Category: NASCAR Cup PR

Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Express Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: Drydene 400
Date/Time: Sunday, Oct. 6/2:30 p.m. ET
Race Distance: 400 laps/400 miles
Track Shape: Oval
Track Length: 1 mile
Banking: 24 degrees
2018 Winner: Chase Elliott

Express Notes:

Press Kit: Download the 2019 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedexracing.com/presskit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Chris Gabehart and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights and statistics.

Roval Recap: Denny Hamlin will advance to the Round of 12 in NASCAR’s Playoffs after finishing 19th on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval course Sunday. The race on the road course-oval hybrid was a wild one, with 10 caution flags, including two for wrecks that involved Hamlin. The #11 team had to start their back-up FedEx Freight Toyota after a Friday practice crash, requiring Hamlin to drop to the rear for the initial green flag. While the car showed speed, multiple incidents on track kept knocking Hamlin back in the field, including a multi-car wreck during Stage 1 and another in Stage 3. The race was red-flagged with only seven laps remaining to clean up fluid on the track. When it finally returned to green, Hamlin was able to gain multiple positions to cross the line in 19th.

Dover International Speedway Preview: The Series returns to Dover International Speedway for Sunday’s 400-mile race around the “Monster Mile.” The race marks a career milestone for Hamlin: his 500th Cup series start. A win would be Denny’s first career victory at Dover and would be the team’s fifth win of the 2019 season.

Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Dover International Speedway
Races: 27
Wins: 0
Poles: 3
Top-5: 4
Top-10: 11
Laps Led: 276
Avg. Start: 10.6
Avg. Finish: 17.5

Hamlin Conversation – Dover:

How do you feel about how the team wrapped up the Round of 16?

“Early on in the Playoffs, our biggest focus was to just not make a big mistake. We had to survive, and we did. At the Roval, we just had a bunch of things working against us. We started the back-up car, and we got caught up in some wrecks that caused some damage. But we had a good enough cushion that it didn’t hurt us and we were able to move on.”

What is your FedEx Racing team’s focus as you return to Dover and move deeper into the Playoffs?

“Dover is probably my Achilles’ heel. We’ve run top five there, so we do have some success. But that first win continues to elude us. It’s the most physically demanding track we go to and, to me, the most mentally demanding. We just want to stay focused and keep pushing to climb up the leaderboard. We’ll take time this week to prepare and come out on Sunday ready to race.”

FedEx Express Along for the Ride at Dover: FedEx Express recognizes the employees at the MCNA station in Macon, Ga., for their dedication to People Service Profit and commitment to the Purple Promise by featuring the letters MCNA on the B-post of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota at the Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway. Located in “The Heart of Georgia,” the MCNA team is especially proud to serve its military customers and the local community that supports the military.

Matt DiBenedetto – No. 95 Dumont JETS Toyota Camry Preview
Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway

No. 95 Dumont JETS Toyota Camry Notes:

DIBENEDETTO BY THE NUMBERS: In nine Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Dover, Matt DiBenedetto has an average start of 30.4 and an average finish of 29.9 and has completed 3,272 of 3,615 (90.5 percent) career laps at “The Monster Mile.”  DiBenedetto’s best finishing position at Dover is 20th which he earned in May’s event earlier this season.

RACE INFO: The Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway (1.0-mile) begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 6th. The race will be broadcast live on NBCSN, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.

DiBenedetto’s Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Dover:
Date                Event:                                     S          F         Laps                 Status
05/31/15          FedEx 400                              36        32        395/405            Running
10/04/15          AAA 400                                  37       34        391/400            Running
05/15/16          AAA 400 Drive for Autism       29        40        116/400            Crash
10/02/16          Citizen Soldier 400                 35        27        393/400            Running
06/04/17          AAA 400 Drive for Autism       25        29        397/406            Running
10/01/17          Apache Warrior 400                40        31        393/400            Running
05/06/18          AAA 400 Drive for Autism       24        29        392/400            Running
10/07/18          Gander Outdoors 400             31        27        397/404            Running
05/06/19          Gander RV 400                       17        20        398/400            Running

Races     Wins     Top 5s    Top 10s       Poles
Cumulative         9            0              0               0                0

DiBenedetto’s 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats:
Starts        Wins        Top-5’s     Top-10’s         Poles        Laps Led            Avg. Start       Avg. Finish
29               0                3               10                   0                152                      20.7                 18.8

