Sam Hornish Jr. Overcomes Adversity after a Late-Race Incident to Finish Fourth at Kentucky Speedway
“We started the race too loose and used the first couple of pit stops to correct the handling on the No. 2 Rheem Chevrolet. We were racing the (No.) 19 and Daniel (Suarez) drove in a little too deep and forced us up the track and into the wall. With these tires being as hard as they are, as soon as someone gets into the back of you, it’s really hard to get the correction down and get back going. We fixed up the damage and kept digging to get ourselves back into it. I thought we were going to have a chance to win it there at the end. We restarted fifth and was second with three laps to go, but out of nowhere the car got really tight and we ended up fourth. I think getting tight at the end was because of the rear end damage we had. All-in-all I’m really proud of all these guys that work on this team. I’m thankful to Richard Childress and everyone at RCR for giving me this opportunity.” – Sam Hornish Jr.
Late-Race Wreck Collects Dillon after Strong Performance at Kentucky Speedway
“This is obviously not what we wanted tonight especially after how well we started the race, leading a bunch of laps and showing a lot of speed. I thought our WESCO Chevy was capable of winning tonight but we got collected in that wreck with 12 to go. Things like that happen, especially when you’re racing for a win. It makes it even more difficult when there is only one groove to race and everyone is vying for that space. We’ll just do what we’ve done all season and keep moving forward. We’ll go to Dover and try to win the race and advance to the next round of The Chase. We were also racing tonight with some heavy hearts after hearing that one of RCR’s long time employees, Johnny Siler passed away today. He was such a big part of RCR’s success and we’ll miss him greatly.” – Ty Dillon
Brandon Jones Caught Up In Wreck with Non-Chase Drivers at Kentucky Speedway
“I was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time when the No. 88 and the No. 42 got together. It stinks because looking at the end of the race and how other Chase drivers had trouble at the end, this could have been a race we could have capitalized on. The NIBCO / Menards Chevrolet was a top-five car, if not a car that could have contended for the win. I hate we were caught up in that wreck. The guys on pit road had really good stops again tonight and got us track position early in the race. The entire crew did a great job making repairs and getting us back on the track quickly. We lucked out a bit when a couple of other guys had issues late in the race and we were able to gain spots on them. I will talk to crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. and see how this changes our approach to next week’s race at Dover, but we’ll just try to run in the top five there and maybe contend for the win.” – Brandon Jones
Brendan Gaughan Continues Success at Kentucky Speedway with Sixth-Place Finish
“We had a strong South Point Chevrolet tonight. The definition of tonight was a war. Shane Wilson (crew chief) and the guys are the definition of perseverance. There is no quit in this team, we passed a ton of cars tonight battling from the back to the front. The best thing about Shane and I is that when things are out of control, or not, we don’t panic. We fix what we can and move forward. We always keep fighting to the end. The guys fought so hard, they had to jump over the wall twice to fix damage. I wanted a top five tonight, but to come away third among the Chase drivers, even with all of the challenges, it’s a win. It’s a heck of a start to the Chase. It’s a narrow groove here, which made for an exciting event. It’s still Kentucky and I love this place. We will take this momentum and move on to Dover.” – Brendan Gaughan
