Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR XFINITY Series
Texas Motor Speedway | Friday, April 12, 2024
Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Andy’s Frozen Custard Ford Mustang, met with media members Friday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway prior to Xfinity Series practice and qualifying sessions.
COLE CUSTER, No. 00 Andy’s Frozen Custard Ford Mustang Dark Horse – JUST WALK US THROUGH THIS RACE THIS WEEK HERE, AND REALLY WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN HERE AT THE TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY. “Well, I think you can see already in truck practice, I mean, the track’s just always treacherous here. I mean, two guys already wrecked, it looks like. So, it’s just the track always starts out really edgy, and people are always on each other’s doors just because there’s only one lane really around here. So, it makes it pretty treacherous for everybody on restarts and everything just because you’re so tight racing. It’s a really hard place to get ahold of with how treacherous it is and then also trying to balance the two ends. One end’s flat, one end’s banked. So getting the car to handle how you want it is not an easy task for the crew chiefs, but I think we have a solid piece coming here, so we’re looking forward to it.”
WHERE DO YOU GRADE YOURSELF AT THIS POINT OF THE SEASON AS WE START KIND OF GETTING INTO THE MOMENTUM OF THINGS? “I would say we’re at an A or A- maybe right now. I feel like our team is doing a great job executing. I think our pit crew does a great job our guys really go over the details and make sure that everything’s right going into the weekend and we make the most of it. We’re always looking for that last little bit. We have speed, we’ve gotten poles, we’re always in the top five, it seems like, but just trying to get that last little bit to try and win is what we’re looking for. So I think we’ve been working hard, all our guys have been working hard at the shop. It’s just a matter of putting it all together. But I think we’ve tried to make our cars a little bit better coming here and hopefully that shows.”
BOB ASKED YOU OUTSIDE ABOUT THE CAUTIONS AND WHY YOU THINK THIS TRACK JUST NATURALLY PROMOTES YELLOWS? “I think in the Xfinity cars, it’s just how narrow the groove is. On restarts everybody’s door-to-door crowding each other and when you have somebody on your door in an Xfinity car it gets the guy on the bottom really loose, so everybody’s trying to manage that throughout the whole day and eventually guys just make mistakes. They just try and get in too deep on the bottom and you end up washing up into the guy next to you. So you just have to know what position you’re in if you have a position to be aggressive into the corner if you’ve got to be a little conservative, so you don’t wreck the guy outside of you.”
COLE, WHEN YOU ARE LOOKING AT WHAT LANE YOU WANT TO PICK FOR THE RESTART, DO YOU PREFER INSIDE OR OUTSIDE WITH HOW CRAZY THINGS ARE WITH HOW NARROW THE GROOVE IS ON THESE STARTS? “That’s always such a toss-up every single time. I think either lane can win. It just really depends on who gets to turn one first and who has the positioning going in there. I think more so than not, the bottom usually wins in the Xfinity race. So I think the bottom is probably the place to be, but it’s always a toss-up and after the race you’re always like, ‘Man I wish I would have done that restart a little bit different or picked a different line.’ But you just try and go with the odds and that’s all you can really do.”
COLE, OBVIOUSLY IT IS THE ANDY’S FROZEN CUSTARD 300, YOU GOT THE NAME RAIL, YOU GOT THE NAME FOR IT TOO, AND YOU GOT THE CAR. IN TERMS OF PREPPING FOR THIS WEEKEND, WHAT OTHER FESTIVITIES OR SO ON WOULD BE ADDED TO YOUR SCHEDULE THIS WEEK UNLIKE OTHER WEEKS? “Well, we already went out to the fan zone and got to spend some time out there with the fans. They actually have a whole truck out there of frozen custard, so definitely be sure to get out there. But just meet and greets and stuff like that. This is a huge race for them and their market. They’re based in Missouri, and they’re here in Texas, and I think Phoenix and this is a big race that they want to get their product out there. So hopefully, we can do a good job and get them victory lane.
