Manufacturer and Driver Notes and Quotes from the Auto Club 400

Toyota

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

You finally did it.  It's complete.  How does 200 feel?

“Feels just like number one.  Feels just like yesterday. Man, that was such an awesome racecar.  I mean, dang.  This Interstate Batteries Camry was awesome today.  I'm glad we put on a heck of a show for all these fans out here in California at Auto Club Speedway. It takes green to get in Victory Lane today.  Today is St. Patty's day.  All these other guys were at a disadvantage.  The Interstate Batteries Green Machine was flying today. Just awesome.  Just awesome.  To win 200, I mean, whatever it means, it means a lot to me.  It means a lot to all my guys, everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing.  You guys are all the best.  Toyota, TRD. It's an amazing opportunity to drive for Joe Gibbs.  I cherish every minute of it, love it always.  Just wish that we could keep it going, keep it going like this, running strong, running well, and winning these races.”

When that speeding penalty happened, what was going through your mind?  Did you think your chances of winning this race and getting to 200 were maybe over?

Yeah, that thought certainly crosses your mind.  I knew we had a great racecar.  We had a great racecar all day long.  We were fast.  I wasn't sure how well we were going to be able to come through the field, get back in traffic, get our way worked back up to the lead. Brad (Keselowski) was really fast that run, he was way out front.  We were catching the 22 (Joey Logano), the 4 (Kevin Harvick).  If it went green to the end, I wasn't sure how it was going to play out.  Sometimes you have to a little bit of luck on your side.  Fortunately, we were in the Interstate Batteries green today with being St. Patty's day.  Cool to get all these guys in Victory Lane. To win my 200th race with Interstate Batteries, with Norm Miller (Interstate Batteries), Scott Miller (Interstate Batteries), everybody that does such an awesome job of supporting us since day one, the reason why Joe Gibbs Racing exists.  It certainly is a monumental moment for all of us, including M&M's, Skittles, Snickers.  Maybe the stars aligned a little bit more perfectly today.”

Can you take us through the rebound from the speeding penalty to win today’s race?

“Well, we just had an awesome race car all day long. Adam Stevens (crew chief) and the boys never cease to amaze me and the way they’re able to work and the way they’re able to do things for me is pretty awesome. Just having a fast Interstate Batteries Camry and being able to come back through after our speeding penalty, I wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to get there and get it done, but once we got about four or five laps in on that last run we really charged through there and got to those guys and we were able to drive away. Just an awesome day for us. This is pretty cool to be able to come out here to California, a place where I remember getting sat out and then I remember winning my first Cup Series race and now to bookend it with 200 right here, it’s pretty awesome.”

What original goals did you have when you entered NASCAR?

“I think the original goal was just to get to NASCAR and then once I got here, it was to win a race. Once it was winning a race then it was about trying to sustain and being able to be a winner here and to be a champion here. To have the opportunities to continue down the line to be able to be successful each and every year and we’ve been doing that. We’ve only won one title, but certainly I feel like I have the best team out there right now and we just have to be able to do it all year long.”

What did your Mom say to you when she got to the car?

“Just that she couldn’t believe it and how she remembered number one here as well and the special night that was and the opportunity that was with me being able to win number one. To solidify that stance in NASCAR and to then be able to continue on and win 199 more of them and close it out with 200 here was pretty cool.”

Do you pay attention to various milestones other than this number 200 accomplishment?

“It’s something that I don’t necessarily pay attention to. As long as you’re successful and doing a good job and doing your job about what you know how to do and you’re winning those races then you’re going to be eclipsing a lot of milestones and certainly it’s been pretty awesome so far.”

 

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

Finishing Position: 7th

How was your race?

“We were fast. We were a little bit off of the No. 18 (Kyle Busch). I was as good or better than everyone else, but we struggled on the long-run and had the speeding penalty. For the third time this season, we pitted right when the caution came out. That set us back and we couldn’t get to the front when we needed to.”

 

How did this race play out?

“As soon as we single-filed out, we were grip-limited. The best handling cars get to the front. There is a big draft and we’re not pack-racing by any means.”

How much did the early pitting handcuff you?

