Here’s what the drivers had to say after Sunday night’s race at Iowa Speedway.
Ryan Blaney — Winner: “What a great way to win here. This place means a lot to me and means a lot to my mother. There were a lot of people here tonight cheering us on, so they invited us to this one. Overall, I really like all 12 boys. I mean, our car was really fast all night and we got a little bit better throughout the night and two tires was a good decision there. I didn’t know how well I was going to hold out. I started to have a little trouble towards the end, but I was able to hold on. I’m super proud of the effort. … It’s catching up a little bit to what it was a few weeks ago.
Blaney wins first Cup Series race at Iowa
Defending series champion Ryan Blaney praises his racing team’s efforts after winning the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway in front of a sold-out crowd.
William Byron — Finished 2nd: “(Ryan Blaney) had a really good car, so he was up front and competing a lot, and him and (Kyle Larson) were really good. So we were just one step away, you know? I feel like I just needed to get the center of a hair to rotate better while still maintaining the long run. Proud of the effort. It was a really good night, and I feel like we can learn from it and build on it to be a little better.
Byron talks about the challenges of the Cup’s first trip to Iowa
William Byron finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway and believes his second-place finish is a good start to putting together consistent racing in what was a tough race.
Chase Elliott — Finished 3rd: “Our balance was perfect and I thought all day we had a very good pace on the long runs. I just had a really hard time starting restarts, and I was really loose and couldn’t do it. I just felt like I couldn’t attack like I needed to and I lost a lot of ground. We could get a good pace there at the end of a run with our NAPA Chevrolet, we just had to be a little closer, I think, to keep the pressure on and keep things going. Regardless, I was proud of the effort and felt like we had a really good car and were right there in the fight.
Elliott: Iowa is a ‘better race’ than expected
Chase Elliott believes the Cup Series’ first trip to Iowa Speedway was a “much better race” than expected and shares what his No. 9 team was able to accomplish, now finishing every race in the Top 20 .
Christopher Bell — Finished 4th: “A top five is a good day. Obviously we had a pace to be better than that, which is why I’m sitting here with mixed emotions. A big effort, and if we keep bringing cars like this, I hope it’s one of those days.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Finished 5th: “In this first heat and starting from the back, we were really strong at the end of the race. So I had confidence in what our NOS Energy Drink Camaro could do throughout this race. We had a little accident on pit road that set us back again, kind of that last line. So we had to fight against that. These guys cleaned up everything on pit road, and we had a great strategy with these two tires to get us back to clean air at the front of the field. I really wanted to go fight (Ryan) Blaney there. We came second, but we were a little too loose and we couldn’t hold these guys off. It’s really cool to do a Cup race here in Iowa after all of our success and to do it in front of a great crowd.
Joey Logano — Finished 6th: “We put ourselves in a position to win the race with both tires. I just didn’t raise well on two. I tried to race Blaney and couldn’t hold him off, and then I kind of got swallowed up by a few cars pretty quickly. We just didn’t have enough shots. I think if I could have gotten out in front I probably would have been OK, but I couldn’t get out.
Josh Berry — Finished 7th: “I thought we had a really good race and a really good car. To score stage points like we did, we had some good restarts and this last restart didn’t really go our way. We lost a bit of track position and were never able to get it back but overall we are really very proud of everyone on Team 4. They did a great job. It was a lot of fun, that’s for sure. We’re going to keep digging to keep improving.
Daniel Suarez — Finished 9th: “Honestly, during the race I was so confused. I didn’t know exactly what happened. I didn’t know if I was going up or if he was going down. I just watched the replay for the very first time and noticed #6 (Brad Keselowski) was the one on the outside. He was a quarter car away from the wall. He was trying to pinch the No. 5 (Kyle Larson), and the No. 5 still had a quarter car to the No. 6. I tried to pinch myself and just expected these two guys to be closer to the wall. like everyone. It was definitely me who contacted number 5 and I take responsibility for that.
Brad Keselowski — Finished 10th: “We kind of ran between eighth and tenth for most of the race and sometimes a little worse. That’s kind of what we had and we just executed that.
Justin Haley — Finished 13th: “We had a very good MotoRad Ford Mustang Dark Horse and a lot of speed at the start of the race before the pit penalty. I’m happy that we were able to recover quite quickly and show how strong our car was. Once the sun started to set, the car was just a little too tight for me to maintain the top 10, but it was still a really good showing for us that we can continue to build on.
Noah Gragson — Finished 16th: “Just a long, hot day. In trouble. Fine-tuned on the car, just a little loose, tight in the center the whole race, never really got it where we needed it. I was transformed by 42 (John Hunter Nemechek), just really hectic stuff. I bounced back, saved fuel at the end for 16th place.
Austin Dillon — Finished 19th: “Our team brought a solid Chevrolet Get Bioethanol to Iowa Speedway this weekend. On Friday our pace in practice was good, but on Saturday when we were the first car out for qualifying on a green track it affected our lap. Justin Alexander and the #3 Get Bioethanol team made some good changes overnight and we fought hard throughout the race. We started strong and luckily we received an early warning, which allowed us to make a pit stop to work on the car. We had to manage our tires all night. We made a strategic decision late on fuel only, which allowed us to gain positions when others had to pit. We didn’t know what to expect with this tire and the surface, but I think we produced a good race for the Iowa fans and it was great to see everyone from Iowa Corn and Get Bioethanol to the race to experience the first NASCAR Cup Series. running for state.
Ryan Preece — Finished 27th: “Yes, it was a difficult day overall. We just didn’t have what we needed to finish it. We got off to a good start, but lost our balance and never found our way back to the starting point. I’m proud of the team and how they fought all day to try to give me the race car I needed. I have to thank Morton Buildings for being in the car this weekend. We’re going to re-rack and start again in New Hampshire.
Chase Briscoe – Finished 28th: “We were really good at the start, obviously. The first pit stop I lost about 10 places and it was just downhill from there. Everything that could go wrong somehow went wrong. Pit stops resumed later in the race and continued to lose places. Caution comes at the worst time and traps us. Then we were going to be able to wave and the 47 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) stays out and we were one car behind him. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. We definitely should have done better than 28th place, that’s for sure.
Austin Cindric — Finished 30th: “Just a fight coming from behind. We made some progress early in the #2 Menards/Moen Ford Mustang, and we were just kind of at the lap limit, no lap without track position. It looked like the tire bikes were a bit difficult, but we got into position and missed the lucky dog by a lap or two. So happy for everyone on car #12, and yes, too bad to have to come from behind.
Kyle Larson – Finished 34th: “It’s difficult to say how the rest of the race will go. There is no doubt that I am in the top four. I felt like we had the best car by far. I feel like we missed this one. I wish I could get that reboot back.
Larson looks at three and turns against Iowa
Kyle Larson appears to triple coming out of Turn 4, but this aggressive move results in a torn up race car as the #5 turns into an outside wall and Denny Hamlin takes damage as well.
Kyle Busch — Finished 35th: “I don’t know what happened, but bits and pieces of Next Gen broke. Something in the left rear suspension – I don’t know if it was a toe link or what, but it changed the lean of the rear of the car and it was just undriveable. We went in and fixed it. On the way back we broke the belt. I have no idea, but it sure is frustrating. This is not what we wanted for all of our guys in the No. 8 Chevrolet Zone; everyone from Kwik Star. We had a pretty decent day. I thought we had a top 10 going. We had a chance to score points, but it wasn’t supposed to happen.
AJ Allmendinger – Finished 36th: “I told my team the previous round, two rounds before, that I thought we were going to blow a straight front. The angle was much better, so I slowed down enough that I didn’t feel anything inside the car.