Ford Performance NASCAR Notes and Quotes
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 – Chicagoland Speedway
NSCS POST RACE
Sunday, September 18, 2016
FORD FINISHING RESULTS
2nd Joey Logano
4th Ryan Blaney
5th Brad Keselowski
23rd Trevor Bayne
25th Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
26th Greg Biffle
28th Chris Buescher
29th Landon Cassill
31st Brian Scott
32nd Aric Almirola
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion – Finished 2nd
“It was awesome execution by the 22 team. From every angle. We had a very fast race car and were awesome on pit road. You want to talk about pressure, not just Chase pressure, but coming down at the end of the race to try to win, they executed and had an awesome pit stop and beat the 11 out and ultimately gives us a second place finish. I couldn’t be more proud of the team and the way we executed and attacked today. We will take this momentum and run with it the next nine weeks.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion – Finished 5th
“It was a solid day for us out there, nothing flashy. We ended up with a pretty decent finish. You want to have solid days on days where you aren’t going to collect the win and that is what we had today. We kind of ran third to fifth most of the race and I think that is probably where we deserved to be.”
SOLID EFFORT FROM YOU TODAY? “Yeah, just a very solid day. Congrats to Martin and his team. They were the best car all weekend and got it when it counted at the end and that is the way it should be. I think we were really solid with the Miller Lite Ford. We kind of ran third to fifth the whole race and that is kind of what we had. We tried to get a little more at times but just didn’t have it. We got a solid finish and a solid day.”
RYAN BLANEY, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion – Finished 4th
HOW DIFFICULT WAS IT TO STAY OUT ON OLD TIRES THERE? “The decision wasn’t difficult at all. We kind of made that decision before everyone else came and we had nothing to lose as far as points. I wish a couple more cars stayed out. You never know. Those guys were on me so fast. We had a really good car all day. We started way back in the field and made it up there pretty quickly. We got our car decent at the end. We gambled and I prefer to do that. I prefer to take a gamble to stay out and try to hold those guys off.”
HOW DID IT FEEL TO LEAD A CUP RACE FOR THE FIRST TIME? “I thought we had a shot but those guys on new tires were so fast. We weren’t in contention for the win all race. We were fast, don’t get me wrong, we were probably a 5th- to 8th-place car. The last caution came out and we were seventh and thought that’s where we’d end up. Staying out was worth a shot. We had nothing to lose. Why not do it? If two more cars stayed out, we might have had a better shot.
FOURTH IS A GOOD FINISH, YES? “It’s a good way to start the Chase, even though we’re not in it, to show everybody that we deserve to run up front.”
TALK ABOUT THE EARLY-RACE HANDLING PROBLEMS. “We got it better. It also gets better the farther you get up in the field.”
TALK ABOUT YOUR DAY. “It was a long day for us for sure. We passed a lot of cars. We didn’t start good. We started 22nd and worked on the car all It paid off since we finished a little bit better than we were going to. That’s a true testament to this team. We didn’t start off great but worked on the car all day. Taking a risk like that. Sometimes they don’t pay off. This one did. It was a good run for us. Hopefully we can do something like that in the next 10 weeks.”
TALK ABOUT THE DECISION TO STAY OUT. WHOSE DECISION WAS IT, YOURS OR YOUR CREW CHIEF? “It was a little bit of both but he made the final call.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Fusion – Finished 28th
“It was a long day. We worked hard to try to get it better. I am proud of the guys for not giving up. We had a decent day on pit road and didn’t get into anything, we just couldn’t keep the track position out there. Not the finish we wanted but we will get a little better and go get Loudon.”
DOES THIS FINISH INCREASE THE PRESSURE ON YOU? “No, it isn’t any different on pressure. Obviously we care about where we are at but we are trying to get all we can get. I promise you that. That is how we will attack it at Loudon, the same way if this was a top-10 day or where we ended up. We will go to Loudon and give it all we can.”
JOEY LOGANO AND RYAN BLANEY PRESS CONFERENCE
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion (Finished 2nd) — GO THROUGH THE FINAL RESTART, DIGGING TO GET THAT SECOND‑PLACE FINISH. “Yeah, just overall very proud of what this 22 team was able to do all weekend. Brought a very fast racecar, one that was capable of running top three for sure. Just took us a while to get to that point. Then anytime a caution comes out late like that, that’s the definition of pressure for a pit crew. You’re in the Chase, there’s a lot on the line, you’re coming down to the end to win a race. They execute and beat the 11 off of pit road. Couldn’t be more proud of the way they handled the pressure and the way the pressure made them better. That’s pretty neat. It’s a big thing to look forward to through the next nine weeks, we can handle it. Showed it today. Can’t wait to get to New Hampshire and continue this momentum. Obviously a second‑place finish gives us a decent cushion for the next couple races, but we got to keep attacking the way we are right now.”
RYAN BLANEY, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion (Finished 4th) — WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND AS YOU KNEW YOU HAD A FIELD OF CARS WITH TIRES BEHIND YOU? “It was a long day for us for sure. We passed a lot of cars. We didn’t start good. We started 22nd. Worked on our car all day and got it better and better each run. There was maybe only one run where I thought we went backwards. We fixed it right away and started going back forward again. That was promising. We’re in a position where we can take risks like that. We’re not in the Chase. We can stay out. I think we were seventh before that last caution. Decided to stay out. Knew it was going to be tough when only a couple cars stayed out with us. We needed about two or three more for it to be a realistic shot. But it paid off and we finished a little bit better than what we were going to. That’s a true testament of this team, not starting great but getting our car better throughout the day, taking risks like that that pay off. Sometimes they don’t pay off. Luckily this one did. A good run for us. Hopefully we can do something like that for the next 10 weeks.”
TALK ABOUT THE DECISION TO STAY OUT. HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT? WAS IT YOUR CREW CHIEF OR YOU? “It was a little bit of both of us. He kind of made the final decision. We kind of made a plan that we were seventh and there was only I think 14 cars on the lead lap. That’s a really tough spot because you’re right in the middle. Usually what you do, everyone else does the opposite. So we initially decided if we could get to the front two rows, we were going to stay out. Then you kind of had a shot. But then everyone came. We decided to stay out anyway. That put us in the best position possible being able to restart the race. It was a thought. But at the end he made that call to stay out.”
