Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Coke Zero Sugar 400 Qualifying
Friday, August 22, 2025
NASCAR Cup Series qualifying was cancelled due to weather at Daytona International Speedway. As a result, Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 2 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang Dark Horse, will start on the pole for tomorrow night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400.
FORD STARTING POSITIONS
1st – Ryan Blaney
4th – Joey Logano
5th – Austin Cindric
10th – Brad Keselowski
11th – Josh Berry
13th – Zane Smith
24th – Chris Buescher
28th – Todd Gilliland
29th – Cole Custer
31st – Ryan Preece
32nd – Noah Gragson
35th – Cody Ware
39th– Casey Mears
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW VITAL IS TRACK POSITION NOW THAT YOU HAVE IT AND BEING ABLE TO CONTROL THIS RACE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN? “I would say this place is easier to go forward than Talladega. Handling is a little bit worse here, so you have guys cars that kind of have to lift and bail out and stuff like that, but it’s nice that we have it to start. It’s just then how do you keep it? The first stage is pretty straightforward. You can make it on gas, but then how do you play the second and third stage to set yourself up for after the pit stop. That’s just kind of the way this racing is. I personally wish it wasn’t that way, but that’s what you have to do and the competition also knows that’s the thing to do, so very vital to be efficient while you’re out there running. We all talk about the number you want to hit, mile per gallon-wise, to try to make your pit stop as short as it can and try to come out in the front two rows. I feel like our team has done a really good job of understanding that and putting ourselves in the spot, but it’s nice to have the number one pit stall. That’s great from my banger lap today (laughing) and to control the field at the start, which that’s the easiest part. It’s how do you play stage two and stage three, but I will say this place is easier to go forward and back, and if it’s warm tomorrow night, cars are gonna be lifting a lot more to where you can make moves. The top will come in and stuff like that, but it’s vital. That’s all we talk about when we come to these places is how do you cycle to the front after the last pit stop? It is what it is, so it’s who can play that game the best.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE TRACKS IN THE FIRST PLAYOFF ROUND? IS ONE OF THEM YOUR STRONGEST? “Not really. I feel like all of them kind of play to our strengths. The spring race at Darlington this year was great for us. We had it won and had a late yellow, and then I look at Gateway has always been a great track for us as a group at Team Penske. We’ve won two out of the three races there and I’ve run really well in the other one, so I think just as a whole that place is good to us, and Bristol, I think we’ve been getting better at that place. I feel like last year was a little bit of a struggle for us, but I loved how our car was there in the spring, so I can’t really pick out a track in particular that I feel the strongest about in that first round. I feel like we’ve done a good job at all three of those in the past, but that could go away. You can’t just plug and play what you did there in the past. You have to continue to evolve as a race team, so I like all of them but how do we keep with the times since the spring at Darlington and since last year at World Wide, and then Bristol, how does the night race fluctuate a little bit of what we saw there in the spring. I overall just look at our strength as Team Penske right now and I really like where we’re at, so hopefully that continues to all the tracks across the 10 weeks.”
ON THE LAST LAP, WOULD YOU RATHER BE THE LEADER TRYING TO BLOCK OR SECOND AND TRYING TO PASS? “I don’t know. I tell you, if I’m in one of those spots at the end of tomorrow night, I’m gonna be as happy as can be. I have not finished a lot of these speedway races as of late. I’ve taken a lot of hits that I wish I wouldn’t have taken at these places, so goal one for me is just to finish. Goal two, it would be great if I’m in one of those positions. I’ve always been more comfortable leading and kind of controlling it, especially at the end to where you are yourself making that decision of the block. I try to be very methodical of how I do those, maneuvers and things like that. I talk about it a lot. There are certain blocks with this car you can’t make and you see it all the time with how wrecks happen – guys make not the best of blocks and you just can’t make them and it causes a huge pile up. Guys will do what they need to do to try to get in the playoffs, but I’ve always been the most comfortable out front, making your own decisions of, ‘Do I have enough time and space to throw this block,’ or do you try to live to fight another day? If it’s down the backstretch, I’m probably not gonna throw a massive block because I still have half-a-lap to try to get back to the lead. If it’s off of four, you kind of just weigh the situation, so I would rather be out front because that’s where you’re making the biggest decision there, instead of trying to pass the leader, who you never know what kind of block they’re gonna throw.”
