Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Daytona International Speedway
Race 18 of 36 – 400 miles, 160 laps
July 7, 2018
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, ERIK JONES
2nd, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
3rd, AJ Allmendinger*
4th, Kasey Kahne*
5th, Chris Buescher*
13th, DJ KENNINGTON
18th, JJ YELEY
33rd, KYLE BUSCH
35th, DANIEL SUÁREZ
38th, DENNY HAMLIN
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA DRIVER POINT STANDINGS**
1st, KYLE BUSCH 749 points
3rd, MARTIN TRUEX JR 629 points
9th, DENNY HAMLIN 538 points
13th, ERIK JONES 448 points
20th, DANIEL SUÁREZ 318 points
**unofficial point standings
· Camry driver Erik Jones captured his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) victory in Saturday night’s race at Daytona International Speedway.
· With the win, Jones has all but secured a spot in the 2018 MENCS Playoffs alongside fellow Toyota drivers Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr.
· Jones is the 12th Camry driver to win in the MENCS since Toyota entered the series in 2007 and became the third Toyota driver to win in the Cup Series at Daytona, joining Busch and Denny Hamlin.
· Toyota drivers have now won three-consecutive MENCS races and five-of-the-last-six races with a combined nine victories this season.
· Toyota drivers finished 1-2 with Jones in first and Truex Jr. in the runner-up position.
· Truex’ second-place finish was his 12th top-five of the season through 18 races.
TOYOTA QUOTES
ERIK JONES, No. 20 buyatoyota.com Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
Erik, how do you feel buddy?
“Oh, boy. How about that race, boys and girls? That was something else. I thought that we were out of it and we were right back in it. Took the lead and ran away. Wow, what an awesome race. To have buyatoyota.com on here and my first win at Daytona. My first superspeedway win. What an awesome day. I am out of breath. Too much smoke in the car from that burnout. I can barely breathe. What an awesome finish.”
What do you want to say to the fans?
“Thank you. Thank you, so much. A lot of hard work to be here. I was thinking about my mom and dad after the checkered. My mom stayed home from this one. She missed my first Cup Series win. So, hi, mom. My dad would have been so proud of the work we did to get here. It’s just an awesome day for us.”
You’re locked into the Playoffs with this win, how does it feel to get your first at Daytona?
“What a day. I didn’t think we were going to have a shot to win this one about halfway. Got ourselves back into contention and our guys did a great job getting this thing fixed up and getting the buyatoyota.com into Victory Lane. I’ve never been that good on superspeedways and never thought this was our shot to win. But to get here tonight, that’s pretty awesome. It’s our first win and not much that has felt better than this one.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
Did luck turn around for you here at Daytona?
“I think it had to have. Man, they destroyed some cars tonight. That was insane. Cool to get to the end. I wish I could have done a better job for my team. I had a really fast car. I have to get better at the blocking. It never has been my strong suite. Without a question, I struggled a bit seeing the runs coming. Me and my team are trying to figure that out together. It was a good run and we came up a little short. Congrats to Erik (Jones). His first win. I can’t imagine what it feels like. I remember mine vividly. Congrats to him and his team. It’s pretty cool to see. I wish it was us. But if you’re going to lose to someone, a first-time winner and Erik is a good one to lose to. Especially in your worst track and your worst race. Thanks to everyone at Toyota and 5-hour ENERGY, Bass Pro Shops and everyone who makes this possible. Wish I could have got it tonight.”
What could you have done different about the last restart?
“I think if I just blocked the 95, I control the race from there. We got two-wide and it got behind us. I just messed up there. Just sleeping I guess. I knew he was coming. I just didn’t block fast enough. Me and my spotters have to be better but this is the first time we had a car that strong. I feel like we have something we can build on.”
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 33rd
What was your take on that wreck?
“I don’t know. Disappointing to get crashed out by the same guy that caused the first crash. Our Interstate Batteries Camry showed some good speed and patience there in that first stage. We were able to come home second and grab some points there. You always come to Daytona waiting to crash and figure out when or where, and hope you can walk away from it. That’s really frustrating and disappointing to have to race these races like that on the fence or line of when are you going to wreck. But we’ll move on to next week.”
Take us through what happened.
“I got hit in the left rear. Same guy that caused the first one caused the second on there. That’s very disappointing. He is probably going to be fastest car left – he might win the race. It’s disheartening for all of our guys on our Interstate Batteries Camry. We try to come down here and have a positive outlook. We try to have a good race but in all reality, you come down here and figure out when you are going to crash and where, and then how hard. Hopefully you can walk away from it. It’s what restrictor-plate racing is all about these days.”
What was said to William Byron?
“I wanted to make sure he was okay because I hit him. I caused him to go spinning. I didn’t know if he hit the wall the same way I did. I know mine was a heck of a hit. I just wanted to check and make sure he was all right.”
DANIEL SUÁREZ, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 35th
Did you see everything happening on the track and hope that you could get through?
“I think that I didn’t get to race any. The first stage I had to start in the back to repair my car from qualifying and I was just riding in the back because we lost the draft and finally in the second stage we were able to get some track position back and I felt like we could pass enough race cars to drive to the front and that was exactly what I was doing. Just raced for two laps. Just a shame. Just not very smart for Lap 55 or so. Still a long ways to go. I don’t know. I mean half of the field is out so, it’s a real shame.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Cares Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 38th
What happened to take you out of the race?
“I’m not sure, but somebody probably wrecked somebody and usually whoever starts it, usually doesn’t get wrecked, but I don’t really know. The 2 (Brad Keselowski) was sideways in front. The 2 got wrecked and so did everybody else. It’s unfortunate. I mean this is – the Coke Zero Sugar 400 usually is this type of race, but it usually happens much later in the night. Unfortunate for all the cars that got torn up. Now it’s a total crap shoot. It looks like most of the contenders that battle for these races are taken out, but you never know. It could be pretty exciting at the end, but unfortunate for our FedEx Cares / Team Rubicon Camry that we’re not going to be a part of it.”
What do you think happened?
“The 17 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) turned the 2 (Brad Keselowski) and then that was it. Once cars get sideways on the backstretch, everyone just battles to try to get through the wreck. You know most of the strong contenders in front, they got taken out in that one, so we’re going to have a crapshoot from here on out.”
