Ford Performance MENCS Notes and Quotes
Bristol Night Race – Bristol Motor Speedway
Saturday, August 19, 2017
Ford Finishing Results
5th – Kurt Busch
7th – Trevor Bayne
8th – Kevin Harvick
10th – Ryan Blaney
13th – Joey Logano
14th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
17th – David Ragan
19th – Clint Bowyer
25th – Danica Patrick
26th – Matt DiBenedetto
29th – Brad Keselowski
35th – Landon Cassill
37th – Aric Almirola
KURT BUSCH – No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford Fusion – “We’ve been struggling with the VHT on the bottom, so I just knew we needed to wait and wait and wait, and I was hopeful at lap 250 that it would come to us. I pushed it too hard then and got some right-front tire damage on the fender. We had to work through that, but I think at the end we got in position because Tony Gibson made a good call and put us on fresher tires than the competition and it was the old fun Bristol for me. So I’m really proud of this Monster Energy Ford — to be first in class, to get a top-five in my 600th start, and to see the lead with 50 to go.” YOU WORKED HARD FOR THIS. “It was great. I felt like we were in good position because of Tony Gibson’s good pit call to give me the fresh tires and to go hard with 80 laps to go. It was fun knifing through the leaders. We got to fourth and it was like I ran out of mojo, but I’m really happy with my 600th start to sniff the lead with 50 to go and get beat by the same team cars. I’d call that first in class, but I’m really happy with our Monster Energy Ford.” YOU WERE INTO THE WALL EARLY AND STILL MANAGED A TOP-FIVE: “I was trying to pace the car. The Monster Energy Ford loved the top side. The VHT, the grip, we just struggled since they started putting it down. After reviewing tape and going old school, I figured we run that top groove after halfway, burn it in and chase them down. I just went too hard too soon.” SIX HUNDRED STARTS. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU? “It means that I did okay. I’m not an old bull. I’m ready to fight these young guys and put up a good battle. If we run like this in the playoffs we’ll be good.”
KEVIN HARVICK – No. 4 Busch Outdoors Ford Fusion – “We had a good Busch Outdoors Ford, but we were just tighter than we needed to be on the next-to-last run. Then the tire strategy just didn’t go our way at the end. Who would have thought we would run all the way to the end under green? It was a good car.”
RYAN BLANEY – No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion – “We weren’t bad. We were probably a little better at the beginning and we had really good short run speed and really good long run speed, but that middle portion wasn’t the best. It’s something to be proud of. I wish those guys at the end with tires didn’t get us, but I didn’t think they were going to run all those green flag laps.” HOW WAS THE RACING? “I thought the racing was pretty decent. They did a good job of not overdoing the bottom lane with the VHT, so I thought they did a good job of talking to the drivers and teams and figuring out what to do.” TALK ABOUT YOUR RUN TONIGHT: “I thought that we had great short run speed. Fantastic short run speed for 15, 20 laps and then that middle portion we struggled. Really long runs I thought that we were pretty good. That middle stage it was pretty rough. I didn’t think we were going to run (green) to the end there. I thought there was going to be a caution and we could come get tires and be in a good spot. That’s the way it goes. We persevered all night. I’m really proud of our team getting our car better. I can’t thank Motorcraft and Quick Lane and Ford enough for what they do.”
TREVOR BAYNE – No. 6 Ford EcoBoost Ford Fusion – WHAT IS THIS TEAM DOING SO RIGHT AT THIS POINT IN THE SEASON? “Just execution. I feel like the last month we had strategy, things went our way and we’ve gotten results from it. Here at Bristol, Roush Fenway always gives us good cars and we’ve had really good runs the last four or five races. Our Ford was fast tonight at the end when it mattered. At one point we blew a tire, hit the fence. I thought we were going to get lucky and get back on the lead lap. Got on the lead lap, got a caution and put new tires on it and started passing cars. Jimmie (Johnson) had a pretty epic battle there for a minute. We were able to get to seventh and pretty happy about that. We’ll keep working on it. Obviously we need to win. That’s what our goal is. Seventh is great but we have to get there. Really proud of these guys and the gains we’re making. Thanks to Advocare, Liberty National and Ford Performance. It’s been a rough time through the summer but we’re coming back now.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – No. 17 Fastenal Ford Fusion – “It was a really tough night. We battled back from a blown right-front and then that last stop they said I was a little too fast speeding, so we had to make up a lot of ground. The car was really good and it’s just a bummer. I feel like we didn’t get an opportunity to go race for a win there with the speeding penalty, but the guys gave me a good car, so you’ve got to be happy about that.”
DAVID RAGAN – No. 38 Juice Battery Ford Fusion – “That’s a solid day for the Front Row Motorsports team. I feel like we had a little better car for the first half of the race and we made great adjustments, but I don’t know if the VHT wore off or the track cooled off, but we lost a little bit of the handle over the last 150 laps. We wanted a little better, but it was a great race. We ran in the top 20 all night and we’re happy with that.”
ARIC ALMIROLA – No. 43 Smithfield Ford Fusion – “We had an oil line on the motor that had a hole in it and it started smoking real bad and caught on fire, so that’s the end of our night. We blew like four or five right-front tires. It was just a long night for our Smithfield team. We’ll have to regroup and go on to the next race.”
LANDON CASSILL – No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Fusion – “It’s just close quarters. Bristol is a tough race track and I was sliding up and I thought maybe there was a little room, but he just clipped me. It’s tough racing at Bristol.” WHAT ABOUT THE TRACK SURFACE? “I think it’s alright. I think the stuff they put on the bottom creates a few options. People can run the top and the bottom and then they meet in the middle on the straightaway. That’s kind of where the accident happens, so it’s pretty good. The race is kind of strung out. We would have liked to have seen a few more cautions just for our sake. That would have put us back on the lead lap, but it’s just not the way it worked out.” HOW FRUSTRATING TO FIGHT ALL NIGHT AND END EARLY? “We kind of fought hard all night and was on the verge of every run feeling like my car was kind of OK, but not where I wanted it. I thought if we could stay on the right lap and get some adjustments in that we could run up there, but it never quite happened.”
