Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS)
Saturday, August 31, 2019
EVENT: Sport Clips VFW 200, Darlington, SC.
Ford Finishing Results:
2nd – Cole Custer
4th – Ryan Blaney
7th – Chase Briscoe
11th – Austin Cindric
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 BodyArmor Ford Mustang – “We didn’t start out great. I thought I was pretty free and got it tightened up the second stage and was pretty good. I was able to get by the 2 on the long run. I thought on the long run I was pretty good. We tightened it up there for the last stage because I was still kind of loose, but I should have known the track was gonna get tighter. Our adjustments kind of worked against us and I was just way too tight there the last run. It was nice to have the lead there at the start of the third stage and just kind of ride around and I was riding around and trying to save my stuff, and it was time to go. The 18 got to us and I couldn’t go. I was really tight and let him get by us and I wasn’t able to start on the front row for the last restart, and that was kind of a short run to be able to do anything, so that stinks. But we just didn’t quite keep up with the track good enough.”
DID YOU LEARN SOMETHING FOR SUNDAY? “I think so. I think the race track stuff you learn, lines and things like that, so that part was helpful. I changed up my line a lot today, so I think that’s hopeful for tomorrow.”
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE RACING TODAY? DALE JR. TALKED ABOUT HOW GOOD THE DRIVERS ARE IN THIS SERIES? “Yeah, he and I talked after the race and he was like ‘Man, these young guys race the heck out of you,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah.’ There’s a lot of talent. Everybody does a good job and they’re in this series for a reason. They do a great job. There are great drivers across all three series that we’ve got even K&N and stuff like that, so there’s just a bunch of good drivers coming up and I hope he had fun today. It was cool to see him out there.”
HE GAVE CREDIT TO THESE DRIVERS FOR HOW GOOD THEY ARE. “He came back and did a really good job to run sixth today. It seemed like he kept driving up through the field, and I’m happy he had fun. I know he was talking about it yesterday when he got back in the car to practice, it’s hard to jump back into one of these things and be all the way, 100 percent good, especially with how much time he’s taken off, but I’m glad that he had a good time. I’m upset we didn’t get to race together a little bit, but overall it was a pretty fun day.”
COLE CUSTER, No. 00 Production Alliance Group Ford Mustang – “I thought I had him. We were so good in one and two. I started working the bottom really good over there and I started doing that with about five laps to go, but I just couldn’t get the run off of four to get to his bumper. We were just a tick too loose, but I can’t thank my guys enough. They made the car a ton better throughout the race, but this is a track you really want to win at, I mean it’s Darlington, so finishing second two years in a row really sucks. But it was nice to give Production Alliance a good run and Buckshot, so we can take that after the month we’ve had.”
IS THERE A SILVER LINING YOU CAN TAKE TO INDY NEXT WEEK? “Yeah, for sure. This last month has been really tough on us, so I think having a solid run and having a shot to win really means a lot and we can take that.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 98 Ford Performance Ford Mustang – “My first time at Darlington and I felt like we were pretty competitive. I kept being really loose. The first run we were really good, I drove up to fourth and got up to second and as the race went on I just kept getting freer and freer. We were in a really good position there for a top three at the end and getting into my pit box on the last stop I just got way too far left and into the wall. I don’t know. It’s a pretty cool place. It’s my first time here and I love it, so I’m looking forward to coming back here.”
YOU RACED DALE JR. AT THE END. HOW WAS THAT? “Yeah, it was cool. I wanted to beat him bad. That would have been pretty cool to outrun him. We were able to for three-quarters of the day, and then there at the end when I did our pit stop deal it just put us behind. I’ve got to get a lot better, especially coming up into the Playoffs. You can’t be having little mistakes like that, but I feel like we’ve been running really good here lately. I feel like our momentum is trending in the right direction and I’m looking forward to going home next week to Indy and if we could win there, that would be the icing on the cake. That’s what we’ll try to do and get ready for these Playoffs.”
