Ford Performance NSCS Notes and Quotes
Daytona 500 Advance – Daytona International Speedway
Sunday, February 21, 2016
GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 KFC Ford Fusion – “It was a pretty rough day for us. We got a flat trying to make the outside groove push to the front and couldn’t get our lap back and then later the 10 came across our nose there. It was unfortunate but it happens. I don’t know if she was trying to block me or didn’t know I was there but it happens. Tough day for sure. I am proud of my guys for all their work this week. We had a pretty good week minus these issues today.”
JOEY LOGANO – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion – “You have to try. This is the Daytona 500 and you try to win this thing no matter what. I was the only Ford up there though. I was the lone ranger. It was tough. I felt we started making decent progress up there but once we went three wide then that just kind of dragged the whole top lane back and the front kind of got going. Then the 4 got in front of me and we started moving and then the 11 saw that and jumped up there and got the push from both of us and then it was a heck of a finish. I don’t like being behind watching it. I want to be involved with it. Overall it is a great start for our Shell Pennzoil team and we kicked off the season with a bunch of great finishes down here in Daytona and we are looking forward to getting to Atlanta.”
WAS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU COULD HAVE DONE OR WAS THE HIGH LINE YOUR ONLY CHANCE? “It is hard because I am competing against a bunch of other cars that aren’t my teammates or manufacturer. You are on you own out there. It makes it very challenging for sure. The Toyota group were really good today. They were working together better than anybody and they had the fastest cars and they deserved to win the race. We were in the hunt. We got close. We made good adjustments on our car but just never were quite fast enough to being in contention.”
YOU AND BRAD WERE IN THE SAME VICINITY TOWARD THE END, WAS THERE COMMUNICATION ABOUT TRYING TO GET YOU GUYS HOOKED UP? “No, it is just so different. This isn’t an XFINITY race. This is all about the line and the runs and all of that. It is hard to get just two cars to go. I needed five or six to really get going and that is what those guys had.”
RYAN BLANEY – No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion – “You can’t go anywhere. No one could go on the top line all day. There was a while where people could go but then it became nonexistent. We just got behind and we couldn’t get back up there. We also had a loose wheel again so that is something to work on but it wasn’t too bad of a run and I am definitely looking forward to Atlanta next weekend.”
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 43 Smithfield Ford Fusion – “That wasn’t the race we hoped for. We had some hiccups throughout the race that put us back in the field, but we didn’t give up. That was one of the best cars I’ve had at Daytona. It was disappointing that we didn’t get a chance to run up front at the end, but the speed we had today is very encouraging with all the work we did in the off-season.”
BRIAN SCOTT – No. 44 Albertsons/Shore Lodge Ford Fusion – “At the end we kind of rode around expecting bigger crashes. We wanted to be there at the end. When we started racing for position I got in the middle of three-wide, the one chance we were working towards track position, and the car just didn’t like it. It didn’t like being in the middle. The back end kept coming out and we about wrecked, so I backed off thinking other cars probably battled some of the same issues and that there would be a big wreck and after that we were gonna get our track position back and it just didn’t happen. Everybody did a great job holding onto their cars out there that I’m sure weren’t handling very good.”
WAS IT HARD TO MAKE ANYTHING HAPPEN OUT THERE? “It really was. These superspeedways you used to be able to go from the back to the front in a couple laps and that’s just not the case anymore with these new cars. But I’m proud of everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports. A big thanks to Ford and Roush Yates Engines. Everything performed well. I’m still learning on these superspeedways and I think we learned a lot today. We kept this car in one piece and now the guys back at the shop can go to work on what we need to be more racy and deal with being in the middle, and be more aggressive to get that track position and keep it.”
TREVOR BAYNE – No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Fusion – “I tried my butt off. It was everything I could do to try to make a run, but we had a little damage early when the 14 spun out. That hurt us, but we just couldn’t get any speed rolling. Nobody really went with us and they got all gaggled up there at the end. The 43 finished 12th somehow after being right in front of me on the last lap, so I’ll have to go back and watch that one, but it was kind of a dismal day. It’s tough when you can’t really do much with it after the damage.”
LANDON CASSILL – No. 38 Florida Lottery Ford Fusion – “I’m just really excited. I’m really proud. I feel like we did a great job. Tony Raines, my spotter, did a fantastic job and I’m glad we got 500 miles in. I’m glad we raced up front. I feel like it was a confidence boost for me going into this season and kind of a weight off my shoulders to come to a superspeedway and run like I’ve always run at superspeedways and that’s running up front, so I’m really happy with that.”
CHRIS BUESCHER – No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Fusion – “I really saw nothing. Matt was in there with us and he apologized, and I appreciate that. I just hate it for Love’s Travel Stops coming on board for our first Daytona 500, and to leave it like this is not ideal by any means. We had a fast race car. I was having a blast out there. The handling was tough. We were fighting loose-in, loose-off, got tight on that last run, but it was a blast. I was having so much fun I hate that we’re standing here right now.”
HOW DO YOU FOCUS NOW ON THE REST OF THE YEAR? “Luckily, it’s not gonna count every race, so we do have an opportunity to drop races and now we go to Atlanta. We got to another race track where it’s worn out and handling is gonna be a big issue.”
