NASCAR Cup Series

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 14TH "It was a disappointing finish to a good day. Just one of those things you can't do anything about. I'm happy with how the NAPA team performed, and we are going to learn from it. I'm proud of how hard everyone worked all week. We're looking forward to getting back at it in Atlanta."

KURT BUSCH -- No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Fusion (Finished 1st) -- YOU ARE A DAYTONA 500 WINNER. YOUR INITIAL REACTIONS AND EMOTIONS? “There is nothing predictable about this race anymore and the more years that have gone by that I didn’t win I kept trying to go back to patterns that I had seen in the past. My mirror fell off with 30 laps to go and I couldn’t even see out the back."

JOEY LOGANO -- No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion -- “I just couldn’t get anyone to go for it at the end. Everyone was so conservative and I don’t understand why. We kept trying to go to the bottom and make a run down there and no one would go with us. We had three cars that kind of wanted to do it, but it’s a matter of getting the right run and getting the right cars behind us and we didn’t have enough of them and couldn’t get up to the lead pack. I don’t know why everyone was so conservative today.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CLICKLIST CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 3RD “I was kind of looking at the fuel pressure gauge, the window, the mirror; and the last 10 laps, knowing that we were pretty close, I was just trying to run in that pack and run quarter throttle and trying to hold my spot the best I could."

KURT BUSCH -- No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Fusion -- YOU ARE A DAYTONA 500 WINNER. YOUR INITIAL REACTIONS AND EMOTIONS? “There is nothing predictable about this race anymore and the more years that have gone by that I didn’t win I kept trying to go back to patterns that I had seen in the past. My mirror fell off with 30 laps to go and I couldn’t even see out the back. And I thought that was an omen."

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing - Did you have any indication you had a tire issue? “No. I wished I would’ve. If I would’ve, I would’ve tried to wave off as many guys behind me as I could, but it happened just as soon as we started picking up load into turn three. Just spun around and you know it actually felt like I hung onto it for a long ways and then finally it went."

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA CHEVROLET SS - WHAT IS THERE LEFT TO LEARN IF YOU DO INDEED GO OUT? “We are done. I think we pretty well have what we have in the NAPA Chevy for this weekend. At this point I think you’ve got to be mindful of the laps you put on your motor and having a fresh one in for the (Daytona) 500 now. It feels really good."

Each season, the manufacturer reps and original engine manufacturers (OEM's) meet with the NASCAR media corp in the deadline room at Daytona International Speedway to discuss the expectations for the upcoming season. The biggest takeaway from the Ford availability, however, is that retiring as a NASCAR driver hasn't changed the fact that Tony Stewart is still the same Tony Stewart that most people love.

Raj Nair, Executive Vice President of Global Product Development and Chief Technology Officer for Ford Motor Co., was part of a press conference today at Daytona International Speedway that also featured owners Roger Penske, Jack Roush and Tony Stewart. A transcript of that session follows:

JEFF GORDON, WILL SERVE AS THE PACE CAR DRIVER OF THE CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 IN THIS WEEKEND’S 59TH RUNNING OF THE DAYTONA 500. HE MET WITH A GROUP OF MEDIA MEMBERS FOLLOWING THE ANNOUNCEMENT TO DISCUSS HIS THOUGHTS ON DRIVING THE PACE CAR, CHASE ELLIOTT BEING THE POLE SITTER AND OTHER TOPICS.