Ford Racing NSCS Notes & Quotes:
Quicken Loans 400 Qualifying – Michigan International Speedway
Friday, June 13, 2014
Ford Qualifying Results:
4th – Aric Almirola
6th – Brad Keselowski
9th – Joey Logano
18th – Greg Biffle
20th – Marcos Ambrose
22nd – Carl Edwards
23rd – Trevor Bayne
28th – Juan Pablo Montoya
30th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
32nd – David Gilliland
33rd – David Ragan
ARIC ALMIROLA – No. 43 Smithfield Ford Fusion – “It was a good run for us. I’m really proud of Trent Owens and all the guys on this Smithfield team. They brought us a really good car. We tested here two days last week and we knew we had a good car at the test. When you have good tests like that, you always want to come and back it up and we were able to do that, so I’m really proud of all the effort. Everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports has been working really hard and our Ford Fusion is pretty fast.”
ARE YOU AHEAD OF WHERE YOU NORMALLY ARE ON A RACE WEEKEND AFTER TESTING HERE? “Yeah, for sure. I think our balance is gonna be really close. What we had there in qualifying trim is really similar to how we tested, so I feel really good about that. We showed up in qualifying trim because we feel really good about our race package from the test, and I think everything that we learned at the test transferred over really well to today, so I’m really excited about the rest of the weekend.”
JOEY LOGANO – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion – “I feel like that was hard-fought. We barely made the first round and barely made the second round and the third round I thought we had a good lap, but the track just cooled off and everyone else went faster too. From where we started in the first round I didn’t think we were gonna be very good, so we recovered decent and I think we learned some things throughout qualifying. Some of our changes were really good, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
MARCOS AMBROSE – No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion – “I feel really good about our car, but we just got a little tight during that second round and just couldn’t quite put a lap down. It doesn’t take much to lose two or three laps around here, so I’m proud of our efforts and I certainly feel more comfortable than I have the last few weeks, so I think we’re in for a decent race.”
HOW DO YOU LIKE RACING HERE? “It’s a lot of fun. It doesn’t feel that fast. The track is wide and it’s really smooth. They’ve done a fantastic job with the facility and I know on the clock we’re 215-plus into turn one but it doesn’t feel like it.”
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA – No. 12 SKF Ford Fusion – “The hard thing is this place is so quick that getting used to the car is hard. We did three runs with the SKF Ford today and three of the runs this morning were scuffing the tires. The cars are really unstable here when they’re stickers, so when we finally went to do a qualifying run at the end we had so much push it wouldn’t turn at all, so we went really aggressive with the car. The first one was good, a little nervous, but the morning was so bad I said, ‘Let’s do a clean lap. Let’s start with a half-decent clean lap and then we’ll build from there.’ We made a small change and it got better and then the last run I knew we had to pick up two or three tenths to be comfortably in and I just went for it and ran out of run so I had to get out of the gas.”
WHAT’S THE TRANSITION BEEN LIKE? “The cars are so different this year. It’s exciting being here with Team Penske and Ford and SKF and everybody else that supports Team Penske. It’s a hell of an opportunity. The idea of being here is more of getting myself with Greg and all the crew getting ready for Indy. Our big goal is to go to Indy and win. I’m really good there. I know I’m really good here and I think the more time we have to run, we’ll get a lot better.”
TREVOR BAYNE – No. 21 Quick Lane Ford Fusion – “We were able to pick up pretty good our second run during that first session, but unfortunately that got all of the good out of the tires having to do two runs. We were 13th in the first session and obviously we wanted to do at least 12th in the second session to move one, but it seems I just got all the good out of the tires. It got really tight that second session. We made two runs at it and it kind of drove the same both times. There was nothing we could do here on pit road with the small adjustments we’re allowed to make to free it up on entry and we really just kind of freed up the exit that last run. We’d love to qualify better, but we get to race here. You’ve got to be a go or go-homer every week that we race and anytime we can make the show and not load up in the trailer is a good day, so now we’ll work on racing our way to the front.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion – WHAT IS YOUR MINDSET COMING HERE THIS WEEKEND? “I think we’re really rolling here the last few weeks and running strong and in position to win races, so I’ve been very, very pleased by that – qualifying up front along with that – so there’s a lot to be proud of and I’m just really excited as this summer stretch is really kicking into full swing. Hopefully, we can stack up a few more wins and kind of solidify ourselves as a team that’s ready to make a run for another championship as we go through the summer stretch and get ready for the fall beginning of the Chase. I’m on a bit of a confidence spree and really feeling good about things.”
