Daytona Beach, Fla. — Drivers and teams know all about the Coca-Cola 400 being the final race of the regular season and where they stand in the final race. Some where asked questions on wrecking their teammate (Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece for the win).
Here is what they said at Daytona
Michael McDowell
Like you mentioned earlier, in this race last year, you were leading with 10 to go. What was the takeaway from that? Is there anything looking back that, it was just as much the push in the wrong spot, or what can you do because obviously you hope to be in that same spot come tomorrow night with 10 laps ago. How does this not happen again?
“Yeah, that’s a great question…. I’m very analytical, so when I look at it, I look at it as how I could have done things differently to not get spun, where it’d be easy just to say – well, the No. 2 pushed me on the entry of turn one with a lot of speed and spun me out and there’s not a whole lot you can do to it. I felt like I was shading a little bit left. I could have been closer to the wall if I would have drugged back to him a little bit sooner. We got a push when the momentum was different… so I think about all those things and analyze them post-race because you can. On Monday morning, it’s very easy to go back and look at it, so yeah, you can learn from all those experiences. I think if you asked him, he just made contact at the wrong spot and things happen, and when you get down to the end of the race, that’s kind of how it goes, right? Nobody really lifts and you’re trying to build momentum.“
Austin Cindric
WOULD YOU RATHER GO TO A DESTINATION TRACK LIKE SAN DIEGO OR THE HISTORIC PLACE LIKE NORTH WILKESBORO? ANY PREFERENCE? “Now you’re starting to ask for my opinion and those don’t matter (laughing). There are a ton of racetracks in North America that I think we would all love to go to, whether those are short tracks or road courses or street circuits. There’s a long list, but I think NASCAR has done a really good job of creating a mixture, but also not being afraid to try new things and I think our fan base really relates to that as well because it’s something fun and new to watch. Even if it’s not a home run, it’s still gonna make you tune in and think about it and have everyone talking about it. I think having Chicagoland back on the schedule will really suit this car. I think everyone can agree on that. It’s been a while since we’ve been there, so it will be interesting to see what that track is like and how it’s aged.”
Ryan Preece
RYAN PREECE – CINDRIC SAID IT WOULD BE GOOD TO GET ANOTHER FORD IN THE PLAYOFFS, SO YOU MIGHT GET SOME ADDITIONAL HELP WHICH IS SOMETHING YOU WOULD PROBABLY LOOK FORWARD TO, RIGHT? “Yeah, I think it’s a good move from an OEM standpoint. All of us racing for Ford, the main goal is for Ford to compete for a championship and the more cars that are Fords that are in it, that gives us more opportunity. I feel like all of us, not only within RFK, but Penske and Front Row and Rick Ware, we work well together and we try to make sure that at the end of these races the Blue Oval is the one going to Victory Lane. If we have the opportunity to have the support from Penske, who are locked in already, it would be a great opportunity for one of our cars to get locked in as well.”
William Byron
Last week in Richmond, you said that as a team, you wanted to look at getting Alex Bowman into the playoffs, but you also are the first driver to have a chance to win both the DAYTONA 500 and this race in the same season since Jimmie Johnson did it like 10-12 years ago. Would it be equal for you to either help push him to the win, or you taking the checkered flag yourself? Does it matter?
“Yeah, obviously we want to win. I mean, that would help them, as well. So I think, we just have to try to go out there and win, but you have to be really mindful of helping a teammate. It’s a very double-edged sword… like I want to make sure I’m making moves to advance myself forward and not advance somebody else forward.”
Roy J. Akers covers NASCAR for www.skyviewsports.net and the podcast High Banked Fury
