THREE TOYOTAS IN TOP FOUR FINISHING POSITIONS IN RICHMOND
Reddick closes on the top spot in the standings, while Wallace moves inside the Playoff field
RICHMOND, Va. (August 11, 2024) – Denny Hamlin (second), Tyler Reddick (third) and Bubba Wallace (fourth) finished inside the top-five at Richmond Raceway on Sunday evening in a wild finish.
For Reddick, it was his fourth podium finish in the last five races and his ninth top-10 run in the last 10 races. Wallace’s strong run also vaulted him to inside the provisional Playoff field by three points with three races remaining.
Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Richmond Raceway
Race 23 of 36 – 400 Laps, 300 Miles
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Austin Dillon*
2nd, DENNY HAMLIN
3rd, TYLER REDDICK
4th, BUBBA WALLACE
5th, Ross Chastain*
6th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
22nd, TY GIBBS
29th, ERIK JONES
31st, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
37th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Rewards Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
Was Austin Dillon’s move fair or foul?
“It’s obviously foul, but it is fair in NASCAR. It is a different league. There are no penalties for rough driving or anything like that, so it opens up the opportunity for Austin (Dillon) to just do whatever he wants. The problem that I have is I got hooked in the right rear again. I’m just minding my own business, and he turned left, and he hooked me in the right rear and blew my damn shoulder out. I don’t know. The record book won’t care about what happened. He is going to be credited with a win. He is just not going to go far because you have to pay your dues back on stuff like that, but it is worth it because they jumped 20 positions in points, so I understand all that. There is no ill will there. I get it. I just hate that I was a part of it. It would have been fun if I was not one of the two guys that got taken out on the last corner, but I understand it. It doesn’t mean I have to agree with it. We will talk about it tomorrow.”
Do you feel like a line was crossed?
“Absolutely, a line was crossed, but it is an invisible line, and it is not defined. They have rules and provisions for stuff like this, but they never take action for it. What happens is you see young guys coming up in the short track ranks, seeing that, and they think it is fine. That is why we see some of the lower series turnout the way they do in these green-white checkered situations because some of the best that they are seeing on Sunday do stuff like that. Who am I to throw stones at a glass house, but I’ve certainly never won one that way.”
TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
What were your thoughts about the end of the race and your finish?
“Yeah, Joey (Logano) stole the words right from me. That’s exactly what that move is. Unbelievable. I understand the first one, I guess, on Joey, trying to win the race. I’ve been threatened to be suspended for right hooking people and they’ve always taken a pretty hard stand on that. I don’t know. Racing hard for the win is one thing. Just plainly right hooking somebody is another. That sounds pretty biased coming from me about my boss, but if I was in his spot, I would be pretty upset about it too. They put so much emphasis on winning races, people are going to lose their minds and just do ridiculous stuff. I’m happy for his team. A lot of great people on his team. That was pretty crazy.”
Does it feel like you picked up right where you left off?
“I don’t know. I feel like a year ago when we were here, we were really, really strong. We had pace capable of winning the race. The handling was there. Tonight, our handling wasn’t as great in our Mobil 1 Toyota Camry. We fought through it. We stayed in the mix. Billy Scott (crew chief) – everybody on this 45 team did a good job on strategy. Overall, a good night for 23XI. I know Bubba (Wallace) is hating the way that ended, because he has been working really, really hard to get above the bubble and the way that went down, he is back in the hole I think – oh wait, he is plus three, so he’s still in decent shape, but wild way to end the night.”
BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 Leidos Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 5th
Can you evaluate your night and that last lap finish?
“We knew we had to work coming in here, obviously being below and our team did just that. We fought hard. We did not have the best day on pit road. Not from a lack of effort. I appreciate them getting better all night. They showed up when it mattered on the last stop – kept us in it. Just execution. Our Leidos Toyota Camry was way too loose. I tried to bite my tongue from the start of practice. It was a handful, and it definitely bit us in the race, but we kept making it better and better – trying to give the best feedback that I could. Just executed all night. I appreciate the effort from my team. Nice to walk out of here with a top-five finish. We have a long way to go. We just have to keep fighting. I guess you can dump somebody and right rear somebody and be okay. It’s funny how that works.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 37th
What happened?
“I don’t know. It started missing all of a sudden and losing power, so I came down pit road to check it out and it was on fire.”
Did it give you any indication?
“It hiccupped once going down the backstretch, and then it started missing. It’s like it broke a valve spring or something and then it kind of self-disintegrated, self-destructed really quickly. I don’t know. One of those them days.”
How chaotic was this race to keep up with all of the tire strategies?
“It really wasn’t. I think James (Small, crew chief) had the right strategy to put the tires on when he did. We just had an issue on pit road with the left rear coming off. We went from being one of the fastest cars on the track, to not having a very good car with a very small change. We just missed an adjustment race track wise, but we were still going to be okay. It is a shame. Last race here full time and it would have been nice to get another win.”
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