TREVOR BAYNE – No. 16 Roush Fenway Mustang (Finished 31st) – “We learned a lot about our short track program. We just had some misfortune with the tire. We were top 10 all day long and I don’t know if we ever fell out of the top 10. We were right there in seventh behind Logano trying to work on him and going into three the tire went. I don’t know if the bead melted from the brake heat or if I ran something over, but it kind of stinks that it happened. These points are tough to come by, but it’s still early in the season so we’ll be OK.”
CARL EDWARDS – No. 60 Ford Drive One Mustang (Finished 2nd) – “We made a run. I did everything but move him out of the way and I thought about that, but he did a great job. Those guys did well. He drove that car. It was loose and he did a good job hanging on to it. I’ve got to thank Ford. This Ford Mustang is fast. My guys have been working hard all winter. The engine was good. All the guys at the shop did a great job and we’re gonna start on the pole tomorrow, so this is gonna be fun.”
WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CATCHING HIM AND THEN TRYING TO PASS HIM? “He was so loose. They made an adjustment, it looked like, and he got loose. This place is hard to drive loose. I could get him down there in three and four. I could wiggle him and get him sideways, but he was so fast in one and two. I think even if I would have got by him, he could have worked me over pretty good in one and two and got back by me. It was one of those deals where I had to get him fairly because I knew he’d get me right back. This was a good race. I’ve had some of the best races of my career out here and I really enjoy this race track. I’m glad we got up there and got to challenge him so the fans could see a little bit of a show there at the end.”
RICKY STENHOUSE, JR. – No. 6 Roush Fenway Mustang (Finished 7th) – “I consider this a really good day as far as the car and the way we drove up through the field, and the way our motor got us off the corners. That was awesome. We’ve got to work on our pit stops. That killed us. The last car on the lead lap after running seventh, so that kind of killed us. I had to restart behind the lapped cars there, so, overall I feel like if we work on the pit stops and work on our car a little bit better, I think we’ve got a shot at some of these.”
CARL EDWARDS PRESS CONFERENCE – CAN WE LOOK FORWARD TO THAT KIND OF BATTLE TOMORROW? “I think we can. I think him and his brother and Denny, Tony – a bunch of guys are really fast tomorrow. I’m just glad I got to race him a little bit. That thing was unreal how fast his car would go. They would drop the green and it would just take off, but that last run he was loose enough that we could keep up and got to challenge him a little bit, but as mine got a little slower, his just kept gaining speed and there at the end I didn’t really have anything for him. But it was definitely a fun race. This track is so much fun. I’ve had some really, really good races, especially in the Nationwide Series here and that’s right up there. I wish we would have been able to battle a little more the last couple laps, but leading up to that was fun.”
WHAT’S IT LIKE WHEN YOU HAVE A WEEKEND LIKE KYLE HAS GOING RIGHT NOW? “It’s as good as it gets. It’s an amazing feeling to, number one, be able to compete at this level and then, two, to win races. The ultimate is to win everything in a weekend and Kyle has done it all three races. I’ve been fortunate to win both of them a few times and it’s just a cool feeling to wake up Monday morning and think, ‘Man, we went there and won everything.’ That’s a great feeling. I’m gonna try my hardest to keep him from doing that tomorrow. You never know what’s gonna happen. You saw today that Kyle had this dominant car and then all of a sudden at the end I was able to challenge him and you just don’t know what’s gonna happen here until the final run. This track seems to change and it responds to changes from the crew chiefs notably. It’s a big deal.”
CARL EDWARDS CONTINUED — WHAT IS THE RESPECT LEVEL LIKE WITH KYLE? “I think it was Kevin who pointed out earlier in the season that this is a new year. You’ve got to do the best you can to go out and race everyone all the time with the most respect you can. Kyle was driving that car so well and we were having such a good race. It was a lot like the race Kevin and I had in 2006 or 2007. That’s one of the best races I’ve ever had and it was because we really gave each other all the room we needed to race and the best car ended up winning. Today, Kyle’s car was the best and it’s fun to be able to race like that. That’s what racing is about is just doing the best you can. It’s frustrating to lose them, but it’s better to lose them that way than it is to win by running into somebody.”
WAS IT MORE HIS CAR GOING AWAY OR YOUR CAR GETTING BETTER THAT LET YOU RACE WITH HIM AT THE END? “I think his just got so loose, at least that’s what it looked like to me. It was loose down in three and four because down here in one and two I had nothing for him. I didn’t feel like ours changed that much, I think he just got a little loose – or maybe I was just close enough to loosen him up a little bit, but once he got a couple car lengths out there he was kind of off again.”
