1st, DENNY HAMLIN
4th, MATT KENSETH
8th, CARL EDWARDS
10th, KYLE BUSCH
15th, DAVID RAGAN
20th, CLINT BOWYER
35th, JEB BURTON
36th, MATT DiBENEDETTO
40th, JJ YELEY
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Cares Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 1st
What does it mean to get the pole this weekend in Dover?
“It’s so special especially during FedEx 400 weekend. The FedEx Cares is about the employees – the 70,000 hours that they spend volunteering all over the world to help people in need, so this is part of that program and Autism Speaks is on the car once again. So, I’m proud of the efforts of our race team. We came here and we tested and we felt pretty good about it and my team just brought me another fast Camry.”
Is it important to get the number one pit box here at Dover?
“It will pay off for sure. I was really more optimistic with our race trim than what I was with our qualifying so I’m very optimistic that hopefully we can put this FedEx Cares Camry in victory lane where it belongs on Sunday.”
What does it mean to start Sunday’s race as the pole sitter?
“It’s great. Obviously our car has shown speed all day long, which is something we haven’t had lately, so we’re kind of building and getting a little bit better and starting to figure out our setups. We’re getting better and obviously this kind of shows it. Looks like all of our cars were in the top-10, so pretty optimistic. I felt like a lot of the speed came from the tire test that we had here, we were able to try some new things. Obviously I feel like we have gotten our cars better and really the setups we have developed have been quite a bit different.”
What has made a difference in allowing you to win so many poles at Dover in recent years?
“Well, we still haven’t won here, but we’ve been more competitive for sure. Whatever it is about the qualifying here, it just seems to suit myself and my driving style. We’ve qualified well here in the past, but haven’t always raced that well. I’m pretty confident come Sunday, we’ll be contenders. Really just from the extra laps that I got here from the test is what gives me that confidence. I think overall we’re just clicking away and getting a little bit better as the season goes and this is a good sign.”
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 4th
How was qualifying?
“It was okay. We ran a good lap that last round and got a good spot to start in. I felt like I did a good job, I felt like I could never hit a lap right except for that last one. We all have some speed in our Camrys again with Denny (Hamlin) on the pole and all four Joe Gibbs Racing cars in the top-10, so that’s encouraging. We’ll get to work tomorrow and get ready for Sunday.”
How is your race car for Sunday?
“That was a great effort by all of my Dollar General guys. I felt like I did an awful job there. I didn’t feel like I could make two corners the same so we got a good last lap and that put us up the board. The car was definitely better than I was today, so congratulations to Denny (Hamlin). All of our cars seem to have some speed again. Everybody at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) has been working really hard on them. We’re just going to go to work tomorrow and get ready for Sunday.”
CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 Stanley Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 8th
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Skittles Camry Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 10th
Are you satisfied with your qualifying effort?
“Not as good as I thought we would be. The Skittles Camry was a lot better than that in practice and we were just way too tight there in qualifying runs. The first run, second run, third run just kept getting tighter although we were trying to make adjustments to help it out. Just didn’t quite figure it out there. We’ve just got to be smart with our work tomorrow and make sure we do a good job and prepare ourselves for a good practice – two practices – and get ourselves ready for the race on Sunday. I feel like we can do that and 10th isn’t terrible but this place here at Dover is always better the farther upfront you can be – anywhere is. But, definitely look forward to Sunday here.”
DAVID RAGAN, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Starting Position: 15th
How was qualifying?
“Our Aaron’s Dream Machine was really loose the first couple of runs. Our Toyota was really fast. Here at Dover the track really takes a lot of rubber with the Trucks and the XFINITY cars out there the sun came out and we just underestimated the amount of rubber the track would have. I wish we would’ve made a little bit more of an aggressive adjustment. All in all as bad as our car was the first couple of rounds I think a top-15 is okay. We can win the race – we can run well from there, but we would’ve liked to have qualified a little better, but you don’t get many opportunities to make adjustments here in qualifying. It goes by pretty quick. I’m proud of the Aaron’s team for working hard and digging in and making some good adjustments.”
How important is track position at Dover?
“Track position is important everywhere we go in the Sprint Cup Series, but every track is a little different. In my opinion, I think Dover is a track that you can move around and you can pass some where you were really restricted to just a one lane race track it’s difficult, but Dover widens out. The groove is going to widen out throughout the day on Saturday and certainly Sunday. So, I think anywhere in the top 20 if you’ve got a really good car you can make some gains right there and I think that track position is important, but I think if you’ve got a good race car you pass some.”
CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 AAA Insurance Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Starting Position: 20th
JEB BURTON, No. 26 Maxim Fantasy Sports Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position: 35th
MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 83 Burger King Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position: 36th
JJ YELEY, No. 23 Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Starting Position: 40th
