Toyota MENCS Phoenix Post-Race Recap 3.11.18

TOYOTA QUOTES

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Skittles Sweet Heat Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

How was your race today and how strong was the race car?

“Our guys did a great job. We didn’t have a second-place car yesterday so Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and the guys did a phenomenal job overnight of making some adjustments to this thing and getting it where we needed it in order to have a fast race car to keep up with the 4 (Kevin Harvick). Through much of the race today I actually managed to out-race the 4 and beat him. There with the 11 (Denny Hamlin), when the 11 was holding up the 4, I had an opportunity to get to his outside and make a three-way battle for the lead and take the 4 before the 4 got clear of traffic. Once the 4 gets clear of traffic and gets in his own air, it’s hard to beat that guy. I was trying to count on that happening again with the 9 (Chase Elliott), hoping that the 9 would hold him up just long enough for me to get there. I was rushing to get there and I feel like I burned my stuff up by doing that, but once the 4 got out front, he was in his own air and just picking off traffic. There was nothing I could do with that, he was too fast to beat. I felt like if we were in his shoes and it was the other way around, we probably would have been the same way.”



How difficult was the race today?

“Today wasn’t easy and I wouldn’t say any day is ever easy, but today was definitely just a bit harder than other days. It’s just so much physicality out there to make sure you’re right on top of the edge and flirting with it a lot during the race and try to chase down that 4 (Kevin Harvick) car.”



Did you feel you had a car strong enough to beat Kevin Harvick?

“I think if roles were reversed there on that final pit stop, I don’t think he would have got to us. I think our cars were evenly matched and I thought we were right there with him. His car definitely turned the center a little bit better all throughout the day and I know when he was racing with the 11 (Denny Hamlin) there, he was getting his stuff burned up pretty bad and he was getting held up. I was just thankful that I got out there and got clear and was able to make some ground there on those guys and then before that green flag pit stop.”



Was your car closer to the 4 car in today’s race?

“He (Kevin Harvick) was four tenths better than everybody last week and today I thought we were evenly matched, if not and if roles were reversed, we could have won this thing. I guess our day wasn’t meant to be today, we had trouble on a pit stop and that’s what cost us.”



Are you concerned about the strength of Kevin Harvick this early in the season?

“They’re certainly good, they have kind of picked up right where they left off and we beat them at Homestead. They’ve been right there each and every week so far. You’ve gone to three of arguably  his best race tracks these past three weeks. They got the job done where they needed to – ask me again in August, not next week.”



MARTIN TRUEX JR, No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

Can you describe your run today?

“Just a solid day for us, not a great day and not what we were hoping for. There were times in the race where we were really good and just lost some track position there with about 100 or 80 to go. We had one run that went really long that we got really bad on, but overall today we were pretty close. We just lost a little there and felt like we could have run second or third maybe – one run we were as good as anyone, just couldn’t get perfect all day.”



Did the car fall off later in the race?

“On that long run, we just got really tight and lost our track position. Right there at the end we were pretty fast again, but just not as good as we were that one run. We have a little work to do, but man, we’re right there. It’s like when you’re out fishing and you catch a bunch of fish and you feel like you’re throwing the right lure, but maybe it’s just not the right color – we need to get it dialed in. We’re so close.”



What does it say to have yourself along with the four JGR Toyotas finish in the top-five today?

“I think if you think about it, we’ve been getting those results which is great. Everybody hasn’t really been home, home to work on their stuff so there’s still a lot to do and a lot to see.”



DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 5th

What were you lacking to get to Kevin Harvick today?

“Just lacked a little speed honestly. Once we got the rear of the car hooked up there in the middle part of the race after the pit road miscue, the car took off and ran extremely well. Once we started to lose rear grip, that’s when those guys started to run us back down. We got a good baseline there to come back here in November in the Playoff race and we’ll build on that and come back.”



How did the hot temperatures impact the race car?

