Where the Raybestos Rookies finished at Bristol:
Hamlin 14th
Sorenson 22nd
Bowyer 29th
Yeley 33rd
Stremme 36th
Truex Jr. 38th
Sherman 42nd
UNOFFICIAL Raybestos Rookie standings:
Bowyer 53
Yeley 47
Hamlin 47
Truex Jr. 42
Sorenson 41
Stremme 35
Sherman 31
DAVID STREMME, No. 40 LONESTAR STEAKHOUSE DODGE: “The Lonestar Dodge was actually running pretty decent, just trying find a little room out there. I don’t know if something was going on in front of us but I was trying to keep a half-car length between myself and Bowyer and I think he got into the 22. It was just a chain reaction from there. There’s just nowhere to go. It’s just unfortunate for our team. I think we would have finished solidly in the top-20. I guess that’s how our year is going. Hopefully we’ll be able to turn it around. All these guys on the Lonestar car are working their tails off. We’ll get back out there and make some laps and go to Martinsville.”
BRENT SHERMAN, No. 49 SERTA DODGE: “We were pretty competitive at times. My biggest problem was trying to give guys on the lead lap room. On the outside I would get stuff on the tires and it just wouldn’t turn. Kevin Lepage in the 61 got into us and we were four laps down about five laps into the race. I felt like it was awfully aggressive for five laps into the race. I wasn’t blocking him or anything and I’m turned around. And that’s basically what happened three or four times: I got turned around. The only thing I can do is drive my hardest and try to do as well as I can and if guys want to run your over and spin you out, there’s absolutely nothing I can do about hat. I guess one of the things I can do, obviously, is get faster and that’s what I want to do. I thought we were fairly competitive out there and I felt like we were being as aggressive as we needed to be. Eventually we got taken out and it was the last time and we hit the wall and unfortunately it was the end of the day for us.” YOU DID A GOOD JOB OF KEEPING THE CAR OFF THE WALL TWO OR THREE TIMES. “The car was fine, really, until we got taken out the last time. Unfortunately it was just too much to fix.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS CHEVROLET: ON THE REPLAY IT LOOKED LIKE YOU GOT SPUN OUT BY JEFF GORDON AND TONY STEWART. IS THAT WHAT IT FELT LIKE TO YOU IN THE CAR? “Yeah. The 24 just flat spun me out. I don’t know why. That second time I was probably doing something that I shouldn’t have done. I should have just let those guys go but I raced them. I guess they didn’t like it too much.” AT THAT POINT OF THE RACE YOU HAVE TO RACE HARD AS GET AS MANY POSITIONS AS YOU CAN GET. “After the first time I got spun out we were pretty much done. But it’s unfortunate. We just had a rough day [SMILES]. We battled back and we were about to get our lap back when we got spun out.” DID YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN ANYTHING HERE TODAY? “No [SMILES]. I mean, our car wasn’t very good all day and we got it better and it was okay there when we were up there on the bottom to try to get our laps back a couple of times. We were decent. We could run with the cars in the top-15 or so and we were doing okay. I guess the 24 just…he’s got no respect for nobody. He thinks he owns the track, he thinks everybody should get out of his way and I ain’t going to do it. I was doing what I had to do. I was a lap down and I was trying to get my lap back and my car was pretty fast. He just dumped me.” IF YOU LOSE TRACK POSITION YOU ARE AT A DISADVANTAGE? “Yeah, it’s so hard to pass and once you lose a lap it’s hard to make laps up unless you’re really fast. We were just behind all day from the start and getting spun out didn’t help matters for sure.”
DENNY HAMLIN IN THE No. 11 FEDEX EXPRESS CHEVROLET WAS THE RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE RACE.
Notes:
Hamlin finished 14th and took top Raybestos Rookie honors for the second time this season.
Hamlin was the only Raybestos Rookie to finish on the lead lap at Bristol.
