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Note: This press release may have been edited for formatting purposes only

Posted on July 13, 2008 PopUpScript Email   Print

 

TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Race Notes & Quotes Chicagoland Speedway - July 12, 2008

Kyle Busch registered his seventh NSCS victory of the season Saturday night in Chicagoland. Camry drivers have now recorded eight NSCS wins this season. Tony Stewart (fifth) and Brian Vickers (sixth) also earned top-10 finishes on Saturday night. Other Toyota drivers in the field included AJ Allmendinger (13th), David Reutimann (14th), Dave Blaney (23rd), J.J. Yeley (24th), Michael Waltrip (36th), Denny Hamlin (40th) and Michael McDowell (43rd). Three Camry drivers led 178 of 267 laps in this evening's race including Busch (165), Stewart (11) and Vickers (two). Camry drivers have earned 28 top-five finishes and 41 top-10 finishes in 2008. Other Camry drivers among the top-20 in the unofficial NSCS point standings include Busch (first), Stewart (10th), Hamlin (12th), and Vickers (14th).

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M's Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 1st Did you expect a finish like this tonight? "I have to thank these guys. I gave up on myself and didn't think I could do that. I've watched Jimmie Johnson do that a few times and I don't know how I did that. This M&M's Toyota team is just phenomenal tonight. Great pit stops all night. Everytime we came down pit road we had fast pit stops. I have to thank the fans that are here, Interstate Batteries and M&M's, Snickers, Combos, everybody that makes it so fun and Sprint. I can't believe this."

How did you pass for the win on that last restart? "I don't know. Jimmie (Johnson) was going to bring us down slow. I remember this from short track days when somebody was in your mirror and you creep up on them. You stop and they'll go up on you. Well, I just went - I pushed Jimmie Johnson to go and was like 'let's go man, here we go.' That was the saving grace right there was a good restart. I just had to go to the outside because he was going to block the bottom in turn one and two. It sucked for me out there. I don't know how, why or whatever. Steve Addington (crew chief) and these guys deserve this one here. It was a great car out front all night. We got back in traffic and complained about it a lot. When we got back out front it felt good again. I knew when Jimmie got us here that clean air was going to be it. Luckily we got that caution and got back by him."

Do you believe how great of a season you're having? "I really don't believe how good things are going. It's just been a phenomenal year. Something just so special. I have to thank the good Lord from up above. I don't know where this is coming from, but he's blessing us all at Joe Gibbs Racing this year. This is just a privilege to be a part of and we're so proud."

TONY STEWART, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 5th How was your car this evening? "We weren't bad. We just got in a situation where we got free there the last couple runs and that's when we needed to be really good, and we just fought loose for some reason. So, we never did get it tight enough on entry and exit -- we got it too tight in the center at the end. We were just a little bit off -- we were close though."

How much did the track change from day to night? "Initially, when it was still sunlight -- when the sun went down it changed. But, I think it pretty much stayed the same once the sun went down. It cooled off a little bit there for a segment. It seemed like it stayed pretty constant the rest of the night."

How did you make up some ground at the end? "We shouldn't have given it up in the first place. We were just too loose -- couldn't get tight enough in and off to be were we needed to be -- but we were close."

Do you walk away from this race feeling pretty good about your team? "Yeah. I've always felt good about my team. We were just a little off." 

TONY STEWART, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing (cont.) What can you say about Kyle Busch's performance this year? "It's pretty simple -- you look at the top of the board there and he's winning races. We ran with him the majority of the day, we just lost the handle on it at the end. So, I'm pretty proud of our guys. We're getting caught up."

BRIAN VICKERS, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Finishing Position: 6th What challenges did you face in tonight's race? "We started the race pretty decent and made the car better during the first pit stops. The car started to get too loose for a long run so we had to readjust a little bit. We were really good on long runs but not on restarts. During the last stop we made adjustments to help the restarts. The car was good and we could have competed for the win with a little track position. We definitely had a top-five car. Unfortunately, the engine blew on the last lap. We were down a cylinder on the restart, so those guys got a jump on us. Then, the engine finally blew coming out of Turn four on the last lap, and we coasted across the finish line. We ended up sixth, so it could have been worse. It was a good points day for us."

AJ ALLMENDINGER, No. 84 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Finishing Position: 13th How was your race tonight? "It was good. Starting that far back we knew we were going to have to work a little strategy. The car was pretty good -- it was a little bit tight all night. Jimmy (Elledge, crew chief) kept making good adjustments on it -- small adjustments -- that kept making it a little bit better. But, we were like an eighth to 12th-place car. I think if we just could have gotten that tightness out of it we could have been right around top-five. He (Jimmy Elledge) made a great call to kind of lead me out and get that track position. With these cars it seems like track position is everything. So, you take a 25th-place car that is okay and you're running fifth and it seems pretty good. Just a good day all around -- a good day for myself and Jimmy (Elledge) to get acquainted and learn each other and the whole team. The pit stops were pretty good, we just missed a little bit on the last stop that probably cost us a top-10. Overall it was a good day, good points and good way to start."

Did you have any problems tonight? "Our car seemed like it took 10 laps to get going. Once the tires wore off, I could run back up at top and gain some speed. Early on I just couldn't run the bottom. I wanted to keep going green longer and I think we would have been okay. It's a good way to start and something to build on."

Do you feel comfortable with new crew chief Jimmy Elledge? "Yeah, he's easy. I had more information than I ever could imagine. I knew exactly where I was running the whole time, what lap times I was running, and what the guys near me and behind me were running. It's everything I could ask for and it seems like it makes driving so much easier. I love knowing what's going on. His experience level - it's great to have that and learn from that."

DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 44 UPS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Finishing Position: 14th

DAVE BLANEY, No. 22 Caterpillar Toyota Camry, Bill Davis Racing Finishing Position: 23rd

J.J. YELEY, No. 96 DLP HDTV Toyota Camry, Hall of Fame Racing Finishing Position: 24th

MICHAEL WALTRIP, No. 55 NAPA Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Finishing Position: 36th

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 40th

MICHAEL McDOWELL, No. 00 Champion Mortgage Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Finishing Position: 43rd

 

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