Ford Performance NSCS Notes and Quotes
Ford EcoBoost 400 – Homestead-Miami Speedway
Sunday, November 20, 2016
Ford Finishing Order:
4th – Joey Logano
15th – Brian Scott
17th – Greg Biffle
20th – Trevor Bayne
21st – Landon Cassill
24th – Chris Buescher
26th – Ryan Blaney
30th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
35th – Brad Keselowski
39th – Dylan Lupton
40th – Aric Almirola
BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE RESTART INCIDENT THAT TOOK YOU OUT? “It’s a product of a format that’s based on putting everything and risking everything. I don’t know. It’s not really all that surprising. It’s disappointing. I don’t think that’s great racing, but I understand why it happened on both ends.”
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion – (Finished 4th | 2nd in Championship 4)
WALK US THROUGH THIS RACE AND ESPECIALLY THE CONTACT WITH CARL EDWARDS. “It was eventful to say the least. I hate being that close to a championship and not getting it. The team did a great job all day. We had a good race car and we put ourselves in position to win. No one made any mistakes or anything like that on our pit crew. That last restart, I was hoping to get Jimmie there and trying to get either to the inside or outside of him. I just timed it a little bit wrong to get underneath him. I just didn’t have enough time to get under him. We lost some time there and unfortunately we finish second. The championship means so much and everyone forgets about second place. That is what stinks. But overall I am proud of this team. This will be motivation for next year. This hurts.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – No. 17 Fastenal Ford Fusion – “I was just trying to get all I could get there. It looked like the 3 got underneath the 20 and I tried to get underneath the 3 and when I did he was really close to my door and it just kind of sucked me around and we got loose. It’s a bummer way to end. We were just kind of average all night. It’s a tough way to end the season, but we’ll build it and get back ready for next year.”
BRIAN SCOTT – No. 44 Safeway Ford Fusion – “We actually had a car that was capable of competing. That kept us in the race and kept us able to hang on when we took the wave around to get back on the lead lap. I thought we were gonna have a shot for a top 10, but it just didn’t play into our favor with not having a car that was very good on restarts the first couple of laps. I’m proud of my guys though for fighting all year. Even through the struggles it’s been a fun year.” THOUGHTS ON THE NEXT PHASE OF YOUR LIFE? “I’m excited. I’m not sure what the future holds, but I’m excited to find out.”
RYAN BLANEY – No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion – “We just struggled tonight. I made a lot of mistakes. I made a big mistake early and we ended up getting a flat tire out of it. I just hit the wall early being impatient. That just wasn’t smart, so that’s something I need to be better at and not being so impatient. We learned a lot this year. It was a fun year and I’m just looking forward to years to come. This team does a great job. We’ll learn during the off-season and then come back.”
Comments from “The King” Richard Petty:
“Records are a mark and they set something for everyone to shoot at. Jimmie and his team have done that tonight. They set a goal to get where they are and circumstances and fate made it a reality. They did what they needed to do and now they are at seven championships. Congratulations to him and his team.”
“Jimmie is a great champion and this is really good for our sport.”
JOEY LOGANO PRESS CONFERENCE
JOEY LOGANO – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion – “You know it’s coming, that’s for sure. Anytime you put so much on the line and you have a late-race restart you know it’s gonna get crazy, and then you add two or three on top of that it’s gonna get crazier. I’m proud of the effort that the team put in today. Everyone did an amazing job this week, putting together a fast race car, handling the pressure that is put on these race teams, and really executing this race perfectly. We just came up a little bit short. It hurts, but we had a great shot at it and came so close on that last restart to doing something, but just didn’t quite get it.”
AFTER YOU GOT SOME DAMAGE IN THE ACCIDENT DID YOU STILL THINK YOU WERE IN THE GAME? “It’s hard for me to say. I can’t see my car, so I don’t know how bad it was. I was thinking we couldn’t pit. That’s kind of where my head was, but my crew chief is a lot smarter than me and that’s a good thing. We came down pit road and put tires on it and didn’t lose any spots, fixed our damage. My pit crew, that was amazing. I looked at it afterwards and was like, ‘Wow, you guys patched it up and fixed it up really good.’ For me to have another good restart afterwards and get some spots back, and then have another restart – got to third, which I wish I was fourth because I think that would have been the difference. I cleared Harvick into three and the caution came out and looking back at it I wish I didn’t start behind the leader. Larson would have the advantage and then be able to push him out ahead and be to the point that you’re next to the 48 so you can clear him. That could have been the difference between finishing second and winning the championship. It’s crazy to think that it’s that much and that little bit could have been the difference. I guess that’s the part that stinks a little bit because if the caution came out sooner for the crash behind us, we would have been fourth and then possibly won the thing. But it is what it is. It’s motivation, I can promise you that because it don’t feel too good right now, but it gives us motivation to come back harder next year and make sure that we have another shot at this thing and do it again. I’m proud of the effort. Like I said, we did such a good job today. That part I’m proud of. If you look at what we did a couple years ago and what we did today it’s a complete 180 and I couldn’t be more proud of the race team for that reason. But, like I said, it’s second and second always hurts the most.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE UPS AND DOWNS THROUGHOUT THIS NIGHT? “It’s funny because all of us were up there racing against each other and the 48 came through the field the first run and I was like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ He was all the way up to me and he started last. I was like, ‘We’re in trouble.’ And then he kind of stalled out there and we pretty much stayed there the whole race. We were fast on the short run where the other cars, especially the Gibbs cars, they were really fast on the long run. So when Carl and I got into each other there that pretty much parted the seas for the 48 to run through there and gain a couple spots and put himself in position to win. He was in the right place at the right time and that’s good for him.”
THE RESTART WITH CARL. ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WITH HOW IT WENT AND WERE YOU SURPRISED CARL WENT DOWN AND TALKED TO YOUR CREW CHIEF TO SAY IT WAS JUST RACING. “I think it’s really cool that he said that. Ironically, they’re playing it right now so I can watch it. It’s like they timed that on purpose. He’s a stand-up guy. Carl is a good person. I got to know all three of these drivers. I’ve known Kyle really well in the past, but to get to know Jimmie and Carl they’re three stand-up, good people. It’s hard to find that this day and age, especially in professional sports and especially at the top of professional sports. Usually, the ones that are the best aren’t the nicest of people, but in this case, this Championship 4 there were some really genuine people and we knew we were gonna have to race each other hard. We knew that. That wasn’t a surprise, but it’s cool that Carl came up and said that because I don’t blame him. He had to throw the block. It’s the only move I had. I’m not gonna look back and second guess that move. I had to do that. It’s the only play I had. I’m watching this one for the first time. It’s going to distract me. Somebody shut the TV off. Anyway, Carl and I – great racing. I understand why he had to throw the block and he understands why I had to make the move because that was for the win. That was the only shot that I had. That was for the race. With 10 to go, what do you expect? It’s for a championship. I did that move earlier in the race, actually the first start of the race I did that. I knew that was my play. I knew it was what I was gonna do as soon as it restarted, and we just ran out of real estate to the point it was like, ‘OK, we’ve got to do something.’ But that’s just racing. It hurt both of us, ultimately Carl a little bit more, but it’s unfortunate.”