“A little bit. It definitely hurts with 30 laps to go or so. The speeding penalty got us to the back of the pack. We were fast, but once we got in the back of the pack, we just couldn’t get there. We hung with Kyle for the first 20 laps getting through the pack, until we got to seventh or eighth. Then we lost the handling.”

 

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

Finishing Position: 8th

What did you think of the racing today?

“It’s not up to me to decide. We had an awesome race car. Drove to the front, got in a bad spot on the restart when a couple guys stayed out for God knows what reason – the 17 (Ricky Stenhouse) was on old tires, the 14 (Clint Bowyer) was blowing up and we were just in the wrong lane. We were going to have a shot to win this thing had that not happened. Really proud of my guys. We fought hard all day, we never gave up on it and we finished eighth with a car that probably shouldn’t have finished eighth. Proud of them and we just can’t catch a break. Kept fighting back all day. First the damage and then getting caught in the pits when the caution came out and had to take the wave around. Just fought hard all day long and came home with a decent finish.”

 

How do you fight the frustration?

“Just chew on that steering wheel and do all you can and try to get everything you can. We were pretty sideways all day and it was fun and it was frustrating all at the same time. Just glad we had a decent day out of it. We didn’t need to have a terrible day obviously. Just a shame. I know we could have had something for them, but that’s the way it goes and congrats to the 18 (Kyle Busch) guys. They got it rolling right now for sure.”

 

Did you realize how bad the damage was from the incident with the 17 car?

“To be honest with you, I didn’t know how bad it was. I went off of what Cole (Pearn, crew chief) said and he was like, ‘Yeah, it’s pretty bad.’ I asked him what to expect and you can’t see in your mirror, you can’t see that right-rear corner you know. I didn’t really feel like I hit anything hard in that wreck, it just got bashed in enough and it broke one of the seams enough that it was very detrimental to the handling. We got it patched up real good and even then it was all caved in and pushed to the left, which is the complete opposite of what you want so I was pretty much completely sideways most of the day, which was somewhat fun, but frustrating at the same time.”

 

How did the track change today compared to the test session when the cars ran together?

“It’s hotter, there’s more cars on the track and more rubber on the race track. It's just slicker, you’re looking for air, you’re looking for clean track and looking for grip. I really can’t explain to you how slippery this place gets after five or 10 laps on tires, especially after 30. You’re never going to keep us all together. There’s going to be good cars and there’s going to be bad cars. The equalizer is the slow speeds and the new tires at the beginning of the run, but once the tires get wearing out, we get separated. It’s just the way it is. Unless we go 60 mph, it’s going to happen.”

 

Does it feel there is a big difference between the Joe Gibbs Racing cars and the Penske cars compared to the rest of the field?

“I don’t know. We’ve had some strong runs and certainly we were strong early in the race driving by a lot of cars. It’s so hard to say, a lot of it is setups and even we can be way off. We qualified 27th because our car didn’t handle, it wasn’t because we were slow. These things are very temperamental and we’re in the throttle so much and if you’re off just a little bit on handling, it just gets magnified. You can’t make it up with horsepower so I think that’s one of the reasons that some guys have been able to hit it. The guys that have been handling good have been racing good. I like that part of it, I like the part that you still have to handle and you still have to drive the thing, that’s what makes it fun and that’s what makes the good cars rise to the top.”

Kyle Busch 200th NASCAR Victory Fast Facts & Quotes

Statistical Overview:

• Kyle Busch has earned 200 wins across NASCAR’s three national series — 53 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS), 94 NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) and 53 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS).
• Busch has won 179 of those victories in a Toyota — 49 MENCS, 83 NXS and 47 NGOTS.
• Busch has made a combined 998 starts in three NASCAR national series — 503 MENCS, 348 NXS and 147 NGOTS.
• Busch earned Toyota’s first MENCS win at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March 2008 driving the No. 18 Snickers Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing.
• Busch captured Toyota’s first MENCS championship in 2015.

 

Kyle Busch, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

You finally did it.  It's complete.  How does 200 feel?

