Ford Performance NASCAR Notes and Quotes
AAA Driver for Autism – Dover International Speedway
Sunday, June 4, 2017
Ford Finishing Order:
9th Kevin Harvick
10th Danica Patrick
21st Trevor Bayne
25th Joey Logano
30th David Ragan
29th Matt DiBenedetto
31st Clint Bowyer
32nd Ryan Blaney
34th Regan Smith
36th Landon Cassill
37th Kurt Busch
38th Brad Keselowski
39th Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
KEVIN HARVICK — No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion “We had a good day with our Jimmy John’s Ford. We just got caught under caution and could never make it back up. We had an okay car and just tried to stay out of trouble all day. Long day. A lot going on out there today.”
WERE TIRES AN ISSUE FOR YOU TODAY? DID IT AFFECT ANY STRATEGY? “We got lucky and didn’t have any issues. That was the unfortunate part because so many other teams did and we didn’t. We kept it clean all day. It was an okay day.”
DANICA PATRICK — No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion – “A good day for us. We got a bit lucky with staying out at the right time and catching the yellow flags. It’s the stuff that hasn’t been happening for us all year and it’s just nice to catch some breaks today. We weren’t the fastest car today, not sure we were a top-10 car. A lot of times we have been a 10th-place car and weren’t able to get the finish we needed. I’ll take the lucky days anytime I can because there has been plenty of times where it went the other way.”
TIRE WEAR WAS SUCH AN ISSUE TODAY. HOW DID YOUR TEAM MANAGE TIRES ALL RACE? “For sure. We put scuffs on two or three times on pit stops. It was an issue but we saw that all weekend, a lot of yellows. We survived and caught the right breaks when we did. I’ll take it.”
DAVID RAGAN – No. 38 Overton’s Ford Fusion – “It’s disappointing to have our day end the way it did so late in the race. We overcame a tire issue earlier in the race Our Overton’s team did a great job making our car better all day. I felt that we were headed for a top-20 finish until we had the wreck. I’m glad all the safety stuff worked. That was a hard hit. We’ll learn from it for when we come back here in the fall.”
REGAN SMITH — No. 43 Smithfield Ford Fusion — “What a day! It was fun. We worked hard on the Smithfield Ford all day. They guys did nice job adjusting after we go really loose in the middle of the race. We cut a right-front tire. Maybe too much brake on my part. I’m not really sure. The team did a nice job all week. We struggled early in the week but got me comfortable in the car. It was fun. Just thankful to get the chance to drive this car the last few weeks.”
LANDON CASSILL — No 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Fusion — “I thought we were improving all day. I was really happen how the car was running on the last run. We got the wave around and was going to benefit from it. I’m not sure why the right-front tire let go. We weren’t too aggressive as some of the other guys. That’s just how it goes.”
KURT BUSCH – No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion – “I got loose on a restart, it’s my bad as a driver. My bad. We had good speed in our car and just couldn’t finish. You can’t make mistakes out here and we did.”
CLINT BOWYER — No. 14 Haas Automation Ford Fusion “It looks like the oil tank cracked right by the fitting. A freak deal. It’s a shame. We needed a good race. We had gotten a little bit behind today and then had the freak deal happen. Not our day.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 2 Wurth Ford Fusion – “Yeah, one of them racing deals. These cars rely so much on aerodynamics. We saw that early with guys being able to stay out on two tires even with a lot of tire wear. I don’t know if it was Kurt’s fault, just one of them racing deals. We line-up double-file and somebody got loose and just took us out. What a bummer. Just one of them racing deals.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR. — No. 17 Little Hug Ford Fusion “Our Little Hug Ford was fast and on the move. This track is tough. We saw a few tire issues yesterday after the first run. I’m not sure if I ran over something, we’ll have to take a look at it. I’m looking forward in coming back here in the fall. I feel like we have a good race car and happy with what we learned this weekend.”
