Ford Performance NSCS Notes & Quotes:
Windows 10 400 – Pocono Raceway
NSCS Qualifying
Friday July 31, 2015
GREG BIFFLE, No. 16 Roush Performance Ford Fusion – (Qualified 25th) – “We were just really loose. We were having a hard time coming off the truck with the right balance. We were super tight the last practice session and then I almost wrecked on the first lap from being way too loose. We had to make three runs to get the car right. I was 300 degrees water temperature on that last run and didn’t have the engine cool enough to make it and we missed it by probably a thousandth of a second. We were making speed on the race track but it just wasn’t soon enough and we needed to be closer for the start of that practice.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Fusion (Qualified 9th) – “We were pretty good in that final round but not quite good enough to get the pole there. We were missing a little bit in one of the corners, but all-in-all a good effort. We had the fastest car in practice so I feel pretty good about that. It is similar to what we had at the Brickyard and we were really strong there but just needed a little more to win so I am optimistic about it for sure.”
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 43 U.S. Air Force Ford Fusion (Qualified 21st) – “We were hitting the splitter in turn one and that hurt some of our speed. I feel really good about where we were at in race trim and I thought with the speed pick up in qualifying there we were just on the splitter a little bit too hard and that was the difference for us today. All-in-all I am pretty pleased with the car we brought here. We struggled pretty bad here just a few weeks ago so I am excited about getting to work on it tomorrow in race trim and getting ready for the race.”
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion (Qualified 3rd) – POST QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE
HOW DO YOU FEEL GOING INTO THE RACE ON SUNDAY? “I feel pretty good. Anytime we come to Pocono, this is one of our best race tracks as a team so you look forward to coming up here anytime we can. I just like coming to the northeast, I say that all the time. I love this area. We had a good qualifying run there and we have been starting up front here the last few weeks with a couple front row starts and this is our third. We haven’t gotten the pole like we want but we have a really good qualifying average but we want to take pictures and get stickers and banners and all the fun stuff. I am so proud of what our team has been doing lately, especially picking up from practice to qualifying and qualifying to the race. The communication is there and the teamwork is there. I am proud of that. We are just coming up a little bit short lately but I am so proud of what we have been doing.”
WHAT CHANGED FOR YOU BETWEEN PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING? “They fixed it. It is all about the communication. We don’t have much data on these cars, especially during qualifying we can’t look at anything so all you have is the communication between the driver, crew chief and engineers to make the right decision off of that. That is not easy to have. Having a team that is that tight and understands when I say something, what I need. For me to pinpoint exactly what I need and for them to be able to pinpoint the adjustment it takes to make the spot better. That is not easy. That is really hard. It takes years and then it still doesn’t happen for a lot of people. It takes a long time to build that chemistry in a team like this. That is why I am so proud of what we can do and how we make our car faster throughout a weekend. That is pretty cool.”
WHEN A GUY GETS ON A ROLE LIKE KYLE (BUSCH) CURRENTLY IS, DOES IT GET INTO YOUR HEAD AT ALL? DO YOU QUESTION IF ANYONE ELSE WILL EVER WIN? “No, it doesn’t get in our head. He is just fast right now. We are not slow by any means. We are close. I think we know some areas we can improve on and like any good competitor you study what others are doing to beat you. You have to look at that. That is the only way you become better. I think that is something our team does well. We worry about our own stuff yet try to understand what is going faster than us and how they are doing it. Obviously what they are doing may not work for us and you never know the whole story of what makes them fast. Is it the team or the car or the driver or the attitude they have right now? You can study it and try to figure it out and our team does a good job with that. We also need to remember what got us here and what has made us fast. It takes time. I like the improvements we have seen in speed over the last month from where we have been. We have been racing for wins the last few weeks and that is a decent size improvement from where we were running eighth and ninth and squeaking out top five finishes. Now we are racing for wins and we are back to where we were last year at this point in the season. The wins are right around the corner if we keep racing how we are now and that should be just in time for the Chase so I am excited.”
IF YOU COULD DESCRIBE POCONO IN ONE WORD, WHAT WOULD IT BE? “Well, obviously everyone says tricky but I think it really is. Turn two today was a lot of fun which is great. Typically turn two was our worst corner in the spring here and typically you have to fix that but this time the race track fixed it for us and that normally doesn’t happen. I think turn two went from our worst corner last race here to our best corner today. There is so much grip in there right now it is all about how fast you can handle it and how much you’ve got. You have to drive the car so hard. It is a lot of fun and a good race track. I’ve always enjoyed coming here and the character is coming back in the track and you see how much color has gone away and that is a good sign. The bumps are coming back and the racing is getting better,”
