Ford Racing NSCS Notes & Quotes:
Quaker State 400 – Kentucky Speedway
Saturday, June 28, 2014
ARIC ALMIROLA – No. 43 Eckrich Ford Fusion – “The first wreck one of those lapped cars spun in front of us and when he spun he lit up his rear tires and made a huge smoke cloud. My spotter, Tyler, was telling me to go high and I was kind of in the middle of the race track to see what he was gonna do and at the last minute he was like, ‘Go high, go high,’ so I veered high and McMurray was out there. I honestly had no idea he was out there and I ran into him, so I feel horrible because our Eckrich Ford Fusion was decent. We weren’t where we wanted to be, but we were a solid top-10 car. I think we were running around eighth or ninth there, so that’s frustrating to not execute. I did it at Michigan and did it again here, so it’s just really frustrating. I’m just mad at myself. I realize circumstances weren’t in our favor, but I should have done a better job of getting slowed down and not running into the 1 car.”
FORD AND FUSION WIN FIRST NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES RACE AT KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
· Brad Keselowski’s win today is his second of the season and 12th of his career.
· Ford Racing’s six wins equals the single-season total for 2012 and 2013.
· The win is Ford’s 624th all-time series victory and the 33rd by Penske Racing with Ford.
· This marks the second time in 2014 that Ford Racing has won consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards captured Las Vegas and Bristol, respectively, during the first month of the season.
BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE SUCH A DOMINANT CAR? “It feels like don’t screw it up. Our car was awesome. The team did a great job and I’m just really thankful to have a car this good. I don’t know how else to put it. The Miller Lite Ford Fusion was hauling and I just can’t wait to get deeper in the season and the post-season. I think this is where we need to be to have a shot at another championship, so I’m just real proud of everyone right now.”
WHAT WAS YOUR THOUGHT WHEN YOU HAD TO CHASE DOWN KYLE BUSCH? “It was gonna be tough. I knew it was gonna be really, really tough. I figured we’d get to him, but I didn’t really think I’d be able to pass him. I caught a little break in lap traffic and the car was just that good. I was able to take advantage of it and get the lead. That was awesome.”
WELCOME TO THE CHASE. “That feels good. Thank you, very much.”
JOEY LOGANO – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion – “I had a ninth-place finish down a cylinder. That was a good effort by my guys. They kicked some butt on pit road today. I was so proud of them there. We’ve been struggling a little bit there and they figured it back out, so it’s great to have a good group of guys behind me again that were fighting for wins and contending to lead a lot of laps after pit stops. Brad had the best car. Brad was ridiculously fast from the time he unloaded. I can see what he’s doing. I can see what he’s got in his car and everything, he’s just fast. We’ll have to kind of go back and see what he’s doing, but, overall, I feel like today should have been a Penske 1-2 finish. I think Team Penske dominated Kentucky this weekend, it’s just unfortunate we dropped a cylinder there, but it’s still a top-10 out of being down one cylinder. We’ll take that.”
DID YOU HAVE ANY TIRE PROBLEMS TODAY? “They told me mine was good every time. It seemed like right before we made a green flag stop every time someone would blow a right-front. I don’t know, but you have so much load on these tires. It’s the same thing we’re fighting all year. We add all this downforce to the cars and it’s just more load on the tire and the tire just can’t handle it. It’s gonna eventually blow out, so you just have to be a little more conservative with your setup probably, and it kind of puts it back in the crew chief’s hands a little bit on whether you want the short run speed or you want the tire to pop. It kind of depends on what your setup is and how you drive the car.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI POST-CARE CENTER INTERVIEW
BRAD KESELOWSKI – WHAT HAPPENED IN VICTORY LANE? “We were playing around with some champagne bottles and as I told my good friend, ‘We should have stuck with beer.’ We were having too much fun with champagne and one of the bottles broke and I cut my hand open. It’s no big deal.”
HOW MANY STITCHES? “Four, but it’s all fixed now, so we’re good.”
EVERYTHING IS AN ADVENTURE WITH YOU. “Yeah, welcome to the party. It’s all good. I’m just glad we won. It’s a lot better story when you win and get hurt.”