DiBenedetto’s Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stats:
Starts         Wins        Top-5’s     Top-10’s         Poles        Laps Led            Avg. Start       Avg. Finish
169                0                3                10                  0                 175                      29.3                 27.2

From the Driver’s Seat:

Matt DiBenedetto: “Qualifying at Dover was super fast when we raced there earlier this year.  It was actually really fun to be running into the corners so fast there.  With this high downforce package we’re glued down more into the track, and because of that, we were way faster in qualifying and in general at Dover earlier this year.  Patience is so important to have at Dover because you can burn your stuff up trying to pass somebody when you’re stuck in their dirty air and it’s obviously more beneficial to not use up your car by doing that.  The challenge of Dover that we saw back in May with this package was that we didn’t see as much tire falloff as we had seen there in the past.  With the old tire falloff, we’d see it where positions would shuffle around a bit more and we could drive through the field a little more than what we experienced this year.  You’d see some people that were better long-run cars or were better short-run cars, but now the lap times don’t vary that much so you see people settle into the same spot a bit more.  Tires matter but the falloff isn’t as big at Dover as other tracks we go to so there might be situations this weekend where you’re better off taking the track position because you know that the dirty air will be tougher on you than if you’re stuck back further in the field.  You’ll see cars that will just take the cleaner air and be on older tires because we’ve seen that if you’re further back in the pack, you can get stuck.”

From the Pit Box:

Mike Wheeler: “Dover has been one of the more interesting tracks this year with this 750hp package because the cars are actually faster than they were last year there and the speeds we saw there back in May were pretty incredible to see in person.  Dover is as banked as the intermediate tracks that we’ve had except that those other tracks have less downforce.  It’s still the 750 package, which is the higher horsepower engine, with the max downforce in this package.  Every other intermediate that we’ve gone to this year had the 550 engine in it, so the speeds were lower overall… higher in the corners but slower in the straightaways.  Dover is the place where you recognize the speed because you are going faster than you ever have there before.  The downforce pushes cars into the corner and you still have all the acceleration from the engine.  We’re still grip-limited in the corners, and that is why dirty air is so challenging there because you are going faster and you have more downforce, so the guy behind you has even dirtier air.  The loads at Dover are higher than ever which is an aspect of concern in regard to durability since you can get in trouble with tires or suspension.  The track is a lot rougher in person than what you see on TV.  The bumps in Turn 3 can be pretty horrendous if you’re not careful.  As difficult as dirty air is, fortunately the track does widen out and there can be multiple grooves there that allow for some passing possibilities.  It’s very easy to be a fifth to fifthteenth-place car and to get stuck somewhere in the middle at Dover.  Generally, the fastest cars do seem to find ways to migrate forward during the race but qualifying well and executing all race long will be critical for finishing well.  Tire falloff, wear, and durability are a small concern at Dover.”

No. 95 Dumont JETS Toyota Camry Team:
Driver: Matt DiBenedetto                   Crew Chief: Mike Wheeler
Car Chief: Greg Emmer                     Spotter: Doug Campbell
Engineer: J.R. Houston                     Engineer: Etienne Cliche
Mechanic: Bill Mares                         Mechanic: Matt Kimball
Shock Specialist: Sean Studer         Mechanic: Zach Marquardt
Tire Specialist: Tony Ramirez          Jackman: Charles Thacker
Fueler: Bailey Walker                         Rear Changer: Deven Youker
Front Changer: Jason Charles         Tire Carrier: Chris Hall
Hauler Driver: Damon Lopez            Pit Support: Brian Eastland

About Dumont GROUP:

Dumont JETS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dumont Group, LLC of Wilmington, Delaware that operates an FAA PART 135 Air Carrier Certificate along with an EASA and FAA approved 145 MRO at the New Castle Airport (KILG), an EASA and FAA PART 145 Repair Station at the Central Illinois Regional Airport (KBMI) in Bloomington, Illinois and FAA PART 145 Repair Station at the Fort Worth Spinks Airport (KFWS) in Ft. Worth, Texas.

Team:                          No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang
Crew Chief:                 Brian Pattie
Twitter:                        @Stenhouse17Team @stenhousejr and @roushfenway

ADVANCE NOTES

Stenhouse Jr. at Dover International Speedway

Stenhouse has 14 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at Dover with an average starting position of 17.2 and average finishing position of 20.5.

