Ford Performance NASCAR Notes and Quotes
GEICO 500 – Talladega Superspeedway
Saturday, April 30, 2016
RICKY STENHOUSE JR., No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford (Qualified 6th)
“It was a really good day. The guys brought a real great Fifth Third Ford Fusion down. I told the guys on the radio as soon as I got off turn four I felt like the wind picked up and it definitely has picked up now. The problem was I don’t feel like we had enough help down the back straightaway to off-set the front straightaway there. We had great horsepower from Doug and the guys at Roush Yates. The guys brought a great race car and slick race car. I am very happy with the speed. This is two speedway races in a row we have qualified fifth and sixth. We are real close. Hopefully we can come back at Daytona in July and get those few extra spots we are looking for.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL FOR THE RACE SUNDAY? “We have a great starting spot. We have to try to keep our track position all race. I feel like we haven’t done a very good job of that on the speedway races. I think that is a key because you are not going to be able to get track position in the last 30 laps. You have to keep it all race.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion (Qualified 7th)
“I thought what was really interesting is that having a child puts things in perspective for me. There are two things that I noticed right away about having a kid. One, when they are born they love everyone. They don’t hate anything. They don’t hate anyone or anything. That tells you that hatred is something that is learned over time, based on experiences or teachings. Two, they are inherently very selfish. A baby only worries about itself. Those two lessons I think can probably be applied in a much bigger scope to the council with respect to teamwork and collaboration. Any animosity we have is not necessarily something that is natural but has happened through experiences that we have to unwind. It is not natural to collaborate. It is not natural to work together for common benefits. It doesn’t come easy or naturally. It is something we have to work through as a group and those things take time. I think that the right agendas were on the table for that to happen.”
SO IF HATRED AND DISAGREEMENT IS LEARNED LIKE YOU ARE SAYING, DOES THE COUNCIL AND NASCAR HAVE TO UNLEARN THAT WORKING WITH EACH OTHER? IS THAT HOW YOU CLASSIFY WHAT YOUR SESSION WAS LIKE WITH BRIAN FRANCE YESTERDAY? “It is natural to disagree through experience, not through birth. There is a tremendous amount of good faith that is earned when Brian comes to the meeting like that. That is all a positive.”
ARE YOU ENJOYING OR DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE MORE OF A VOICE THAN YOU HAVE IN THE PAST? “Yeah, absolutely. I think three or four years ago I was asked how the sport was going to go forward. I pointed to the NFL model of councils and committees and that is how you can collaborate key stakeholders to get them to the same agenda and that is exactly where we are going. I think that is an extremely positive step for everyone.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI CONTINUED — WHAT IS IT LIKE LEARNING TO WORK WITH SOME OF THESE DIFFERENT GROUPS? “Everybody has their own view and sometimes I think the perception was that a dime was getting in the way of a dollar. You don’t know what you don’t know. When we sit down and talk to each other, it is like ahhhh, now we see why it is such a big deal or vice versa. I think you just have to have a dialogue with communication to do that which hasn’t existed before. The only way it could exist was really through NASCAR.”
HOW ABOUT YOUR QUALIFYING EFFORT TODAY? “It was a much better effort than we have had here in the past which bodes well. We were really fast in speedweeks for the Unlimited and it didn’t showcase itself in the 500 at all. We qualified terribly and ran terribly all weekend. That was very disappointing. We came here and qualified well in an impound scenario and that feels good.”
WILL YOUR NEXT DRIVERS COUNCIL MEETING HAVE BRIAN THERE AS WELL? “I don’t have any expectations but I would always like him to be there and he is always welcome.”
HOW DO YOU COMMUNICATE TO THE OTHER DRIVERS? IS THERE A SECRETARY OR SOMETHING? “Yeah, Dale Jr., (laughter). He is our IT guy, our secretary. I like to joke with him that 88 isn’t just his car number it is his voting percentage. He is a really good guy.”
RYAN BLANEY, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion (Qualified 19th)
“We’re in the show and the race car is really good. At this point I thought we’d have a little more speed than that.”
DID IT FEEL FASTER THAN WHAT SHOWED ON THE PYLON? “It’s hard to tell when you’re wide open like that.”
