Denny Hamlin – Winner: ‘I have left the leaders behind in recent weeks, but I have not gotten into it. We just did not control the check there again and we just had to fight back. We had to go back and get it. I could work the topline there a bit to gain momentum. It looked like our car was just a little better at running to different lines. Great about this whole FedEx Office team. This Camry was fast today. It was just unbelievable how good it was. The pit crew that in great range. Must thank all partners – Toyota, Coca-Cola, the Jordan Brand, FedEx and all employees, I appreciate them. Win 43, this is pretty awesome. ”
(What does it mean to finally win at Dover after 29 starts?) ‘People always ask what your least favorite track is and I say Dover just because I’m not that good. I love the track, I just have not been very good here. We just have unbelievable cars at the moment. It looks like we’re ready for the race. I put the work in and we get results from it. ”
Martin Truex Jr. – finished 2nd: ‘Really, I think if the 10 (Aric Almirola) car just hadn’t pounded on the floor in front of me, I would have been fine. Every time I tried to go upstairs and get some air on my car, he would just slip like an idiot in front of me. He’s the reason we lost the lead, but in the end we just were not good enough. I thought the 11 (Denny Hamlin) was better than us all day. We got the lead in the wells there and were able to use our advantage clean air. I was never happy with the car all day. The SiriusXM Camry was fast, but the balance was all over the place. It shot straight off and hit loose on long runes. In the end, just nothing I could do. It was out of control, sideways. ”
Kyle Busch – Finished 3rd: Top three – the Interstate Batteries Camry was strong there. I followed (Martin) Truex Jr. there for a while on that last reboot and we kept fading. Keep fading and then we came in for our last pit stop and the damn car went four numbers straight. Just crazy. The flip-flop of balance we had, it was so bad. I don’t think we changed a whole lot. I have to get over it with Adam (Stevens, crew chief), but overall we got along really well the last time we did tires under green and I drove through a few people and got to the front. I was optimistic about putting tires on and going, but then it just went stupid tight. I do not know. Thanks to Interstate Batteries, M & Ms – it’s good to get a solid top three. Hopefully we can make some changes tonight. We were close. We had some speed, so try to work on that. ”
Kevin Harvick – finished 4th: ‘I was not very well all day. Overall, our Mobil 1 Mustang would just never turn and then we got it so it would not turn and loosen. We had problems on pit road and had to come back at one point, but everyone kept fighting and doing everything they could and won on with a top five. ”
Chase Elliott – Some 5th: ‘I think we had a decent Mountain Dew Chevrolet. We were off there to get started and then had to take some extra time on pit road. Luckily we got it close after we made it a good bit and made a few adjustments, which helped. I was proud to be able to drive from back, back to front. We had some really good pitstops that put us in a decent position there as well. I think we just needed a little more time to run with Denny (Hamlin), Kevin (Harvick) and those guys, so we’ll try to get a little better for tomorrow. ”
Clint Bowyer – Finished 6th: “Us no. 14 Haas Automation Ford has been great until today the last 40 laps, but we did what we had to do today. We placed some stage points on the board and got a good finish. We get better every week and this is a great time of year to do that. That was a lot of fun. Let’s do it again tomorrow! ”
Jimmie Johnson – 7th some: “Fixed day for this Ally Chevy team, we have some work to do, but we will go to work tonight and get it right. Everyone did a great job, we have something to build on tonight and we will be back tomorrow and have something left for them. Bittersweet day tomorrow for me – my last Dover race. ”
Joey Logano – 8th: “We had a top-10 day with the Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang. The pit crew maintained a great job getting positions on pit road. Track position was pretty important. We sometimes fought a little too freely and lost a little center ground when we adjusted that. The good news is that we have another race tomorrow and we can adjust to the car from yesterday and hopefully find a little more speed to fight in the top five and for a win. ‘
Brad Keselowski – Finished 9th: ‘It was a decent day. Nothing to write home about, but not bad. We ran solid all day in the top 10. We had a really good start in the first stage and got our third in stage one and was just a little okay from then on. We took a small shot when we ran long in stage two and were hoping for a yellow and didn’t get it – part of the deal, just trying and finishing ninth. There’s not much to say other than that. The Gibbs cars were barely lighter than anyone and we did the best we could to get what we had from our day.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 10th: “That was a fun race in our Kroger Chevrolet no. 47 to mark another top-10 finish. We were really tight at the start of the race, but Brian Pattie made some good adjustments throughout the race to help us get faster and faster. Our cars this year were some of the best I have had in my career, and this gives us a lot of confidence in tomorrow’s race. We learned a lot today and I’m excited for tomorrow to continue this from today with gardens and tomorrow to have an even better day at Dover. ”
