Q. Denny Hamlin, came to this race 17 points below the point line, finished third in the race, it still wasn’t enough to advance. Where did it go wrong for you guys today?
DENNY HAMLIN: The mechanical failure last week with the power steering, that sealed our fate.
Really proud of this whole FedEx Toyota team for showing up today when we really needed to, having probably a mid 50-point day. They did great. They did absolutely great.
The 12 car was the best car today, so congrats to them. All the Final 4 that made it. It’s going to be great. Hate we’re not in it with our FedEx Camry. Definitely I was happy with the performance we had today. Really all around.
Just in the Round of 8 you can’t have one bad week. Unfortunately mechanical failure takes us from running really well to in the 30s. That’s it.
Q. What’s the emotion like, not getting that opportunity?
DENNY HAMLIN: Man, I just want to get ready and go try to win next week. I still love it so much ’cause every week I feel like I got a shot to win. That’s what fuels my passion, even at my age, to keep doing this, is I’m with the team that I got that gives me such fast cars every week and gives me a chance to continue to pile on those stats before the end of my career.
It’s not over by any means. We got a long way to go. Really happy about the year in general. I thought substantially faster this year at all racetracks than what we were last year.
It’s racing, right? This is the Playoffs. You got a three-race season. The 12 car showed up this round, right? He deserves to be in that Final 4. The performance they had today was phenomenal. I’m just happy for those guys. One more week.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
