Race 2 Win
Nationwide Series
Home | Sprint Cup | Nationwide Series | Photo Gallery | Forum | Silly Season | Newsletter | Television

Point Standings | 2008 Schedule | 2007 Schedule and Results | 2006 Schedule and Results | 2005 Schedule and Results


Lipton Tea 250 - Toyota Post-Race Quotes

  • Chesterfield, Va.-native Denny Hamlin earned his first career victory at his home track of Richmond International Raceway after leading 12 of 253 laps in today’s race.
  • Today’s win marked the fifth consecutive win by a Camry in the NNS. Tony Stewart earned the win at Talladega last weekend and Kyle Busch visited victory lane for the three straight weekends before that -- at Texas, Phoenix and Mexico City.
  • Other Camrys in Saturday’s race included Kyle Busch (third), Mike Wallace (13th), Jason Leffler (16th) and David Reutimann (18th).
  • Since the start of this season, Camry drivers have earned 15 top-five and 28 top-10 finishes in NNS competition.
  • Today's win gives Camry drivers seven wins in Nationwide Series competition this season. Stewart started the 2008 season with wins at Daytona (2-16-08) and at California (2-25-08), in addition to last week’s win at Talladega. His JGR teammate, Busch, went to victory lane at Texas (4-5-08), Phoenix (4-11-08) and Mexico (4-20-08).
  • Four Camry drivers are among the top-10 in the NNS point standings following the 10th race of the season at Richmond. Busch (third) leads the Toyota contingent, followed by Reutimann (sixth), Leffler (eighth) and Wallace (ninth).

    DENNY HAMLIN, No. 20 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
    Finished: 1st
    Can you describe the emotion you have winning at Richmond?
    "It's unbelievable that we were able to get this done in my home state. This is my biggest win in Cup or anything -- it doesn't matter, this is my biggest win by far. It means a lot to finally breakthrough in Richmond."

    What did your crew chief, Dave Rogers, say to you at the end of the race?
    "He just said that we didn't have the best car, but we'll take it. It means as much to him as it does to me and he knows how much it means to me. It's just an unbelievable day for this whole 20 team and thanks for all their support. They're the ones that put me in this car three years ago and got me to the level that I'm at. Thanks to Z-Line, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing and everyone involved."

    How good was your car during the race?
    "We weren't that good most of the day, but Dave (Rogers, crew chief) just kept making the car better and better throughout the day. Just an unbelievable finish for us. I always said that circumstances were going to have to come our way for us to get a win here. It seems like we never win whether we have the best car or the worst car. When those guys decided to stay out and not take tires, I knew this was our race to lose. I hated to see all those cautions, but it's very gratifying to get a win here in front of the hometown crowd."

    What were you thinking after your last pit stop?
    "It was our race and I knew it. I told them as soon as we left pit road that we were going to get those guys. Kevin (Harvick) and those guys had a dominant car all day. We had a third-place car there at the end and the circumstances worked out and one finally came my way."

    What does it mean to win in front of your family and friends?
    "It's great -- I can hear them. All the commotion in victory lane and I can still hear the fans. That means more to me than anything anybody could give me or any trophy I could ever have."

    How special is it to win at Richmond?
    "It's my biggest accomplishment as a race car driver so far in my career, even with all the Cup victories and everything. This one just stands out. The pole I got earlier today (in NSCS) was as equal to any Cup win that I've had. It's just one of those situations where things worked out finally in our favor. We may not had the best car all day, but we did when it counted."

    How do you feel going into tomorrow's race?
    "I was almost satisfied after I got the pole today -- I was like, 'you know all I want to do is not end up mad after this Nationwide race.' We had about a third-place car at the beginning and just got off on the adjustments there and it seemed like the track went through a huge transition where it changed and we just didn't keep up with it. We fell back and right there I was thinking, 'gosh, I'll just take a top five out of here.' As soon as we came down pit road and got all those adjustments out and then added some other ones -- and the next thing you know it took off again. Dave (Rogers, crew chief) just did a great job of catching back up to the race track after it got away from us."

    Does this give you a boost of confidence for tomorrow night?
    "It definitely does. I always wondered and I would think to myself, whether we were coming here to Richmond or going somewhere else, I would always think, 'I wonder if I even have what it takes to win at Richmond -- do I know what I need to feel in the car?' I've come here and I've run second through fifth almost every time I've come here, but never won a race or never put myself in position to win the race at the end. I just wondered if I would ever get it figured out and I was starting to think that I was getting better at it. I think it comes with more experience and how much you need to adjust on the car throughout the race and maybe tell the crew chief it's doing something that it's not, but it's something you're anticipating it's going to do if it keeps going. It was just a matter of time and hopefully, if we kept putting ourselves in second and third position, one of these days the race is going to lay out in our lap and this one did."

