Ford Racing NSCS Notes & Quotes:
Budweiser Duel #1 (Daytona International Speedway)
Thursday, February 21, 2013
CARL EDWARDS (No. 99 FASTENAL Ford Fusion) – ACCIDENT QUOTES
WHAT HAPPENED? “I don’t know exactly what happened. It looked like Denny (Hamlin) got sideways and wrecked us. That is the fourth time we have wrecked since we have been down here. I told Jimmy we wrecked four times, so we have the black flag already and the race hasn’t even started. We are getting it out of our systems. Fortunately we have a really good group of guys and have a good backup car, which is our Shootout car. We will just go get ‘em in the 500. I learned a lot. If we can just have a little luck I would not count our 99 team out. It will be a good race for us.”
WHAT DID YOU LEARN TODAY? “I learned some ways to patiently move to the front and I am going to use that stuff on Sunday. Hopefully the temperatures are up like they are today. It looks like it might be cloudy on Sunday but the forecast keeps changing. I think you saw today exactly what that race will look like. There will be groups of cars that separate themselves and some pit strategy and some guys that slide around and can’t keep up. I think it will make it a really dynamic, fun race.”
HOW DOES STARTING SPEEDWEEKS LIKE THIS IMPACT YOUR CONFIDENCE? “Well, we started it perfectly last year. We won the pole and everything was going smoothly and it was a terrible year. Hopefully this is a sign that this will be a great year. This is the worst speedweeks start I have ever had. I don’t think I have crashed this many race cars in two years. It has been expensive for Jack (Roush) and we have used a lot of Fastenal nuts and bolts but our guys are upbeat and ready to go race.”
LOOKED LIKE YOU GOT PULLED UP ALONGSIDE THE 51, JUST LIKE IN PRACTICE. “I don’t know exactly how come Denny got sideways there. If you look at the replay he was just out there on my right rear and got sideways and hit the right rear of the car. I am sure it was as much a surprise to him as anyone. I don’t understand it exactly. I will have to ask Denny what he felt.”
TREVOR BAYNE (No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion) – ACCIDENT QUOTES
WHAT HAPPENED? “It looked like the 11 got loose in front of us. We led for a long time there and it was easy, just train racing it seemed like. There at the end we had to make a comeback because I accidentally slid the tires coming into pit road and we had to pit for four. We finally got linked up and were catching the lead pack. We caught Carl and somebody else at the end. Once we caught them it seemed like the 11 got really loose out of turn two. I wasn’t close to pushing him or anything. He just got really sideways and he clipped Carl and spun him in front of us and we had nowhere to go. It is unfortunate because we had a fast race car and you don’t want to tear that stuff up. I know they have a good backup car for me and we will try to get it on Sunday.”
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR SUNDAY? “I don’t know. It seems like those guys were able to mount something up on the bottom for Harvick to get the lead but it disintegrated once he got up there and pulled high. If you can get the majority of the guys to go with you it doesn’t matter which lane. That lane will move. Other than that it is a train race. I enjoyed it for the first half but at the end it made it really tough on us and it is unfortunate for our team. I wish I hadn’t slid the tires into pit road. I will take the blame for that. I won’t make that mistake again.”
IS YOUR BACKUP CAR ONE OF THE ONES YOU USED DURING TESTING? “I believe it was our primary we tested with. Our best one was the one we were qualifying and racing right there. I know they can build consistent fast race cars. This didn’t end the way we wanted to for sure.”
ANYTHING YOU LEARNED TODAY THAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW BEFORE? “Not really, watching the Sprint Unlimited I saw everything that happened today. You have to stay in line and the top lane is the fastest and wherever the majority of cars go they can make a run at it. That is how it was today.”
