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| · 2013 Las Vegas: NASCAR Nationwide Race Results - Hornish Jr, Ford Win! (Mar 9, 2013)
· 2013 Las Vegas: NASCAR Sprint Cup Final Practice Results - Truex Jr, Toyota Fastest! (Mar 9, 2013)
· 2013 Las Vegas: NASCAR Sprint Cup Practice Three Results - Kahne, Chevrolet Fastest! (Mar 9, 2013)
· 2013 Formula One F1 Driver Line-up, Rumor Round-up & 2014 Silly Season Rumors - March 9th (Mar 9, 2013)
· 2013 Las Vegas: NASCAR Sprint Cup Qualifying Results - Keselowski, Ford On Pole! (Mar 8, 2013)
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2013 Las Vegas: Toyota NASCAR Nationwide Race Quotes
Las Vegas-native Kyle Busch (second) was the highest-finishing Toyota driver in Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The second-place result by Busch tied his best NNS performance at the 1.5-mile race track - equaling a runner-up result in 2007. He also has one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) victory at Las Vegas in 2009. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Brian Vickers (third) and Elliott Sadler (fifth) also finished in the top-five. Rookie-of-the-Year contender Alex Bowman (eighth) also earned a top-10 finish in Las Vegas. It was his second top-10 in three 2013 races. Vickers led the field six times for a total of 27 laps (of 200) and Busch was in the front of the field three times for a total of 13 laps. Other Camry drivers in Saturday's race included Mike Bliss (17th), Blake Koch (21st), Hal Martin (24th), Joe Nemechek (27th), Parker Kligerman (30th), Jason White (35th), Jeff Green (38th) and Eric McClure (40th). Three Toyota drivers are in the top-10 of the unofficial NNS point standings -- Sadler (third), Vickers (seventh) and Bowman (10th).
KYLE BUSCH, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing position: 2nd How does it feel to finish runner-up today? "It stinks, man. We fought real hard all day and had a great piece. I can't say enough about Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and these guys -- everybody on this Monster Energy Camry. It's good to drive -- just wasn't fast enough. There at the end it felt like we were getting beat everywhere -- all the way around the race track -- a solid tenth-and-a-half or two. You hate to see that, especially with so many mile-and-a-half race tracks we go to this year, that we got beat like that there. These guys will go to work hard and we'll continue to get better. Second is not bad -- we'll see what we can do here in the next couple of weeks."
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 | What happened on the final run of the race? "It was a really good run for us. All the guys on this JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) Camry did a great job. The Monster Energy car was fast -- just came up a little bit short today. I felt like the guys did a great job. Pit stops were great and the car was great. We unloaded a little bit off, but they worked on it and made some good changes through 45 minutes of practice and then come out here and race today, starting deep in the field, but coming back up through there was good. I learned some things for tomorrow. Hopefully, we'll use some of that for our advantage. It stinks to see a car that fast in front of you when you're running second and know that you're that close but there's only one guy in front of you that's beating you. I've been that guy before plenty of times."
What were you thinking on the final restart? "Making sure that you get a good start. The restart before, Sam (Hornish Jr.) spun his tires really bad and I spun my tires a little bit. There on that last restart, just wanted to make sure we didn't get passed or go three-wide into the first corner with guys behind us that are pretty hungry, too. It was a good run. Sam and I, we battled hard side-by-side there. I almost had him cleared in turn three and felt like if I could have done that, I might have had something to hold him off with, but he was fast - really, really fast. This Monster Energy Camry was good -- the guys did a great job on pit road. Pit stops were good. Solid day -- just not good enough."
Was it difficult to prepare for the race with only one short practice? "It was a little bit of a challenge. I think you kind of saw who ran up front and who came off the truck the best. Sam (Hornish Jr.), right off the truck was really fast. The 3 (Austin Dillon) was really fast right off the truck. The 20 (Brian Vickers) was as well, too -- I felt he was pretty good. We had to make some gains on our car. We had to work on our car a little bit and make some changes to help it through practice. Then we went to the 20 to try to get us some more information after practice because we felt like they were pretty good. It helped us a lot and got us to where we had a really good car -- one that was a contender today, but not a winner."
How much will racing today help you in Sunday's NSCS race? "As far as tomorrow goes, just learning the track and learning the tire -- learning what line does what and if you can move around. What do you do when you move around? What king of a different technique you have to use, whether it's throttle, brake or what have you. A lot of things were going on out there today, especially through turns three and four. It seemed like it was really slick down there and I imagine tomorrow is going to be just as bad."
