Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Sunday, April 28, 2019
EVENT: GEICO 500 – Post Race
FORD FINISHING RESULTS
(4th) Joey Logano
(7th) Ryan Newman
(9th) Aric Almirola
(11th) Corey LaJoie
(12th) Daniel Suarez
(13th) Brad Keselowski
(15th) Ryan Blaney
(16th) Paul Menard
(23rd) David Ragan
(25th) Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
(28th) Cody Ware
(29th) Clint Bowyer
(37th) Matt Tifft
(38th) Kevin Harvick
(40th) Michael McDowell
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang
Finished: 9th
“We had a really good Smithfield Ford Mustang. I thought we had a car capable of winning but just a few mistakes on my part and then a few thing didn’t go my way. I worked my way back up to the first two or three spots and got shuffled out, one time late in the race there and fell to the back. Had to fight really hard just to get back up into the top-10. I am really proud of all of our guys. I thought we had a car capable of winning and circumstances and some things didn’t go our way. The Fords were really fast. The only thing I am happy about is that we finally stopped the bleeding. We had a really crappy couple of weeks with Bristol and Richmond. We fell from fifth to 11th in points. We stopped the bleeding there, got another top-10 and are back on track going to a great race track for us in Dover.”
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 MoneyLion Ford Mustang
Finished: 4th
“At the end the 1 had a big run and I felt like I had to block that. When I blocked that I can’t block both and the 9 got underneath me. If I chose the bottom and block the 9 I had the 88 there and they were going to go by me as soon as they formed a run. I was not in a very good spot. Once I got on the outside I thought that would be a better spot to be than the bottom but the teammates there didn’t race each other to the end, which is good on their part because it made sure one of their cars one. If they had gotten side by side I think I could have made something happen but they were selfless toward each other. I really think even if it was green all the way to the end it would have looked exactly the same. There were no runs build and no momentum going. It is a tough spot to be in. You think you are in a good spot and anytime you can take the front row on a final restart you will take it, especially here at Talladega but it is tough when the numbers are stacked against you a little bit. The team did a good job though and our Mustang was really fast and that is what we have to be proud of.”
RYAN NEWMAN, No. 6 Acorns Ford Mustang
Finished: 7th
“That was crazy. I took the inside line and started there and stayed there. Never had many places to go but either way it was a good run and a good team effort. Proud of the entire team to be able to keep it together. I think we kept most of the race cars on the race track which was probably a lot of luck. We will go on to Dover.”
WERE YOU SURPRISED THE CHEVY’S WERE ABLE TO LINE UP AS WELL AS THEY DID? “No, I think it was mostly luck, honestly. They did a good job of orchestrating the pit but I don’t think that won them the race.”
“We put two tires on it there at the end and went. We just ran out of time. I think we finished sixth, I feel like I was ahead of one of those guys. It was a good run for the Acorns Ford. We got some good stage points and race points. We need to get a win. We need to get a top-5. We have top-10s rolling and that is good. We need to keep going in the right direction.”
WAS IT A DIFFERENT TALLADEGA? “I don’t know that it was much different. You got bigger runs but the end result was basically the same. We are still at the mercy of other people’s mistakes which will always be a part of racing here. In the end I am glad all the race cars stayed on the race track.”
DAVID RAGAN, No. 38 Shriners Children’s Hospital Ford Mustang
Finished: 23rd
“I was in the middle there after we took the white flag and I just got loose and wrecked the 24. I spun him out across my nose and he collected a few other cars. That last wreck was my fault. I was pretty stupid to wreck like that when you are running 10th or 15th on the last lap. We didn’t have a shot to win. When you get three-wide there is just nowhere to go and everybody was pushing and shoving and my car just jumped sideways and when I corrected it I caught the 24’s left rear and spun him across my nose. That was unfortunate for our team. Our Mustang was fast all day and had a lot of fun out there but just made a stupid mistake there at the end.”
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE NEW PACKAGE? “I thought it was pretty intense. I felt there were times guys raced really hard up front and sometimes when guys got single-file and rode. You are gonna have that in a 500-mile race. You can’t race that hard for 500 miles without carnage. That first wreck set the tone and guys chilled out a little bit. The cars are going 200 mph and it is exciting and they are hard to race and ultimately you will make some mistakes out there.”
KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Beer Flannel Ford Mustang
Finished: 38th (Retired after accident on lap 10)
“You know, I went to the back to start and thought that was going to happen several times throughout the day. I got myself back there and it looked pretty tame so I decided to go back to the front and drove back up there fairly easy. I don’t know what happened. They all wrecked and I slowed down and somebody hit me in the door and I hit the wall.”
MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang
Finished: 40th (Retired after accident on lap 10)
“I am not really sure what happened. I didn’t see a lot of it. Looked like the 43 was being real aggressive and making stupid moves at the beginning of the race. The Love’s Travel Stops Mustang was really fast and that is pretty early in the race to be making dumb moves like that.”
WHAT DID YOU SEE? “Not a whole lot. It was pretty early on to be that aggressive. Unfortunately for the Love’s Travel Stops Ford we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I saw the 43 coming up the race track and that was about it. It is disappointing. We have had such good speed and such a great superspeedway program and were really hopeful for today. To be out so early on is very disappointing. It is out of our control though. It is part of superspeedway racing.”
