NASCAR Cup PR

DAVID RAGAN, No. 38 MDS Ford Mustang -- Qualified 2nd “I hope we can be the fastest on Sunday too. We made adjustments on our Ford Mustang last night anticipating a little warmer race on Sunday. We looked at the weather and we looked at what we did here in the spring and so we really didn’t think much of qualifying."

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to media at Kansas Speedway:

HOW IS THE BACKUP CAR? “We were just super, super loose. We made some adjustments and we’ll go at it again. I will say it was turning pretty solid.”

“I feel like we’ve come such a long way at Ganassi from our first race at Martinsville. I’m looking forward to going back to apply all the season-long trends. Martinsville is so early in the year and we were such a new team. I think we finished 12th. We learned so much together as a group. That’s what’s cool about going back to these tracks a second time.

TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW YOU FELT IN THE FIRST PRACTICE. “I thought it was OK. We started not very good I thought. Once we kind of got back in the ballpark, I thought we were decent. We’re just trying to get it as close as we can and I think, now, there are going to be a handful of guys that will have their cars driving the way that it should. Hopefully, we’re amongst that group and can give ourselves a shot. We have to try to be the first guys off pit road or be the guy with the best restart at the end of the race because there are going to be a few guys that will have the car driving well enough to win.”

ARE YOU LOOKING AT KANSAS AS A MUST-WIN SITUATION? “Yeah, I think it’s definitely a must-win situation. I think we can look at the stages and try to get a bunch of points in those. Ultimately, we’re going to have to win and that’s our goal.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 14 Dekalb Ford Mustang -- HAVING YOUR CONTRACT EXTENSION HANDLED AND GOING INTO THIS RACE SUNDAY, DOES IT MAKE IT EASIER THAT YOU AREN’T RACING FOR YOUR CAREER OR SOMETHING? “It is always a good thing. I don't feel like I was racing for my career anyway. I race because I love to do it and I love to come back here and everything else. There is a lot of pride to be a part of a sport like this, something you grew up doing since you were a little boy. A great deal of pride that goes into being a part of this. As far as the aspect of doing it another year, yes, that is great and according to plan. Right now the plan is all about trying to stay alive in these playoffs and our quest for a championship.”

Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson visited with patients undergoing chemotherapy at AdventHealth Cancer Center Shawnee Mission in advance of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 20.

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang -- YOU STARTED THE SEASON WITH THREE WINS IN THE FIRST 11 RACES WITH THE LAST ONE COMING HERE IN MAY. HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU THAT YOU CAN GET A WIN HERE THIS WEEKEND? “I would like to think that we are saving the best for last. We didn’t have the summer that we would like to have but I feel like the last few years we have had incredible summers but not good spring or fall. Hopefully that bodes well for this fall. We are happy to be coming back here. Anytime you come back to a track you won at it gives you a lot of confidence. We won this race in the spring and won Martinsville in the spring as well and they are back-to-back races. We are coming into these two races feeling pretty good.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang -- WHAT IS YOUR MINDSET COMING IN HERE IN THIS “MUST-WIN” SITUATION THIS WEEKEND? “We have been in this spot quite a few times. And I say this during the playoffs, at some point no matter what during these playoffs you will be in a do-or-doi moment."