HAMLIN FINISHES RUNNER UP IN THE TOYOTA OWNERS 400 AT RICHMOND
Denny Hamlin scores eighth top-five finish in the first nine events this season
RICHMOND, Va. (April 18, 2021) – Denny Hamlin (second), Christopher Bell (fourth) and Martin Truex Jr. (fifth) all drove to top-five finishes in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway on Sunday afternoon.
Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Richmond Raceway
Race 9 of 36 – 300 miles, 400 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Alex Bowman*
2nd, DENNY HAMLIN
3rd, Joey Logano*
4th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
5th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
8th, KYLE BUSCH
26th, BUBBA WALLACE
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
What did you need a little bit more of at the end there?
“We just didn’t take off quite as good there at the end. I tried to warm it up and do everything that I could – just the 48 (Alex Bowman) had a little more on those last few laps and I couldn’t hold the bottom. Once he got the position, we were just shut down there. Great job by this FedEx Ground team. First and foremost, we want to think of all of the families in Indy right now. Awful tragedy to happen there. Our thoughts and prayers are with these names. We will get them. We will keep digging. We are dominating – just have to finish it.”
What did you need to beat Alex Bowman on that final run to the checkered flag?
“Just more grip. The 48 (Alex Bowman) just had more there on the short run. Just got us out of position. I don’t know if their tires were pumped up extra, but they started fading there at the end, but they had already put a gap there.”
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
How was your race overall and did the car come to you late in the race?
“I knew that we had a really, really good SiriusXM Camry right from the drop of the green flag. We kept working on it and kept working on it, but then I guess we got caught a lap down there by the yellow flag in stage two. From that point on, it was just battling back up through there. Really proud of this 20 group. We’ve kind of lacked a little bit of consistency throughout the year, but now it seems like we’re picking it up.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Auto Owner’s Insurance Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 5th
How was your race overall today?
“Driver screwed up our chances there for sure. Auto Owner’s Toyota Camry was really fast. Just like last week, we got off in the middle of the race and then stage three we got it dialed in and I got caught speeding on pit road. We had to drive all the way back through the field and under green, that was tough. We got all the way back to fifth. Heck of an effort by the guys and wish I hadn’t made that mistake so I could have seen what I could have done with them.”
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