YOU ARE ONLY 25 POINTS BEHIND CHASE ELLIOTT FOR SECOND IN THE STANDINGS. DO YOU FEEL YOU CAN GET PAST HIM? “It’s possible, for sure. I think that’s one of the biggest things we’ve looked at this week is we can get to second, and that’s big and a few more bonus points for the playoffs. After the season we’ve had so far with a bunch of DNFs, it’s pretty amazing that we’re fifth. It just shows how well we’ve run, and to have a shot at second is really, really strong, so it definitely can happen. I’ll be paying attention to the guys I’m racing around in points all night through the stages and then when you get to the final stage, you’ll go try to position yourself up for the win, but you try to snag as many stage points as you can. So, it’s definitely possible, that’s for sure. You never know what can happen.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE 2026 SCHEDULE? “I think bringing Chicagoland back is a great move. With losing the Chicago Street Race, bringing in Chicagoland at least Illinois still has a race in their state, so I’m happy with that and Joliet isn’t terribly far away from the city. I think a lot of people have been trying to push for that track to make a comeback for a long time. I was pretty sad when we left there because it put on a great show. I think with this car it will put on a fantastic event, so I’m excited for that. With the schedule next year, I think us going to Coronado is gonna be a lot of fun. I was able to go out there a few weeks ago and meet all those folks, not all of them, there are 40,000 people that live on the base, but to meet a lot of their head people. They’re great people and really excited for us to come. They’re gonna roll out the red carpet for everybody and to celebrate 250 years of the Navy, I think that’s great and to be a part of that to celebrate their history, I’m really excited for that too. I think they did a good job on the schedule. Some things got moved around. People made a big deal about Watkins Glen getting moved to May, it’s like, why? Who cares? It’s fine. It’ll be pretty up there, I promise. I’m happy with the schedule, so that part is good. Chicagoland is definitely top of my list that I’m pretty pumped it came back.”
DO YOU THINK WE COULD SEE A BROADER STRATEGY TOMORROW NIGHT FROM THE GUYS WHO NEED TO WIN? “Yeah, it’s like a fine line with the fuel save stuff because you can’t save too much to where you’re 35th because you’re not gonna get to the front top 10 on pit road. You’re not gonna save that much gas, so you have to be pretty strategic of where you position yourself as you’re saving to try to save more than like if you’re 10th, can I save more than the nine in front of me to jump up to the front row. But you can’t dig hard the whole time if you’re a guy who needs to win because if you just go wide-open and don’t fuel save at all, then you’re gonna cycle further back than the guys who saved on the pit stop, and now you’ve put yourself behind the eight ball, so I don’t really know. It’s hard for me to predict how these races play out. You have your game plan, we have our game plan of what we think is the best for us and you audible all the time of what other teams are doing and how they’re approaching it while at the same time trying to keep your game plan in the back of your head. It’s hard to know what to expect. I know it’s gonna be a wild race, that’s for sure. These cut off races before the playoffs, this one always gets crazy and I just hope everyone stays safe and nothing happens and hopefully keep the cars on the ground. As far as the race flow, I have no idea how it’s gonna go. You’ll find out just as soon as I do how it’s playing out.”
WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO POTENTIALLY HELP AND RFK CAR VERSUS YOUR BID TO TRY TO WIN? IS IT LIKE YOU’VE GOT A FREE PASS BECAUSE YOU’RE TRYING TO GET TO SECOND AND IF YOU HAVE TO SCREW OVER AN RFK CAR, THEN THAT’S BUSINESS. “I guess that’s how you define screw over. If I have the chance to go win, I’m gonna go win the race. I’m not gonna lay over for, I know their fellow Fords, whether it’s Front Row or RFK, I’m not gonna lay over for them to win the race and get in when I have a shot to win the race, so I’m gonna race them hard like normal, but I’m also gonna help them in situations like normal. If it also can benefit me and I also tag along to Brad or Ryan or Chris or somebody, I’m gonna go with you because that’s normal and you’re also helping a Ford and you’re also helping yourself. But if I have a shot to win, I’m gonna take me over them because you’re in this to do what’s best for you.”
HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO LET SOMEBODY GET BY YOU ON THE BACKSTRETCH WHEN YOU’RE SO CLOSE TO THE FINISH LINE? “Those are decisions you have to make all the time. I’ve always tried to look at it as a long game type scenario of, ‘OK, if I’m leading and we’re going down the backstretch and a lane is coming pretty quick, and I don’t think I can block it, or there’s a 20 percent chance of this block working, that’s an inner decision you have to make of, ‘Do I take this chance of 20 percent it’s gonna work, 80 percent it’s not gonna work.’ I risk wadding myself up making this block and now there’s no shot I win the race, or do I hang in my lane – maybe they get shoved out and I get a surge again because these runs happen quick. Then you have a shot at the race. I’ve just always thought that I’m gonna call it a bad block and wreck yourself with a low percentage move, well, now you have no shot. So, I always try to play the long game of, ‘I can get back there.’ If I don’t, I don’t, but at least I’m not on the wrecker and finish 35th. It’s just decisions. Everyone is different, but if there’s a guy that has to win and he’s leading, he’s in my shoes like hypothetically what you’re talking, he’s probably gonna throw that block. That’s just what he has to do and I don’t blame him for it. That’s what he has to do to try to maintain control. The guys who have won and are in there are in a little bit different position and I think everyone thinks differently, but that’s how I’ve always approached it is, is there time enough for me to get back to him as opposed to a low percentage block that’s gonna end my night and a lot of other people’s nights, too.”
