Ford Performance NASCAR Notes and Quotes
Kobalt 400 Advance – Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion, will start third in tomorrow’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He posted the sixth-fastest time in Saturday’s morning practice session and then talked with Ford Performance about his chances of taking the Wood Brothers to Victory Lane.
RYAN BLANEY – No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion – HOW WAS YOUR FIRST PRACTICE TODAY? “I thought our car was OK early in that practice. It’s really hard to tell how your car is in the morning practice because it’s so fast and the track isn’t really realistic. I thought we were OK, but I think the second session is when you’re gonna decide how your car is gonna be and what changes to make to your vehicle. I thought our speed is really good, it’s all about trying to hold onto it. We’re working on some things to try and make that happen, but I’m pretty happy with how our speed is right now, but we’ll have a lot better idea in happy hour.”
YOU HAVE SELECTED THE FIRST PIT STALL FOR TOMORROW’S RACE. WAS THAT RELATED AT ALL TO THE SPEEDING PENALTY ISSUES WE’VE SEEN SO FAR? “I think we really picked that spot just because it’s a big opening in and opening out. You always want to be able to get in and out of your box clean and not have to worry about going around cars or cars coming around you. You can speed anywhere on pit road. Nowadays, your box really has a small role in playing with timing lines ever since they added a bunch of them. You just have to watch your speed, but it maybe helps a little bit coming in just so you can get in your box and reset, but then you have to focus on getting down all of pit road.”
IS SPEEDING ON PIT ROAD YOUR BIGGEST CONCERN TOMORROW? “Not really. I’ve got other things to worry about. I know there’s been a lot of talk about all the speeding penalties last week, but I’ve always been on the conservative side when it comes to that. I think giving up a little bit there is a lot more beneficial than having to come back down pit road, so I’ve always been on the conservative side of the pit road speed stuff. Now that I say that, I’ll probably get a penalty tomorrow, but it’s not something I really worry about.”
SO WHAT IS YOUR BIG CONCERN TOMORROW? “Just making sure our race car is fast enough. We’ve got a good starting spot, but it’s all about trying to stay up there and being able to run well at the beginning and end of these runs. Goodyear brought a different tire, which I think is getting the race track where we need it a little bit more, so we’ll be moving around which will make it easier for people to pass. We have to make sure we can stay up front and help our long-run speed out a little bit.”
YOU SEEM TO DRIVING WITH MORE AGGRESSION THIS YEAR. IS THAT TRUE? “I see a lot of changes from driving to guys working on the race car and the attitude in here. It’s a lot better. As far as the driving goes, we’ve been more aggressive, for sure. I feel like that’s when I’m at my best. When I’m on the aggressive side and in attack mode, instead of trying to play defense, I feel that’s where I’ve always done well. That was kind of my goal in the offseason was to be really aggressive this season and I feel like the changes so far has helped out, but knowing when to be aggressive is a big thing, too. You can’t just be on kill all the time, you have to know when to pick your spots and hopefully we find a good balance with that. But I think the whole attitude around here is good. Everyone is working really well together and most of them have a whole year under their belt working with each other. We have a couple new people, but I just think the whole flow of everything is a lot better.”
DO YOU FEEL YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING ARE GOOD TOMORROW? “I think our chances are good every week. Our attitude coming to the race track every week is that we can go win at whatever race track we’re at no matter who we’re up against. I think we have a good shot at it. I think our team is capable of doing it, so it’s all about piecing together 400 miles tomorrow and capitalizing on opportunities while minimizing mistakes. I think that’s the biggest thing we can do.”
