FYI WIRZ: Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth Talk at Michigan International Speedway

Denny Hamlin edged out Matt Kenseth to take first place at NASCAR's Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at the Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, with Kyle Busch chasing the hard-charging Kenseth, who nearly lost control but got over the line for second.

The two-mile, tri-oval track with 18 degree banking was built in 1968 among the Irish Hills of southeastern Michigan in Brooklyn, making it the nearest National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing facility to the heart of the traditional U.S. automotive industry territory.

Manufacturers consider this race one for rivalry bragging rights.            
 
Toyota earned the right to hoot with the win. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota had two cars finish in the top three. 

Not far behind the race's top-three finishers, Busch RCR driver Paul Menard surprised some with his strong fourth place run and Carl Edwards took fifth to maintain his points lead in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series. 

Hamlin, Kenseth and Busch had much to say before and after the brisk waving of the flags.

FYI WIRZ is the select presentation of motorsports topics by Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com. 

Denny Hamlin (No.11 Toyota) Finished first. (Started 10th)

Before the green flag:

“Michigan is a fun track,” Hamlin said. “It’s just a track where you can move around, change your car, and you can get out of line of the guy in front of you. It’s not an aero-sensitive track like a lot of them. It definitely is a benefit, as far as that’s concerned. I like a track where the driver can make somewhat of a difference. When his car’s not handling well, he’s got multiple grooves to change the way his balance is on his race car and Michigan is one of those race tracks. Your car’s not always going to be perfect, but you can almost make it that way by the way you drive there.”

After the checkered flag:

“Feels good to get a win after sneaking up on everyone,” Hamlin said. “When we go to these race tracks that we won at before, everyone expects us to win. We expect ourselves to win. We just had little bugs that kept us from doing that. This one we just snuck in there.

“That's very uplifting for me, is to win when you don't necessarily have the best car all day, but you have the car good at the end when it really counts.”

Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Ford) Finished second. (Started second)

Before the green flag:

“Every race is important to me,” Kenseth said. “If you can do good or something goes good and can win then I guess it is probably extra special for Jack and Ford and those people around here and headquartered here. To me you want to do good at every race. When you come to a track you feel like maybe is one of your better tracks sometimes you feel, not extra pressure, but want to take advantage of that at your good places.”

After the checkered flag:

“I just couldn’t quite get Denny,” Kenseth said. “After restarts we were kind of slow and tight in the middle which isn’t a good thing to be in a short shootout. We had a great car in the long run though. I tried what I could to get around him but I slipped on the restart. I just needed more laps to get it going.

“When we were going to be short on fuel I had to slow way down to save fuel. When you have to do that it is hard to figure out the balance of your car because you change your driving style so much and what the car feels like. I didn’t know what to do for adjustments at the end. So we just left it, threw a couple tires on it and tried it.”

Kyle Busch (No. 18 Toyota) Finished third. (Started 24th)

Before the green flag:

“It’s just a fun place to race,” Busch said. “Its wide-open racing and you can run from top to bottom. The biggest thing is just trying to get grip there. Some guys are able to get it, other guys can’t. You can get it for maybe five laps and then you’re just out to lunch. The biggest thing is just trying to make your car comfortable and make it last throughout a whole tire run and, of course, make it fast, too. And the wide race track is good -- that’s what makes Michigan so exciting and so fun.”

After the checkered flag:

“There were a few times today where I drove it on the inside of somebody like (Greg) Biffle or Matt,” Busch said. “And the car stuck and I was able to race with them instead of just praying for my life I wasn't going to spin out and wreck.”

On his discomfort racing today:

 “You know, it was just hard to breathe. I had to take real short breaths. Felt like I was running a 400-mile marathon, which essentially I was. But I felt like I was running on my feet instead of in a race car.

“I don't know what it was. But just a center chest pain I had early in the race. It was really hard to breathe. Couldn't tell you what it was. I don't know. I've never felt that before.  Guys gave me some special sauce and dialed me right in, so I'm good.”

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained from official release materials provided by NASCAR.

Photo credit: Dwight Drum at Racetake.com