WHAT BLOCKS CAN’T YOU MAKE WITH THIS CAR? “You have to judge how big the run is behind you and sometimes you just can’t pull up in front of it. It someone is running 10 miles an hour faster than you, then why are you pulling up in front of somebody? You’re just gonna cause mayhem and if they don’t run through you, and if they lift and check up in time, they’re gonna get run over from behind, too. That, to me, would signify as a bad block, just being situationally aware of where you’re at on the racetrack and the closing rate of some of these things. That’s a tough one, but I think the closing rate stuff is really big. You see that a lot. Guys are coming 10 miles an hour faster and a guy like last-second pulls up and causes mayhem. That, to me, is just not the smartest of moves.”
HAVE YOU TAKEN A LOOK AT THIS A-POST FLAP? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND WOULD YOU HAVE LIKED TO GET SOME QUALIFYING LAPS TO SEE IF IT FLUTTERED AT ALL? “Yeah. I’ve seen it. We had a meeting last week in Richmond with NASCAR and we’ve learned about this for a long time when they presented it to us last year. It just took them a while to implement it correctly, and I’m happy we finally have something that they think will help. Would I have liked to have some laps? Yeah. I would just like to have some laps at a speedway in general like in practice, just to get your mind and your spotter in tune with the draft inside of it, but I don’t know. I don’t think they’re gonna flutter, but you never know. In big, turbulent stuff they could flutter. I have no clue. It might look like the Batmobile out there. I have no idea. We’ll find out tomorrow night, but if it helps keep the cars on the racetrack, I’m all for it. They get in these situations like Preece and Josh Berry and they can keep the car from going over, do whatever you’ve got to do. I’m fine with that, but I don’t know. I might be looking at fluttering A-post flaps for the whole 400 miles. I have no idea. NASCAR said they’re not gonna come up, so we’ll see – unless we’re spinning.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Consumer Cellular Ford Mustang Dark Horse – IT’S BEEN A GOOD WEEK. “Yeah, it’s been a good week. I’d like to finish it strong. We’re running really well. We’re competitive. Obviously, off the track having a baby was great. There are a lot of really good things going on.”
WHAT IS THE STRATEGY GOING INTO THE RACE BETWEEN THE THREE OF YOU? “Win the race. You’re trying to plan for races that has so much chaos and it’s kind of absurd to try to do that, so you just try to survive and win at the end.”
WHAT IS THE EMOTION OF THIS AS A TEAM OWNER KNOWING YOU WISH YOU COULD GET ALL THREE IN, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY YOU CAN ONLY GET ONE? “Obviously, it’s not ideal, but realistic to what the situation is and trying to keep our head up and control what we can control now. We can’t control what’s happened in the past.”
IS THERE OPTIMISM WITH HOW WELL RFK HAS RUN ON THE SPEEDWAYS? “Yeah. I feel like we’re due. We’ve had a lot of great runs. Ryan had a shot to win at Talladega and missed by a few feet. I’ve had three or four second-place runs here in the last year-and-a-half on restrictor plate tracks, so I kind of feel like we’re in a good spot to get one.”
TWO OFF WEEKENDS IN THE 2026 SCHEDULE. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT AS A DRIVER AND OWNER? “Two off weekends is a good number. I think they’re nice spread out. It’s good for the garage and good for our fans and well-received.”
DO YOU LIKE CHICAGOLAND BEING BACK? “Yeah. There wasn’t a lot in the schedule I didn’t like, to be honest. Everyone is gonna have their own thoughts and opinions on it, but Chicagoland is a track I’ve had a lot of success at, so selfishly it’s always gonna be good when you have track you’ve won at before.”
WHAT ABOUT THE DOVER ALL-STAR RACE? “I think we’re all a little bit surprised by that. I’m hoping that they have enough time to put up lights because that would be super cool.”
HAVE YOU TALKED WITH RYAN AND CHRIS ABOUT THIS SITUATION OR DO YOU FEEL THEY KNOW THE RULES? “Those guys have good heads on their shoulders and I don’t think they need a lot of coaching, which is one of the things I really appreciate about both of them. High character guys. I’m not expecting any surprises.”
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Superspeedways have been pretty good for us in the past when it comes to speed in our Fords, so I’m assuming that they’re gonna be fast again. I don’t see what would have changed, but you never know. Overall, I do feel pretty solid about it and the teamwork at Team Penske. I feel good about the teamwork on the 22 as well and the spotter up top, so I feel like we should be good.”
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE 2026 SCHEDULE? “It looks OK. I haven’t honestly studied it a whole bunch, but I like the San Diego to Sonoma trip. That sounds like a good one for a lot of people who want to maybe see a couple races. They could do that on the west coast. A couple off weekends are nice. Having Easter off it seemed like was good, so it’s good.”
