TOYOTA NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS)
Post-Race Notes & Quotes
Texas Motor Speedway – April 4, 2014
· Kyle Busch (second) was the highest finishing Toyota driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Texas Motor Speedway that was won by Chase Elliott.
· Busch led 38 laps (of 200) in the 300 mile race. He has now led 1,381 of 3,411 NNS laps in 17 races at Texas (approximately 40 percent).
· Camry driver Matt Kenseth (sixth) and Elliott Sadler (10th) also finished in the top-10 at the 1.5-mile oval.
· Texas-natives James Buescher (13th) and David Starr (15th) earned top-15 results for Toyota in their home state.
· Other Toyota drivers in the field included Eric McClure (24th), Mike Bliss (32nd), Mike Wallace (37th) and Blake Koch (40th).
· Two Camry drivers are currently in the top-10 in the NNS unofficial point standings – Sadler (fourth) and Buescher (ninth).
KYLE BUSCH, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
What did your car not have tonight?
“It just didn’t have the long run stay. I just kept falling loose there at the end — the last couple of runs. We tried adjusting on it and making it tighter and I just couldn’t get it tight enough. We didn’t get beat tonight. We got our butts handed to us. Chase Elliott kicked us tonight. Congratulations to those guys. It’s really awesome to see them. I know Greg (Ives, crew chief) and Chase (Elliott) and Bill (Elliott, father) — I know they’re all going to be really excited. So, it’s pretty neat. I like him cause he’s a really good kid and I’ve raced against him in Late Models coming up and he’s always been a class act. He deserves it here and I’m sure he’ll get plenty more. Certainly it was fun battling with him there at the end. I know that we come up a little bit short, but he beat the best out there.”
Do you see any of yourself in Chase Elliott?
“No. They have their own style. Everybody’s kind of got their own style. Some guys do it differently than others. Some guys do it quieter than others. I think Chase (Elliott) — he’s got a knack for it. We’ve seen that for years with him racing Late Models and stuff — I’ve raced against him before and he’s really good at what he does. So, it’s cool to see him succeed at this level now and keep going.”
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 GameStop / Lego The Hobbit Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
How was your race at Texas?
“Not very good. We started second and we finished sixth. We just kind of struggled, never really had exactly what we needed there and then had a pit gun break and went to the back there and just never could get enough through there to get our GameStop Toyota to the front.”
ELLIOTT SADLER, No. 11 One Main Financial Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 10th
JAMES BUESCHER, No. 99 Rheem Toyota Camry, RAB Racing
Finishing Position: 13th
How was your race?
“It had its ups and downs, for sure, but overall pretty decent night for us in the Rheem Toyota. We fought really loose all night and kept working on it every stop throwing pretty big adjustments at it and the green flag stop, the run after the green flag stop we were pretty good. I just didn’t have the track position and then I think we might have went a little too far. The following run and the one after that, got the car loose again and we were just struggling to keep the back end under it and the very last stop there with 25 or 30 (laps) to go, we got tightened up and probably too tight. The good thing is we got tight for once all night, but it was just too much and got hung up racing pretty hard for a position and the field drove away from us. Once I got clear, it was hard to make up more ground.”
What does it mean to you to have a strong run in your home state?
“It means a lot. I’ve had some really good runs here at Texas Motor Speedway and came close to winning several runs here. That’s definitely top on the bucket list of places to be in victory lane at. We made gains on our Rheem Toyota all night and we got it to drive differently after each pit stop, now we just have to work on our adjustments and find a little speed and we’ll be good.”
DAVID STARR, No. 44 Whataburger Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 15th
ERIC MCCLURE, No. 14 Hefty Ultimate / Reynolds Wrap Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 24th
MIKE BLISS, No. 19 TriStar Motorsports Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 32nd
MIKE WALLACE, No. 13 Headrush Toyota Camry, Derek White Racing
Finishing Position: 37th
BLAKE KOCH, No. 10 SupportMillitary.org Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 40th
Source: Toyota Racing
