Austin Dillon Avoids Melee at Daytona International Speedway to Finish Seventh
“Andy (Houston, spotter) worked really hard there at the end of the race to gain us track position. We made up four or five spots in a lap and put ourselves in the top 10 for the final restart of the night. We got to the outside lane and had a heck of a run coming to the white flag. I just couldn’t get back to the bumper of our drafting partner before the checkered flag came out. All-in-all it was a good night for the Bass Pro Shops/NRA Museum team. It was a good night for us in the standings, too. Man, it feels much better to finish seventh on all four tires. I’m proud of this Richard Childress Racing team. I wanted to win tonight, but I know we have one coming.”
– Austin Dillon
Promising Night Ends Early for the No. 27 Duracell/Menards Chevrolet Team at Daytona International Speedway
“It was hard to see. I saw the No. 1 car get squirrelly a couple hundred yards down the tri-oval. I’m not sure if Jamie (McMurray) had a problem, he said there may have been a tire issue but wasn’t really sure. Typical plate racing. We had a fast Duracell/Menards Chevy tonight and could’ve contended for the win. We got up to second and took a stab at the lead. We were just waiting for that next pit stop to work on the car a little after that last run. These guys built a great Chevy SS for the weekend. It’s just unfortunate that our night ended the way it did.”
– Paul Menard
Ryan Newman Rebounds From The “Big One” to Finish 18th at Daytona International Speedway
“We chose the wrong line there after the final restart. For as banged up as our Florida Lottery Chevrolet was, it was still fast. I want to commend my team for working their tails off when we got caught up in the “Big One”. Luke (Lambert, crew chief) had a good plan in place to make the necessary repairs. It cost us a lap but fortunately we were able to benefit from the lucky dog and got back on the lead lap. On that final restart in overtime, we just raced in the line that wouldn’t go when we needed it to.”
– Ryan Newman