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON HOW HIGH THE SPEEDS ARE AND WOULD YOU WANT TO GO 212 ONE DAY ON THE TRACK? “The speed to me in some ways is just a number, but that’s easy to say without being conscientious of the other things. I think the key for this discussion, there are several keys, but the two that stick out to me is how do the speeds effect our ability to pass and put on a race that our fans enjoy. If we’re able to go 300 miles an hour and race side-by-side that doesn’t really matter to me, it’s just the ability to do that – to have great side-by-side racing – and at this point with the way aerodynamics have kind of taken over motorsports we haven’t shown that ability, so we have some work to do there. I know there are a lot of people working on that, so I’d say that’s one of the things that were the keys to really answering that question. I think the second question that comes to mind is what happens when one of these cars gets turned around at that speed. We’ve shown time after time that the takeoff speed on these cars is about 185-190 miles an hour and as you cross that 210, 220-mile threshold certainly you lose some speed as the car spins out, but we’d really prefer to not have to lose any speed before the cars turn into airplanes, so those are the two keys, I think, to answering those questions. I think if we answer those two questions to our satisfaction in the sense that the cars are able to run side-by-side and put on great racing and not have to worry about one flying if it gets spun out at the end of the straightaway and potentially injuring someone, then, in that case, I think the faster the better. But we have to answer those two, I think, before we really consider going much faster than where we’re at right now.”
HOW GO HAS IT BEEN HAVING A GUY LIKE JOEY PUSHING YOU LIKE HE HAS THIS YEAR? “It’s nice to see. I think it’s really good for Roger. We rely on him so much to make our team go in so many senses, whether that’s motivation, sponsorship, funding, decision-making, leadership – across the board – and to see him be excited to have two cars that are legitimate frontrunners week-in and week-out, I think that really energizes him to play a strong role on the NASCAR side and I think he would probably tell you himself that he’s having the most fun he’s ever had at the NASCAR level and we’re really thankful for that.”
IS IT COMFORTABLE IN THE CAR AT THE SPEEDS YOU’RE GOING? “The speeds are up because the cars are comfortable. The two are connected together. The cars may have more rear downforce, considerably more rear downforce than they’ve ever had, along with more front downforce as well, but mostly rear and rear downforce always serves to make the cars drive more comfortable. This track used to be notorious, once they repaved it, for being real loose into turn three, which is more of a flatter entry corner and you don’t really have the banking to support you. This year, we’re entering turn three five to 10 miles an hour faster and it feels probably 10-15 miles an hour slower because of how much rear grip that spoiler put in the car and how much more secure you feel with that. So I would agree. I read some of Jeff’s comments before I came here and I would agree that in some ways the cars feel slower, and we’re certainly pushing the edges of every facet of the car, the track, the sport with those increased speeds but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I think that can be a good thing and we’ll all have to see how that plays out, especially as we get in the summer and you add that extra dimension of temperature to go with increased loads. So I think that will definitely play a factor this weekend and really the whole summer stretch and season.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI CONTINUED — WHAT’S UP WITH ALL THE CANADIENS WORKING ON YOUR TEAM? “It’s probably a larger story in itself that the American engineering pool is very shallow right now. Penske is moving to any other country. We’ve hired multiple engineers from Europe over the last three or four years and we’re pilfering everyone we can in the great country of Canada, so if you know any of them send them our way. It’s just very hard to get engineers with the educational background and commitment that we need to be successful at this level from the United States. There’s certainly a shortage, not just at Penske but throughout the garage.”
SONOMA IS NEXT WEEK. WHAT IRRITATES YOU THE MOST WHEN YOU’RE DRIVING ON THE ROAD AT HOME? “I’m not sure how that connects to Sonoma, but I just don’t like people who don’t pay attention. I feel like I’m pretty slack with everything else, but I have no tolerance for people who don’t pay attention. That’s really about it”
