Ford Racing NSCS Notes & Quotes:
Daytona 500 – Daytona International Speedway
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Ford Finishing Order:
3rd – Brad Keselowski
7th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
8th – Greg Biffle
11th – Joey Logano
17th – Carl Edwards
18th – Marcos Ambrose
33rd – Trevor Bayne
34th – David Ragan
36th – David Gilliland
39th – Aric Almirola
ARIC ALMIROLA – No. 43 Smithfield Ford Fusion – WHAT HAPPENED? “I don’t know. I was going to the top with Kurt. We were trying to do something. We were a lap down. We had a mistake in the pits that got us a lap down, but what a shame. This Smithfield Ford was so fast. We had a really good strategy. We were in the top five racing for the lead and came down pit road and had a mistake. That got us a lap down and we were racing the 18 and the 13 for the lucky dog. I couldn’t just ride in line. I needed to make a move to try and get myself in position to be the lucky dog. We were in position for quite a while and got shuffled out. This sucks. We had a really good car, but we’ll rebound from this. We’ll go to Phoenix and get us a win.”
SINCE DELAY WHAT HAS THE RACING BEEN LIKE ON THE TRACK? “It’s been a lot more chaotic for sure. The track has a lot more grip, so people are taking a lot more risks. The cars drive a lot better at night, so two and three-wide is usually not a problem. Everybody was on older tires right there and I think somebody got loose up under me and the next thing I knew I was pounding the fence. It’s tough, but that’s racing at Daytona.”
WHAT HAPPENED AGAIN? “Somebody got loose up under us and ruined our day. That’s part of it. It’s Daytona. We had a really fast Smithfield Ford. Trent made some good calls on our strategy and we were racing up there for the lead. We had a mistake on pit road, where I guess we took the jack down pit road and had to make a stop-and-go. That got us a lap down and we were racing the 18 for the lucky dog and had it for quite some time. We had a really fast car. We were racing for the lead, but we were a lap down. It’s just a shame to have a car that fast and be torn up.”
YOU HIT PRETTY HARD. YOU OK? “Yeah, I’m fine. The car is safe. Everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports does a good job. I’m just heartbroken. I come down here for the Daytona 500 two hours away from home and I always want to run good here, but it never works out. We’ll go to Phoenix and be really good there. I hate it for all the guys on this Smithfield team, but that’s racing.”
TREVOR BAYNE – No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion – “I thought we were really strong in the middle all night with our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford and we’d work our way from the back to the front time and time again. There at the end we were running the middle with the 24 and the 11 and felt really strong and all of a sudden the 40 shoved it four-wide down into turn one and really squeezed everybody. We almost crashed there, so I had to back out of the gas and fell back a few spots and we were working our way through the middle again. Our car was really free up off the corner. We’ve seen that a lot tonight with the cars. Handling is becoming an issue again. I don’t know if that’s just the track wearing out or the aero package we have now, but you actually have to drive them again. There were a few times I got loose with cars around me, and I saw other people doing it, but it finally stepped out too far. I tried to save it, but when it finally caught it hooked right into the wall like you see sometimes at mile-and-a-halves. You don’t normally expect that at Daytona by yourself, but I hate it for our team. We kept recovering tonight. We went a lap down after a slow pit stop and got it back. We worked our way into the top 10 a few times and led some laps, but it’s not the finish we were hoping for.”
HOW FRUSTRATING TO WRECK SO CLOSE TO THE END? “It’s frustrating, but we made it that far, I guess. We made it to the last 20 laps and that’s kind of your goal at Daytona – to be around at the end for a chance to win. Unfortunately, there’s still nine to go and we’re not out there, but I thank the Lord I’m OK because some of these hits are pretty hard, but Jesus kept me safe. We’re good to go. We’ll go to Phoenix in the Nationwide Series and we’ll be back Cup racing at Vegas.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion (Finished 4th) – “We had a really fast Miller Lite Ford and just came up a little short there at the end. We had a good restart but didn’t get any help from behind. I was really proud of my car and team to be able to hold fourth with no help. Dale and his teammates were really fast and they did a good job executing at the end. Congratulations to him.” HOW MUCH HELP DID YOU NEED TO MAKE PASSES? “If I had maybe one or two cars behind me I think I could have maybe had a shot but I just didn’t get it.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR., No. 17 Nationwide Insurance Ford Fusion (Finished 7th) – “We struggled there for awhile. We worked our way to the front and got off a little on fuel strategy when that rain came. I knew our Nationwide Fusion was fast but it was such a log jam trying to get back to the front, then we slowly worked our way there and got a few cautions. I really wanted to get to the back bumper of the 2 and get Ford another 500 but all in all it was a good day for us. We came home seventh and that is a good way to start the year. We just needed a little bit more there at the end. We needed a couple cars behind us to be able to get to the 2’s bumper and we just didn’t quite get it.”
