Where the Raybestos Rookies will start at the Glen:
Hamlin 10th
Bowyer 14th
Yeley 26th
Truex Jr. 35th
Sorenson 40th
J.J. YELEY, No. 18 INTERSTATE BATTERIES CHEVROLET: “We made one qualifying lap and it felt really, really good. They tightened the car up a little bit and I guess we just didn’t go enough. The last three corners really got loose, really gave up a bunch of time. I think on the track pass we would have ended up still running a 73.20 or .0 if I could have got through the final three corners decent, which would have been great. That’s kind of what we were shooting for. I wasn’t going to over run the lap, do anything stupid. I got to the throttle and felt like everything was good and then the car broke loose pretty big on the last two corners and killed all my momentum that we had coming down there to the checkered flag. It’s definitely disappointing. There’s still light at the end of the tunnel. We still have a great race car. The Interstate Batteries Chevrolet is turning really good. It just stinks a little bit because I know that we would have qualified near the top-10 pretty good.”
CLINT BOWYER, No. 07 JACK DANIEL’S CHEVROLET: “It feels good. The car was really good. Everybody was slip sliding around, having a little trouble in the esses. I was a little bit cautious through there and gave up maybe a couple tenths there. It was just a cautious lap. I’ve had a tough day already and didn’t need another one in the fence. Hopefully that will hold up somewhere 15th to 20th and we’ll be find with that.” WHEN A DRIVER LIKE GREG BIFFLE HAS A PROBLEM QUALIFYING IT SHOWS HOW DIFFICULT THIS TRACK CAN BE. “It does. It places a toll on you when you’re watching and like you say a guy like Biffle, and everybody knows his talent, has trouble, especially in the esses where everybody has been slip sliding around and everybody’s comments after their lap was trouble in the esses. It places a little bit of a toll on me. You still have to go out and do your job and put down a clean lap. That was just a good, consistent, clean lap. There wasn’t anymore pushing it than that.”
REED SORENSON, No. 41 TARGET DODGE: “That needs to be about 73 and change [smiles]. This is a car that we just rebuilt. It didn’t get as much time as we wanted. We had to change the transmission and had some problems going through tech.
We just need some more practice.” WILL TRACK TIME IN THE BUSCH CAR THIS WEEKEND HELP YOUR CUP EFFORT HERE? “I think so. The Busch car has been all right over there and I think we’re actually faster in that car than we were this one. We just need some more practice in this and I think we’ll be okay.”
DENNY HAMLIN IN THE No. 11 FEDEX EXPRESS CHEVROLET WAS THE TOP RAYBESTOS ROOKIE QUALIFIER AT THE GLEN.
Notes:
Hamlin will start 10th in Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen. This is the best qualifying effort by a Raybestos Rookie on a road course this season. The previous best effort was 28th by Clint Bowyer this past June at Infineon Raceway (race No. 16).
WIX Filters is an associate sponsor for Joe Gibbs Racing. WIX Filters and Raybestos® brand brakes are members of the Affinia family of brands.
HAMLIN: “I’m pretty happy with that. I feel like we made gains. Our car was just really, really loose. I felt like we could run in the 72s, but still, I’m decently happy with that. It’s a lot better than Sonoma, for sure [smiles].” WILL THIS TRACK GET SLICKER WHEN MORE RUBBER IS PUT DOWN? “I think it gains a little more grip with tire rubber. It’s kind of like Charlotte in a lot of ways. We’re just going to try to get our best package together for tomorrow morning. I feel like we’ve got a top-10 car right now.” IS THERE A BIG ADVANTAGE STARTING UP FRONT? “Yeah, it’s a huge advantage. Coming from the back at Sonoma really bit us in the long run so having a good starting spot definitely helps.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS CHEVROLET: “That’s terrible. We lost a second from practice. I didn’t do a very good job and the car wasn’t where it was in practice, either. It’s just too loose. I had to
ride around real easy and be real gentle. You need to be able to get after it here and I couldn’t do that.” IF YOU MAKE A MISTAKE IN ONE CORNER HERE, CAN YOU RECOVER? “That’s pretty much what happened to me. I got real loose getting into 1 and through 1. If you get loose there you lose your speed all the way up through the esses, all the way to the backstretch and that’s where you gain all your speed if you’re good. I got real loose there and got real loose getting into the esses and so I didn’t get through them like I should have and that’s where all the speed was. It’s pretty frustrating.”