“Feels just like number one.  Feels just like yesterday. Man, that was such an awesome racecar.  I mean, dang.  This Interstate Batteries Camry was awesome today.  I'm glad we put on a heck of a show for all these fans out here in California at Auto Club Speedway. It takes green to get in Victory Lane today.  Today is St. Patty's day.  All these other guys were at a disadvantage.  The Interstate Batteries Green Machine was flying today. Just awesome.  Just awesome.  To win 200, I mean, whatever it means, it means a lot to me.  It means a lot to all my guys, everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing.  You guys are all the best.  Toyota, TRD. It's an amazing opportunity to drive for Joe Gibbs.  I cherish every minute of it, love it always.  Just wish that we could keep it going, keep it going like this, running strong, running well, and winning these races.”

When that speeding penalty happened, what was going through your mind?  Did you think your chances of winning this race and getting to 200 were maybe over?

Yeah, that thought certainly crosses your mind.  I knew we had a great racecar.  We had a great racecar all day long.  We were fast.  I wasn't sure how well we were going to be able to come through the field, get back in traffic, get our way worked back up to the lead. Brad (Keselowski) was really fast that run, he was way out front.  We were catching the 22 (Joey Logano), the 4 (Kevin Harvick).  If it went green to the end, I wasn't sure how it was going to play out.  Sometimes you have to a little bit of luck on your side.  Fortunately, we were in the Interstate Batteries green today with being St. Patty's day.  Cool to get all these guys in Victory Lane. To win my 200th race with Interstate Batteries, with Norm Miller (Interstate Batteries), Scott Miller (Interstate Batteries), everybody that does such an awesome job of supporting us since day one, the reason why Joe Gibbs Racing exists.  It certainly is a monumental moment for all of us, including M&M's, Skittles, Snickers.  Maybe the stars aligned a little bit more perfectly today.”

Can you take us through the rebound from the speeding penalty to win today’s race?

“Well, we just had an awesome race car all day long. Adam Stevens (crew chief) and the boys never cease to amaze me and the way they’re able to work and the way they’re able to do things for me is pretty awesome. Just having a fast Interstate Batteries Camry and being able to come back through after our speeding penalty, I wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to get there and get it done, but once we got about four or five laps in on that last run we really charged through there and got to those guys and we were able to drive away. Just an awesome day for us. This is pretty cool to be able to come out here to California, a place where I remember getting sat out and then I remember winning my first Cup Series race and now to bookend it with 200 right here, it’s pretty awesome.”

What original goals did you have when you entered NASCAR?

“I think the original goal was just to get to NASCAR and then once I got here, it was to win a race. Once it was winning a race then it was about trying to sustain and being able to be a winner here and to be a champion here. To have the opportunities to continue down the line to be able to be successful each and every year and we’ve been doing that. We’ve only won one title, but certainly I feel like I have the best team out there right now and we just have to be able to do it all year long.”

What did your Mom say to you when she got to the car?

“Just that she couldn’t believe it and how she remembered number one here as well and the special night that was and the opportunity that was with me being able to win number one. To solidify that stance in NASCAR and to then be able to continue on and win 199 more of them and close it out with 200 here was pretty cool.”

Do you pay attention to various milestones other than this number 200 accomplishment?

“It’s something that I don’t necessarily pay attention to. As long as you’re successful and doing a good job and doing your job about what you know how to do and you’re winning those races then you’re going to be eclipsing a lot of milestones and certainly it’s been pretty awesome so far.”

Ed Laukes, group vice president, Toyota Division Marketing, Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) on the significance of Busch’s 200th career NASCAR victory:

“Kyle Busch is as special of a talent as this sport has ever seen. Winning his 200th career NASCAR race is an incredible accomplishment that this sport rarely sees. After over a decade of racing with Toyota, Kyle is innately linked to our brand and has more NASCAR wins in a Toyota than any other driver. Everyone at Toyota is proud of what Kyle has accomplished behind the wheel of Camrys, Tundras and even Supras. We look forward to celebrating many more milestones together!”

David Wilson, president, TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development) on the significance of Busch’s 200th career NASCAR victory:

“Kyle Busch’s success behind the wheel of a race car is nothing short of impressive. His capability to compete and win at every level of NASCAR is what has brought him to this milestone accomplishment of 200 NASCAR victories. 179 of those wins have been behind the wheel of a Toyota with support from all of us at TRD. We’re so proud to have Kyle represent us week-in and week-out in all three of NASCAR’s national series.”

