NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SUBWAY FRESH FIT 500
PHOENIX INTERNATIOINAL RACEWAY
RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
February 27, 2011
JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET, involved in 13 car accident on the backstretch on lap 66 after being involved in earlier multi-car incident on lap 59: WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE? “It looked like the No 83 (Brian Vickers) had some trouble on the outside. It was pretty slick on restarts and it looked like he got really loose and the field behind and everybody bottled up. I don’t know if he was second or fourth but he was right up there. The whole field was behind him and just nowhere to go.”
ARE PEOPLE BEING TOO AGGRESSIVE OUT THERE? “I guess you would have to say yes. Really frustrating for us. I thought we had an incredibly fast car today. It seems like we can’t do anything right right now. We’ll keep our heads up and keep diggin’.”
CLINT BOWYER SAID THEY ARE RACING WAY TOO HARD WAY TOO EARLY, BUT IT IS A SHORT TRACK: “It’s too hard if people are wrecking, you know what I mean. I am not pointing the finger at anybody. We all race. It is early in the year and everybody is trying to get what they. Certainly is people are wrecking then it is too aggressive. There is no question about that. I can’t control other people. I can only control us. I’m real proud of how we ran today. I thought we had a car that could win this race. We are sitting here in the garage, just really disappointing.”
WHAT HAPPENED EARLIER WITH CARL EDWARDS AND KYLE BUSCH? “The No. 18 (Busch) kind of had the same problem as the No. 83. He was really loose up high. I don’t know why he was loose, I didn’t see that part. When he did, he came across and ran into the door of the No 99 (Edwards) and it was on from there.”
WHY DO YOU THINK EVERYBODY WOULD BE SO AGGRESSIVE SO EARLY? ARE THEY TRYING TO MAKE UP POINTS LOST IN DAYTONA? “We are certainly in that group. At the end of the day, it is what we do. We race hard and obviously when people are wrecking it s too hard. But that is what we get paid to do. We get paid to race hard. It is a long race, we haven’t even gotten to 100 laps yet and to have two big wrecks less than 100 laps. It is ultra competitive. I mean it is really really competitive. Track position means a lot and I think everybody is just trying to get all they can on restarts.”
IS THERE ANYTHING INTENTIONAL GOING ON OUT THERE? “No, no, no, no, no. The No. 18 – that wasn’t intentional. He was just really really loose before all that happened. The back of the car was around and he was trying to get it saved up. To me, I don’t think it was anything intentional at all.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS / TRACKER BOATS CHEVROLET – Involved in 13-vehicle accident on lap 66 ARE YOU ALL RIGHT? WHAT HAPPENED? “Yeah, I am good. I saw the replay in the infield care center. It looked like the No. 83 (Brian Vickers) cut a tire down. It’s really tight back there (on the race track). It’s really tight back there. It’s a bad place to have a wreck because there is nowhere to go. But I was the guy who got slowed down and whoever was behind me just wasn’t able to. Once you get hit from behind that hard you just along for the ride.”
IS THE DRIVING REALLY CRAZY OUT THERE?
“Yeah, it’s just typical. Normally you get those long runs and it gets calmed down. But when you get different pit strategies and guys on different sets of tires or two tires or four tires or no tires, there’s a big discrepancy in speed. The restarts are when you get all your passing done. But that was just one of those deals where the No. 56 (Martin Truex Jr.) and the No. 83 got together and cut the No. 83’s tire down and they were in the first four or five cars and it’s just a big wreck. But I don’t know that it was people being over-aggressive.
“You had guys on new tires, some of them two, some of them four. Normally at Phoenix we get long runs and it kind of settles in. With the way the cautions the way they fell, everybody was on different strategies. There were guys at the front that weren’t quite as quick as guys at the rear. When I saw the replay of the wreck, it just looked like the No. 56 (Martin Truex, Jr.) and the No. 83 (Brian Vickers) touched and cut the No. 83’s tire down and that isn’t really anyone’s fault. Just kind of one of those deals. There is nothing you can do about. It is so early you didn’t even really break a sweat. It is frustrating but there is not a lot you can do about it. We are going to try and get our car fixed and get back out there. The only fortunate part is that there are a lot of really good cars sitting in here [garage] and so when you view the points you got guys in here you will be racing for the Chase.”
CLINT BOWYER, NO. 33 CHEERIOS/HAMBURGER HELPER CHEVROLET – Involved in 13-vehicle accident on lap 66: WHAT HAPPENED FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE? “They were driving like it was the last lap! Man, if we keep this up we’ll only about four cars to end all these races. I have no idea what happened. Everybody was checked-up all over the place and running into the back of us and we got crashed. But it’s just stupid. To be racing this hard this early in a race; we’re all smarter than this.”
WHY IS EVERYBODY RACING SO HARD? PEOPLE ARE SCREAMING ON THE RADIO. IT’S JUST CRAZY: “I have no idea. Like I said, we’re all smarter than this. We’re all better race car drivers than this. We’re driving like idiots. Everybody is taking two tires, four tires; everybody is on complete different agendas right there and we never could get going. It’s just stupid.”
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