Here’s what the drivers had to say after Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race at World Wide Technology Raceway:
Austin Cindric — Winner: “Honestly, I’m heartbroken for Team 12. I don’t know what happened to them at the end of the race, but they deserved to win this race. Ryan has been a hell of a leader on this team. This weekend was a great weekend for everyone involved. To have two cars in the fight and a possible one-two finish there, like I said, I’m heartbroken for these guys, but it’s huge for me. This is huge for this team. I’m so happy I was able to get a win with Brian as crew chief in the Cup Series. You never know when it’s going to happen again. I just pushed through and hoped for the best.
Austin Cindric ends 85-race winless drought.
Denny Hamlin — Finished 2nd: “We had a top-five car – we didn’t have the best today, but the Yahoo Camry was in the mix and was able to capitalize on other people’s misfortunes. We were still going to have a top five day, but we were proud of the team. They did a great job on pit road – Chris (Gabehart, crew chief) and the team brought a great car, but it just wasn’t enough.
Brad Keselowski — Finished 3rd: “It was a strategy. We fell behind early for sure, but we continued to put ourselves in position to keep moving forward and I wish we could have finished second, but it was a very tough day for everyone in the Ford Mustang by Solomon Plumbing. We will definitely get some good momentum from this one.
Tyler Reddick — Finished 4th: “A difficult first stop there. I slipped a little long and just slowed everyone down on the 45 pit crew. We came in eighth and came out 28th. It took the whole race to get that back – just a great effort from the guys. I feel like we were there with (Austin Cindric) to start the race, so obviously it’s a little disappointing that we had that problem, but that’s kind of the name of the game when it comes to WorldWide. Technology Raceway – you have to have a clean race, and unfortunately we didn’t do that.
Joey Logano — Finished 5th: “We weren’t very far away. We were just a few tweaks away from making our Shell/Pennzoil Mustang as good as our teammates’, but not too bad. We were able to pick up some points, which we need to do, and a Penske car came into Victory Lane, so we have to be happy with that. Obviously, we’d prefer it to be us, but that momentum runs through the entire store. It’s another good day. We still scored quite a few points today with stage points in both stages. A poor qualifying effort, which probably left us a little hurt in terms of the car’s settings and just a little too loose. »
Austin Dillon — Finished 6th: “It was a huge run for this team. I wasn’t expecting it after practice, but the guys made some good adjustments and our #3 DOW/Rivers are Life Chevrolet, with Ducks Unlimited on the side of the car, was really strong all day, even in traffic. It was just a solid day for the #3 Chevrolet team that we really needed.
Christopher Bell — Finished 7th: “I have no idea what happened. Some sort of engine problem. I’m surprised I made it to the end. Glad I was able to salvage something from it. You don’t get race cars like this very often. Every time you do it, you have to enjoy it. Disappointing day.
Carson Hocevar — Finished 8th: “This No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet team did a really good job on everything throughout the race. We had a very slow stop early in the race with a wheel nut coming loose. This really put us behind schedule. We knew we had a great Chevrolet, so we did everything we could. We played a bit of strategy to make sure we were on the right side. We understood the warning well, but after that our car felt really good. We reached fourth place and were catching up to third. Our lights were out so we were a little slow on pit road. It was probably the difference between making the top five or not. Overall, it was just a really good job from this #77 team.
Justin Haley — Finished 9th: “It was a very good race for the MotoRad 51 team. I am really proud of the strategy brought by the Rick Ware Racing team. It was a fast, competitive car, and we were able to stay with it all day and make positive adjustments. When the last stage started we really started to pick up speed and we had a lot of pace in the car. We had a good strategy and ran out of gas right at the finish line, but we still got a top 10 and now we have solid momentum for Sonoma.
Kyle Larson — Finished 10th: “I’m super proud of this top 10. After the round, I didn’t expect that. The car somehow came to life. No. 5 HendrickCars.com The Chevrolet team has done a good job on our strategy. We were on the attack for the last 25 laps or so. It went as well as it could, given the circumstances. I take it.”
Chase Briscoe – Finished 17th: “I’m not really sure what happened. I know there were a lot of different strategies there and I don’t know what happened or how it played out. Our car was in good condition. It really seemed like we were struggling a bit more in the long run than some of the others, and lacking grip overall. It’s kind of a worst-case scenario for us, how this all played out. But I thought we definitely improved our car from yesterday. We will learn from this and go to Sonoma.
Daniel Hemric — Finished 18th: “I think we learned a lot collectively as a team today. Our Poppy Bank Chevy struggled early on, but (crew chief) Trent (Owens) continued to push through and make big changes. We had a stroke of luck on the second stage which gave us excellent track position to start the final stage. I’m proud of how much we improved throughout the day.
Noah Gragson — Finished 22nd: “We struggled all weekend with balance, with speed, with takeoff rhythm, with speed on long runs. Everything was just stuck in the dirty air and I couldn’t ride on new tires, I was just struggling. Appreciate all these SERVPRO guys. Our team of 10, we are frustrated, it is not at our level today. We’re going to get back to work and find a solution for Sonoma.
Ryan Blaney — Finished 24th: “I never thought we were short. It’s one of those things. I am proud of all 12 boys. The Menards/Richmond Ford was fast. I had my work cut out for me to hold Christopher back. It was fun. I don’t know what happened to him, but he’s just missing a trick. It stinks, but well done to Team 2. They did a great job all day. Kudos to them, Austin. I am proud of Team Penske and Ford. I’m really happy with our performance today. I don’t know what I should do to get luck on our side. I destroyed the last two races on points and I thought we had a good chance to win today and I finished poorly, so I just appreciate the effort. We just have to keep sticking with it.
Derek Kraus — Finished 30th: “It’s been a long day here at Gateway. I felt we had a better car than our results, but I could never get the track position we needed or keep it when we got it. I am grateful to Kafka Conveyors and Kaulig Racing for this opportunity, and I look forward to having another chance towards the end of the year.
Kyle Busch — Finished 35th: “It looked like he (Kyle Larson) got loose in the first turn. He was on older tires and trying to find us a place. I’m not sure what that simple point would mean to him, but it sure hurt us a lot. This took away this point, as well as the others we were getting for the stage and then also for the rest of the day. It is very frustrating. We can’t afford days like this. The No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Camaro wasn’t what it was last year, but it was in the top 10 and we were going to finish there. Now we’re not going to finish at all.
Josh Berry – Finished 36th: “I really don’t know what happened. Obviously with what our history has been with rotors here, it kind of makes you think that. I went to look at the rotors and it looked like they were still on it, so it’s either that or a tire. … We moved up to the top 15 pretty quickly. The car was pretty good and I learned a lot. We pushed the exit a little too hard in the last section and got the penalty there. But we were still passing cars and it would have been another good day.