Stenhouse has two top-10 finishes and has led 34 laps at the Monster Mile.

Last time at Dover

Steadily running in the top-10, the Olive Branch, Miss. native reported that his Ford was gradually getting tighter throughout the run. After losing a few positions due to the tightness, the right front tire blew sending the No. 17 Ford hard into the outside wall. After multiple pit-stops, Stenhouse returned to the track in the 25th position. Something was still amiss according to Stenhouse forcing him to take the first green checkered in the 30th position.

Driven For a Cause

Roush Fenway Racing will GO PINK in the month of October in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month. The team will utilize its ‘Driven’ Marketing program to highlight cause awareness and support throughout the month.

The No. 17 Ford will carry special pink ribbon Driven logos for the all races in October.

Fastenal Racing Fan Club

Make sure to go join the new Fastenal Racing Fan Club to receive exclusive content and prizes.  https://www.fastenalracing.com/fanclub.html

On the Car

Fastenal is currently in its eighth season as a primary partner in the MENCS for Roush Fenway. They spent three years on the No. 99 before jumping over to the No. 17 entry, and were the primary partner on the No. 60 Xfinity team that captured the owner’s championship in 2011.

Stenhouse Jr. on racing at Dover:

“Dover is a unique, challenging track just by the way you drive up out of the corners close to the wall. Earlier this year, our No. 17 Ford was fast but we blew a right front while running in the top 10. Our short track program has been improving so I’m looking forward to Dover this weekend. Our goal for the final seven races is to have solid finishes and end the season strong.”

Team:                   No. 6 Acronis Ford Mustang
Crew Chief:         Scott Graves
Twitter:                @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @RyanJNewman

Drydene 400 – Sunday, Oct. 6 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

Newman at Dover International Speedway
·         Newman will make his 36th Cup start at Dover on Sunday. In 35 prior events, Newman has an average finish of 14.4 with 14 top-10 and seven top-five finishes.
·         Newman has won three times at the 1-mile track, tied for the most wins of any track on the circuit (Loudon). All three came within his first three years on the Cup circuit. He swept the 2003 events after qualifying on the pole in the spring race and leading 162 laps. He followed that with another dominating performance, leading 106 laps in the fall.
·         He came back to win the 2004 fall race after starting second, a race in which he led 325 of the 400 laps. He also finished top five on four other occasions – fourth in 2002 (spring), fifth in 2005 (fall), second in 2007 (spring) and fourth in 2017 (spring).
·         Overall Newman has an average starting spot of 10.9 at Dover, including 19 starts inside the top-10 and four poles (2003, 2005, 2006, 2007).
·         Newman also has six Xfinity Series starts at Dover with one win (2005), two poles (2001, 2005), and three top-10 finishes overall.

Scott Graves at Dover International Speedway
·         Graves will call his ninth MENCS event at Dover on Sunday. In eight previous races atop the pit box, Graves has four top-10s – all with Daniel Suarez – with finishes of sixth, eighth, third, and 10th.
·         Graves also has also called six races in the Xfinity Series at Dover, winning twice, most recently three years ago with Suarez in the fall. He also won with Chris Buescher in 2015 after starting second. Overall Graves has five top-10s and three top-fives in NXS action at the 1-mile track.

Last Time at Dover
In a Monday event back in May, Newman finished 18th after a track position race that was postponed after rain pushed the race back from Sunday afternoon.

QUOTE WORTHY
Newman on racing at Dover:
“We’ve proven the last few weeks that we’ve improved in tracks we go to for a second time, so we’re hopeful that is the case this week. Dover is one of my favorite tracks and it is so unique in managing the corners throughout the day. We’re no longer in the Championship hunt, but we’ve still got seven weeks to prove we belong and it starts this weekend.”

On the Car
The Global leader in Cyber Protection, Acronis, makes its third appearance aboard Ryan Newman’s No. 6 Ford Mustang this weekend at Dover. It is the final of three races for Acronis as the primary partner on the No. 6.

