Martin Truex Jr. Wins First Short Cup Win in Richmond – NASCAR



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Here's what drivers have to say after the Saturday Night Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway:

Martin Truex Jr. – Winner: "I'm really excited to win here in Richmond. I've always really enjoyed this tour. I've always liked coming here. The short track victory – everyone kept asking me when it was going to happen. Tonight we did not have the best car, but we lost here with the best car several times. We just fought, we fought. … (Logano getting closer at the end of the race) I struggled in the last 40 laps. I did not have a turn forward. I was just, very tight at the last run. It was enough to hold them back. Being outside was important tonight.

"Thanks to the pit team, they kept us there. They had a difficult year and a difficult week last week. We beat them pretty well all week after Bristol and they had the best stop of the year tonight. Just really proud of everyone. Really very happy to have our first win with (Joe) Gibbs and our first short track win is also very good. … (As it was difficult at the end of the race) It's like driving in the snow and trying to hit a line six to eight inches in the center of the turn. That's right – it's the lack of grip. The car was not doing anything I wanted to do in the last race. We really, really tight. Being on the front was really the key and trying to do everything I could to not screw up and hold on to these guys. It was really, really difficult.

Joey Logano – finished second: "We had a car that could win for the third week in a row and we did not win. This part is frustrating. We need to clean up some mistakes on our side. We lost our heads during a pit stop. We have to go faster there. It was at this point that we lost control of the race at that time and returned to third place. We had a decent green flag cycle. I watched them running and I thought that if I was patient and kept my tires, I would see them coming out of the bend every time. They were a little faster than me but I knew they were going to kill their stuff and they did it. I arrived there, I had only two laps to get there. I was able to go to (Truex) but it was not enough. It's a kind of double-edged sword. You go to the bottom and you can not get the will to erase them and go outside is quite difficult. I just could not do it. Missed time. Need a few more laps. "

MORE: Results, Toyota 400 Owners Ranking in Richmond

CLINT BOWYER – finished third: "This place is a difficult race track. I got it and I could not hold my nose with air on it and it became very tight. As I continued to run in his wake, I became more and more tight and suddenly Joey knocked us down. The next thing you know, he's outside of you and the rest is history. I do not know what I could have done differently. Overall, it was a good day for us. But man, you hate getting closer to that. I want to go on the winning track and I thought it was our night, but I guess we'll have to wait until next time. "

Kevin Harvick – was fourth: "I like nights like this where we can take a car that is a seventh to ninth ranked car and adjust it so that it is able to argue in the end." We missed these guys but we just ran out of time. I'm proud of all the members of our Mobil 1 Ford who got hooked and fought. We had another good night on the stands. It was a solid night. "

Denny Hamlin – finished fifth: "We really closed the leaders in the end. We were fast, very quickly the last 20 laps. We just did not have enough time. We fought from the back and we really could not win a lot in the raises, but we really managed to make it to two or three places in each race and to rank among the top five end. I could at least see the leaders. A great day for our FedEx Camry. We wanted to win but we just did not have the winning car. We would have liked to give it during happy hour, we just did not have enough time. I think we maximized what we had from our car. We simply did not have the car to fight until late in the day and by that time they had taken too much of a lead. "

Austin Dillon – finished sixth: "We had a meeting on Monday and discussed what we had to do here at Richmond Raceway as a team, then we came here and we did it. So I'm really proud of all the members of this Richard Childress Racing team. We had a very fast Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 AAA tonight, especially in the last race. I think we actually had a little something for at least the first three places. During our last pit stop, we had a small problem and lost a position on the track, but we had good cars in the end, including Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski. I am really proud of the AAA team. I would have just liked that we could be a little further forward to see what we had. I kept a lot of my stuff for the end and I was ready for the last run. But we did not have enough. I am really excited about the direction our team is taking. It's always good to enter the weekend with a strong place in the top 10. "

BRAD KESELOWSKI – finished seventh: "We had a lot of speed in the short run and, unfortunately, we used long runs at the end. Overall, it was not a bad day. It was good. We needed the race to get to us with short races at the end and this is not the case. I like short pieces, I think that they are very funny. It's hard to pass, but it's the race, that's how it's going to happen. I can not see the whole picture, I'm only in the car. I know we have taken our bike again, but I can not tell you why.

Ryan Newman – finished ninth: "Our Ford Mustang Roush Performance was good. We needed a track position to start and I think we could have done something with it. We had good times on the points, but we fought against the positioning. We were stuck in the first pit stop and took even more distance than at the beginning. I'm proud of guys. They did a good job in the stands and we had a good car. "

Paul M̩nard Рfinished 10th: "It was really an uneventful night for Richmond. We started ninth and stayed in the back half of the top 10 all night. The guys have really stepped up their game on pit road and we have gained a few places where we have maintained and that's what you need when you start running to the front. It was a really solid day for us.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – finished 16th: "We tried all sorts of adjustments, but unfortunately they did not help my fifth Ford third," Stenhouse said. "Our teammate had a good performance, so we'll look at his notes and see what we can improve. We have a free weekend to regroup and prepare for Talladega. "

Daniel Suarez – 18th finished: "We had a tough race tonight, especially after my mistake in the pits. Our Ford Mustang Haas Automation was very good at the start of the race during the long green flag race, but we could not make the necessary adjustments to stay that way until the end. It was difficult to cross the traffic and recover seats after a lap. We have learned a lot and we have a good team. We will be back later this year and we will be better. "

Daniel Hemric – finished 19th: "Get out of Richmond with a place in the top 20? We will take it. This team # 8 aims to put one foot in front of the other. It's great to have a group of guys who do not abandon me. We did not finish exactly what we wanted, but we significantly outperformed the positions we had chosen over the last few weeks. We will accept it and hope it is a good time for all members of this team Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops No. 8. I still love running in Richmond and I feel that I know what I've need when we come here in the fall to argue and run where our team mate Austin Dillon was tonight. These guys have had good speed all weekend, so let's hope we can move a little bit in that direction and continue that momentum. "

Kyle Larson – finished 37th: "It's a rather crappy start to the year. We had a decent speed. We did not have a great speed tonight, but in the weeks when we have speed, we still have problems. I hate the beginning of the season that I had. At this restart, I found myself stuck in the middle. I probably squeezed the person below me and caused damage to a tire. We had to make holes to fix that. But they could not get the wings out, then I had a puncture and I went back into the wall. But fortunately, this break is a good time and we can regroup. I hate it for McDonald's and Chevrolet and all the members of our team. "

By Jerry Bonkowski

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