BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang– VICTORY LANE – HOW GRATIFYING IS THIS WIN? “It’s very gratifying. We’ve had a lot of seconds this year, whether it’s here in the Nationwide and we’ve been really close on the Cup side and just haven’t been able to get that win. Like I said, we’ve struggled here at Richmond too in both the Cup and the Nationwide cars, so it’s great to get that turned around and finally get to Victory Lane in a Ford. This is the Mustang and now we’ve got to go win in the Fusion and the Fords have been really fast, and we finally closed one out today. I’m just really proud of my guys and Discount Tire and SKF and everybody that makes this program possible, but what’s really important are these guys here. People ask me all the time why I’m running Nationwide and all those things and, don’t get me wrong, I love driving these cars, but it’s about these guys here and providing opportunities for them. These guys are all trying to make their way in this sport and this is their day to shine and their opportunity and I’m glad to drive and help give them that opportunity and make it happen by bringing sponsors and so forth. So I’m just really happy for these guys and I can’t wait to see where their careers take them. I’m happy to be a part of it.”
HOW WAS THE RACING WITH YOU, KEVIN AND KYLE? “I thought it was pretty darn good. I was grinning the whole time. I had fun and Kyle raced me really well, and so did Kevin. I think this is what racing is supposed to be like – side-by-side and just little touches, but not big ones. It was a great race all the way around here at Richmond and this is a great track.”
TRAVIS PASTRANA, No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang
“That was wild. I tell you what, Trevor was awesome for me. He kept pushing me. I actually got into a couple people in one of the corners. We didn’t spin anybody but I definitely need to make some apologies out there. We were getting bumped around like bumper cars out there. I had so much fun. I like racing like that. I like when people are bumping me and I’m bumping people but it sucks when you are on the losing end of that battle. The guys really didn’t start with what we thought we had but the really got this thing working at the end and we were making some passes. We got a top 10 finish and I’ll take it.”
SAM HORNISH JR., No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Mustang
“If it were a race for the first third of it we would have been pretty darn good. We just got way too free and couldn’t make ourselves any better as the night went on. We had issues in the pits getting the tires out but all in all I was happy with how we started. I guess we bookended it. We led early and Brad led late and its good toi get a Mustang in Victory Lane.”
REED SORENSON, No. 43 Flying J Travel Plaza Ford Mustang
“We deserve a lot better than that. This car was really good tonight. I am really proud of all the Pilot/Flyin J guys. I think we got up to fourth at one point and had a really good car on long runs. I’m happy with the effort these guys put in. I just wish we could have gotten the top five these guys deserve. We had to battle back to get where we were. We had a pit stop miscue and went back to 20th. It was quite an interesting night.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI PRESS CONFERENCE
BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – TALK ABOUT YOUR PASS FOR THE LEAD AND TONIGHT’S RACE. “First off, we obviously had a pretty good car to sit on the pole. Jeremy did the right thing to get us to where we needed to be at the end. We had a fast car at the end and it was just a matter of putting it in the right position. I got a small opportunity when Kyle bobbled down in three and four and used it to get a run to take the lead going into turn one with about nine or 10 to go, and that was all she wrote.”
JEREMY BULLINS, Crew Chief – No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – TALK ABOUT HOW IT FEELS TO WIN TONIGHT? “It’s been a long day. With the Nationwide race here you’re here all day because we practice, qualify and you kind of get it all in one big shot. Like he said, we got a little too free at the middle part of the race and I kind of noticed and felt like it was cooling off and we needed to take a bigger swing at it, so I’ve got to give some credit to the 2 guys. I heard them do some things in practice and said, ‘Hey, that might work for us.’ We kind of combined a couple changes on that last run and as soon as it took off I felt like we had a car good enough to win the race. He did a great job getting through traffic and getting around those guys and made some great passes.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI CONTINUED – WHAT DID THAT BOBBLE BY KYLE LOOK LIKE FROM YOUR VANTAGE POINT? “I knew we had a pretty strong car at the end. I think Kevin had really good long run speed and we had great short run speed and the race came down to a short run, so we were able to maintain track position and do the things we needed to do to be in position to strike. When the opportunity came, like I said, Kyle’s back slipped out just a little bit and he had to correct it and lost just enough speed for me to make the run. I don’t want to get too technical, but that’s how racing works, for sure.”
WHAT’S IT LIKE DRIVING A RACE LIKE THIS WITH HARVICK AND BUSCH RIGHT THERE WITH YOU? “You know you’re racing the best and you know if you make a mistake they’re gonna beat you, and they both almost did. But you’re just trying to run a mistake-free race and look for opportunity and when it comes you’ve got to strike and you’ll probably only get one shot at it, but that’s good. I like racing guys like Kevin and Kyle because you know they’re the best and when you beat them, you know you’ve done it right.”
WHAT DO YOU LEARN ABOUT RACING ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS OR WHEN YOU RUN A NATIONWIDE EVENT? “Running a Nationwide race to me would be like opening up a Sports Illustrated magazine. At the end of the day, you don’t know what you’re gonna learn about sports, but you’re sure gonna learn something. It could be something procedural. It could be something with the personality of a driver. It could be something about yourself or it could be something about the car – you don’t know what, but you’re pretty confident when you open it up you’re gonna learn something and that’s how I feel when I run a Nationwide race.”