 FORD

EVENT: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (Post Race)

FORD FINISHING RESULTS

2nd -- Joey Logano

3rd -- Brad Keselowski

4th -- Kevin Harvick

5th -- Ryan Blaney

9th -- Aric Almirola

13th -- Daniel Suarez

14th -- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

20th -- Paul Menard

22nd -- Ryan Newman

24th -- Michael McDowell

25th -- David Ragan

26th -- Matt Tifft

38th - Clint Bowyer

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 AAA Southern California Ford Mustang (Finished 2nd)

“We were racing hard and no matter who got to the lead, the 18 was going to pass us. He was the best car today. We have some work to do to get faster but the team did a great job today. We held strong today with the Auto Club Ford Mustang. You want to win at the home track of your sponsor. We gave it a solid run. I hate being that close. The last few laps you are running up against the wall and he had a big enough lead to kind of cruise a little and you are just hoping a lap car gets in the way or something. It was solid. We have a lot of momentum on this race team right now.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Wurth Ford Mustang (Finished 3rd)

“We were really good and got to the lead there on that last run but I just couldn’t quite keep it there. It was a good effort by the team and we were right there in position and we gave it all we had.”

WHAT DO YOU SEE THAT THE 18 DID TODAY THAT OTHERS CAN’T DO? “It is really fast through the corners and that is always good. That is really important and he had that today.”

DID YOU THINK YOU HAD ANYTHING FOR THE 18 AFTER THAT CAUTION AND YOU ALL CAME DOWN PIT ROAD? “Yeah, I gave all I had for him. I got in front of him and tried my best to hold him off, we just fell off too much.”

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang (Finished 4th)

“We raced well today. My guys did a great job on pit road. Our car was better than it was in practice. I didn’t have anything for the Penske cars or the 18 car. They did a great job of racing hard all day and we made a lot out of the west coast swing with not very much. We have some work to do but we know you still have to go race. Our Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang was okay today and we got a decent finish.”

“My guys did a great job. We didn’t have much that we thought was going well this weekend but they made the car better and did a great job of keeping us in the game. It raced well and we had a great day on pit road. We overachieved today and I am really proud of everyone on the team for that.”

EVENT: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (Post Race)

KEVIN HARVICK CONTINUED -- “We have done that four weeks in a row but when you come to this west coast swing you have what you have and we left here with four top-10’s and three top-fives over the first five races. I am proud of everybody for that. It isn’t always going to be good. You have to try to figure out how to do things better when they aren’t going very good and our guys have done that.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 PPG Ford Mustang (Finished 5th)

“We ran pretty decent all day. We just weren’t very good the first run but we got a lot better. We had a lap and a half on our tires when the caution came out. I thought if I could control the race from the front row and be the leader that I might be able to hold on because i thought our car was pretty good at the time. I was fourth by the time we got to turn one. I got no push. It took 10 laps for it to come in and we were eighth and drove back to fifth. We had a really fast PPG Ford Mustang, we just never got the lead or track position with equal tires and that hurt us but overall not a bad day.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Farmer John Ford Mustang (Finished 9th)

“I thought that was very typical California. The restarts were wild and crazy like we always see here and track position was king. We got strung out and fought track position a lot today. The cars are very difficult to drive in the wake of air of the cars in front of you. It is very challenging. The restarts are definitely exciting. The fans get their money worth for a few laps at least. All in all it was a great day for our Farmer John Ford Mustang. We got to lead some laps in the beginning. We just never made the right adjustments. We were a tick off all day. We had a top-six car and lost some track position and that is all we could do to muster you a ninth place finish.”

CHEVROLET

TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:  

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 6th “We had a good day. I was just hoping to get a top 5 and came home just a bit short. But the growth rate of us at Ganassi and the adjustments we’re making, I couldn’t be happier. I’m smiling as I’m driving the car. It’s so much fun to toss it down in there with all this downforce and the horsepower, you just pitch it sideways and see if it’s going to stick. But, we know we’ve got our work cut out for us. It’s awesome to run up front. I’m smiling. But, we know at our growth rate, we’re not on a plateau yet. I’ve got to keep going.”  

