Ford Performance NASCAR Notes and Quotes
Advance Auto Parts Clash – Daytona International Speedway
Sunday, February 19, 2017
JOEY LOGANO – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – “It’s cool to win the Clash. We came close last year and it’s really neat to be in Victory Lane and a good start to our day.” WHAT DID YOU SEE THE LAST LAP? “That was the play. The Toyotas are so selfless, I guess is the way to look at it. They are able to work together and think of one car of winning, and they’re really good at that. We had to think the same way as Ford and with Stewart-Haas and the Penske cars and we were able to get a good enough run to work together enough to break them up and make the passes and then there at the end was kind of a mess. Everything was going really fast. Everything was going on and I was just in the right place at the right time.”
KEVIN HARVICK – No. 4 Busch Ford Fusion – WHAT DID YOU LEARN TODAY? “The confidence is high just because a of how fast our Ford is today, so I think once we got the balance and have an idea now of where the balance needs to be we can get the handling right, but speed is not an issue.” YOU GOT FOUR TIRES AT THE END. HOW DID THAT WORK OUT FOR YOU? “It went really well. For us, we were very fortunate that the race wound up in the day, a lot like the 500 is going to be, just because we didn’t really know what we needed and where our balance was going to be, so we were really loose to start the first 25 laps and were able to get that fixed. Speed is not an issue. Circumstances just needed to work out a little bit differently, but, all in all, I’m excited for the week.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 2 SKF Ford Fusion – “It is the Clash, it’s not the 500 and I guarantee he knows and everyone else who is watching today that I’m gonna make that move again.” DOES IT LOOK LIKE JGR IS DOMINANT LIKE LAST YEAR? “No, we can beat them. They’re good. We can do it.” DID YOU HAVE ANY OPPORTUNITY TO GET OFF HIM AFTER CONTACT? “No, once you make contact the banking kind of wedges you two together. It’s unfortunate. I had to make the move. I know all the other drivers are back watching and they know not to make that block on me again.” YOU SAID YOU HAD THIS ONE, IT’S THE STORY OF MY LIFE HERE IT SEEMS. “I think I’ve been in position to win it three or four times – in second or third in like the last two laps and it kind of falls apart with something, but you’ve just got to keep knocking on the door.” DO YOU HAVE A GOOD CAR FOR NEXT WEEK? “Yeah. Last year, we ran really good in the Unlimited and we were terrible in the 500 and it was really disappointing to be honest. But this year I think we’ve learned a lot from that and have applied it and our car seems to be a lot better for the 500 than even for the Unlimited, so I’m excited about it. I’m ready to go.” DO YOU FEEL LIKE A PUPPETMASTER OUT THERE WHEN YOU CONTROL THE DRAFT? “Yeah, you’re definitely pulling all the strings, but that’s the game. That’s part of what the fun is. You have to be two moves ahead like a chess game.”
DANICA PATRICK – No. 10 Tax Act Ford Fusion – “If you’re gonna have one track where I’ve had good races, you kind of hope Daytona is one of them or maybe the one. It would be great to get a 500 win, but it’s great to run up front. We start off with the biggest race of the year.” DO YOU FEEL YOU’RE A STEP AHEAD WITH THIS RACE BEING IN THE DAY? “Yeah, I would agree with that. The way that the cars are handling in the heat of the day more. It’s a nice, sunny day. We’ve got plenty of humidity out there from all the rain, but it’s good practice for the 500, more so than it would have been if we would have run at night by all means.”
