- Kyle Busch (sixth) and Denny Hamlin (ninth) were the highest finishing Toyota drivers in Saturday nights NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Richmond International Raceway.
- Busch and Hamlin both earn spots in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff beginning next Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway. Busch leads the Chase standings with 2,012 points and Hamlin earned the final wild card spot and will start 12th with 2,000 points.
- The finish marked Hamlins third-straight top-10 finish and the Chesterfield, Va. natives eighth top-10 in 12 starts at the Virginia short track.
- Camry drivers Casey Mears (17th) and Bobby Labonte (20th) also earned top-20 finishes in Saturdays 400-mile event.
- Toyota driver David Reutimann started from the pole and went on to finish 26th following damage to his Camry.
- Other Toyota drivers in the field included Martin Truex Jr. (30th), Brian Vickers (33rd), Joey Logano (35th), Kasey Kahne (38th), Michael McDowell (39th) and Joe Nemechek (41st).
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&Ms Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6thHow was your race?
We battled through big adversity, but we made it happen. We got a decent finish out of it. I cant say enough about all of the guys on this 9-11 tribute scheme, the car that we had tonight. It was fun to race it. I wish we were a little bit better. I felt like we were really good in the beginning of the night and kind of dialed ourselves out a little bit the more the race went there, but got it back there close to the end. Just got used up off the bottom and then fell back a few spots and just rode from there.
What would it mean to get a good start next week at Chicagoland?
Weve got to turn a corner here a little bit. Mile-and-a-half stuff, Chicago in particular wasnt great to us the past couple of years. Im looking forward to Chicago. I like going there. Just running the Truck race and then well be ready with the Cup race. I think that weve got a great team and weve got a great leader with Dave Rogers (crew chief) and these guys are excited about it. They dont get too high and they dont get too low so we just make sure we keep doing our job and working as hard as we can just digging in and paying attention to details and I think well be alright.
How were you able to battle back from adversity to earn a top-10 finish tonight?
Well if tonight wasnt one of those nights, I dont know what was. We fought through everything it seemed -- loose wheel, going to the back, driving back up through there. We got to the top-10. Its so tough the more and more you get into these races, because guys have worked on their cars to pass cars and once we got back to the top-10 then we came to pit road a little early and got bit by the caution. Just a hard fought battle tonight and certainly we had to battle through more adversity than we would have liked to, but thats what's going to make us better. Thats whats going to make us stronger, so I cant say enough about all these guys on the 9-11 tribute car tonight. It was fun to drive that thing and I wish we could have got a little bit better there. It seemed like middle part of the race we were down on ourselves and out a little bit trying to free the car up and make it where it would roll the bottom. And then we went back the other way and started tightening it up and got a little bit better, but there at the end those front two guys (Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards) were just flawless. They were flying and we couldnt keep up with them. Glad to come home and have a decent run here, but when I got used up off the bottom there with the 24 (Jeff Gordon) and fell back to sixth, I just didnt have enough to get back though there.
Does it mean anything to you to go into the Chase as the point leader?
Not unless you cant build on a strong foundation here in the first three or four races. We proved failure in 2008, so we cant have that again.
Were guys impatient early in the race?
It seemed like all night guys were impatient. Just guys that seemed to not have anything to lose were just going for broke and certainly that was us too, but I think we were a little smarter about it and we had to battle through. We had a loose wheel, come back from that and then we had a run there through the middle of the race where we were really good and battled up through there and then we came to pit road and had the caution come out as soon as we came down pit road. We just didnt quite do what we needed to do tonight in order to get a good finish, but still salvaged a sixth. Sixth wont be bad in the Chase if you can keep doing those but this is one of our best tracks so sixth here kind of doesnt float very well.
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 9th What happened early on in the race?
Its amazing how we were able to battle back. This car is absolutely destroyed. Any other race track we would be down 20 laps, but they just worked on it. Got it off the race track and the splitter is broke off, the hood is broke and its just a mess and somehow we salvaged today. It looked like when the 33 (Clint Bowyer) wrecked I checked up, someone hit the 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.), the 88 hit me and we just pounded the wall. So, right off the bat we knew we were in big trouble. Still had an amazingly fast car.
How were you able to recover from the early accident?
I mean it was an unbelievable comeback. This car really is destroyed. Shock mounts are all messed up. The splitter is broke off of it. Its just amazing how fast we got this car considering the circumstances. My pit crew just did an amazing job. Thats all there is to it. They got the splitter somewhat off the racetrack and we were just able to just motor up through there.
What are your chances for a championship?
Well, everything from here is a bonus. Were starting last in the Chase, so now weve got 11 spots to move up.
Will a run like this give you some momentum going into the Chase?
I hope so. The plan is to come out of here with a smooth day. It was not smooth by any means, but we just fought hard. Did an amazing job fixing the car. Our car is destroyed. That tells me how fast our car was going to be if we didnt get in that wreck we wouldve been up there contending for a win but a top-10 in these circumstances, Ill take it.
What is your mindset going into the Chase as the wild card?
I mean, theres only one place to go from where were at right now, and thats forward. Were very fortunate to be here, obviously, with the tough season that weve had and the ups and downs and the DNFs and what not. Its kind of a second lease on life for us and our season. Obviously were coming into the Chase now with three consecutive top 10s which Im not sure weve done that all year long. Weve got some momentum. Who knows whats going to happen next week.
How will the Chase change with the new points system this year?
Well, I think that track position is a little bit more important this year than it was last year and so on and so forth. It's just a steadily evolving ?? these cars, we're getting them so good now that everyone is so equal. I think that the pit crews and the crew chief has a bigger role in this year's Chase than what they did in years past. So it's not all about having the fastest car and the best driver. There's a big strategy part that plays out in each and every race. It seems like it's happening more this year than what it has in years past.
CASEY MEARS, No. 13 GEICO Toyota Camry, Germain Racing
Finishing Position: 17th
BOBBY LABONTE, No. 47 Scott Brand Toyota Camry, JTG-Daugherty Racing
Finishing Position: 20th
DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aarons Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Finishing Position: 26th
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Brakes Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Finishing Position: 30th
BRIAN VICKERS, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team
Finishing Position: 33rd
JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot/Celebration of Service Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 35th What happened to take you out of the race?
Something internal, thats for sure. We werent real fast with our Home Depot Toyota. I thought we were going to be a lot better in this race. Wed take off really good for a few laps and then the car just got tight. I thought we were at least going to hang in there for probably a top-15 finish. I just felt the last 20 laps something broke internal and it was running down a cylinder and then eventually it just blew up there on the caution. Its unfortunate thats the way its going to end here.
KASEY KAHNE, No. 4 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team
Finishing Position: 38th What happened to take you out of the race?
I havent seen it. I have no idea. I just know that I was on the outside going into the straightaway and then I just started to turn in and then the 83 (Brian Vickers) hit me pretty hard. Honestly, he got hit by someone else, but I havent seen it so I dont know what exactly happened. It was kind of a weird deal.
MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 66 HP RACING Toyota Camry, Gunselman Motorsports
Finishing Position: 39th
JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 AM FM Energy Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports
Finishing Position: 41st
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