Ford Performance NSCS Notes and Quotes
Food City 500 Qualifying – Bristol Motor Speedway
Friday, April 15, 2016
Ford Qualifying Results:
3rd – Joey Logano
10th – Trevor Bayne
12th – Brad Keselowski
18th – Ryan Blaney
21st – Chris Buescher
22nd – Aric Almirola
23rd – Greg Biffle
27th – Brian Scott
28th – Landon Cassill
32nd – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
37th – Jeffrey Earnhardt
LANDON CASSILL – No. 38 Snap Fitness Ford Fusion – WAS THERE ANYTHING YOU COULD HAVE DONE TO AVOID THAT SITUATION? “I’ll be honest, I wasn’t looking in my mirror. If I would have seen a car sideways at the right time, I probably would have tried to speed up. I don’t know how much that could have helped me, but it’s bad timing on my part, I guess.” HOW MUCH DAMAGE? “It’s quite a bit of damage to the right-rear. It’s gonna be a lot of work for the guys to fix it, but it’s pretty much just cosmetic, so we’ll get it fixed, I think.” WERE YOU ABLE TO BRACE YOURSELF AT ALL? “I really had no inkling it was happening. If I would have known it was happening I would have stood on the gas, so I didn’t really have any idea. I wish I was looking in the mirror or something, but you can’t really prepare for anything like that.”
JOEY LOGANO – No. 22 AutoTrader Ford Fusion – “It’s always exciting qualifying here at Bristol. I’m not sure I’m holding my breath, but I’m breathing really hard when I’m done, so I’m thinking I probably do hold my breath. Things happen so quick around this race track and we’ve got a really good AutoTrader Fusion. We were close. We won the first session. We were second in the second session and in the third session we were third, so we just kept losing a little bit. Overall, I’m proud of the effort and it’s obviously a decent starting spot for a 500-lap race.” IS IT A CONCERN STARTING ON THE INSIDE ROW? “Early in the race I feel like the inside might actually be an advantage. Actually, I’m pretty sure it’s an advantage. Late in the race it will be a disadvantage as the track rubbers and changes. That’s when it will change, but I think third will be good for us.”
TREVOR BAYNE – No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Fusion – “That’s a pleasant surprise for our race team. Coming to a short track we know that’s not our strongest suit, especially in qualifying when you’re asking the most out of the race car. Normally, we can make the long run speed, but to have short run speed and get a good qualifying spot here at Bristol is a big deal. Track position is always huge. Starting 10th, we’re on the outside lane. As the race progresses you definitely want to be on the outside on restarts. I’m just really proud of this team. Last year, I would have been throwing a party right now if we were top 10 in qualifying here. The fact that I’m not jumping around and acting crazy is that we’re getting immune to running well and that’s a good thing. We keep pushing that needle every week. Last week was one of our strongest runs that we’ve had all season, and I thought we had a top-5 car, so to come to Bristol and keep building on that and have consistency to be able to do it every week and not be so hit or miss, it’s come a long way for this AdvoCare team and I can’t be more proud of my guys.” ANYTHING SURPRISE YOU HERE WITH THE NEW PACKAGE? AERO ISN’T AS BIG A DEAL HERE, BUT HOW IS IT? “The biggest thing I’ve noticed today is tire fall off. The tires are really just wearing out with this low downforce package. Obviously, aero is not a big deal at Bristol, but you still notice it. You notice the cars getting really loose every lap that you run on entry, so that’s something we’ve got to calm down if we’re gonna be a contender in this race. As you battle that you fight the tight off. Nobody has really run the top yet. In XFINITY practice it started moving up, so we’ll see tomorrow how that goes, but, all in all, it’s been a great day for us. We learned a lot and I’m really proud of everything Roush Fenway Racing is doing. I’m proud of my guys and thankful for AdvoCare and Ford and everyone who has stuck with us because now we’re making some progress.”
