Toyota MENCS Chicago Post-Qualifying Recap

oyota Racing Post-Qualifying Quotes

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)

Chicagoland Speedway – June 30, 2018

TOYOTA STARTING POSITIONS

1st, Paul Menard*

2nd, Ryan Blaney*

3rd, Chase Elliott*

4th, DENNY HAMLIN

5th, Kurt Busch*

10th, ERIK JONES  

11th, DANIEL SUÁREZ

12th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.

18th, KYLE BUSCH

33rd, GRAY GAULDING

*non-Toyota driver 

TOYOTA QUOTES

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

Qualifying Position: 4th

How was your qualifying run?

“Not bad. We got a little better each round. It was good. The balance of the car wasn’t too far off. We just missed the pole by half of a tenth. In race trim, we struggled with the balance but we had decent speed. Hopefully starting up front we can collect some stage points and battle for the win later.”

Qualifying Position: 10th

How was your qualifying run today?

“The track was slick and it was hard to get a good lap and put one all together. We got a little bit faster from the first to the second round and ran the same lap in the third round. The DeWALT Camry has good speed. We’re not too far off of where we need to be speed-wise. We’ll keep working on our race trim and contend tomorrow.”

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

Qualifying Position: 12th

What happened during the qualifying lap when the car got loose?

“I about lost it, just dead sideways and we were on the pole at that point. I was going for it and just didn’t have any rear grip and I was too loose. Missed it a little, but I screwed us up the second round twice and I got loose off of two and screwed up the lap. We should have been better than 12th, but when you go for it, you go for it and sometimes you don’t get it.”