Raybestos Rookie Happy Hour speeds:
Truex Jr. 4th
Hamlin 6th
Yeley 25th
Sorenson 31st
Bowyer 33rd
Stremme 37th

TWO Raybestos Rookies posted speeds among with top-10 in the final practice session for Sunday’s race at Martinsville. Martin Truex Jr. was third overall while Denny Hamlin was sixth.

Hamlin was also involved in a minor accident during the final practice session. The team does not plan to use a backup car in Sunday’s race.

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS CHEVROLET: “We got better. We started off and we were really good in this practice. We got a little too tight there throughout practice and never really got it just right but I feel like we got speed in it, at least. We’ll make a few more adjustments for tomorrow and we’re really looking forward to it. I really like short track racing. This place seems to fit my style real well.” HOW BIG OF A FACTOR IS THE HEAT GOING TO BE HERE ON SUNDAY? “Well, I don’t know. I’ve never ran 500 laps here. It’s all new to me. I think we’ll all be fine. We do this every weekend. It doesn’t matter if it’s 300 or 500 miles, it’s hot in there after 10 laps. Anything over 10 is all the same to me [SMILES].” IS THE TRACK VERY SLICK? “No, it’s got a lot of grip actually, a lot more than I though it would have. I’ve always heard it was a place where you struggle with forward bite and I’ve been a little tight off the corner all weekend so I don’t think so. It’s really fun, it’s a really cool track and I really like it a lot.” WHERE DO YOU PASS HERE? “I don’t know yet [LAUGHS]. We ran practice and we didn’t really get in heavy traffic or nothing like we will tomorrow. We’re just going to have to try to stay out there all day and stay on the bottom and keep from getting run into and try to keep fenders on the front and have a good day.” AT WHAT POINT IN THE RACE DO YOU GET AGGRESSIVE? IS IT AROUND LAP 300? “Obviously, there’s no point in racing until the end. You’ve got to get track position and you’ve got to be in position at the end of the race. There’s no sense in taking yourself out before then.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FEDEX GROUND CHEVROLET: WHAT HAPPENED? “It looked like the 88 lost in front of the 31 and I was right on the 31. I was either going to wreck him or I had to swerve high and try to miss both of them. I just got it slid into the 88. It’s just one of those deals everybody is running tight here. It’s a part of it. Luckily it was just body [damage] and nothing chassis. We went back out there and had a pretty good run.”

DOES THE TEAM PLAN TO CUT THE SIDE OFF THE CAR? “We’re going to have to cut the side off and get it all fixed up. Luckily aero is not a huge deal here. We will be able to overcome it.”

OTHER THAN THAT, HOW IS THE CAR? “The car is pretty good. I think we were sixth fastest in overall speed and we were pretty good. I’m still looking forward to tomorrow.”

DO YOU STILL FEEL CONFIDENT ABOUT THE RACE TOMMOROW? “Yeah, I’m just as excited as if we had qualified in the top-five, really. I’m not getting down about it. I mean, guys come from the back here all the time. It’s not a huge deal. We could do some something pit strategy-wise and maybe get up front or I think our car is good enough to get up there. We should be in good shape.”

IS THE TRACK REALLY SLICK? “It didn’t feel too bad. It actually felt like I had a little more grip than what I had expected for as hot as it was. Our car had more grip today than it had yesterday and yesterday was when guys ran faster times.”

HOW BIG OF A FACTOR IS THE HEAT GOING TO BE HERE ON SUNDAY? “Heat is going to be a big deal. It’s going to make brakes even more critical. You’re definitely going to have to be real easy on those because the cool weather dissipates that brake heat quite a bit. You’re definitely going to have to be really patient on the brakes. The track is going to be slick so it’s going to be a lot of sliding around.

MIKE FORD, CREW CHIEF, No. 11 FEDEX GROUND CHEVROLET: “We do have damage on the car, right there in Happy Hour. We were able to get it beat back out and get back out and the car still handled good. Here, aero isn’t as crucial as it is at other places so I don’t think it’s going to affect us. We’re going to replace the side overnight and we’ll have what we had to start practice. We’re not really worried about it. The car is real close and I think we’re going to race well.”

WILL YOU HAVE CREW COME UP FROM THE SHOP TO WORK ON THE CAR? “We usually have some of them come in on Sunday anyway, so we’ll just have the same group come in and we’ll knock it out. It’s going to go pretty quick.”

WILL YOU HAVE TO WORK AFTER GARAGE HOURS TODAY? “No, we won’t need to. We should be okay. I’m sure NASCAR will let us have any extra time if we need but I don’t really foresee it.”