Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Dover International Speedway
AAA 400
Post-Race Quotes
KURT BUSCH (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 1st
“It was just perfect execution today with making the car better during the race. Our Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger was fast. Some of our struggles have been when the track rubbers-in; we’re not exactly where we want to be. This was an awesome day for Shell, Pennzoil and Dodge. I couldn’t be happier right now. To win in a Sprint Cup race in the Chase, this is what it’s all about. This is the playoffs. We had everything go wrong for us last week; we had everything go right for us this week. We just need nice, smooth races from here.”
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR TEAM IS A CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDER? “I feel like that we’re right in the mix. You just have to cover up those bad days. Tony Stewart struggled today. He’s going to be dropping back. You just have to run consistent. I have to thank all my sponsors. The Shell Saver Card, twenty-two cents a gallon off on Wednesday. Thanks to Sprint and all the sponsors at Penske Racing. It’s unbelievable. Coca-Cola, Lennox, Snap-On Tools. I just have to thanks all these guys.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUTHAT LAST RESTART? “I just wanted to get out in front of (Jimmie) Johnson. The first restart, I was on the high side. I didn’t know what to choose, low or high. I just wanted to get that jump on him and stretch our lead because I thought that he would reel us back in with about 10 to go. We just had to maintain and bring our Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger to victory lane.”
HOW MUCH DID YOU GUYS HAVE TO CHANGE THINGS UP TODAY? “We just had to keep up with the track when it rubbered-in. The thing here at Dover is that the track gets darker and darker. That’s my fear. We made great adjustments during the race and found ourselves in victory lane.”
HOW CONSISTENT WAS YOUR CAR TODAY? “Right around half way, I was scared. I wasn’t sure which way to go. Steve (Addington) just kept making some air pressure adjustments in certain areas and the car just kept coming back to us. The first 100 were perfect. The last 100 were prefect.”
TRAVIS GEISLER (Director of Competition, Penske Racing)
“A great day. This is definitely awesome. We knew that the 22 was a good car. We ran up front all day. It was just a matter on how it was going to shake out in the end. To come down to the restart with the 48 and have Kurt just drive away was pretty awesome. That’s what Kurt is capable of doing and what this 22 team is made of. A great Shell/Pennzoil Dodge. To win in the Chase is awesome.
“The 2 car recovered really well today. They had a freak issue with the belt coming off the power steering and that set them back a bit. They did an awesome job hanging in there and getting a top-20 finish. We’ll take it and go on to Kansas.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 20th
“We had a really good car in clean air. We had a little problem with the power steering belt coming off, lost a lap and by the time we finally got back on the lead lap, we didn’t have any time left to gain back any of the track position we lost. It’s frustrating. I think we were good enough to get a solid run out of it, but ended up 20th. That’s the way it goes.”
AFTER YOU GOT BACK ON THE LEAD LAP, WHAT WAS THE ISSUE AROUND OTHER CARS? “I finally caught the back end of the field, but when I got up to the rear of a car, I couldn’t do anything, couldn’t get around them.”
KANSAS UP NEXT; LOOKING FORWARD TO RETURN TO A TRACK YOU’VE WON AT? “Absolutely. I’m certainly looking forward to that one; I’m looking forward to all of them. We’ve just got to keep digging.”
PAUL WOLFE (Crew Chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T)
“We used a little strategy early to gain track position. We felt like we had a top-10 car and just needed to keep working on it, but had the issue with the belt and lost that track position. The way everything fell there at the end didn’t go our way. We got our laps back, but it was too late in the race to make anything happen. You use your tires up trying to get to people to make the pace and once you get there, it’s just difficult to get around them. It definitely wasn’t the day we needed. We can’t haven another one of these days to have a shot at it (championship). Some things out of control today happened. We did the best we could to get the best finish.”
