Here’s what drivers had to say after Sunday’s inaugural Daytona race track for the Cup Series:
Chase Elliott – Winner: “Our boys did a phenomenal job. We just had a phenomenal car. I do not think I did anything very special today. I think Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and all our boys did a really good job at the beginning. We made some really small adjustments, I felt like, there, at that first stop and I was really able to let go of it. So, I just appreciate everyone who does this. … just thanks to all our partners and Chevrolet. I spent a lot of time with her this past week. A special thank you to Jordan Taylor and Boris Said for reaching out and ready to help this weekend; some road course ringers. I tried to lay on her and luckily everything worked out. ”
Denny Hamlin – Final 2nd: “I would just like to have been closer to him (Chase Elliott) to put some pressure on entries. My inputs were the strong point against him, but I gave him four lengths of the car so he could kind of drive the entrances as he wanted to make sure he got a good turn. I was not quite clean the last few laps, but I certainly gave myself a chance. Those last few corners, I felt as much as I could to get to him and tried to do it the right way. ‘
Martin Truex Jr. – Final 3rd: ‘I thought we had the chance to win, without a doubt. Just caught speed on pit road. Had to go backwards and then get damaged, so we had to go backwards again. We have passed a lot of cars that have been running lately. I know we had the speed there, we were faster than anyone. Just ran out of time, but that’s how it goes. Proud of everyone on the team and still feeling good about these road tracks. ”
Jimmie Johnson – Final 4th: “Good job for everyone in my Ally Chevy team no. 48. I had just that backlash at the end there. That was a really fun and solid day, that’s what we needed and now we’re going to my favorite track – Dover. So proud of Chase, what a race cyclist he is. ”
Chris Buescher – 5th finish: “It was just a fun day for our Fastenal Ford Mustang team. We need that after a few hard weeks. Some decent runs and some bad luck and that was fun. I was able to mix it up and slowly work our way forward. We kept learning as we went and there we were defeated in the end. All four corners of this Mustang have been defeated, but we have taken the finish out. That was a good thing. A good day. ”
Clint Bowyer – 6th finish: “We did what we had to do today. We had a great Mobil 1 Ford. I thought it would get even better there in the end, but we should have gotten hot. (William Byron) got me back again and then another car came through me. If I had nothing to lose there, I might be able to get a few more back. But that was a good point day. I hope we are on roll and that we continue on to Dover. ”
Kaz Grala – 7th finish: ‘I never thought my NASCAR Cup Series debut would come in this nature. I want to say first that I am grateful that Austin’s symptoms are mild and that his wife Whitney and baby Ace are healthy. I hope to see him back in the car at Dover International Speedway next week. It was certainly an honor to receive the call from Richard Childress and his iconic no. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet to drive. I honestly had a blast. These Cup cars have so much power, which I really enjoyed. Today above my expectations. My goal was to get in today, run all laps, solve nothing and get a top-30 finish, so this is definitely far above my wildest dreams. Justin Alexander mentioned an excellent strategic race, which really helped us to get there and participate in the top 20 We could run in my NASCAR Cup Series debut, and it was fun to mix it up with some of my childhood heroes. Before the final caution, I made a bold, three-way move on a restart, which got us a ton of positions. I do not really know what I thought, but it worked and put us around the 12th. We were in pretty good shape with some fresher tires than the boys before us and chose to stay outside under the ultimate caution. We could still pick a few of those guys to finish comfortably within the top 10. ”
WILLIAM BYRON – 8th finish: “It was a good result for us today. We opted for the stage points and had to go through the field a few times because of that strategy. I think we did a nice job there and got a lot of those available points. Once we got to the top five, however, we ran out. Overall, I’m pretty happy today and I’m getting a good result. We just need to have a few good weeks with solid races as we continue to Dover for two races and back to Daytona. However, I’m definitely looking forward to Dover. ”
Joey Logano – 9th Some: “We are starting to get some consistency, which is good. We have tried some interesting strategies today. It did not work, but we were able to recover for a top 10. In general, we know what we need to work for the Roval with our Mustang and we will go to work. (Chase Elliott) has apparently been really good with these road races, especially with this tire. We need to find some backing. That was where he hit everyone. We’ll go to work and try to find it. ”
Michael McDowell – 10th finish: ‘It was a decent day. We had high hopes that is good. You should come to places like this where we have a lot of experience and knowledge. Unfortunately we started really deep in the field and we were able to ride there before the end of the first stage to the top 10 and then we talked about it and it was all about trying to win a race for us. We did not try to get stage points. We came in with a few laps to go and we were able to get into the top five and get to third. I saw those rain clouds approaching and I thought this was exactly what I needed. I was hoping it would rain because I have experience on this course in the rain and the other guys not really. We lost there a bit at the end and were passed by guys who had fresher tires. We still managed to get into the top six or seven and then that caution came out with five to go. We knew we would not beat Chase and those guys on the same tires, so we took tires. “
