Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Dover International Speedway
Race 11 of 36 – 400 miles, 400 laps
May 6, 2019
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
2nd, Alex Bowman*
3rd, Kyle Larson*
4th, Kevin Harvick*
5th, Chase Elliott*
6th, ERIK JONES
10th, KYLE BUSCH
20th, MATT DIBENEDETTO
21st, DENNY HAMLIN
*non-Toyota driver
Camry driver Martin Truex Jr. captured his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) victory this season at Dover International Speedway on Monday.
After starting from the rear of the field, Truex led 132 laps (of 400) on the way to his third win at the “Monster Mile” and 21st career-series victory.
Toyota drivers Erik Jones (sixth) and Kyle Busch (10th) also finished in the top 10 with Busch continuing to extend his top-10 finishing streak in every MENCS event this season.
TOYOTA QUOTES
MARTIN TRUEX JR, No. 19 SiriusXM Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
How good does it feel to be back in Victory Lane at this place?
“It feels incredible. So thankful for this team. What a race car we had today. This SiriusXM Camry was just incredible. Thank you to everyone back at the shop at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing), Bass Pro, Auto Owners, everybody who supports us and makes this happen. We have one hell of a team and we came here with a new setup this time. We had an older setup that won in 2016 and had been good but not good enough. Hats off to Cole (Pearn, crew chief), James (Small, engineer) and everyone with TRD (Toyota Racing Development, U.S.A.) back in California, Costa Mesa for awesome engines and horsepower. Thanks to all these fans that have come out today on Monday.”
They say this is a tough place to pass. How did you do it?
“I promise it wasn’t easy. It was a lot of work. It was tough. But this race car was just incredible. Just thanks to everyone who makes this possible. I can’t believe it. Without Talladega, we would have had two in a row. It is special. New guys this year. Coach (Joe Gibbs, team owner) has put together a good bunch and Cole (Pearn, crew chief) and everybody. I am really, really proud to drive these Toyotas. They are awesome and I am a lucky guy.”
What has started to click for you guys?
“I think just putting all the details together. We’ve had speed all year. Finished second at Atlanta. Felt like we had the best car. Had some issues on pit road. Phoenix we ran second again. Seems like we were having little hiccups here and there. Now we’re starting to not only make our cars a little bit faster, show up better on Fridays, we’re a step ahead on the weekend. The pit crew is really doing a great job. That’s been the difference. We had a lot of trouble in the pits earlier in the year, didn’t get to show our speed. The guys are coming together, gelling, doing a fine job. We were able to take advantage of fast race cars today.”
How much did the track change? Did you guys adapt or did it come to you?
“It definitely changed a lot. We were really fast the first run of the race and I think from there we just had to keep up with the race track. It was definitely changing, and there were a few runs in there where we got pretty tight and we had to continue to free the car up. It was right at the end when we needed it to be and luckily no cautions at the end there, so we could just ride around and put it in the bag.”
What about Monday at the Monster Mile works well for you?
“I don’t know, but if we have to race here again on a Monday, I will be pretty excited about it.”
ERIK JONES, No. 20 Sport Clips Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
Talk about your top-10 finish today at the Monster Mile.
“We had really good speed in the Sport Clips Camry. We kind of rode around there all day in the top 10. We just couldn’t get the track position we needed to go and run up front. We felt like we were better than a couple in front of us. Just couldn’t quite get there. Just a long day. It was tough to pass and you really had to rely on track position and getting good restarts and getting good pit stops. A solid day for us. We have had some rough weeks, so to get back on track and run where we know we are fully capable of – good momentum and we are going to Kansas next week which has been a good place for us the past few times.”
Define “hard to pass”.
“It seemed like the bottom groove was preferred by a lot and it was tough to get up and make a move in the middle. It was hard to get some speed rolling there, especially if you had someone behind you. It felt like they would kind of snooker you and put you back another spot. It was just tough to make moves and it was tough to be aggressive and find a way to pass. Just tough all day.”
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Pedigree Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 10th
How was your day?
“I kind of thought we were off as a program but obviously the 19 (Martin Truex Jr.) won the race. We were probably going to end up about eighth but then I got into the wall at the start of the last stage so after that I was just sort of hanging on with my Pedigree Camry. It would have been nice to run better. It would have been nice to lead laps. When you run better you have something to hang your hat on so we obviously have some work to do before we come back here in the fall.”