JOEY LOGANO – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion – “We had decent speed. I thought the 2 car might have been a little faster, but that was a crazy, crazy race there at the end. It’s funny because you line up behind Brad and he gets a hole and I don’t, and then you see where he goes and where you’re at. We got shuffled all the way to the back and then with 10 to go we were all the way in the back. We worked our way up some. At least the fans are excited about the finish or the winner at least. But the guys did a great job the last two weeks and gave me some decent cars. We survived it. When you start in the back, like 15th or further back on the last restart, you’re pretty sure you’re gonna get caught up in a crash. We came close enough on that last one when I was sideways, but I was able to save it.”
YOU AND BRAD WORKED WELL TOGETHER ALL NIGHT, ESPECIALLY BY PITTING TOGETHER UNDER GREEN A FEW TIMES. “Anytime you can help your teammate the easier it is to move to the front and we did that from the beginning of the race and steadily moved our way up through the field, but eventually you kind of get stuck and separated. Once you get separated it’s hard for me to help him and hard for him to help me.”
CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Fastenal Ford Fusion – “We had a really fast Fastenal Ford, I got to lead a bunch of laps so that was really fun. The 88 was very good. He was going a really good job, so he definitely deserved the win. The reason we all crashed at the end was that there was still some oil on the race track or some kind of fluid. I went through it the lap before Kevin wrecked and then he got sideways right in front of me and hit the 18 and caused a bunch of havoc, but there was definitely fluid on the race track. That’s too bad because I think it was gonna be a pretty good finish without tearing up cars. People were doing a really good job driving.”
HOW FRUSTRATING TO HAVE IT HAPPEN LIKE THAT? “It’s frustrating for me because we had a really good car. I think if I would have done things a little differently we could have finished really well, but I did learn some things and I did have a good time. This is about the most fun I’ve had at a Daytona 500 ever, so I guess that’s something. I just hate to tear up that race car. That was a really good car.”
GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 3M Ford Fusion – “It was a good night. They just have a tick more speed, it seems like. I could kind of hold them off, but it depends on who is pushing you, I guess. You get some fast cars lined up and you’re fast, but that last restart killed me. That was it.”
YOU WERE TRYING TO BLOCK THE WHOLE FIELD WHEN LEADING. “We had a really strong car, but the 88 was real fast. We just couldn’t hold him off.”
DAVID RAGAN – No. 34 CSX – Play It Safe Ford Fusion – “Well, it was a long Daytona 500. Our CSX team had a good car and a fastcar but we had a transmission go out and we had to come to the garage and change it. We were able to get back out and collect a few points, but it was definitely not the Daytona 500 we all hoped for. We’ll try to diagnose what the problem was and learn from it, and we’ll look forward to Phoenix.”
DAVID GILLILAND – No. 38 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Fusion – “We had a great car. Our Love’s Travel Stops Ford was fast all week, and it felt great as the race got started. We were just taking it easy, logging laps up toward the front. After the rain delay, we were toward the back and we just wanted to hang out there for a while. But we got caught up in that wreck and it spun me into the grass and I got stuck there, and they had to tow it to the garage to fix it. I’m proud of the guys, though. They worked really hard all Speedweeks and all winter, really, to put a great car on the track. There were a lot of wrecked cars out there today and unfortunately we were one of them.”
MARCOS AMBROSE – No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion – “We had a fast car today. The STANLEY Ford was good all week and the car was fast tonight. That is encouraging. We were caught in the wreck close to the end. From there we survived the other ones and finished the race on the lead lap. It’s just a shootout, but we had a chance for the majority of the day.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI PRESS CONFERENCE
TALK ABOUT YOUR DAY OUT THERE TODAY. “I thought our car was really strong, the best car I have ever had here at Daytona. I got the lead from the very back twice and just didn’t quite pull it off the third time. We got really close there in the closing laps and with some help from a few others. It was a strong night for sure. We didn’t get the win, which is most disappointing as a driver with a car like that which you don’t get all the time, at least most of us don’t. I had the opportunity tonight and came up a little short on that last restart. I am really proud of the effort and happy for my friend.”
