Ford Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
2018 NASCAR Playoff Media Day (Las Vegas, NV)
Thursday, September 13, 2018
FORD QUALIFYING RESULTS
1st BRAD KESELOWSKI
4th JOEY LOGANO
5th RYAN BLANEY
6th ARIC ALMIROLA
10th PAUL MENARD
13th TREVOR BAYNE
21st KURT BUSCH
23rd CLINT BOWYER
24th MATT DIBENEDETTO
27th DAVID RAGAN
29th MICHAEL MCDOWELL
30th RICKY STENHOUSE JR.
39th KEVIN HARVICK
BRAD KESELOWSKI WINS THIRD STRAIGHT, TAKES PLAYOFF OPENER AT VEGAS
- Brad Keselowski won the 2018 NASCAR Playoff opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his third win in as many weeks.
- The win today is the 27th of his Cup Series career and is the historic 500th career racing with for Team Penske.
- Ford leads all manufacturers with 14 victories this season.
- The victory marks the 62nd win all-time for Team Penske with Ford and the 18th for Keselowski.
- Of Team Penske’s 62 MENCS wins with Ford, 35 have come since rejoining Ford in 2013.
- The win is Fusion’s 103rd Cup Series triumph since becoming Ford’s flagship vehicle in 2006.
- Today’s win is Ford’s 672nd all-time in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition.
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Autotrader Ford Fusion VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW
HOW MANY TIMES DID YOU HAVE TO HOLD OFF THE COMPETITION TODAY? “I didn’t think it was ever gonna end. I was worried about running out of gas there at the end. I know the fans can hear on this microphone and I want to say thank you to everyone who braved 100 degree heat all day. You guys are the real heroes. I get paid to do this. You guys pay to watch and thank you for doing that. Thank you for coming out today and tolerating the heat. We’re so glad to be able to win and get in Victory Lane again with the Autotrader Ford. What a special day for 500 wins for Penske, three in a row here, first win in the Playoffs. There are too many storylines for me to get it all right, but we’re very thankful and very proud for all of them.”
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A ROLL LIKE YOU ARE NOW? “I don’t know if we’ve ever had a team that was this strong on pit road before. This is the best we’ve ever been on pit road and that made a huge, huge difference today. I’m very thankful for that.”
WHAT ABOUT WIN #500 OVERALL FOR ROGER PENSKE? “That’s quite a number. It’s really great to be a part of that and to get the last four to get us there, that’s one special time.”
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Fusion – Finished 4th
DID IT ALL COME DOWN TO LANE CHOICE ON THE RESTARTS? “Pretty much. Really the 78 was the fastest car. After three laps he was really quick but the first three laps he was a little bit off. We had a good restart with the 2 there at the end. There is so much more drive on the bottom there. You could hook up the rear tires and squirt ahead of the field there. Overall I am proud of the effort this weekend. We had a good Ford. I just wish I could do it one more time.”
“Once we lost our track position we went from first to third there and it was just hard to get it back. I thought I had a shot at it on the restart when I got to the outside of the 2 but I just couldn’t clear him down into three. I don’t know. I wish I could re-run the race. Might be a little better. But everyone in the field is probably saying the same thing.”
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Fusion – Finished 6th
“We gotta keep doing that. I felt like our Ford was pretty good today. We got behind on qualifying and that kind of set the tone. That was my fault. I was trying to get too much and got in the fence and made another mistake and we were able to come down on pit road and get all the damage fixed and the car was back to being good again. I am proud of that effort. That was a really hard fought sixth place. Man, one of these races we will have it go smooth and we will be a contender. I am really proud of that effort. That was a really hard fought sixth.”
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 PPG Ford Fusion – Finished 5th
YOU BROUGHT HOME A GOOD FINISH AFTER SOME EARLY RACE TROUBLE: “Yeah, a lot of people had trouble. We had our own troubles and luckily our damage didn’t affect us to the point of taking us out of contention. We fought for 400 miles and it was a good job by the 12 group today.”
WHAT WERE YOU BATTLING THE MOST? “We were all over the place. I was good on short runs and long runs I was really loose. We were trying to get it to where it would last. We got it a little better but definitely not where we need to be. It was a struggle. They worked really hard all day. I can’t thank them enough for that. I tried to stay out of trouble and just survive I guess. Congrats to Brad and the 2 team on their 500th win for Team Penske, that is pretty neat. We have to work on some stuff but salvaging a decent day is a good day.”
KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion – Retired After Accident on Lap 147
HOW MUCH NOTICE DID YOU HAVE THAT THE TIRE WAS GOING TO GO? “Well, there was something wrong from the time we put the tires on. It was like russian roulette every time you put these piece of crap tires on and try to drive around the race track. One time it is tight, one time it is loose, one time they are blistered. We had a great car and then you put a set of tires on it and you can’t hardly make it through the field. I just hate it for everyone on our Mobil 1 Ford.”
FRUSTRATING DAY OBVIOUSLY, BUT YOU SAID BEFORE THE RACE YOU WERE HAPPY YOU HAD THOSE 50 BONUS POINTS COMING IN: “I am not happy about anything right now.”
