Ford Racing Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Brickyard 400 Qualifying – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Saturday, July 25, 2026
Ford Qualifying Results:
13th – Ryan Blaney
15th – Chris Buescher
16th – Brad Keselowski
19th – Joey Logano
26th – Josh Berry
30th – Zane Smith
33rd – Noah Gragson
34th – Ryan Preece
35th – Austin Cindric
36th – Todd Gilliland
CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Kroger/Minute Rice Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “This is what we come to the racetrack for every week is to figure out how to put a trophy up on the shelf and bring the team to Victory Lane. Obviously, there’s a little extra history when we come to Indy and a racetrack that’s been here well over 100 years at this point. With NASCAR’s history here over the last 30ish years, I think it’s important to note that it’s become part of our history as well and there’s a lot that goes into this race weekend. It means a lot to us. We’ve been really good this weekend so far. I’m pretty disappointed with myself on our qualifying lap. I feel like I did not maximize and that’s got us starting deeper than we would have liked. We’ve got some work to do tomorrow, but we’re certainly capable of it.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Body Guard by Fastenal Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We had a really tough stretch in June and we lost a lot of points. We were sitting in the top 10 and then DNF’d in probably three or four races in a row there. Some of it was our fault and some if it was not, and we’ve got to have more weeks like we had in North Wilkesboro. If we do what we did in North Wilkesboro the next four or five weeks, we’ll be just fine.” IT SOUNDS SIMPLE. “You need to have those races where you score 30-plus points for the next four or five weeks. Mathematically, that’ll get us there and I think we feel like we can do that. We just can’t have bad races.”
RYAN PREECE, No. 60 Thornton’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT WOULD IT MEAN FOR YOU TO KISS THE BRICKS HERE? “I grew up coming here as a kid in quarter midgets. They used to have it, it was called the JSCA Nationals. We were at Gasoline Alley, so I have a couple of rings from that when we were eight or nine years old, so this place has always been pretty special to my father and myself, so it would mean a lot.” WHAT IS YOUR VIEW OF THE BRICKYARD 400 AS A CROWN JEWEL EVENT? “When you drive into Indianapolis Motor Speedway, do you feel the aura of this place? I think that says it.”
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Not seeing any track time definitely doesn’t help or give you much confidence in what to do with the car, especially when the conditions are as different as they are. Speeds are a lot faster. I think we figured out the source of our issue after the session was over. Unfortunately, we kind of went through everything but what we thought was the issue, so I feel as though the car should be good for the race.” ELECTRICAL? “Yes, electrical.” HOW DOES A DEEP STARTING POSITION AFFECT YOU? “This is a restart and strategy race more than any of them really, so being able to be this far behind early is a disadvantage for sure, but I think there are a lot of options and a lot of opportunities. We still have to give ourselves opportunities to get points throughout the day, but I’ve started deeper than this and finished well, too. It’s a long race.”
