BUSCH DRIVES TO RUNNER-UP FINISH IN ALL-STAR RACE AT BRISTOL
Four Toyotas finish in the top 11 in the annual event
BRISTOL, Tennessee (July 15, 2020) – Kyle Busch (second) and Denny Hamlin (fifth) led Toyota with top five finishes at the annual All-Star Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday evening.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Bristol Motor Speedway
All-Star Race – 74.6 miles, 140 laps, 4 Segments
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Chase Elliott*
2nd, KYLE BUSCH
3rd, Kevin Harvick*
4th, Brad Keselowski*
5th, DENNY HAMLIN
10th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
11th, ERIK JONES
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
What were you fighting in the closing laps with the top groove?
“It just wasn’t quite wide enough. If it had been a little bit wider and you could carry a little more speed with it, I might have had a chance. I tried to run up there early in the last stage to make it go a little earlier than I probably should have. I went back down because I knew I wasn’t going to catch him (Chase Elliott) or pass him there and I had to do something different. I just tried and I think we inched up a little closer on him, but that was about it. The M&M’s Camry, we’re trying hard and we’re running okay. It seemed like we were mired in 10th most of tonight and then the last couple adjustments really helped us. Adam (Stevens, crew chief) did a great job helping the car and making it better. I got a good restart. I think I went from 12th all the way up to fifth so that was a huge bonus for us getting that track position. Overall, just have to keep fighting. I think that four or five second places this year, what do you do? We just have to keep going. Have to thank M&M’s for supporting us. Interstate Batteries, Snickers, Toyota and Rowdy Energy – we’ll go fight next week.”
What did you struggle with in the high groove to try to catch Chase Elliott?
“I just had to try something different than what we were doing. Even if I got to him, I wasn’t going to be able to pass him because the air following guys just wouldn’t let me get close enough all night. Me anyways. Overall, I don’t know. Still felt like I had to drive 110 percent to even make that finish happen. Still kind of slow, just missing something. Adam (Stevens, crew chief) made some good adjustments on pit road there during the race to get us closer instead of just running 10th all night. Just second, that’s it.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 5th
What more did you need to get to the front in tonight’s race?
“We started in the back and we just didn’t have a great balance to start. Overall, just chipped away at it. Just not enough time. 140 laps around here goes real quick and not enough cautions to kind of let us get up there. It took 140 laps to move up 10 spots so that’s all we had.”
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