About Acronis
Acronis leads the world in cyber protection — solving safety, accessibility, privacy, authenticity, and security (SAPAS) challenges with innovative backup, security, disaster recovery, and enterprise file sync and share solutions that run in hybrid cloud environments: on-premises, in the cloud, or at the edge. Enhanced by AI technologies and blockchain-based data authentication, Acronis protects all data, in any environment, including physical, virtual, cloud, mobile workloads, and applications. With 500,000 business customers, and a powerful worldwide community of Acronis API-enabled service providers, resellers, and ISV partners, Acronis is trusted by 79 of the top 100 most valuable brands and has over 5 million customers. With dual headquarters in Switzerland and Singapore, Acronis is a global organization with offices worldwide and customers and partners in over 190 countries. Learn more at acronis.com.

Recapping the Roval
Newman’s playoff continuation came up just short Sunday at the ROVAL after being caught up in a few unfortunate events on track. He was within one point of advancing with two laps to go and finished just short, officially logging a 32nd-place finish.

Driven for a Cause
Throughout the month of October, Roush Fenway Racing will show its support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month by running special pink numbers on its Ford Mustangs, starting this weekend at Dover. In addition, Roush Fenway Fords will sport pink ‘Driven for a Cause’ ribbon decals on the C-Post all month long.

FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: DOVER PLAYOFF ADVANCE

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series begins its second round of Playoff action while the NASCAR XFINITY Series conducts a first-round elimination race this weekend at Dover International Speedway.  Ford has a series-high five drivers in the Round of 12 on the Cup side while all three of its NXS drivers are poised to advance to the Round of 8.

FORD IN THE MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES AT DOVER
·         Ford has 26 all-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins at Dover.
·         Ryan Newman, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick all have series wins at Dover.
·         Richard Petty won the inaugural race at Dover while driving a Ford in 1969.

FORD IN THE ROUND OF 12

Ford has a manufacturer-best five drivers still alive in the battle for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship.  The Team Penske trio of Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney, along with the Stewart-Haas tandem of Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer, have all advanced to the Round of 12 for the second consecutive season.

ROUND OF 12 MENCS PLAYOFF STANDINGS (Top 8 Advance After Kansas)
4th – Joey Logano (+24 above the cutoff)
5th – Kevin Harvick (+23)
7th – Brad Keselowski (+19)
10th – Ryan Blaney (-2 from the final transfer spot)
12th – Clint Bowyer (-6)

FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT DOVER
·         Ford has 11 NASCAR XFINITY Series wins at Dover.
·         Mark Martin won Ford’s first series event at Dover in 1987.
·         Joey Logano won a series-record four straight Dover races from 2012-13.

ROUND OF 12 NXS PLAYOFF STANDINGS (Top 8 Advance After Dover)
2nd – Cole Custer (Clinched spot in Round of 8)
4th – Austin Cindric (+ 50 above the cutoff)
6th – Chase Briscoe (+35)

HARVICK CONTINUES 2018 ROLL AT DOVER

Ford dominated the AAA Ford Drive for Autism at the Monster Mile in May 2018, leading 374-of-400 laps, before Kevin Harvick came away with his fourth win of the season.  Stewart-Haas teammate Clint Bowyer was the event’s runner-up and was leading when a scattered rain shower red-flagged the event for 41 minutes.  Once back to green flag racing, Harvick, who led 201 laps, went to the point and never looked back, stretching out his lead to what became a win of over seven seconds.

ANOTHER FIRST FOR THE KING

Ford won the inaugural Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Raceway in 1969 when Richard Petty drove to victory lane on July 6.  That marked the only year in which The King drove a Ford and was the fourth of nine wins for him that season, and it came in dominating fashion as he led half of the 300 laps, including the final 109.  It was a Ford day all-around as the Blue Oval led every lap in the race with Lee Roy Yarbrough (124) and David Pearson (26) combining to lead the ones Petty didn’t, and had nine of the top 11 finishers.

JUNIE GOES TO VICTORY LANE

Dover proved to be magical for the late Junie Donlavey, who won the only Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of his career at Dover on May 17, 1981 in the Mason-Dixon 500 when driver Jody Ridley took the checkered flag.  Ridley had a good car that day, but it was even more reliable and that proved the difference.  Neil Bonnett was the dominant driver as he led 404 of the first 459 laps, but he blew an engine that ended his day.  Cale Yarborough appeared to be the main beneficiary as he inherited the lead, but the same fate befell him 20 laps from the finish and sent him to the garage.  That left Ridley to assume the top spot and he held on from there to register his first and only Cup win.  It also ended up being Donlavey’s only trip to victory lane.  The Richmond native made 863 starts and fielded strictly Ford products from 1965-2002 in NASCAR’s top series that featured names like LeeRoy Yarbrough, Fred Lorenzen, Harry Gant, Ricky Rudd, Ken Schrader and Dick Trickle.

