Ford Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
GEICO 500 MENCS QUALIFYING (Talladega Superspeedway)
Saturday, April 28, 2018
FORD QUALIFYING RESULTS
1st Kevin Harvick
2nd Kurt Busch
7th Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
8th Clint Bowyer
9th Joey Logano
10th Brad Keselowski
12th David Ragan
13th Paul Menard
20th Michael McDowell
21st Trevor Bayne
23rd Ryan Blaney
32nd Timothy Peters
33rd Matt DiBenedetto
39th Timmy Hill
40th Aric Almirola
KURT BUSCH, No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford Fusion — Qualified 2nd
“I have never been on the pole for a plate race and I wanted to check that off the list. Thank you Doug Yates. We wouldn’t be in this position if we didn’t have great horsepower. That is the fun part of our qualifying, showcasing the talent of the engine builder and the way these guys build the aero package. To have two Stewart-Haas cars on the front row is great. We would have loved to gotten the pole but outside pole is great and I am proud of our Monster Energy Ford.”
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion — Qualified 9th
“The Stewart-Haas cars are so good, really all the Ford’s are really good. Hopefully we all work well together in the race and keep ourselves alive and running and hopefully have something to race with at the end. Getting some stage points will be important as well. We have a solid starting position. I think we have the car to run in the top five, it is going to be interesting to see how it all shakes out.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Snap On Ford Fusion — Qualified 10th
“It is good to see the Fords fast again. All the Fords are showing good speed and hopefully that will carry over to the race. I am not really sure yet how I feel about my car for tomorrow. There are a lot of variables here so it makes me not sure, but it is nice to know that we have speed heading into tomorrow.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR., No. 17 Fastenal Ford Fusion — Qualified 7th
“It is good to see all those Fords up there. Roush Yates does an awesome job with our engines and our bodies are really sufficient for these types of races. For us, it is cool to be able to come here and see all the Fords across all the different teams represented in the final round. I think that is pretty cool. It says a lot about what Ford is able to do with all our teams. We are looking forward to going out and competing tomorrow and it is always good to be in that final round. It looks like we will pick up a few spots from where we were in the first round and that is always a positive.”
CLINT BOWYER, No. 14 Haas Automation Demo Day Ford Fusion — Qualified 8th
“We just have been a beat away from our teammates all weekend long. I don’t really know what we have going there. It seemed to pull up really good in practice in the draft, so I am looking forward to that. We have some fast Fords out there, that is for sure. It is gonna be nuts tomorrow.”
DAVID RAGAN, No. 38 Bad Boy Mowers Ford Fusion — Qualified 12th
“We always work really hard on our speedway program and we work really closely with the Roush Fenway guys. We feel like our cars always drive really good and have a lot of speed in the draft here but it is encouraging to see speed in qualifying. I am really happy with our Bad Boy Mowers Ford. It handled good and it handled good in the draft yesterday in practice. I am a little surprised with the single car speed but that is a good thing. I look forward to the last 20 or 30 laps tomorrow.”
KURT BUSCH PRESS CONFERENCE
“Today I felt like we had a chance to get the pole. That all starts with the engine department and the way that Doug Yates really approaches these restrictor plate races. We were so close. To be outside pole is cool. I am happy with that for Stewart-Haas Racing to have the front row. Our Fords have been solid all year long and then to back up the superspeedway performance with the two front row starts today. It was a bucket list item to have the pole today but we got outside pole so not too bad.”
DO YOU THINK IT WILL HELP WITH THE UNCERTAINTY TOMORROW TO BE STARTING UP FRONT? “Right now with the ride height balance and the handling on the cars, I have never really seen this much uncertainty going into a plate race before. Everyone has their hands full. Handling will be at an all-time premium. You have to make the right adjustments on the car but also you can’t double stint the left side tires too far and you have to get the optimum tires on it for the end of the race. At the same time you have to protect the car. I think tomorrows race will be about being patient, the old-school mentality of protecting your car and putting yourself in position to win. I don’t think the stage points are going to be the target for us on the 41. We want to go after the big trophy at the end of the day and that is going to come from a patient race.”
COULD YOU TELL ANY DIFFERENCE WITH THE RESTRICTOR PLATE CHANGE TODAY? “I couldn’t tell much difference. It was bogged down a little bit with independant speed itself but it is supposed to really slow us down in the draft. We will see what that does tomorrow. Will it do much difference? I really don’t think so. It is a change NASCAR makes so you have to adjust to it but it is equal for everybody.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR STRATEGY THIS YEAR WITH BILLY SCOTT? YOU GOT A LOT OF STAGE POINTS THIS YEAR AND LAST YEAR YOU LEFT A LOT ON THE TABLE. “Yeah, I felt like the first stage was my weak area last year and it was how we would start the race on the scuffed tires. We have really approached it differently this year and Billy made me aware of some cool things to do. TO be able to run hard at the beginning of the race and not sacrifice anything toward that second stage. Tomorrow’s stage racing is different at restrictor plate races. Overall this year, Billy has done a great job with the car handling at the beginning of the race. Now we need to parlay that and make good adjustments throughout the race to capitalize with a strong finish.”
