Denny Darnell
Scott Sebastian
Dodge Motorsports PR
Martinsville Speedway
TUMS Fast Relief 500
Post-Race Quotes
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
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BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge Charger) Finished 10th “It was a good solid day for us and we got a good finish out of it. It was a good weekend for us, winning the Nationwide yesterday and getting a top 10 here today. I’m happy but now, I’m ready to go home. “
DID YOU EXPECT YOUR FIRST TOP 10 TO COME AT A SHORT TRACK? “I think it’s going to come every week and so does the team. You can’t think of it as we’re coming to this race or that race and that’s where we’re going to run well. You’ve got to run hard every week and you’ve got to believe you can run up front every week. It could have come at the first race at Daytona and I would have believed it. It’s just a matter of getting everything right and running a good race.”
WHEN WAS THE CAR AT ITS BEST DURING THE RACE? “In the middle part of the race, we probably weren’t that good, but at the start and at the end we were solid. Good pit stops and good restarts gave us good track position. Put it all together and you end up with a top 10.”
JAY GUY (Crew Chief, No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge Charger) “It was a very solid run for this Penske Dodge. All the guys have worked hard all year long, it’s a shame it has taken this long to get a top 10. It’s really good for Brad, it’s good for Mr. Penske and for all the folks at Dodge that help support us and put this program together. We’re looking forward to building momentum for the rest of the year and into 2011. Runs like today give you a little more pep in your step and pride going into the next race.”
DID YOU EXPECT THE FIRST TOP 10 TO COME ON A SHORT TRACK? “Brad is such an accomplished race car driver, so calculating, that it wouldn’t surprise me anywhere we go that we could get a top 10, a top five or a win the way he approaches driving a race car. He’s a student of the game and a really smooth driver. It was a good all-around effort from everybody and Brad did a great job today.
I’m real happy for this Penske Racing team.”
KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Operation Home Front/Miller Lite Dodge Charger) Finished 16th “Man, just a lot of good, hard Martinsville racing out there today. It was a battle for all 500 laps. This place has been a monster for me over the years. We started behind with our Miller Lite Dodge, qualifying 29th on Friday. Anytime you’re short-track racing, track position and pit stall selection is critical, especially here. It was a battle. We started back in the pack, worked our way up and gained a ton of track position. Then we came in under green and had to pit a second time because of some loose lug nuts which cost us all of our position. We fought our way back inside the top 10, dropped to 15th, back inside the top 12; just a back and forth effort all day for us. We rubbed fenders, battled and clawed all day. There was a lot of hard racing going on all day. We fought hard and I’m proud of our Miller Lite Dodge guys. I thought we were going to be able to battle home a top 10, but we just didn’t get the run we needed on that last long run and dropped to 16th.”
WHAT HAPPENED TO CAUSE THE CONTACT WITH THE 24 CAR? “Look, there was good racing all day amongst a lot of guys. There was respect given for guys when they were getting back to the inside. (He) was on the outside lane on restarts and so yeah, he shoved me in there and I shoved him back in Turn 4. I didn’t mean to get into him that hard, but over the years with (Jeff) Gordon here, back in the 97 (car), wrecking the 2 car, whether you’re a current Kurt fan or ex-Rusty (Wallace) fan, he’s wrecked the 2 car a lot here.”
DID THE CONTACT WITH THE 24 CAR HURT YOUR CAR AT ALL? “His chicken move afterward wasn’t called for, but that shows the game we’re gonna play. One bump versus another bump, it still seems like the scorecard isn’t even.”
TRAVIS GEISLER (Crew Chief, No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger) Finished 25th “We actually had a decent car today. We were going to run top 20 for sure. We were running around 15th to 20th all day. We were on the outside of the 47, trying to get by him. He lost it on the inside and came up and hit us in the left front wheel. That knocked the toe out. There’s no stability on braking once you have that situation. We tried to fix it up best we could, but had already lost a couple laps trying to get it repaired. It was a tough day for us, but we’re happy for the 12 guys, their first top 10 of the year. It’s good to see them post a good finish.”