FROM 500 TO 400

In 1997 Ford swept both Dover events, but it’s remembered for historical reasons because when Ricky Rudd won the spring event on June 1, 1997 it marked the speedway’s final 500-mile event.  Rudd took advantage of being in the right place at the right time after leader Ernie Irvan was involved in an accident with 29 laps remaining.  Rudd took over the lead and held off Mark Martin over the final few laps to lead a Ford sweep of the top four spots.  Martin bounced back a few months later by winning the fall event, which marked the inaugural 400-mile race at the track.  That started a streak that saw him win three straight fall events at the Monster Mile.

FORD MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES DOVER WINNERS
1969 – Richard Petty
1978 – Bobby Allison (2)
1980 – Bobby Allison (1)
1981 – Jody Ridley and Neil Bonnett
1985 – Bill Elliott
1986 – Ricky Rudd (2)
1987 – Davey Allison and Ricky Rudd
1988 – Bill Elliott (Sweep)
1990 – Bill Elliott (2)
1994 – Rusty Wallace (Sweep)
1997 – Ricky Rudd and Mark Martin
1998 – Dale Jarrett and Mark Martin
1999 – Mark Martin (2)
2004 – Mark Martin (1)
2005 – Greg Biffle (1)
2006 – Matt Kenseth (1)
2007 – Carl Edwards (2)
2008 – Greg Biffle (2)
2011 – Matt Kenseth (1)
2018 – Kevin Harvick (1)

FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES DOVER WINNERS
1987 – Mark Martin (1)
2001 – Jeff Green (2)
2002 – Greg Biffle (1)
2004 – Greg Biffle (1)
2007 – Carl Edwards (1)
2011 – Carl Edwards (Sweep)
2013 – Joey Logano (Sweep)
2015 – Chris Buescher (1)
2017 – Ryan Blaney (2)

Sports Betting Agency Teaming up with No. 36 Ford

CONCORD, N.C. (Oct. 1, 2019) –Roush Fenway Racing will show its support for Breast Cancer Awareness month by running special pink numbers on its Ford Mustangs during the entire month of October, starting this weekend at Dover International Speedway. Ryan Newman’s No. 6 Acronis Ford and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s No. 17 Fastenal Ford will both sport pink numbers this weekend at the Monster Mile.

“We’re always proud to support Breast Cancer Awareness month,” said team president Steve Newmark. “We know so many families have been impacted by breast cancer, and our team and our partners are passionate about trying to bring more awareness to the cause.”

In addition, Roush Fenway Fords will sport pink ‘Driven for a Cause’ ribbon decals on the C-Post all month long.  Wyndham Rewards, Fifth Third Bank and SUNNYD Fords will all carry special pink numbers and ribbons throughout the month of October at races in Dover, Talladega, Kansas and Martinsville.

About Roush Fenway Racing
Roush Fenway Racing is one of the most successful teams in NASCAR history. In its 32nd season, Roush Fenway is a leader in driver development, having launched the careers for many of the top drivers in the sport. Off-track, Roush Fenway is a leader in NASCAR marketing solutions, producing multiple award-winning Social Media, digital content and experiential marketing campaigns. Roush Fenway is co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Jack Roush and Fenway Sports Group, parent company of Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox and English Premier League’s Liverpool F.C. Visit RoushFenway.com, become a fan on Facebook and Instagram, and follow on Twitter at @roushfenway.

Michael McDowell
No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang
Started: 22 | Finished: 12

“It was a solid day for us. We were heading for another top-10 finish, but contact with the No. 48 on the last lap cut my right front tire. We still were able to pull off a P12 finish, though. I’m really proud of my No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops team for all of their hard work. Thanks as always to our partners for all the ‘love.’ Onto Dover now.”

Matt Tifft
No. 36 Louis Kemp Crab Delights Ford Mustang
Started: 36 | Finished: 25

“This whole weekend has been a big learning experience for me. We struggled in practice, making some mistakes that backed the car into the fence and ultimately caused us to start at the back. Our No. 36 Louis Kemp Crab Delights team powered through and never gave up, though, coming out with a P25 finish. Thanks to our partners at Louis Kemp Crab Delights for joining us this weekend. Looking forward to having them back again in Kansas.”