Alex Bowman – 12th some: ‘That was not a lot of fun. Started the race and tried our way through working and going through a cycle of green flag stops and then had a flat left behind. We hit nothing, that was a big bummer. We had to pit again and then went down a lap so we had to get back out. We drove a lot of cars and got the lucky dog and then had to start in the back again for the third time. We drove until 11th there for the final caution. We just had the wrong restart and couldn’t really go. We were driving forward, but by ourselves pretty good. Proud of this Axalta team for how they lifted, but a bummer to lose those four spots on that last shot. ”
Brad Keselowski – 13th Some: ‘We were able to guess at the end and pick up a few spots. Our Wabash Ford took off pretty well, but the longer runes were a struggle. ”
Kurt Busch – 14th some: “I really enjoyed the day today, the track was a fun challenge for us. (Crew Chief) Matt McCall did a nice job making adjustments to the Monster Energy Camaro, but we broke the tires on the last longer run and had to play a bit of defense in the end. It was a very fun track and I had some fun today, I finally did not have enough. “
Tyler Reddick – 18th completed: “Man, the Daytona International Speedway is difficult, but our No. 8 Cat App Chevrolet team kept following it, and we were able to continue by getting better by the day. I spent a lot of time on the Chevrolet simulator earlier this weekend to help prepare, but there was still a big learning curve in the first stage of this race. I’m struggling with some wheel hop in Stage 1, but we were able to make some adjustments before Stage 2 started helping fight that. I came more comfortable with the course because the race went on and had to ride better to fight for positions. The red flag actually helped me a bit because I was able to cool down a bit and check some SMT data with my crew chief, Randall Burnett. We made a fuel stop just before Lap 50, which helped me get a good track position. Unfortunately that last yellow came out with six rounds to go, and we had to pit for four fresh tires. I got in the box at the last stop, that hurt our restart, but I could see our No. 8 Cat App Get Chevrolet back in the top 20 before the checkered flag comes out. Not the day we wanted to, but we maximized what we could and still have three shots to get into the playoffs, so our fight is not over yet. ”
Ty Dillon – Klear 20th: “Strong struggle for us today. Our GEICO For Your Boat Chevrolet was really strong at the start of the race. We fought our way to 16th and then fell back to 30th right before that final stage. We fought really hard and ended up with another top-20 finish. It was a hot day in the race car and a hot outside. I am proud of our commitment and we have kept it on course for the first time on the Daytona roadcourse. ”
Aric Almirola – 24th single: “We started gaining momentum there at the end and thought we could have placed the Go Bowling Ford Mustang in the top 10. Unfortunately, that caution came out and we pitched. I was caught behind some cars restarting with nowhere to go. That’s racetrack racing. Not the day we wanted to, but we kept the car on the track and in one piece. We will regroup and go to Dover, where we know we can bring speed. ”
Bubba Wallace – 25th single: “That was not the finish our Richard Petty Motorsports team wanted. At first I thought I would quit, but to say that the No. 43 DoorDash Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE and Bubba Wallace would be top-10 finishers at a road race on the final lap – man, I would never have thought of that. Hats off to my boys – they never gave up on me and brought all the confidence. ‘
Daniel Suarez – 27th some: “There was something well mixed with some things that our CommScope Toyota is having trouble with on the road today. We did the best we could. I thought the balance of the car was pretty good. We just could not find the foresight we needed to be a little more competitive. Our brakes got pretty hot in the middle of the race and so did we. Overall, I think it was a good learning experience for when we go to the ‘roval’ at Charlotte in a few months. ‘
Ryan Blaney – Finished 31st: “It was a long day for the Advance Auto Parts team. With the new qualifying test we started deep in the field but really had to work our way forward. I went on pit road which really cost us and I could not keep the old tires late. We’ll put it behind us and get ready for Dover. ”
John Hunter Nemechek – Final 35th: ‘It was a very, very difficult day for our No. 38 Death Wish Coffee Ford Mustang. There were problems with the fridge and I finally managed to shut it down after the start of the race, which meant it was extra hot in the car. We made some adjustments all day to give me more forward and drive away, but unfortunately our day ended just ashamed of the checkered flag. Really proud of my crew that I spent the whole day with. “
Brendan Gaughan – Final 39th: ‘That’s not quite what we wanted today. I spent the first half of the race just trying to figure out the race car, and got to the points I like on the course. After the red flag we finally got our car where we wanted and started to go upstairs. We were getting close to that top 15 and I made a mistake. I do not normally miss shifts, but I missed two shifts to fourth (gear) and returned the engine. When I did, I lost the fourth gear. We were here in Daytona to run well on this road – how not to change the transmission just to go back and run 20 laps. We’ll be back in two weeks and see if we can get a good one for the old No. 62 Beard Oil Chevy. ”