FORTUNATELY HERE STARTING POSITION DOESN’T MEAN AS MUCH AS AT OTHER TRACKS. “We’re in and that’s all that matters.”
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion (Qualified 22nd)
“Well, we are around 20th, so that would be right in the middle, which I would consider bad. We just didn’t have a ton of speed in single car runs. I guess we didn’t really expect it though. After watching the 2 car we had a little sign of hope that we may go a little faster but I think we know some of the differences there. Overall it is what it is at this point and we will move forward. I think I have a good Shell Pennzoil Ford for the race. It drafted well yesterday and handles really well. That is always nice when you are here and it is hot out. You want a car that can handle in a pack of three or four cars and then you don’t mind getting pushed around. Look for the old 22 to be aggressive as normal.”
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE DRIVERS COUNCIL MEETING AND BRIAN FRANCE BEING THERE? “I thought it was good. I was glad Brian was there. That is the first one he has come to and I think we would like him to be there at every one. I think it is good for him to keep up on what the drivers are saying and what they want. I feel like the meeting really moved forward with him there. I thought that was good. It was good things, positive stuff coming down the pipeline right now.”
WHY IS IT DIFFERENT FOR HIM TO BE THERE? “Well, anytime there are communication barriers that are put in place when you are not there. It can become a he-said, she-said type of thing. There is nothing better than sitting across from someone and hearing it from the horse’s mouth. That is what we want to be able to do. We want him there and have him understand it. It was really good. I thought he was able to understand what we as drivers are looking for and we understand what NASCAR is dealing with and how we get to that together. That is what this is all about. It isn’t anyone against anybody, it is how we work together. There are a lot of councils right now with the competition guys, the owners, the drivers, all of us need to work together, which we are. I am proud of that. I think we all want to better the sport. I think we have already seen some gains from this already. I think there is a lot more coming later.”
JOEY LOGANO CONTINUED — ANY HIGHLIGHTS AS FAR AS TOPICS FROM YESTERDAY? “The typical stuff. Talking about the rules package and where we are at now, where we want to go in the future. We talked about the numbers and where we are with TV ratings and all that. That is important stuff. It was just the typical stuff like that and some other little odds and ends that as drivers we talk about. Whether it is the flow in the garage or little things like that.”
WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO IN THE FUTURE, IF THAT WAS TALKED ABOUT? “We are happy with where the cars are right now. We know the teams are always going to add more downforce to them. That is what they get paid to do and they are really smart. We have to stay ahead of that. We need to talk about ways to compensate for what the teams do.”
GREG BIFFLE, N0. 16 Ford EcoBoost Fusion (Qualified 16th)
“That was pretty uneventful really. I thought we had a little more speed than that. Our teammate is up there near the front and I thought we might have had a chance at the front row or at least make it to the top-12 round but I don’t know if temperature or wind or anything else affected it. The cars are so close. It isn’t like we are way off on speed. I think our car will be good for the race.”
WHAT KIND OF RACE DO YOU EXPECT? “I expect it to be very eventful as always. There will be a lot of moving around. I think the mood has changed. I think people want to stay up front now. I think that is really the key.”
DAVID GILLILAND, No. 35 Shaw’s Southern Belle Seafood Ford Fusion (Qualified 39th)
YOU ARE LOCKED INTO THE RACE, UNLIKE DAYTONA, HOW DOES THAT FEEL? “That was not a very good feeling at all at Daytona. To come back with Bob Jenkins to come back here and race, we did the whole first practice in race trim and I am super happy with the car. I feel like it is probably one of the best speedway cars I have had. Now we have a time good enough to race on Sunday and see what we have. Hopefully the rain holds out. We have seen that looking at radar but I feel really good about it.”
YOU SAY IT IS THE FASTEST CAR YOU HAVE HAD BUT WILL IT COMPETE WITH THE OTHERS? “Yeah, I do. Three years ago David Ragan and I finished first and second. We had good cars then and I think it is going to be really good. I think we will have an opportunity to have a very good day on Sunday. That is a good feeling, especially after being out for so long.”
