Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Shriners Children’s 500 | Sunday, March 10, 2024
Unofficial Ford Performance Finishing Results:
2nd – Chris Buescher
4th – Brad Keselowski
5th – Ryan Blaney
8th – Michael McDowell
9th – Chase Briscoe
12th – Noah Gragson
17th – Todd Gilliland
23rd – Ryan Preece
24th – Justin Haley
26th – Josh Berry
27th – Harrison Burton
30th – Kaz Grala
34th – Joey Logano
36th – Austin Cindric
CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 2nd)
“I was really impressed with our Ford Mustang today, that was awesome. A heck of a comeback after a rough go the last couple of weeks. We had really fast race cars and I am proud to be able to do that today. I didn’t quite see the 20 there at the end so I know they were lights out. We have some work to do to get to that point. What thrills me is we were by no means perfect on balance so we have a lot of room to make this thing better which is awesome. It tells me we can go compete for that thing. I am proud of everybody and a great bounce back after a rough go last week and did it with the same team here today and it just goes to show that we are going to do these things together, win, lose or draw. That was almost a win today.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Consumer Cellular Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 4th)
“It was a good solid day for us. We want to win these races but we didn’t have anywhere near the speed the 20 car did, I don’t know if anybody did to be quite honest. We put ourselves in good position with a good pit call and a great restart at the end and we just tried to execute. The potential is there. We are just one step away and we are going to keep working on it until we get there.”
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 5th)
“That was a really long, hard-fought day to be honest. I thought we got better and better and through Stage 2 we got better but then I slipped on one of those restarts and lost like five spots. All those cautions we had to restart way back behind the guys that pitted the stop before us. We just worked our tails off to get back to fifth from where we were. I am worn out. That is the most worn-out I have been in a long time. I appreciate the 12 boys for sticking with it and fighting all day. Our Ford Mustang was fast. It was a long day but I am proud of the finish.”
MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Horizon Hobby Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 8th)
“Overall we started the first stage pretty good and finished in the top 10 and got some stage points. I had a little mishap on a pit stop there and lost track position. I fired off loose and lost our track position and got it back there at the end with some strategy. I am glad that it worked out that we could get back to where we were and finish where I feel like we started the day.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 9th)
“It was a good day for us to finish in the top 10 because there were parts where we were 20th on back there. I am happy with how we finished. We had good speed all weekend. We have stuff that we can clean up to keep more up front the whole race. The package, honestly I thought the package was better but the tires were an issue. The tires are so good that I think if you put this package on the right tire it would be better for sure. We still have work to do. It was hard to pass. We were all kind of the same speed and I feel like it just comes down to the tire.”
NOAH GRAGSON, No. 10 SERVPRO Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 12th)
“I thought that was a lot of fun. Our SERVPRO guys did a great job. We had really fast pit stops. It is easy to Monday Morning Quarterback it but I have a lot of faith in Drew and the rest of these guys. They have been really good for me in building my confidence. We are a tight group and I have these guys backs. Looking back, we probably should have taken two tires because those guys finished up there but we will keep going and keep learning. Every race. Every weekend. It is still early. It is the fourth race. We ran inside the top 10 for most of the day and it is kind of a bummer but it is exciting to be good and to be disappointed with an 11th-place finish. That is exciting for our team. We want to keep it going.”
YOU KEEP SHOWING SPEED. YOUR CONFIDENCE MUST BE SOARING AT THIS POINT: “Yeah, it is always a lot of fun when your stuff has speed and you can show up and commit your hands and drive into the corner hard. I have been working really well with our teammates. I am not sure where Josh (Berry) or (Ryan) Preece were but (Chase) Briscoe was good all day and had a good charge there at the end. It is a lot of confidence coming to the race track compared to what I had last year at this time.”
HOW DID YOU FEEL THE PACKAGE HANDLED IN TRAFFIC? “For me, this thing drove super good compared to what I have had in the past here. I don’t know if it was the package last year or what. You probably have to ask some more experienced guys, some guys that ran up front in both races. I felt good with it. I felt like we could move around a lot and the tire was good. It was a fun day.”
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Retired early due to accident on lap 204)
WHAT HAPPENED? “I got ran into from behind. We were running horrible anyway but just went into turn one and I think it was John Hunter (Nemechek) behind me that sent me spinning. It is what it is.”
“I think I just got hit from behind. It is a shame. We weren’t running well anyway, but this doesn’t make it any better. We were just fighting for lucky dogs. You get back there and everyone is racing not real good and we got caught up in it.”
HE SAID ON HIS RADIO THAT HE DIDN’T MEAN TO GET INTO YOU BUT HE FELT LIKE YOU SLOWED A BIT: “Well, you have to lift to make the corners. You can’t hold it wide open around Phoenix. Maybe he should take a look and realize he can’t do that. He drove straight into the back of me. He needs to be man enough to own up to that.”
YOU DIDN’T HAVE THE SPEED YOU WERE LOOKING FOR. ANY IDEAS WHY? “I don’t know yet. Just don’t know yet.”
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Menards/Duracell Ford Mustang Dark Horse — (Retired early due to accident on lap 7)
WAS THERE ANYTHING YOU COULD DO TO TRY TO AVOID THAT WRECK? “It is hard to say. I was caught three-wide and couldn’t see in the smoke. Hit the left front and broke the suspension.”
THE 16 LOOKED LIKE IT SPUN IN FRONT OF YOU AND THEN DID YOU GET HIT BY THE 3? “It was hard to tell. I felt like I got hit twice. I knew the 3 was on the inside but I thought he was going to fall but he came back up. It is just a product of not qualifying well.”