What do you think will happen this NNS season? "We saw the 12 (Sam Hornish Jr.) and the 22 (Brad Keselowski) -- really strong there early and the 22 had a problem. They just swapped over manufacturers and they're fast right out of the gate. That's pretty good to be able to do that. It does raise a little bit of a concern that they were that fast, but I think this is probably one of my worst mile-and-a-half (tracks) and we ran pretty good today. Taking what we learned today and going to places like Kansas or Charlotte or something like that where they better suit me -- we'll see how it all stacks up. The races are long races and sometimes you have some comers-and- goers. Seemed early like the 6 (Trevor Bayne) was good, the 20 (Brian Vickers) was good, the 12 was good all day. It kind of cycled out there at the end where the 12, us and the 20 were up front."
BRIAN VICKERS, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 3rd How was today's race? "It was good. I think today the results finally showed the effort and the performance throughout the race weekend. We didn't show all of it. We still got two more spots to go. We were good enough at times to win. The 12 (Sam Hornish Jr.) was great through the bumps. He could get through the bumps in turn one better than us. We were better in (turns) three and four. We just couldn't quite find that little something we needed to get by the 12 there at the end of the race. But, everybody did a great job -- really proud of the effort of the Dollar General team."
Would it have mattered if you got new tires on the second to last caution? "You know, I don't know. I don't even know if it was as much the tires, as it was the change. Everyone on the Dollar General crew did a great job. Really proud of the effort of them. My Toyota was running good all day. We were just kind of bouncing around it -- we were so close. We were right on top of it. We just got too loose there at the end. I just wanted to come in and tighten it back up. Four tires would have made a difference. Whether or not we'd have got back through there I don't know. The good news is we got a top-10 today -- a top-three actually. First two races -- the results didn't show the performance. Today they finally did."
How has it been working with a new race team? "I feel comfortable with the team. I think -- Kevin (Kidd, crew chief) and I and all the guys work really well together. We're just trying to learn and there's little adjustments. We get the big stuff. We've got all the big stuff under control, Kevin and I are just trying to figure out me -- a lot of it's me. What do I need in these cars? What do I need on these tracks? It's been two years since I've been on a mile-and-a-half track, much less with these cars. Not only these Nationwide cars, but also the Gibbs cars. New car, new team, new everything. Really proud of the effort. I feel like we're getting there -- we just haven't quite found that ability to fine tune."
ELLIOTT SADLER, No. 11 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing position: 5th Were the restarts at the end of the race frustrating? "The restarts are fun. These things just have so much drag in them -- it's hard to get clear of the guys. We're all side drafting off each other which I think creates really good racing. Just so proud of everybody on this Interstate Batteries team - - really wanted to get that win for these guys. We'll take a top-five. I think we'll keep learning and we'll try to improve on it next week at Bristol."
Are you continuously getting more comfortable with the JGR team? "I think we're getting there. I'm learning a lot about these cars. I think Chris (Gayle, crew chief) is learning a lot about me and what we need to do with these cars between practice and the race. Good adjustments today as the race went on. We'll continue to learn and move on. But, we're not going to complain with two top-fives. Really had a chance at a third-place finish there, I just couldn't get cleared of the six car (Trevor Bayne). We'll take it and learn."
Are you looking forward to Bristol? "We won there last spring and I love that race track. Joe Gibbs Racing has always had a really good set-up there. We have high hopes and some confidence going to Bristol next week."
ALEX BOWMAN, No. 99 Port of Tucson Toyota Camry, RAB Racing Finishing Position: 8th How was your race? "It was definitely a solid day. Everybody at RAB Racing gave me a good Port of Tucson Toyota Camry. It is really cool for me to get Port of Tucson the finish they deserve. They've been on with us for two previous races and kind of had some bad luck with them -- cool to get them a top-10. The race car was a little bit better than me today. I made some mistakes on pit road -- mistakes that last run that cost us probably finishing fifth or sixth. Can't complain about eighth. We've torn up race cars the last two weeks, so it's good to get out of here without a scratch on it and move onto Bristol next week."
How much did Mark Martin help you prepare for racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway? "I think out of everybody that helps me out, I have to thank Mark (Martin) the most. It was the first time I met him and he was really willing to give me a lot of good information and the reason we were so good on the long runs and older tires is because of something Mark told me -- and I'm going to keep that to myself. It was awesome to get to talk to him and get his advice because he's one of the best there is, for sure."
MIKE BLISS, No. 19 Plaza Hotel & Casino Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports Finishing Position: 17th
BLAKE KOCH, No. 24 I Am Second Toyota Camry Finishing Position: 21st
HAL MARTIN, No. 44 American Yachts Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports Finishing Position: 24th
JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 AM/FM Energy Toyota Camry, Nemco Motorsports Finishing Position: 27th
PARKER KLIGERMAN, No. 77 Toyota Camry, Kyle Busch Motorsports Finishing Position: 30th
JASON WHITE, No. 00 Headrush Toyota Camry Finishing Position: 35th
JEFF GREEN, No. 10 Plaza Hotel & Casino Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports Finishing Position: 38th
ERIC MCCLURE, No. 14 Hefty/Reynolds Wrap Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports Finishing Position: 40th
PaddockTalk Perspective
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