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Dover: Winning team interview

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Combos Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 1st How does it feel to be in victory lane at Dover? "It feels good. We've been passed here a lot at Dover. We've had great race cars. Can't thank these guys enough ...

Published: May 16, 2010, 7:50 PM

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KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Combos Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st

How does it feel to be in victory lane at Dover?

"It feels good. We've been passed here a lot at Dover. We've had great race cars. Can't thank these guys enough -- this Joe Gibbs Racing team was awesome. Today was a good day for us. Real good race car. I'm real proud of these guys. The way we were good all day. We came off pit road real strong and everything -- held our own."

Did the late race restart disrupt your momentum, and what do you during those situations?

"Not much. You just try to think through things that are going to happen on the restart. I was planning on Denny (Hamlin) being on my inside for the restart. Figuring, well I need to go to the outside to make sure I get a big run through (turns) one and two on the outside and try to clear him down the back. That didn't happen. I had the 32 (Reed Sorenson) and I got him done getting to turn one. You just think through all the different scenarios that can happen and try to plan out the best you can. It never always goes to plan, but you can try."

What was going through your mind during the late race restart?

"We hadn't had stumbling problems all day, so I figured we can have just a good, clean restart -- don't spin the tires, get through the gears okay and you'll be fine. That's what we did. That's what won us the race. We just had a very fast race car. This Combos Toyota was awesome. We had a great car and all we did was just make sure we adjusted on it right and kept it out front and kept it in clean air."

How dominant of a race car did you have today?

"I had a great race car rolling off the truck. Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) and all of the guys back at the shop at Joe Gibbs Racing did a great job in preparing a cool piece. We come out here and just fine-tuned on it a little bit yesterday, and had a great qualifying effort this morning with a new track record, and we had a fast race car today. Denny (Hamlin) got the jump on me on the initial start and got up there a little bit and led a few laps. I was a little too loose to get going. I chased him back down and got by him and set sail from there. Our guys on pit road were unbeatable. They had great race stops and we just made some fine adjustments on pit road one time there during the race, and it seemed to work out for us. The car just took off like a flash on them restarts, so it was really cool to ride a car like that."

What are your chances to sweep the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races this weekend?

"Well, so far so good. Should've won last night (in the NCWTS race Friday), but unfortunately had some issues there. I had a great race truck, so those guys did a nice job and then today Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) and these guys gave me a fast piece where we were able to run that well and win the race. So, we're hoping tomorrow's M&M's Camry is just as strong and that we can work towards going for that sweep. I feel pretty good about it. I know there's a lot of guys in the garage area that are saying we're really good, but you're only as good as you race. You've still got to run the race. So they don't pay right now."

What would you like to do in the Nationwide Series this year?

"I'd like to run the full year. But, it's up to J.D. Gibbs and those guys. I'm just here to drive race cars. I do what I love to do. I'm not the guys that handles the business week-in and week-out. I got enough of that going on at Kyle Busch Motorsports."

Does it change your approach now that you are not running a full-time Nationwide Series schedule this year?

"It changes your approach a little bit, but not a whole lot. We've just got to make sure that we go out there and try to win races. That's what we're here to do anyway. Last year, even though we were going for the championship, we were still racing for wins. I felt like this year just having the tone kind of change this year a little bit doesn't change a whole lot for us. We still want to win as many as we can -- we're going after the owner's championship. So, if we could secure that it would be better for us too. It's frustrating to want to go for it and not be allowed but it's better for what we're doing on Sundays. I feel like that's the big prize. We've got to make sure that we run well there and we can win a championship on the Sprint Cup level and maybe once we get that done then we'll run for both championships again. But at least getting the first one would be the best."

JASON RATCLIFF, crew chief, No. 18 Combos Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How was the race?

"It was fun. I told Kyle (Busch) earlier that he makes it fun just to sit back in that seat up there and enjoy the weather. Like he said, we had a great car all weekend. Similar to what we ran here last fall. The track kind of got away from us last fall and I knew today that would probably be the key -- just stay on top of it with our adjustments. We did and it was a dominant car and we were able to stay up front. Had great pit stops and the guys just do an awesome job here. This is just one of those tracks for us that just seems to work with our package and our setup so hopefully we can win a lot more here."

-source: toyota motorsports

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