David Ragan
No. 38 CITGARD Ford Mustang
Started: 27 | Finished: 35

“That wasn’t the finish we wanted for our No. 38 CITGARD Ford Mustang. We cut a left rear tire on that last restart and had to limp it back around under green. Unfortunately, we lost a lap at that point and our day was over, finishing 35th. It was great to have our partners at CITGARD with us on the car and in person. We’ll look forward to hopefully having them back with FRM again next year.”

Three Camry Drivers Advance to Second Round of NASCAR Playoffs
Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. survive elimination race at Charlotte road course

CONCORD, N.C. (September 29, 2019) – Martin Truex Jr. came from the back of the field to finish seventh as the top-finishing Camry driver in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Race 29 of 36 – 248.52 miles, 109 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Chase Elliott*
2nd, Alex Bowman*
3rd, Kevin Harvick*
4th, Clint Bowyer*
5th, Brad Keselowski*
7th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
11th, MATT DiBENEDETTO
19th, DENNY HAMLIN
26th, PARKER KLIGERMAN
30th, TIMMY HILL
37th, KYLE BUSCH
40th, ERIK JONES
*non-Toyota driver

•                Martin Truex Jr. raced his way to the front on Sunday afternoon, becoming the top-finishing Toyota driver in the NASCAR Cup Series event at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course with a seventh-place finish.
•                Truex, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch all advanced to the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs while Erik Jones failed to advance in his second Playoffs appearance.

TOYOTA QUOTES

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 7th

How would you characterize your day?

“It was up and down for sure, you know? To start from the back like that and get penalized in the beginning for avoiding a wreck, missing the chicane to avoid a wreck and you penalize us is kind of stupid. We started from way behind there and made our way up. Got to second and just didn’t have a good enough car to take the lead and then all those heat cycles again, I just got really loose. We probably should’ve got tires, but we didn’t expect all of the cautions at the end.”

Talk about your day. Are you ready for Round 2?

“Oh yeah, I’m ready. I think the team is ready.  We had a hell of challenge on our hands today, starting from the back, so to get up to second and be battling for the lead late was good. We just didn’t expect so many cautions at the end. All those heat cycles heated my tires up and I just was wicked loose at the end. The last three or four laps, I couldn’t hold anybody off. Luckily, the power steering held up. That was a good thing.”

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

Finishing Position: 19th

How did you miss today?

“Just missed it overall. Having a backup car and having to go to the back and then through that wreck that happened in Turn 1 we got caught in, had to go to the back again. We just couldn’t ever make it back towards the front. Just not enough passing zones. You can’t really get the flow going at this race track, so it’s just kind of – you just wait on the wrecks, you try to avoid them and get the best finish you can.”

Were you more relaxed today knowing you already made it to Round 2?

“Yes. There was no stress. Certainly we knew that we were moving on, but you still like to run well. It was just one of those weekends where if we do, we do, if we don’t, we don’t.”

How much of a gamechanger was the new chicane?

“I don’t know. I think the track raced close to the same. There’s just so few passing zones really and it’s so narrow and it’s off-cambered in a lot of spots. Passing is just difficult generally at this race track and it just seems like we’ve got to get a little bit better here.”

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

Finishing Position: 40th

How tough is it not to make it to the next round?

“It’s frustrating. It’s frustrating not just to even have a chance throughout the whole race, you know? We didn’t make it to the first stage and it wasn’t our fault. That’s probably the most frustrating part is getting taken out and nothing you can do about it. We’ll have to keep going all year, win some more races and come back and start over again in next year’s Playoffs.”

And just like that, Erik, your Playoffs are over.

“It’s unfortunate. We just had three really bad weeks and it’s some of our own doing and some not our own doing, but it’s racing. We’ve got really fast cars. I know we can probably go out and win some more races this year, which is I guess a consolation prize. I’d love to be moving forward here and challenging for the championship. I thought we could’ve went pretty deep this year, but it’s just the nature of the Playoffs. The Craftsman Camry – we were struggling today here early on, but we were going to fight all day and unfortunately we didn’t get that opportunity. We’ll keep racing all year and you know next year, come back and improve on what we can.”

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