DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
FInishing Position: 1st
Let’s talk about those last two restarts and being able to hold off your teammates.
“Yeah, I just had to hold the bottom and get a good push. It was all about the push that I got from the 9 (Chase Elliott) and really the 18 (Kyle Busch) those last couple of restarts. That was the most important thing for us – to get a good restart. Once we got out front, we could hold it wide open. Our car was built for downforce, so it worked out that it was just fast enough to win.”
Talk about that last pit call – taking two tires instead of four.
“I knew track position was the biggest factor for us. As long as we could keep our car out front, it was the most important thing beyond tires. We made the right call and took two lefts there and that turned out to be the best call there.”
We talk about momentum. You came from 23rd to win and now you head to one of your best tracks.
“Yeah, I love where we are at, no doubt about it. I cannot wait to get to Martinsville. This week was just supposed to be a fun week for us, kind of check things out and make sure that we are good once we get down the road as we get to other tracks and I’m pretty happy about where we are at.”
Talk about the celebration with FedEx and your team.
“Fred Smith (CEO, FedEx) and his whole team have been so great to support me and this race team for 14 years of my career and I could not be happier to be with this company and all the associates that work there. I want to thank FedEx, Toyota, the Jordan Brand, Little Big Burger, all of this crew. The pit crew did an amazing job. Chris (Gabehart, crew chief) made the right call every time and we just had a race winning car. The second half of the race showed that. I’m glad we could pull it off.”
Denny, you are going into the next round now.
“It’s step-by-step, week-by-week. We are not getting too far ahead of ourselves. We concentrate every week as if it’s the most important one, and this win here shows that.”
JGR PR