HOW GOOD IS IT TO GET A TOP-FIVE IN THE BOOKS TO START THE SEASON? “Points days don’t mean anything anymore. That is the great thing about this format. There is no good points day as far as I am concerned. It is win or nothing else matters, especially when you come to Daytona.”
YOUR THOUGHTS ON JUNIOR WINNING THE RACE? “I thought he did a great job. If there is ever a guy who is due, it is a guy that has finished second three of the last four years. That is really saying something. Hopefully that will work out for me at Watkins Glen. He has been right there and knocked on the door. He runs restrictor plates as an elite driver and is probably in the top-three. He hasn’t got the win when he probably deserved it a couple times due to a whole bunch of circumstances out of his control. He was due and today was his day. I am happy for him and happy for all those guys. There are a lot of great people over there on that team. I really like Steve and Dale obviously gave me my big opportunity and is probably my best friend in the garage outside of my teammate Joey Logano and his spotter is my neighbor. There is a lot of cross-pollination there. It is good for them. I am happy for him.”
FROM THE SPORTS PERSPECTIVE, IS IT BETTER TONIGHT FOR DALE JR. TO WIN THAN IT IS THE 3 CAR MAKING ITS COMEBACK? “I don’t know. There is no shortage of story lines this year; it is just a matter of which one suits your fancy. Dale is a very popular driver. Is he more popular than a number? I would like to think so. I would like to think a person is more popular than a number. These days I suppose you never know. Both are important stories and both would be very rewarding for the sport. I think the great thing about Dale winning today is that I followed him and passed him and did all those other things and I think it was something where this particular race there is no drama or feeling that anyone can legitimately say there was some voodoo magic reason why he won. He earned this in every sense of the form. I think to me, that probably stands out the most.”
THIS IS THE CLOSEST YOU HAVE EVER COME. ARE YOU LEAVING THINKING THERE WAS ANYTHING YOU COULD DO DIFFERENTLY? “Having the benefit of getting back to the bus and changing before coming here, I think that is a first, I had the opportunity to watch the replay and I don’t feel there was anything I could have done differently. When the 11 and 18 broke apart and the 17 split the 18, that was the end of my night. There was nothing I could do. It was just circumstances outside of my control. I could have blocked the 11 and ran second but that was all that was going to happen if I blocked the 11. I really wasn’t interested in running second. I took a shot at a different move that would have given me an opportunity to win but finished third. That is just the way it is.”
HOW DID THAT LONG RAIN DELAY AFFECT YOU? WHAT GOES THROUGH YOUR MOTIONS AS YOU ARE WAITING TO START AGAIN? “Everyone kept telling me over the radio that there was more rain coming and I think that really added to the anxiety and rush of pace more so than even the break. I feel like everyone raced really hard for the whole 500 mile race today. I don’t know about you guys but I never saw a lull in the action from where I was sitting. That has to be the hardest raced 500 ever as far as I am concerned and probably one of the best. You look at this rules package and the way the cars ran today. You could run the top, bottom and middle. At one point in the race handling came into play and skill level really showed up from a driver’s perspective. I couldn’t be more pleased as both a participant and a fan of the sport with how the 500 went. From a competitive standpoint and how things went there it was great. I am disappointed I didn’t get two spots higher but the actual racing I thought was great. I hope they don’t change this package because I thought it was very solid.”
SOCIAL MEDIA EXPLODED AGAIN DURING THE DELAY, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT? “We seem to do really well when we have delays here in Daytona. Maybe we should just run 50-percent of the race and pause for four hours. The racing God’s are trying to tell us something. We need a four hour intermission in the 500. That will be our next format change. Whatever works. I am glad that it worked.”
WHEN DO YOU START THINKING OF PHOENIX AND WHAT YOU NEED TO DO THERE? “I haven’t thought much about it. I am a night owl so this gives me a good excuse to tell Roger Penske why it is good for me to stay up late. I am still on my A game mentally. I will move on to Phoenix probably after tomorrow and go from there.”
DID YOU SEE A DIFFERENCE WITH DALE JR’S CAR? “I thought that at the halfway point of the race, probably around lap 80, that a bunch of other cars picked up speed for some reason. It is interesting and I am not sure why. The back half of the field seemed to really adjust on their cars and make gains. I thought before that there was a little more of a separation, especially in the sun and it would have been interesting to see how the race would have played out in those circumstances. From Dale Jr.’s perspective, I never write off the Hendrick cars. It seems like come Sunday they pull out something that nobody has seen and they were faster in the race today than they have been throughout the rest of Speedweeks.”
