Toyota driver Matt Kenseth was victorious in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Michigan International Speedway.
Finishing Position: 1st
How strong was the race car?
“These guys gave me a great car. It’s easy to take things for granted. I really have to thank the Lord for putting me here, this is just an unbelievable opportunity and unbelievable people I get to work with every single day at Joe Gibbs Racing as well as all the guys standing here. Thanks to Dollar General and DeWalt, Sprint, Toyota, TRD (Toyota Racing Development) – they gave us a ton of power today. I have great partners and can’t do it without them.”What was the final restart like with Denny Hamlin behind you?
“Denny (Hamlin) did a spectacular job pushing me. From the restart zone to about turn two was like a superspeedway race – whoever got locked up and those Chevys could really hook up. Denny did a heck of a job giving me a good push there to get by. Honestly, the toughest one was with the 3 (Austin Dillon). We went back and forth a few times and made some contact there and it was hard to get away from him. My car took about five laps to get going, but once it got going it was pretty stellar.”
With recent JGR performance, are you all favorites for the championship?
“It’s early to talk favorites – there’s so much racing to do and there are 16 teams that are capable of winning races on a weekly basis as well as a championship. Its one week at a time like always. It’s been a great week and we’ve had a great couple months. We definitely have some momentum built. The guys gave us a rocket today and gave us rockets the last couple months. We’re just going to work hard to try to keep it rolling.”
What made the car so strong in the race?
“I don’t know, but if I did I sure wouldn’t tell you. We had really fast cars when we first got here. We made a lot of speed and we got it handling really good. They made great adjustments so the race was a lot like we thought it was going to look like, but we were just hoping we would have enough speed and be out front. We had perfect strategy and pit stops and the restarts were just good enough to hang on. Everything fell our way.”
How challenging were the restarts?
“I got real fortunate, we never restarted farther than third back and when we did, that was the restart where the 19 (Carl Edwards) didn’t get going and I’m not sure if he missed a gear – I don’t know what happened. The 3 (Austin Dillon) got rolling real fast and I was actually able to come off turn two in the lead. I got fortunate, I didn’t have to race with a ton of really good cars side-by-side very long, but it was tough. It was tough all day when you caught cars because when you got into lapped traffic and trying to figure out where to find the cleanest air.”
Have you ever had a car this dominant?
“I have to be honest, I’ve had a few dominant cars that have been that good through the years and a lot of them I’ve figured out how to screw up. I haven’t had a lot of them that dominant that I haven’t messed up.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 5th
How was the passing today in the race?
“It was tough, definitely tough to pass. Proud of the whole Joe Gibbs organization giving us fast cars. Obviously Matt (Kenseth) had a great car today and we did too. We had a great car on the long runs, but restarts are where we really, really struggled and just couldn’t overcome the dirty air once we got singled out or single file out there.”
Was it hot inside the car?
“Not too much today. I don’t think today was much worse than any other race with this package. It’s hotter than the other package for sure. Definitely happy with how we ran today, everything was good. Just came up a little short.”
How was the car overall in the race?
“It was pretty good. We ran top-five to seven all day. Once we got single filed out we were pretty fast, but restarts were awful tough and you couldn’t run right behind anybody. You would just lose the whole car. We were struggling with that all day, but overall I’m pretty proud of this FedEx Freight team.”
CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
How was the race overall today with the new package?
“I learned a bunch. The biggest thing is that it’s just cool to be part of the JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) team right now. These Camrys are fast. I had a little bit of restart trouble – with Austin (Dillon) that was really frustrating because with this package the restarts are so important. ARRIS outfitted everybody around here with the good modems and everything so I know they have high def replay up there, I know that. I just wish NASCAR would have called that and helped us a little bit there. It probably didn’t matter, we had some sort of electrical issue, dropped back and had a really fun restart and then got back up to sixth. Just really good day for Matt (Kenseth) and everybody. No matter what package, the guys have been working hard – TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and all of our guys at JGR. It’s been good.”
Did you spin your tires of miss a shift on that restart?
“I never went on that restart. Pretty frustrating. I thought I got to control the start and Austin (Dillon) just took off. He actually started going a little before the restart area, I let him pull up there and then he just drove away and NASCAR in a situation like that, I really would have hoped that they would have done a lot better job and looked at it harder just because those restarts are so important. You can’t pass very well and that was a big deal.”
Would you like NASCAR to review the restart?
“NASCAR is supposed to police the events – I’ve been black-flagged for restarts and I got black-flagged for doing just that. I have to give it to Austin (Dillon), I can’t be mad at him. He did something and got away with it. Last week I started on the front row and Brad (Keselowski) went before the restart zone every time and they warned him over and over, but shame on me I guess for not cheating more. I’m not trying to whine, I just want to know how the rules are going to be enforced. Restarts are just so important with a package like this.”
What did you think of the package that you ran on the car today?
“I think it’s pretty clear that the more aerodynamic devices that you put on these cars, the bigger hole they put in the air and the worse it is to drive them and be able to pass. As long as NASCAR just keeps going the other way, just as long as they go to real low downforce. Not just a lower downforce, but if this is worse and Kentucky is better then let’s just keep going that direction. I really hope we do. NASCAR says they’re working on it and they want the best product for the fans and this was something that they tried. It could have worked, but I think it was obvious today that it was pretty tough to pass.”
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 11th
After starting from the back do you consider today successful?
“It was a success, it wasn’t what we wanted. We had a really, really fast car yesterday, but I screwed up and wrecked that car. It was a winning car, maybe not the winning car, but congratulations to our teammate Matt Kenseth and the 20 bunch. It’s really good times for Joe Gibbs Racing right now, the guys are doing a great job. Our Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry was good today, a lot better car than I expected to have. Real proud of all my guys and can’t thank them enough for all the long hours they put in last night and this morning to get me prepared and ready with a good piece to go out there and do our best. If all things would have worked out a little better we might have finished fourth or fifth, but where we ended up there just outside the top-10 doesn’t matter. We just have to continue on with our points gathering and go on to next week.”
DAVID RAGAN, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Finishing Position: 18th
How was your race?
“It was a long, hard fought race for our team. Just spun out the first corner – the car was wrecking before I even got to the straightaway – that was unexpected for sure. I’m glad we were able to rebound from that. Got a little bit of damage when Ryan Newman and Clint (Bowyer) wrecked one another, so we pitted a couple of times and I felt like we didn’t have a winning car, but had a top-15 Aaron’s Dream Machine Camry if we could have avoided that damage at the end of the race. Proud of our team for fighting back. It was a solid lead lap finish for all the trouble we had and I’m glad this place is in our rear view mirror.”
MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 83 Burger King/Cosmo Motors Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Finishing Position: 30th
JEB BURTON, No. 26 Maxim Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Finishing Position: 33rd
JJ YELEY, No. 23 Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry, BK Racing
Finishing Position: 38th
CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Finishing Position: 41st
How was the racing today?
“It’s hard to get by and hard to pass – everybody is going for it in the restarts. It’s one of those deals, you don’t want to be in the situation you’re in, but it doesn’t change the fact that you have to get up on the wheel and get back to it, unfortunately. I thought I was doing right and the 2 (Brad Keselowski) kind of came up sliding and it looked like he was out of control so I went to move up to give him some room and unfortunately they ran right into me. There’s still time, we’re still in control of our destiny. You’re backed up against the wall and need to win and that picture doesn’t look pretty, if that doesn’t happen, we’re still in control.”
