KURT BUSCH — No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Fusion — YOU ARE A DAYTONA 500 WINNER. YOUR INITIAL REACTIONS AND EMOTIONS? “There is nothing predictable about this race anymore and the more years that have gone by that I didn’t win I kept trying to go back to patterns that I had seen in the past. My mirror fell off with 30 laps to go and I couldn’t even see out the back. And I thought that was an omen. Throw caution to the wind. The more unpredictability that keeps unfolding at the Daytona 500, I predicted it. It just got crazy and wild and I am so proud of all the drivers at the end. We put on a show for a full fuel run and nobody took each other out and it was one of the smartest chess games I have seen out there. All the hard work that Ford and SHR put into this — this Ford Fusion is in Daytona’s victory lane.”
WHAT DID YOU KNOW ABOUT POSSIBLY BEING SHORT ON FUEL AND TAKE US THROUGH THAT LAST LAP: “I almost forgot to drive the line I was supposed to drive because I was shutting off all my switches, going to reserve fuel and saying a hail mary. It all turned out. Here we are in victory lane. I can’t believe it.”
MONSTER ENERGY IN THEIR FIRST RACE AND YOU CARRY THE MONSTER ENERGY COLORS AND HAVE FOR SEVERAL YEARS: “I tried not to put any extra pressure on my shoulders. I tried to rely on my teams strengths and not focus on what I have been through with Monster Energy the last six years. They are strong, big company and they have chosen to be the entitlement sponsor and I can’t be happier to do the job I am supposed to do as a Monster athlete, which is to win podiums and races. Here we are. We are with the Daytona 500 trophy. Thanks to Monster, Haas Automation and everybody at Ford. We are going to enjoy this one.”
ARIC ALMIROLA — No. 43 Smithfield Ford Fusion — “It was a wild day. I can’t believe how many cars were involved in wrecks here and there. We were able to get through quite a few of them and our car just didn’t quite have the speed we needed to make the big runs and complete the big passes, but all in all it was a good day for our Smithfield Ford Fusion. I’m so happy for Ford Motor Company to get to go to Victory Lane. That’s so awesome for them.”
HOW IS IT WITH CARS RUNNING OUT OF GAS ON THE LAST LAP? “That’s one thing I think that maybe hurt our chances of having a shot to catch up to the lead pack and getting a good run. The 5 and the 27 were starting to run out of fuel in front of me and I lost all of my help to go get those guys. All in all it was a great day for us. We’ll take it and get ready for Atlanta. The Daytona 500, you always want to come out of here with a good start to the season.”
KEVIN HARVICK — No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion — “We just got some cars up there that didn’t need to be up there and wound up doing more than their car could do. I’ve just got to thank everybody on our Jimmy John’s/Busch Ford for everything that they’ve done all week. We had, I felt, the fastest car in the field and right in contention for both segments and then it’s all tore up and it came to an end. What do you do?”
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO SEE SHR WIN AFTER THE TRANSITION TO FORD? “I feel good about it. I think that’s the fastest car I’ve ever had here, so it’s kind of disappointing.”
TREVOR BAYNE — No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Fusion — “What a day. The first-half was pretty calm. I was cruising in the back waiting for all the wrecks to happen and they didn’t. Then I got caught up with the 48; I’m not sure if it was my fault. I feel bad if it was my fault. I’m spinning and trying to hang on to it, and did. A few laps later we were running in the middle again and somebody hit me in the right rear. It was just nuts. It was like a pinball for a few laps. But at the end of the day we had a good finish, a top 10 finish at Daytona. Overall, we had a really strong car all speedweeks. This Ford was really fast.”