YOU GUYS AT SHR SEEM TO BE THE FLAGSHIP TEAM AT FORD RIGHT NOW. HOW HAS THAT PERFORMANCE HELPED YOUR PERFORMANCE THIS SEASON? “It has been a good balance all the way through on how the cars are build with Tony Gibson now as a shop foreman to all four teams. Any time you can put a current crew chief at the race shop seven days a week it will benefit the program. That is where we have been stronger. Also getting our arms wrapped around the Ford balance with some of the torque levels in the engine and some of the downforce levels on the aerodynamic side. Right now everything is clicking on all eight cylinders. It is a good feeling. Even though my little brother is the hottest guy on the circuit with his three wins. Harvick has three. We have been knocking on the door and it is just a matter of time. We just have to stay consistent and focused and I really like the chemistry I have with Billy Scott. Today is a great day to celebrate two Stewart-Haas cars on the front row. Today is Kevin’s day. Tomorrow is going to be our day.”
YOU REFERENCED THE UNCERTAINTY WITH THE NO RIDE HEIGHT RULE. WHAT EXACTLY IS THE UNCERTAINTY AS YOU GO INTO TOMORROW’S RACE? “The best way to describe it is that the cars are lower than they have ever been before as far as the ride height and everything is pushed down. When you have counts of drag that have been taken off the cars because of the ride height, when you lose drag you lose downforce. There is a lack of rear downforce on these cars and it is going to be pretty sketchy tomorrow. We will see how it plays out.”
SIMILAR TO DAYTONA? “Even more so. We are another inch or inch-and-a-half further down. So more drag off the cars and less downforce with the same tire and warner track conditions.”
CAN YOU RIDE AROUND EACH OTHER A WHOLE LOT? AS THE TIRES BURN OFF IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND RUN SINGLE FILE. “It depends if you do four tires each pit stop or do two or fuel only. There are a lot of variables. I don’t have any trepidation about running side-by-side, it is a matter of protecting our car and watching how the others adjust to these tough conditions.”
KEVIN HARVICK PRESS CONFERENCE
IT IS A COOL LOOKING CAR THAT YOU ARE GOING TO BE STARTING ON THE POLE TOMORROW: “Yeah, it is a huge credit to the team and Roush Yates engines and everybody who works on all the superspeedway stuff to make it what it is. We have made some huge improvements and obviously to have the final Busch Beer program on board and the Busch guy here and everybody from Busch there to see the Busch pole award presented to their car is a lot of fun. It is an exciting weekend for us and always a lot of fun to have things being achieved when the sponsors are activating and doing things. It is great. Hopefully we can wind up in the same spot on Sunday.”
HOW CONFIDENT WERE YOU THAT YOU COULD BE ON THE POLE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY? “We had no clue as to how fast the car would run. We knew we had a fast car but we didn’t do any qualifying runs or anything like that. The first indicator we had was the first time on the race track and that was even a little bit of a question just because of the fact of having to change the tires, cool the engine down, go back out. You didn’t know what the pickup in the car would be or not be. It is always a little bit of a surprise. I think as you look at that, it is very rewarding for the guys that work on these speedway cars and the engine shop and the guys on the 4 team. That is the thing I am most proud of. We have really never been close to a superspeedway pole. I think that says a lot about the effort they are putting into it.”
WERE YOU FOR THE PLATE CHANGE? COULD YOU FEEL ANY DIFFERENCE? DO YOU EXPECT ANY DIFFERENCE TOMORROW? “I think it is a small change. I don’t know exactly what the speed difference will be. We never really saw what the speeds would be with the other plate in the cars in a complete pack. With the cars so low and the way the suspension rules are, the cars have a lot less drag. I think the cars are still going to be on the top end of probably where everybody wants to see them.”
SOME PEOPLE SAY STARTING ON THE POLE HERE DOESN’T MEAN ANYTHING. DO YOU FEEL IT IS ADVANTAGEOUS? “I like the first pit stall if it comes down to a caution flag late in the race. I think as the years have gone by track position and wanting to position yourself in the front of the pack is more important than it has been in the past because of stage racing. The way that the cars draft now is different than what it used to be. Even going to the back, you still have to go through the swarm at some point. So, for us, we have tried to position yourself in the front and we have also crashed at the front the last several races. I would definitely be in the front than have to worry about what your strategy needs to be.”
