Richard Childress Racing drivers Austin Dillon and Paul Menard finished 11th and 21st in the first of two Duels at Daytona. Ryan Newman competed in the second Duel and finished 22nd.
JAMIE McMURRAY, NO. 1 McDONALD’S/CESSNA CHEVROLET SS - FINISHED 2ND - WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW THIS DUEL PLAYED OUT? “It was fairly uneventful until the last 10 laps. I was shocked that that second group was able to catch us. But it seems like that’s the way these always work out."
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s 75 Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Duel 2 Finishing Position: 1st - Are you happy to give your team a good starting spot and pit location for the Daytona 500? “Yeah, we did. I guess it was quiet and calm there for a long time and the last lap just went kind of crazy. Great car. These guys at Joe Gibbs Racing do a phenomenal job this winter building some new pieces for us to come down here with and have some fun."
Trevor Bayne, driver of the No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Fusion, recorded a 12th-place finish in Thursday night’s first Can-Am Duel 150 qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway.
DAVID GILLILAND – No. 35 Front Row Motorsports Ford Fusion – DID THE WRECK AT THE END TAKE YOU OUT OF WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO AT THE END? “Our car just didn’t have enough speed. We kind of lost that front group and got behind and then with it going green the whole time – we had a good pit stop and got on and off pit road good, but it just wasn’t quite enough.”
Greg Biffle and his Roush Fenway teammates started at the rear of the field for the first of two 60-lap Duel’s to set the field for the Daytona 500 due to changing a rear gear after qualifying. The trio worked together to keep up with the draft throughout the race. In the end, Biffle crossed the finish line eighth with an intact Daytona 500 KFC Nashville Hot Ford. The eighth-place finish lines Biffle up 15th for the Daytona 500.
After leading the Roush Fenway Racing qualifying efforts on Sunday by posting the fifth overall fastest time, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had to drop to the rear of the field due to gear change after Wednesday’s practice. After restarting 16th with 12 laps remaining in the 60 lap race, Stenhouse Jr. teamed up with teammate Greg Biffle and took the checkered flag in the 10th position of the first of two Can-Am Duels at Daytona International Speedway.
RYAN BLANEY POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE “We were locked in before but it is kind of nice to feel like we raced our way in. We had a really fast race car and we had our couple of problems early in the race which got us a lap down and luckily we got a caution at the right point which got us back on the lead lap to where we can go racing for it. "
The Roush Fenway Racing trio of Trevor Bayne, Greg Biffle and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., posted fast speeds again on Tuesday, this time in the opening session of practice for tomorrow nights Can-Am Duels. The trio, who have struggled with consistent speed and handling issues the past two seasons, spoke about the confidence being built in the organization by their on-track performances here in Daytona.
TY DILLON, NO. 95 CHEERIOS CHEVROLET SS - Involved in multi-car crash in Turn 2 - WHAT HAPPENED? “The oil cooler cracked. I really hate it for those guys behind us. It’s just one of those weird situations. I hate that it tore-up race cars. I couldn’t do anything to make it any different."
The two-time Cup Series champion from Las Vegas, Nevada, clocked in a pole-winning lap at 183.651 mph in 49.006 seconds to become the 47th competitor to achieve the pole position for the Great American Race.
Hendrick Motorsports has signed defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson and majority sponsor HendrickCars.com to matching five-year contract extensions, solidifying one of the most successful partnerships in modern NASCAR through the 2031 season.
RYAN PREECE, No. 60 Kroger/Viva Towels Ford Mustang Dark Horse – BRAD SAID IF HE NEEDED ONE GUY TO USE A HACKSAW TO CUT OFF HIS LEG, IT WOULD BE YOU. COULD YOU DO THAT, IF HE ASKED?
