hit, Erik. It looked like it took your breath away. What did you feel?
“The Stanley Camry was pretty quick. We were kind of just trying to move to the front and get some track position and I guess we had a right front go down. I felt it pop, and I was kind of along for the ride. It was a pretty hard hit. It’s a shame. The Stanley Camry was fast. I think we just needed to get up front a little more and we could have contended. It’s a shame; it’s kind of the story of our season. We’ve just had a rough year, and things are just not going our way. Hopefully, we can just turn it around, keep bringing fast cars and have things turn around for us.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Auto Owners Insurance Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 38th
Engine issues for Martin Truex Jr., then he got caught up in that incident on pit road. Martin, how do you sum up a short day like this?
“Terrible. Disappointing. We really only ran one lap up to speed, then we ended up having that engine deal, so it’s just disappointing. Our Auto Owners Camry felt amazing. I thought that we were going to have a great day. We ran a lap and a half, I guess, and it was feeling really good and then engine went down. The deal on pit road, that kind of happened to us last year. I almost aborted. I almost said I’m going to wait and come around the next lap, but the guys really wanted to get under the hood and assess the engine, and come to find out it was just a spark plug problem, so we could have easily fixed it and had a really good day. Thanks to Auto Owners and Toyota and everyone that supports us. We will come back strong and hopefully get them next week.”
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