    What adjustments were made early in the race that weren't working and how did you correct them?
    "We really didn't change that much and that's what surprised me that we got so far off there. That's why I think the track just went through a huge transition and hopefully I can use that for tomorrow because we're going to be starting around the same time. All of the sudden we came on pit road and when we came out the car was just a total different car than what we had at the beginning. They were very minor adjustments, air pressure mostly. Once we got that back in there and adjusted some different spots, the car was just unbelievable."

    What will you do tonight to celebrate?
    "It's tough to say. I will probably have everyone at the motor home and celebrate that way and then probably have a cookout tomorrow at the motor home. You have to pace yourself, drink responsibly."

    DAVE ROGERS, Crew Chief, No. 20 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
    What does it mean for you to get your third straight NNS win?
    "Asking for a raise. To be honest with you, Denny (Hamlin) asked me to come over and do this 20 car for him a couple years ago and what we're experiencing this year is just a culmination of the work he and I and all the guys at this 20 car have put in it over the years. We just keep making it better and making improvements. This is a big win for us to reward Denny with a win at his home track makes it all worth while."

    KYLE BUSCH, No. 32 Hass Avocados from Mexico Toyota Camry, Braun Racing
    Finished: 3rd
    Can you talk about the struggles you had today?
    "It was a struggle, that's for sure. We had a handful there in the beginning and in the middle part of the race. Trent Owens (crew chief) and all these guys on this Braun Racing Toyota - Hass Avocados from Mexico car gave me some great adjustments on pit stops and they just kept working on it and we kept fighting it. Luckily, there towards the second -to-last pit stop we came in and got tires and I was able to drive through some guys and get some track position. Our card was to come and pit there at that last caution and grab tires again. Great job by these guys here. We didn't have the best car, but we got a third-place finish, which is what counts."

    What did you say to Steven Wallace at the end of the race?
    "Basically, he's a boy trying to play in a man's sport and I don't take those games. We're going to fight if it comes down to it and if he wants to play that kind of game, then that's how we're going to play."

    Did he intentionally get into you?
    "He might have got a better run off of turn two, but when you get a better run off of somebody, you pull low and you pass. You don't drive into the back of them and try to spin them out on the straightaway. He knew I was going to wreck him in turn three and he moved up out of the way and he didn't get dumped."

    How much did you have to work to get a third-place finish tonight?
    "That's why I get paid the big bucks. That's what it's worth here in this sport is just going out there and not giving up and keep digging in and doing what you have to do to finish."

    Can you talk about the race tonight?
    "We didn't have a very good car tonight, but we made the most of it there. We were just soldiering on there through the beginning and middle part of the race -- just doing what we could to make adjustments on it and make it better to try to get it up through the field. Fortunately, there at the end , we got a couple runs there where we got some fresh tires on it and got it handling better where we could drive it and race up through the field and pass some guys. We came home third tonight -- a reasonable finish, something we probably didn't deserve, but we'll take it."

    What happened after the race?
    "It all started there on the last lap coming out of turn two -- Steven Wallace got a better run off the corner than I did and instead of pulling out and passing, he hit me in the back end and jacked me up and jacked me sideways. Luckily, I was able to straighten it out and get into turn three behind him. He probably knew I was going to spin him out so he moved up the track and let me go by him. We came home third and instead of him passing me clean -- we ended up third and he ended up fifth. Just being an idiot and I went up and told him that you mess with the bull and you're going to get the horns. I didn't appreciate what he did so I told him what I thought about it and he can get hurt very easily here."

    What happens after this -- do you both talk and forget about it?
    "That's Rusty Wallace's kid so I'm not sure you're going to be able to talk to him much and get through his head, but we'll see. Probably I won't and he's probably not even driving Ritchie Wauter's Super Late Models anymore either. We've got a lot of things that go on, but this is just a little piece of the pie. I race in the Sprint Cup Series and my main goal is to get that M&Ms Toyota running up front."

    MIKE WALLACE, No. 7 GEICO Toyota Camry, Germain Racing
    Finished: 13th

    JASON LEFFLER, No. 38 Great Clips Toyota Camry, Braun Racing
    Finished: 16th

    DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 99 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
    Finished: 18th

    Point Standings | 2008 Schedule | 2007 Schedule and Results | 2006 Schedule and Results | 2005 Schedule and Results

    Home | Sprint Cup | Nationwide Series | Photo Gallery | Forum | Silly Season | Newsletter | Television

    ©Copyright 2008 Race 2 Win