Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Würth 400 | Monday, May 1, 2023
FORD FINISHING RESULTS
3rd – Ryan Blaney
8th – Brad Keselowski
9th – Chris Buescher
17th – Ryan Preece
19th – Kevin Harvick
20th – Harrison Burton
22nd – Michael McDowell
24th – Aric Almirola
25th – Todd Gilliland
26th – Austin Cindric
28th – JJ Yeley
30th – Chase Briscoe
31st – Joey Logano
33rd – Brennan Poole
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Wabash Ford Mustang (Finished 3rd) – WAS TWO TIRES AT THE END A GOOD CALL? “Either two or we’re staying out was the call, and we came in and took two. It got us on the front row. I think if we had taken four, we would have lined-up fourth. So, it really wouldn’t have been much different. But, being on the front row gave us a shot to win. I tried to send it into [turn] three to clear the No. 19, and he did the same thing and was able to get around us. It was a really smooth day for us honestly. We ran third all day. Just didn’t have quite enough speed for those top-two guys at the end there. Overall, really great effort – especially for how we’ve been here in the past. It’s kind of been a struggle track for us, and I’m proud of the gains we made.”
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU AND THE TEAM ARE CATCHING YOUR STRIDE AFTER BACK-TO-BACK TOP-THREE FINISHES? “Oh, I have no idea. It’s nice to get good finishes, but we just need to keep working on it, keep running up front, and hopefully the wins come soon.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford Mustang (Finished 8th) – WHAT HELPED YOUR RECOVERY BACK TO THE FRONT IN THE FINAL STAGE? “We had a good recovery. Had top-five in the first stage, had a pit road issue, and we recovered from that. Solid top-10 day – drove back through. We’re not far off here. Just looking for a little more, and I felt like we were pretty close. Excited about that, proud of our day – especially Chris [Buescher] running well. Just a strong showing.”
THAT’S TWO STRAIGHT RACES THAT BOTH RFK RACING MUSTANGS HAVE PLACED INSIDE THE TOP-10. HOW REASSURING IS THAT TO YOU AND THE TEAM? “It was just a big day for us. We’re just grinding. The whole company is just grinding and committed to taking us to the next level to get both these cars in the playoffs.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang (Finished 9th) – IS THIS FINISH A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? “Yeah, it was a solid day. I’m really proud of our group. This Fastenal Mustang had good speed in it all day – probably fifth to 10th is probably where we were going to be. Ended up ninth with the late restart, and had a lap-down car racing us pretty hard. Jacked us up there, but at the end of the day it was solid. Everyone did a good job on pit road, kept track position, worked hard on-track, and it’s a solid one. Just wanted to be a little more free on that last race restart to see if we could drive forward a little bit more, but it was good to stay up there all day and in contention.”
RFK RACING PLACED BOTH CARS IN THE TOP-FIVE AT TALLADEGA AND NOW THE TOP-10 AT DOVER. WHAT’S BEEN CLICKING? “We knew we were going to have fast cars at Talladega, and fortunately we were able to get the good result there that probably would reflect the speed in our cars. But, it’s hard to say if that’s the one you’re going to take momentum from. This one is. This was a really good day. Especially when it’s eight or nine cars on the lead lap at the end. We stayed in it that whole time. That’s strong. I think this was about the time we hit our stride last year. I feel like we’ve had a little bit of a stronger start to the season, but not always had the results. But, we have speed, and we were able to work steadily today and be solid. We got the result we deserve and worked for.”
