NASCAR Cup Series

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing How do you feel about your brother, Ryan, getting the opportunity to race his way into the Daytona 500? “I’m excited for him to have the opportunity."

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang -- DANIEL HEMRIC IS GETTING HIS CUP START AT 27 YEARS OLD. CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE FOR YOU TO START AT THAT AGE? “It’ll be a little easier than what it was for me when I was 18 (laughing). It’s just different. I think, in a way, that’s probably good for him because a lot of times, I know just from my experience, if you start too early and you make a name for yourself the wrong way or you don’t make it and you get put back down to XFINITY or Trucks, that’s usually it. It’s over and that’s the end of your Cup career, most likely. But for him he’s more prepared, he’s more ready, he’s more mature. He’s been through some stuff in his racing career where he’s more ready to make the big step, which I think is probably a smart move on his part.”

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Joe Gibbs Racing driver Erik Jones was made available to the media in Daytona: ERIK JONES, No. 20 Sport Clips Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Were you surprised at how The Clash race played out? “I was somewhat surprised. It was a cool day, so I didn’t think the racing was going to be too crazy with everybody’s cars driving really good. It was odd that the bottom could never really get rolling. I was surprised that everybody got on the top so quick so it will be interesting to see how the Daytona 500 plays out.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Ford Mustang -- YOU ARE A CAR GUY AND A RACER. WITH THE GEN-7 CAR LOOMING, BALANCING THOSE TWO THINGS, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE? “More manufacturers. Is that an option? It will take a lot of work. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. I haven’t been privy to anything on the car for whatever that thing is being called, Gen-7 or not. It is going to require a lot of creative thinking. When it comes to those things, I can pie-in-the-sky dream about it all I want but at the end of the day I don't have the knobs. There is one group holding the controls and it is all up to them at the end of the day which way they want to twist and turn them. I made a concerted effort going forward that I am not going to put that much thought into that stuff and let them figure it out.”

“I don’t think so. I don’t think the Supra is going to be that big of a difference from what the Camry was. With the composite bodies and all sorts of that stuff with the way the rules are and the overall shape of how the body has to be between all the makes, there’s really not a lot of differences from the old one. Just the nose is going to be the biggest thing. What the nose does and how it separates the air from the beginning and going over the car. That’ll be a learning car and then in and out of traffic will be a learning curve, but I think it will be okay.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 14 Ford Mustang -- TALK ABOUT TOMORROW: “What is tomorrow? The twins? Well, I think tomorrow is qualifying races for the Daytona 500. I am looking forward to getting that car to the Daytona 500. That is the trickiest thing about the 150’s is that it is a race. We are race car drivers and anyone that competes wants to win. That is an opportunity to win a race and all the while there is a lot at stake and a lot on the line if you get your car wiped out. You are going to end up having to take your second best car to the big dance to try to win the Daytona 500. It is important but it isn’t the end of the world either.”

Last year’s dramatic last-lap win of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 produced one of the most talked about finishes in recent memory. Driving the iconic No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for his grandfather Richard Childress – the same car that the late Dale Earnhardt won the 500 with in 1998 – Austin Dillon maneuvered past final-lap contact to take the checkered flag.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing - How optimistic are you about the Daytona 500? “Pretty optimistic. I would say about the same as usual to be honest with you. I thought The Clash kind of gave us an indication that we were able to kind of get up front even starting last. We got up front in a timely manner. No surprises really from that, so there’s no reason to think otherwise that we can’t win.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang -- DO YOU FEEL THE NEED FOR REDEMPTION HERE AFTER WHAT HAPPENED IN THE JULY RACE? “From July redemption? The only issue I had with July is we didn’t win. I could care less what the perception of everybody else is. I’m gonna go out and run our race the way we normally run. We followed our next speedway up at Talladega with a top-five finish and battling for the win there, so I like our process, I like the aggressiveness that we have.