Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Cook Out Southern 400 | Darlington Raceway
Sunday, September 1, 2024
CHASE BRISCOE WINS SOUTHERN 500, CLINCHES FINAL PLAYOFF SPOT
- Chase Briscoe drove his No. 14 Ford Mustang Dark Horse to victory in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday night.
- The win clinched the final playoff spot for the No. 14 team in the regular season’s crown jewel finale.
- Ford now has the most drivers in the 16-driver playoff field of any manufacturer, with six.
- Tonight’s win is Briscoe’s second career Cup Series victory.
- This marks Stewart-Haas Racing’s 34th win since joining Ford.
- Tonight’s win is Ford’s 735th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series competition.
FORD FINISHING RESULTS (UNOFFICIAL)
1st – Chase Briscoe
6th – Chris Buescher
8th – Joey Logano
12th – Ryan Preece
13th – Austin Cindric
14th – Brad Keselowski
17th – Todd Gilliland
21st – Harrison Burton
27th – Justin Haley
28th – Michael McDowell
31st – Josh Berry
32nd – Noah Gragson
34th – Kaz Grala
36th – Timmy Hill
37th – Ryan Blaney
CHASE BRISCOE No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Finished: 1st
POST-RACE INTERVIEW
HOW MUCH OF THIS WAS FOR YOU AND HOW MUCH FOR THE EMPLOYEES AT SHR? “Both. Last week was the most embarrassing week I ever ran in my life and I told Richard, I said, ‘I don’t even want to talk about it. I promise you, I will make it up to you next week.’ Man, everybody knows I’m a diehard Tony Stewart fan and to get this 14 car back in Victory Lane and for all 320-something employees, to be able to race for a championship in their final year, it’s unbelievable. God is just so good. It’s like deja vu again with Kyle with the Xfinity race here in 2020. Obviously, I didn’t know if I was gonna be able to do it, but I just can’t thank HighPoint.com enough, Mahindra Tractors, Rush Truck Centers, Renai, everybody that makes this deal go around. We’ll go to Atlanta and try to steal another one.”
WHAT DOES THIS SAY ABOUT YOU AND THE ENTIRE 14 TEAM THAT YOU NEVER GAVE UP OR QUIT ON EACH OTHER? “This group, the day that we found out that the team wasn’t gonna exist anymore, we went over to the shop floor and we all looked at each other and said, ‘We’re in this until the end. We’re not gonna give up.’ We kept saying all week that we had one bullet left in the chamber and that bullet hit.”
KYLE BUSCH WAS CHASING YOU DOWN. WAS THAT THE HARDEST YOU’VE DRIVEN IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE? “Yeah. I was sideways. Countersteering. I felt like I was in a sprint car. Yeah, this night just literally went perfect. The pit crew did an incredible job and I was crying after the checkered because I just won the Southern 500. This is a crown jewel and what makes this race so special is all you race fans. Every time we come here it’s sold out. It’s awesome and we love you guys. The last time I won here was during COVID, so I didn’t get the experience with the fans, so I’m grateful you guys are here and I can’t wait to celebrate.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Finished: 6th
HOW WOULD YOU SUMMARIZE YOUR RACE? “I don’t know. We felt like we did, for the most part, what we needed to do today. We got back in contention there at the end and got a decent finish out of it. We just didn’t quite get it done again and we’re on the outside looking in. It’s just the system we’re all playing in. We had such a great year. Everyone at RFK has worked so hard. We’ve been so fast. We’ve outrun so many of these cars that are gonna get to run for a championship, but that’s the system and we didn’t work it right.”
WHAT IS THE APPROACH TO THE FINAL 10 RACES AND WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS NOW? “It’s not on my mind yet. We had a lot of things figured out. That’s not it now. We’ll get back and digest this one a little bit. It’s such a shame, but another great run for our BuildSubmarines.com Mustang. It’s another great finish here at Darlington, but just not enough with another new winner and, yeah, just crazy. I’m definitely gonna think back on different times throughout the year and we’ll figure out how to do better next time.
HOW DO YOU SUM UP THE EMOTION? “It’s frustration and disbelief all together.”
RYAN PREECE, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Finished: 12th
“We just got caught in a tough spot there at the end of the race. We decided to stay out and risk it on fuel and it just didn’t work in our favor today.”
JOSH BERRY, No. 4 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Finished: 31st
“Tough way to end such a promising day. We had a great No. 4 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse and we were going to net out to have a good points day, and it just was one of those nights that you look back on in frustration because this team deserves better. Our results don’t do us justice and tonight was one of those nights. We have 10 weeks to go chase a win.”
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Richmond Water Heathers Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Finished: 37th (Retired early due to accident on lap 2)
ARE YOU OKAY AND WHAT HAPPENED? “Yeah, I was hurt for a little bit, but I think I will be okay. I am alright. I saw Martin (Truex Jr.) get loose, and I thought he was going to spin to the bottom, so I kind of gassed up to get around him, but it was just terrible timing. He overcorrected, and we were just right there. Gosh, I hate wrecking on lap 2. It is one of those things where you think he is going to spin to the bottom, but his rear is hooked up but he just came up. I hate it for everyone at Menards and Ford. Our car was great and I just didn’t get any laps. Hopefully, next week goes a little bit better.”
