Raybestos Rookie Happy Hour speeds:
Hamlin, 9th
Bowyer 33rd
Truex Jr. 37th
Yeley 39th
Sorenson 41st
DENNY HAMLIN IN THE No. 11 FEDEX EXPRESS CHEVROLET WAS THE TOP RAYBESTOS ROOKIE IN THE FINAL PRACTICE SESSION FOR THE AMD AT THE GLEN.
Notes:
Hamlin posted the ninth-best overall speed in the final practice session for Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen International. He was the only Raybestos Rookie to post a time in the top-10.
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HAMLIN: “It looked like someone kicked up some grass there in that corner and I was the first one to run back through it. It was pretty uneventful. Our car is really good. We’ve got a car that can contend for a top-five as long as I do all the things to save my equipment and keep it up front all day. We had transmission issues the first practice so I decided to completely change how I’d been shifting the car for this second practice. It was faster, more consistent and it’s going to be better on equipment. I’ve just got to keep that in mind and keep all four wheels on the asphalt tomorrow.” HOW EASY IS IT TO GET IN TROUBLE HERE WITH ALL THE SHIFTING? “It’s really tough. On the Busch side it’s a lot easier it seems like to shift than it is over here on the Cup side. I don’t know what it is, especially when you get out there in traffic. It’s really easy to get caught up racing a guy and forget your brake points and where you shift gears. Road course racing is really challenging in that way.” HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO PIT HERE? “I haven’t really had to pit under green yet so it’s definitely going to be tricky. I really didn’t do a mock run trying to get on to pit road so hopefully all our pit stops are under caution.”
Raybestos Rookie Reed Sorenson spun during the final practice session. Sorenson’s car was damaged in the incident but the team does not plan to use a backup in Sunday’s race.
REED SORENSON, No. 41 TARGET DODGE: “It just got loose. It’s so much better than it was yesterday. We’ve been making little adjustments at a time. I don’t think we over adjusted anything. We just got loose. I think we were pretty good there in the first practice there. I think we’re a lot better than what we were, for sure. I ran like two seconds faster today than I did in qualifying. The car is a lot better.” WERE YOU LUCKY THAT YOU DIDN’T HAVE MORE DAMAGE TO THE CAR? “Yeah, we’re real lucky. It’s all body damage. It didn’t hurt anything. It just takes a lot of fabrication work for those guys to beat it all back out and make it look pretty.”