TALK ABOUT KYLE BUSCH, YOUR BROTHER’S ACHIEVEMENT OF 200 NASCAR WINS TODAY? HE GOT A SPEEDING PENALTY BUT CAME BACK AND WON HIS 200TH. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT? “Yeah, I thought he was done. Denny (Hamlin) got back up to 7th. Those guys, man, when they’re dialed in, they’re hard to catch. And, at the growth rate we’re growing at Ganassi with the No. 1 car, we’ve got to keep going because these guys are a couple steps ahead of us, maybe even more than that, but we’ve done well as a team to find the speed we need to and to come away with good consistent finishes. But, this is a big day. For my little brother to have 200 wins, they’re all added up through his hard work and his dedication to perfection. Not bat for two kids with an attitude from Vegas.”  

IT’S A BUSCH FAMILY TRADITION, ISN’T IT? “As far as attitudes and winning? I’ve got to hold up my end of the bargain. I’ve gotten too nice and I’m not winning enough; but I’m having fun. I love the Ganassi guys. Matt McCall (crew chief) wants more. I know he does. I want more. I was hoping for a top 5 today but we’ll take it. All in all, we’re running where we need to be running.”  

ARE YOU PROUD TO BE LEADING THE CHEVY CONTINGENT? THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THIS YEAR THAT YOU’VE BEEN THE TOP BOWTIE “I want to see more Bowties up there all around me. It’s those teams that are there right now with Penske, SHR, Gibbs, that’s what’s towing the boat and towing the whole sequence. For us at Ganassi, we’ve got to cross over that threshold and get to that next level. Whether Chevy is going to help us or we’re taking them, we’re just going to continue to work hard as a team no matter what it is.”  

AT VEGAS, YOU HAD YOUR STRONG RUN THAT WAS HELPED BY MATT’S PIT DECISION, BUT TODAY IT SEEMED LIKE IT WAS MORE ABOUT WHAT THE CAR COULD DO. HOW DO YOU FEEL THE CAR AND YOU GUYS HAVE IMPROVED IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T NEED A PIT CALL TO GET POSITION? “The biggest thing is we’re not getting stage points. At the end of the day, I think we might only get 30 points today. It’s fun to finish well and to have that accolade, but the way you run this series is you’ve got to have stage points. So, we’ve got to qualify better. Right now the RCR guys are doing that. As a Chevy group, Hendrick was good at Phoenix last week. We’ve got to cover more bases quicker. We’re going a good job of getting entrenched with each other, but we also need to start pinpointing where we can gain that time.”  

WAS IT A CHOICE OF PICKING YOUR SET-UP FOR QUALIFYING OR YOUR CHOICE OF PICKING YOUR SET-UP FOR RACE DAY WITH THE SHORT TIME YOU HAVE TO PRACTICE NOW? “I didn’t like the way our car was handling and I didn’t want to jump out in that draft. I didn’t think I was going to be able to even add throttle being in the draft. And so, I just went rogue and qualified on my own. We ended up 21st. It wasn’t the right thing to do, but we know we need more help and we have to do more work on Fridays.”  

WHEN YOU SAID DURING THE RACE YOUR CAR WAS ALMOST TOO GOOD, WHAT DID YOU MEAN? WAS EVERYTHING JUST GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AT THAT POINT? “Well, when I say too good it means it’s not doing anything severely wrong and yet our lap times were two tenths too slow. Then when we loosened it back up, I’m driving with elbows out as hard as I can, and we got our lap time back, but then we’ll cook our tires off at the end of the run. And that’s what happened where we didn’t quite bring hope the top 5.”  

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 27th “We had a really great GEICO Camaro ZL1 at the start of this race. It was handling the best it had all weekend. My guys had found something that was going to work and keep our good finishes going, but the flat tire under green at the end of Stage 1 really hurt us. We had strategy plans to get our laps back if we could ever catch the cautions that we needed, but those just didn’t happen. It’s unfortunate that a tire ruined our day, but that’s not going to get this team down. We are going to keep grinding and working hard to be ready for Martinsville next weekend.”