Erik Jones – finished 12th: First off, I want to apologize to Kurt (Busch) and the entire 1-team team. I stepped on round 1 or 2. into him. That’s my mistake. I got tight and it ended her day really fast. I feel bad. I’ve been racing with Kurt for a while now, and we’ve never had a problem and have really good races, so I want to say sorry to him first. Our day was hectic from then on, we had to unbutton the left rear quarter panel afterwards and I think our balance did a bit of damage. I mean, it’s not like night or day, but it did not help at all. The DeWalt Camry went back and forth. It was mostly loose all day. We pinched it up, but never seem to make a difference again. Hopefully we can use the same car and come back tomorrow. ”
Tyler Reddick – 13th Some: “Today was a good start to our doubleheader weekend at Dover International Speedway. Our No. 8 Cat App Chevrolet was fast from the start and just needed some adjustments when handling. The track was tight at first today, but changed over the course of the race. I’m struggling to loosen up in the back of our Camaro for the second half of today, which prevented me from trying a few different lines on the track, so that’s something we need to adjust for tomorrow’s race. But the good news is that we’ll get a second shot to finish even better tomorrow and we definitely have a solid Cat App Chevrolet to work with. This is the best start to a doubleheader weekend we’ve had this year, so I look forward to returning tomorrow. “
Austin Dillon – a 15th: “We had a fast Dow Coatings Chevrolet today and it felt good to race at full speed on Dover International Speedway. We just need to work on the deal a bit. I feel like I have covered every inch of this place, experimenting and searching for the best line around the track for our tight handling. We opted for the caution of the competition in Phase 1 and our gamble paid off with the race lead. Clean air was everything. We had a one-step lead early in Stage 1, but I just got too tight to hold the lead until the end of the stage. When we pitched at the end of Stage 2, we got a speed penalty and had to start again at the tail end of the longest line. That mistake lies on me. We ran long before pitches at the end of the race, but a caution did not fall the way we hoped it would and we finished 15th.
Aric Almirola – a 17th: “We had a good speed today in our Smithfield Ford Mustang. A loose wheel put us behind and, without some caution in the final stage, we had no way of getting back on the lead lap. I think we could have been contenders today, but we’ll be back tomorrow with a good car and hope for a clean day. ”
Ty Dillon – Finished 18th: “My GEICO-Germain Racing boys did a good job today and I look forward to tomorrow’s race. Dover is a very physically demanding track. I’ve been working really hard on my physical form this season, so I’m excited to put it to the test. We have been really strong in the doubleheaders this season. The Sunday races have been our stronger race every time, we will try to do that again. We came out of the gate strong today and will be looking to translate that momentum into another solid finish. “
Alex Bowman – a 21st: “This is not how we wanted to start the doubleheader weekend. That damage early on really affected how our car was treated. The boys did everything they could on pit road, but we played the cards we were dealt. Not the first outing we wanted for Acronis, but we will make adjustments and changes tonight and be ready for tomorrow’s race. ”
John Hunter Nemechek – Finished 24th: “It was a difficult day for our no. 38 ACME Markets team. We did not roll off the road we wanted to, so it was an uphill battle for most of the race. I hadn’t had a whole grip go through the corner so the front tires kept slipping, which of course makes your momentum. We’ve made notes for where we can work tomorrow and that’s the fun thing about these doubleheader weekends – you get another chance to improve. We will spend the night and get ready again tomorrow. ‘
Michael McDowell – a 26th: ‘There could have been maybe 10 or 12 guys who had really good speed. You have not seen a ton of cars on the lead edge, even in a short race. We had good speed, but it was hard for anyone to keep going. So, we just had to work position and strategy. We have to do the same tomorrow. But I think we can take some notes to get some good adjustments in the Digital Ally Shield Cleanser Ford Mustang. We need to have a good start and just grind to stay up there. We are close, the result does not show it, but I think we can have a good run on Sunday with only a few adjustments. ”
Bubba Wallace – 28th Some: “Not the best attempt today for our Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 DoorDash Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team. I thought we were going to have a decent day, and then we lost it the second half of the race. We lost the handle on our Chevrolet Camaro and just could not get it back. Our DoorDash team tried to draw some strategy to save a decent day and it did not go our way. We have another shot at it tomorrow with our partner Columbia for their first race, so we’m excited about it. Dover (International Speedway) is one of the best tracks we go to. We still have a lot of work to do. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. ”
Daniel Suarez – 30th some: ‘I thought we were going to be pretty decent in the beginning. The first set of changes we make seems to be going in the right direction. Our CommScope Toyota was actually good on the first 20 laps of that run. But then the changes we made at our next few stops diverted us in the wrong direction. The track changed quite a bit, so it turned out to be a frustrating day. We need to take a closer look at everything and get to work on the changes we need to bring to a better car for Sunday. We just have to work hard. ”
Kurt Busch – 40th some: ‘What an unfortunate way to end our day on Lap 6. Part too early to race like that. We did not even have the chance to get a feel for the car. Just disappointing for all the guys who work so hard, especially on the weekends of the doubleheader. Hopefully we can turn our luck around tomorrow and have a strong run for the GEARWRENCH Chevy ”.
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