Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Clash at the Coliseum Heat Races | Sunday, February 6, 2022
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Farmer John Ford Mustang (Retired after hitting the wall during LCQ #1) – “It was a bigger hit than I expected with as slow as we were going here. The 38 just destroyed us. We had a decent start and we were moving forward and the 38 just drove in there a mile and tore us up.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Violet Defense Ford Mustang – “We learned a ton today and feel like we’ll apply that and come back stronger. I was really proud of Chris and how smooth of a race he ran. Our race was not super clean, but we made the most out of what we brought today. We didn’t bring enough, so we’ll work on that and be better.”
THE RACE IS ONE THING, BUT THIS EVENT AND EVERYTHING THAT’S GONE INTO IT. HOW DO YOU FEEL THINGS WENT? “It’s an awesome event. NASCAR deserves a lot of credit for that and I’m proud of them for doing this.”
DOES IT FEEL EVEN MORE REAL NOW THAT YOU’VE GOT A RACE BEHIND YOU WITH THESE GUYS? “Yeah, I don’t really have time to think about that. It will feel more real when I’m in victory lane and that’s what I’m focused on.”
TODD GILLILAND, No. 38 First Phase Ford Mustang – “I definitely made a mistake. It’s a super bottom dominant short track and he had gotten really good momentum off of two and I thought he was gonna be clear of me, so I was looking in my mirror at the 17 behind me, kind of inside and it was gonna be close. I was trying to pinch him a little bit and just as I was looking down left I barely turned left and it barely got him. It didn’t take much. I definitely apologize to those guys. I know that no one really has much equipment to put together, let alone tear up before the season, so I definitely feel really bad about that. I didn’t mean to do it and hopefully I can prove it to him throughout the year.”
A TOUGH ASSIGNMENT FOR YOUR FIRST RACE IN CUP IN SUCH TIGHT QUARTERS. “Absolutely. As a rookie, coming out of here I really just wanted to gain respect and I obviously did the opposite of that. It’s hard to gain respect on a quarter-mile. It’s super easy to lose it, so I didn’t achieve that goal.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang – “It’s a beautiful facility. They did a really nice job with the paving. I had a lot of doubts coming in. I walked in and realized real quick that they did a really nice job of making this doable and make it raceable. The race went about how you’d expect, just pretty brutal with pushing and shoving, which you’d expect short track racing. You’re all good with a couple of big dive bombs, but some of those times you get knocked out of the way and it still upsets you. That’s not really part of what we’re coming out here to race like, but ultimately we got a little bit behind and got knocked up the hill. We didn’t have the cautions in our race to get back up there. We had the speed there in the last half, but didn’t have the time. I really hate it for this Fastenal bunch. The team worked hard. We wanted to be in this thing. We wanted to have a shot at it. It’s gonna be really exciting and just hate it. We’re gonna work really hard on this. We’re gonna study it. We’re gonna be better when we come back short track racing. We’re gonna be better for Daytona because of it. We’re gonna get everything we can out of this to make sure we keep on improving.”
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 eCascadia Ford Mustang – “I’m not gonna sit here and pretend like I was the only victim in the race. I didn’t have any luck in my heat race or the LCQ. I think we had a fast Ford Mustang. I think the Freightliner car has been a fan favorite. I wish it was in the show. I can guarantee that there is gonna be a winner in the feature and there’s gonna be hurt feelings in the feature. It’s not the most conventional style of race that we normally have, but that’s why it’s an exhibition.”
YOU SEEMED TO DO WELL ON THE RESTARTS AND LEARN AS THE RACE WENT ON. “I feel like I led the category of never giving up. Past that, I’m not sure what to take away from it other than go on to Daytona and start the season.”