Hamlin is UNOFFICIALLY tied for second-place in the Raybestos Rookie points. He and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate J.J. Yeley are tied for second, six points (53-47) behind leader Clint Bowyer.
HAMLIN: THIS WAS A GOOD FINISH AND GOOD POINTS DAY FOR YOU. “I made a lot of mistakes on pit road. I had to go to the end of the longest line twice. We had a top-10 car, top-five car I felt like and got caught back there and couldn’t do anything about it. I can’t say enough for the whole FedEx crew. We battled back and got a top-15.” YOU HAD A GOOD DAY AT A TRACK THAT IS NOT YOUR FAVORITE. THAT MUST GIVE YOU A BOOST OF CONFIDENCE. “I feel like we’re making gains every week. We keep building on this and we’ll get in that top-10.” IT SEEMED LIKE AFTER ABOUT LAP 300 THE RACE BECAME INTENSE, A LOT OF TAKING AND NO GIVING. “There was definitely a whole lot of that but it’s Bristol and it’s part of it. You’ve got to take your licks, take them on the chin, and leave your emotions outside. You’re going to get your feelings hurt.” HAVE YOU FIGURED OUT HOW TO RACE HERE CLEANLY? “I definitely do, but sometimes you’ve just got to use that front bumper in some situations when you’ve got to go. Fortunately it’s a good day for us.” YOU’VE GOT TO BE PUMPED UP ABOUT GOING TO MARTINSVILLE NEXT WEEK. “Definitely. That’s a track that I had circled on the calendar from the get-go so I’m ready for next week.” IS IT FAIR TO SAY THAT YOU THINK YOU’VE GOT A SHOT AT THE POLE AND THE WIN? “There’s no doubt in my mind. We’re able to turn fast laps there and I know how to get around it. That’s one place that I feel at home.” WHAT’S THE MAIN THING THAT YOU LEARNED HERE TODAY? “Don’t make any mistakes on pit road. We had to go back so far and we had a problem and went a lap down but we battled back.” ANY CLOSE CALLS? “Every lap [SMILES].”
J.J YELEY, No. 18 ASTHMACONTROL.COM/INTERSTATE BATTERIES CHEVROLET: “We definitely had a top-10 car. Someone got together, there was cars spinning. I checked up and I got in back of the 31 car and I thought we were okay and then someone hammered me from behind. It spun the 31 out and it bent some stuff pretty severe in the back and it took some time to get the thing fixed. The guys kept digging all day long. I’m not exactly sure NASCAR’s decision when they kept me a lap down there early because they said I went up too early doubling-up and heck, they’d been doing that all day long. I’m a little confused about that. Unfortunately, we just didn’t get the finish that we needed but it’s all over and we can go on to the next one.” HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO DOUBLE UP AND RESTART HERE? “The problem is that there are 40 cars strung out single-file at this place and you’d better be hustling up. You’re supposed double-up coming off turn 3. The 21 car passed me and I checked-up, started passing cars down the front straightaway and I barely made it to the front of the line before it went green. I don’t know how I could have waited any longer and then I get penalized for it. The next thing you know every lap car does it for the rest of the race. It’s no big deal. We got our lap back. Like I say, we run top-10 and got crashed.”
REED SORENSON, No. 41 TARGET DODGE: “It wasn’t too bad. I thought we had a little better finish going. After that wreck there where the 26 got into us and spun us around it didn’t seem to be quite as good after that. We worked on it and got it the best we could and that’s just where we ended up.” WHAT WAS THE MAIN THING THAT YOU LEARNED HERE TODAY? “A lot of things. We got into a lot of situations and ended up okay. Our car is torn up pretty bad and we still ended the race okay. It would be nice to qualify and get up front and maybe go over different pit strategy and scenarios but overall it was an okay day.” IS IT JUST REALLY DIFFICULT TO RACE HERE? “It’s fun if you’re car is good. When your car gets a little bit off, it’s a handful.”
