Ford Performance NASCAR Notes and Quotes
Date: Sunday, April 30, 2017
Event: Toyota Owners 400 (Post Race Quotes)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Richmond International Raceway (.75-mile D-shaped oval)
BRAD KESELOWSKI PRESS CONFERENCE
BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 2 Detroit Genuine Auto Parts Ford Fusion)
JOEY SAID IN HIS VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW THAT YOU HAD THE FASTEST CAR TODAY AND LED A BUNCH OF LAPS, BUT ONE‑TWO FINISH FROM TEAM PENSKE. REALLY GOOD EFFORT OUT THERE. “Yeah, it was. Disappointed not to bring it home, but that’s just the way these things fall with double‑file restarts and half the field staying out and half the field not. You kind of take the good with the bad on those deals. Got the outside lane and got behind two or three cars that I’m pretty sure I lapped six times today. Somehow they’re on the lead lap through wave arounds, and when the restart came we just were bottled up. By the time I cleared those guys, even though we were a little bit faster than Joey, he already had a straightaway on us, and I felt like if I had five or ten more laps, I could have gotten to him and passed him, but there was only a handful of laps left, so that was the way it went. That’s part of how this racing deal works, and the fastest car doesn’t always win, and it takes some weeks where you’re the fastest and you have to try to make the most of it and try and do all you can. I feel as a team we did that today. Frustrated to not bring it home, but proud of the effort and the speed we had today and leading laps and getting the stage win and so forth.”
LATE IN THE RACE YOU BLOCKED I THINK IT WAS KYLE BUSCH, AND JOEY SPURTED AHEAD. YOU WERE GIVEN CREDIT FOR HELPING A TEAMMATE OUT THERE. “Yeah, I don’t know who said that, but that’s not right, but okay.”
WHAT DID HAPPEN? “We were just racing for the lead and the 18 was a little faster and he got into the back of me, and that’s what kept me from being able to hold onto the lead. There was no blocking. I’m racing for the lead, so I’m not sure who said blocking.”
IN THE FIRST STAGE OF THE RACE, A LOT OF DRIVERS THAT WERE CLOSER TO THE WALL ALMOST LIKE DARLINGTON, HOW MUCH OF THAT WAS A FACTOR OF THE FACT THAT IT WAS A DAY RACE, OR WAS THERE ANY OTHER THINGS GOING ON THAT THE LINE SEEMED TO CHANGE EARLY ON? “Yeah, the day race changes this track dramatically, and I think it makes it really racy. I think it’s great. I think some of the best racing here is during the day. But it’s hot, and I know it’s hard for some of the fans to be up in the stands and go through all that. But it’s kind of a trade‑off. The best racing here always seems to be during the day with all those lanes that open up, and that’s what you saw today. It’s a lot of fun to be a part of.”
WHEN YOU’RE NECK AND NECK WITH JOEY LIKE THAT, DOES HE PUSH YOU BECAUSE YOU WANT TO MAYBE BEAT HIM MORE? “You know, there is obviously going to be a teammate dynamic, and there’s things that he does really well and things that I do differently and seem to do well. But we of course push each other to be the best, but I think it’s really healthy. It is. And I’m happy to see him win accordingly.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR. POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE
RICKY STENHOUSE JR. (No. 17 Fifth Third Ford Fusion) — A BATTLE OUT THERE ALL DAY LONG FOR EVERYONE. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR TOP 5 FINISH TODAY? ”Yeah, I made it a lot of work for us there getting in the fence later in that first stage and really we were fighting back all day from there. Had a really good car on the long run, but we bent the splitter bar down. Was on the splitter for five or six laps, so restarts I was just trying to keep as best track position as I could, and once we got to lap 6 or 7, my car kind of came back around to me. It was a no‑brainer there to stay out that last caution. I was glad it came out because I thought we missed the opportunity the run before to stay out. It worked out perfect. Our Fifth Third Ford and the guys never gave up, worked hard and like Brad said, this track is a lot of fun in the sun. It’s hot in the car, hot in the stands, so appreciate everybody coming out, and it’s nice to have I think four Fords in the top 5, so it was cool.”
YOU’VE HAD SOME STRONG RESULTS ON THE SHORT TRACKS. HOW BIG IS THAT TOWARDS THE SEASON, AND WHAT WOULD YOU AND THE TEAM LIKE TO DO TO TRANSLATE THAT TO SOME OF THE FASTER TRACKS? “Think we’ve been a top‑15 car on the mile‑and‑a‑halfs. I think you could say we’ve been a 10th‑place car on the short tracks and gambled some and had some good finishes. I think today we were a top‑5 car before I wrecked it. Long runs were definitely top 5. But I like short tracks. The downforce, the less downforce we have, the more you can kind of play with the brakes, play with the gas and throttle and really kind of maneuver your car around a little bit more instead of it being stuck to the racetrack. You know, I’ve been finding a lot of success in that even if the car is not perfect, being able to change my adjustments and what I’m doing in the car to get the best out of it. It’s getting that way on mile‑and‑a‑halfs for sure. Even the newer paved ones, but the old ones definitely is coming into factor, too. We’ve just got to keep building better cars and bringing faster cars to the racetrack and putting the whole weekend together, not making mistakes.”
