Ford Racing NSCS Notes & Quotes:
Hollywood Casino 400 Cup Post Race (Kansas Speedway)
Sunday, October 21, 2012
KENSETH EARNS THIRD WIN OF THE YEAR, FIRST EVER AT KANSAS
· Matt Kenseth took the checkered flag for the 24th time in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career with today’s win.
· It marks the first time Kenseth has won a Cup race at Kansas Speedway.
· The win is Kenseth’s third of the year.
· The win was the 130th all-time NSCS win for Roush Fenway Racing.
· The win marked the 611th career Cup victory for Ford.
MATT KENSETH, No. 17 Zest Ford Fusion – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – YOUR SECOND TIME WINNING IN THREE WEEKS, THAT WAS ONE WHALE OF A RIDE TODAY. “It was up and down and our Zest Ford was pretty darn good. It was pretty fast today. It surprised me. Jimmy and those guys made great adjustments overnight. I thought it was over when I got in the fence when Aric wrecked under Mark. I was watching them and trying to make sure I didn’t hit them and I flat sided it pretty bad. It ended up working in our favor. They fixed the body as good as it was when we started and we had to take less gas in that last pit stop and this pit crew put me out front.”
AFTER THE ACCIDENT, WHAT DID JIMMY TELL YOU ABOUT THE DAMAGE AND HOW DID THE CAR FEEL THEN? “He didn’t say it but he was probably thinking I should stop whining about it. He said it was fine. I knew I hit it really hard but thought it was centered up in the door real good and we had a similar thing happen at Homestead last year. As soon as we got the fender back where it was supposed to be it was fine. I was happy as hard as I hit it that my steering wheel was still in the right place.”
HOW ABOUT YOUR RESTARTS ON THE OUTSIDE LANE. YOU SEEMED TO GET GREAT RESTARTS. “Honestly I guess I kind of have to thank Jimmie Johnson for it because earlier in the race I drove under him and thought I would clear him and he stayed right on my door and had me so incredibly loose I couldn’t drive my car and I knew we were faster than him. As soon as that happened I knew that if we got the lead I would take the outside because I didn’t want to be that guy again. There was just no grip on the bottom when you didn’t have air on the car. If you were single file the bottom was the better but to get rolling I wanted the outside and our Yates horsepower, we had so much of it we could get going through the gears and clear them.”
GREG BIFFLE, No. 16 3M/Sherwin-Williams Ford Fusion – “I lost it man. It got away from me off of four there and we wrecked it.” ARE YOU SURPRISED THE AMOUNT OF CAUTIONS TODAY? “The hard tires contribute to that and the new pavement. I knew it was going to be like that and the Nationwide race was kind of like that but I didn’t plan on it being me. I don’t know what happened. That is the thing; they get away from you so quick. I had no indication, no little wiggle, no sideways anything. It just took off. It just got away from me and it killed our day.”
MARCOS AMBROSE, No. 9 Black & Decker Ford Fusion – “I feel really good for my team. We have been through a lot the last five weeks. There is a ray of sunshine coming on us. We didn’t get the finish we wanted and crashed and tore the car up and fell back and still finished 12th. The team did a great job to get us back on the track and make us competitive. Mike Ford made some great calls on the box and we just have to keep going here and build for 2013.”
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF ALL THE CAUTIONS? “You knew it was coming but the track was pretty racey really and had a couple of grooves. It wasn’t single file. It was tough hard racing and the tire had a very aggressive slip angle on it and when it starts to slide it is hard to catch and that is what you saw today, guys sliding a lot.”
TREVOR BAYNE, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion – “If they wanted that kind of racing they got it. It was good racing I felt like but if you stepped out of the groove too much you were busting your butt and that is what everybody did. It was unfortunate for us because I felt like we had a decent run going and we were up to 17th with everyone crashing and could have finished top-10 I think but I guess everyone could say that because they were all crashing too. The 9 just got in on us and got a little loose but that is just racing. I hate that we tore it up and didn’t get the finish we were looking for.”
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 43 Farmland Ford Fusion – WHAT HAPPENED THERE? “We blew another right front. It was a big hit and I lost my breath there for a minute so I had to collect my thoughts. I am disappointed. I have never in my entire life had a race car that good. It was so fast and so easy to drive. All the guys on this Farmland Ford Fusion did a great job and we just had a really great race car and we were here in Farmland’s headquarters and we were trying really hard to double their money to Harvesters Food Bank if we won but we were unable to do that, not from lack of effort. All the guys worked really hard all weekend and we had a spectacular car. I hate that it ends like this but I have always been told you have to give a few away before you can win one and I feel like we certainly gave one away today.”