“This is beautiful, love Phoenix weather. I couldn’t be happier to be here. It didn’t change a whole lot with our race car honestly. I think track temp might have been a little hotter, but it just made our car a little bit freer. We adjusted for it, fixed it, but still couldn’t get the chronic issue out.”



What does it say to have all four JGR Toyotas and Furniture Row Racing finish in the top-10 today?

“We all ran really well. We were kind of second to third best at times, but really ended up right about where we should have. Did a great job of overcoming some issues there, but honestly not a bad day overall. I thought we were about a fourth or fifth place car in practice and that’s where we ended up. We just have to build and fine tune when we come back.”



What did you have for Kevin Harvick today?

“Nothing, I did my best to hold him up and frustrate him and I probably frustrated him towards the middle part of the race. I was just trying to lead as many laps as I could, but I knew it was just a matter of time before he got around me. It was a fun race overall and definitely good to be competitive.”



What do you need to break through and get the race win this season?

“Just a little bit of speed. Our balance is perfect and we could run with the 4 (Kevin Harvick), but his balance stayed better longer than I was able to. Proud of the comeback we had, obviously I made a mistake there coming to pit road and got too close to the wall and we dropped the car off the jack, but still was able to come back through. We had a fast car, we finished about where we should have. We need a half a tenth to be right there and get a race win.”



Are you pleased with the consistency?

“We’re running well, we’re leading laps and we’re doing some things that are good. We just need a little bit. Obviously I want to be a little faster and a little more consistent and eliminate some mistakes we’re making on pit road.”



DANIEL SUÁREZ, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 8th

What does this finish means to your team?

“We didn’t have a winning car but we had a good, solid top-10 car all race long. We made a couple of mistakes there with adjustments and on pit road but we were able to overcome. Those mistakes were early in the race that we were able to overcome. I am just excited. We really needed something like this. We have had fast racecars and have had some issues and bad luck and stuff like that. Finally we were able to make it work.”



ERIK JONES, No. 20 SportClips Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 9th

How was your race today?

“It was kind of a struggle all day. The SportClips Camry fired off really tight and we had to fight all day to get it back to the balance we were looking for. We got it close there at the end. We were finally getting where we needed to be and came in sixth on the pit stop and got some damage on pit road. We had to go to the back and it just went green until the end. It was nice to be able to get back to ninth to get a top-10 but it would have been nice to race up there in the top-five. We’ll keep working at it. We just have to keep working on some stuff and some adjustments we make overnight and fire off these races a little bit closer. We’ll keep working that way and come out strong for the next one.”


Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)

ISM Raceway

Race 4 of 36 – 312 miles, 312 laps

March 11, 2018



TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS


1st, Kevin Harvick*

2nd, KYLE BUSCH

3rd, Chase Elliott*

4th, DENNY HAMLIN

5th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.

8th, DANIEL SUÁREZ

9th, ERIK JONES

31st, DJ KENNINGTON

34th, GRAY GAULDING

*non-Toyota driver




TOYOTA DRIVER POINT STANDINGS**


1st, Kevin Harvick*                           168 points

2nd, KYLE BUSCH                              156 points

3rd, MARTIN TRUEX JR.                  156 points

6th, DENNY HAMLIN                       137 points

15th, ERIK JONES                              93 points

22nd, DANIEL SUÁREZ             67 points

**unofficial point standings




·       Toyota Racing had five Camry drivers finish inside the top-10 in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at ISM (Phoenix) Raceway.

·       Kyle Busch was the highest-finishing Camry driver with a second-place finish – leading a race-high of 128 laps and winning Stage 1 of the contest.

·       Denny Hamlin (fourth) and Martin Truex Jr. (fifth) both scored top-five finishes, while Erik Jones and Daniel Suárez placed eighth and ninth, respectively.

Ron Fleshman

RIS NASCAR Editor.  Has been with RIS since the middle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.

Read More on Cup / XFINITY / Truck press releases
Volume 2018, Issue 3, Posted 11:09 PM, 03.11.2018