NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
DAYTONA SPEEDWEEKS
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
BUDWEISER SHOOTOUT RACE QUOTES
FEBRUARY 18, 2012
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 PEAK/MENARDS CHEVROLET, involved in a multi-car accident on lap nine of the Budweiser Shootout:
WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE? “Just tandem draft in a pack and it was a big mess really. I had a run on Kevin (Harvick). I was getting to his bumper and David (Ragan) was pushing me from behind. I got hooked from the left side and just went around. It was a lot of fun while it lasted. Kevin and I started in the back and he led a little bit. We came up through there together. It was a lot of fun, just hate to tear up a really good race car. We weren’t planning this next week, but it is still a damn good race car.
“It is a little bit of pack racing; a little bit of tandem drafting. I was trying to get to Kevin’s bumper and I had the No. 34 (Ragan). I think he was getting pushed. Then he was pushing me and I got to Kevin’s bumper and the No. 34 kept pushing me until I went around.
“I think there was a lot of cars in it. I haven’t seen a replay yet, but it was a hell of a wreck. You just hate to tear up race cars like that. The two-car draft and the tandem drafting seem to be a lot easier to pass; a lot less chaotic. This is pretty damn chaotic, but we’ll fix it.”
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE 500? ARE WE GOING TO SEE CHAOS? “Oh yes. It is going to be chaotic. It is going to be exciting for sure. We have to figure out if we want to just ride around or not because it is a big big chance you are going to wreck. We don’t like to wreck; they don’t pay many points back in 43rd.”
DID IT FEEL MORE CONTROLLABLE? “Compared to last year it was way more out of control. More cars together. The old style pack racing seemed to be less chaotic than this is because you can still get to the bumper and push, but just not for very long. So there is a lot of that going in the middle of a pack. So, it is chaotic for sure.
“You just can’t stay there (on the back of another car) but it is there so you can still get to the bumper.”
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