Ford Performance NSCS Notes and Quotes
Kobalt Tools 400 NSCS Post Race
Sunday, March 6, 2016
FORD FINISHING RESULTS
1st Brad Keselowski
2nd Joey Logano
6th Ryan Blaney
12th Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
17th Trevor Bayne
20th Greg Biffle
24th Aric Almirola
26th Chris Buescher
27th Brian Scott
28th Landon Cassill
33rd Jeffrey Earnhardt
Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion (Finished 1st) – “This is really, really great. It seemed like there were plenty of challenges, whether it was pit road or the weather or cautions. They threw everything they had at us today but this Miller Lite Ford team was too strong and we were able to fight them off and get to victory lane.” HOW DID YOU RUN DOWN KYLE BUSCH? “He had a really good short run car but it fell off on the long run. That is part of this new package, some are good on short run and some are good on long run and we had a really good long run car today.”
Joey Logano, No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Fusion (Finished 2nd) – “Brad was able to beat me in the bottom of three and four and maintaining that turn and being able to drive up underneath guys. Congratulations to Brad and also for Team Penske getting a 1-2 finish. That is what we set out to do every week. I am proud of what we did. Gosh, we finished second so many times, Daytona and qualifying. You are so close and want it so bad but I am so proud of the Pennzoil boys here with everything they did all week. We will go get them next week.”
“We had a good car. We led a lot of laps. Brad was just really good on the long run. I tried to hold him off as long as I could but he showed how fast he was getting by me and Kyle and checking out. Congratulations to Team Penske. It is something to be very proud of for our team. We have a lot of second place finishes already this year. I know we are only three races in but I am getting antsy. We have good speed in our cars, we will be alright.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Fastenal Ford Fusion (Finished 12th) – “We had a really good Fastenal Ford Fusion. I put my guys behind when I sped on pit road with only 100 to go. That was tough to battle back from and Nick made a great pit call and took the wave around and we ended up catching a caution and we fought back really hard there. I thought we were a 10-12th place car all day so to come home 12th after a mistake by me, I am really happy with that. We have to make sure we don’t make those mistakes so we have shots at top-five finishes. If not for that mistake we could have been really good there at the end. All in all I am really happy.” HOW ABOUT THE WEATHER OUT THERE? “It was awesome. I thought with the wind it played a huge factor as an unknown. You would get down to the corner and your car could be different every lap. It was really fun.”
Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion –“This was really satisfying. It was a good day for us. We needed a good finish after last week and it is nice to go out here and we all had fast cars. Congrats to the 2 team, they did a great job coming back from that speeding penalty and made a great call at the end. Good job by them and good job by our team. We were good all day. We were able to drive up through the field early and made it better throughout the day. We had some spectacular late runs but we’d give up a little too much early and we couldn’t ever get back what we lost. It’s a great day. I’ve got to thank Motorcraft, Quick Lane and Ford. It’s a good way to get our season back on track after Atlanta. We had a good run and it always makes you feel good going into next week.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE RACING WITH THE WIND AND THE DUST STORM? “If a gust hit you wrong it was hang on tight between three and four. I actually almost caused a big one on a re-start because a huge gust of wind hit us. It was really unpredictable but the spotter does a great job of telling you what’s going on.”
BEST FINISH SINCE TALLADEGA LAST YEAR, HAS THE TEAM GROWN IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS? “The car is always extremely fast. The Wood Brothers do a great job and we have to thank Penske for all of their support. The team’s growing together. They’re learning and so am I and hopefully this is a good way to get our season going here.”
YOUR PIT CREW DID A GOOD JOB FOR YOU ALL DAY. “They did a good job. They’re a solid crew. They did a fantastic job on pit road. I don’t think we ever lost any spots.”
HOW SATISFYING WAS THIS KIND OF DAY? “It was really satisfying. It was good to get a good finish after last week’s disappointment. We all had great cars. Congrats to the 2 team. They did a great job coming back from that speeding penalty.”
