{"id":22776,"date":"2018-02-20T11:02:18","date_gmt":"2018-02-20T16:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/?p=22776"},"modified":"2018-02-20T10:05:56","modified_gmt":"2018-02-20T15:05:56","slug":"daytona-500-post-race-interviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/2018\/02\/daytona-500-post-race-interviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Daytona 500 Post Race Interviews"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CAMARO ZL1 \u2013 RACE WINNER<\/strong><\/p>\n

ON EMOTIONS:
\n<\/strong>\u201cRight now I just want to thank the good Lord above. I did what I had to do there at the end. I hate it for the No. 10 (Aric Almirola) guys. We had a run, and I stayed in the gas. It is what it is here at Daytona. This is so awesome to take the No. 3 car back to Victory Lane 20 years ago. This one is for Dale Earnhardt, Sr. and all those Sr. fans.\u00a0\u00a0I love you guys.\u00a0\u00a0We are going to keep kicking butt the rest of the year!\u201d<\/p>\n

DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING SPECIAL IN YOUR CAR?
\n<\/strong>\u201cI met a fan and actually he had no favorite driver. I told him I would give him my hat if I was his favorite driver. Well I gave him the hat.\u00a0\u00a0The next day he saw me in the infield and said here is a lucky penny I found heads-up and I said \u2018Man, we have to put this in the car.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0We put it in the car and here we are in Victory Lane.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

ON THE FINISH:
\n<\/strong>\u201cI knew we were in a good spot.\u00a0\u00a0And I have to thank Darrell Wallace, Jr., he did a great job. Finishing one-two with ECR engines. What a day. Thanks Darrell for that push. I had to make it happen in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

ON WHAT IT MEANS TO HIS GRANDPA:
\n<\/strong>\u201cI said my first win I couldn\u2019t beat it, but this does.\u00a0\u00a0My Grandfather has done everything for me. Everybody knows it. There is a lot of pressure on me to preform because I have had a little bit of everything. But I like that pressure. The same with the No 3.\u00a0\u00a0There is a lot of pressure behind that. But I\u2019m willing to take that and go with it.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m just thankful for all the people that support us along the way.\u00a0\u00a0Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and his family for letting us bring this number back. It comes full circle. I just can\u2019t thank the Lord enough for this opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

TAKE US THROUGH THOSE LAST TWO LAPS:\u00a0<\/strong>
\n\u201cI never really thought about it until we took the lead about having a shot to win.\u00a0 I knew we were in a good spot if I could get a push down the backstretch.\u00a0 Heck, we went down the backstretch, had a run, went low, the No. 43 went low and I just had more momentum than he did and caught him.\u00a0 It turned him, but heck we won the Daytona 500 we are sitting here now.\u201d<\/p>\n

WHAT DID IT TAKE TO GET UP THROUGH THERE TO GET TO ARIC ALMIROLA?
\n<\/strong>\u201cI tell you, just good help from behind that ECR engine from Darrell Wallace in the No. 43 it\u2019s pretty cool to see the No. 3 and the No. 43 1-2 tonight.\u00a0 Man, the guys worked so hard on this car and my Grandpa didn\u2019t want us to run this car, it was our back-up.\u00a0 I said \u2018I just feel comfortable in this car, I can move good with it.\u2019\u00a0 We moved through all the wrecks today and ended up coming home the Daytona 500 winner.\u201d<\/p>\n

DID YOU EVER IMAGINE 20 YEARS LATER YOU WOULD BE A DAYTONA 500 WINNER?
\n<\/strong>\u201cDaytona has a way with just making memories. This place makes memory after memory and they are life changing memories and I was fortunate to be in Victory Lane 20 years ago and I\u2019m here again, but I\u2019m driving \u2013 this is awesome!\u201d<\/p>\n

BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 CLICK N\u2019 CLOSE CAMARO ZL1 \u2013 Finished 2nd<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAll-in-all a great day for our Click N\u2019 Close Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team.\u00a0 Just an incredible experience for me to be able to be here for my first Daytona 500.\u00a0 (Watching the replay) He (Denny Hamlin) says I cut his tire down.\u00a0 It looked like the same move he pulled on (Ryan) Blaney at Martinsville.\u00a0 We had some momentum and we beat him, so it\u2019s all good.\u00a0 The Daytona 500 put that aside.\u00a0 My nerves are shot right now. The King (Richard Petty) comes in all mad at me and says after all I told you what was the first rule I told you to do.\u00a0 I\u2019m like \u2018I don\u2019t know I lost my breath\u2019 and he said \u2018don\u2019t wreck the car\u2019 and we \u2026 oh.\u00a0 Thank you to the King for keeping me young, keeping him young as well.\u00a0 Thank you to the King as well for giving me this opportunity putting them second-place, putting Click N\u2019 Close in second place.\u00a0 We know how much stress this team has been through in the last three or four months just trying to get this program together.\u00a0 For me to come out here with this hectic three months I\u2019ve had with the Facebook Series \u2018Behind the Wall \u2013 with Bubba Wallace\u2019 check it out.\u00a0 Hell, of an ending for us tonight, but P2 for my first Daytona 500, I\u2019ll take it.\u201d<\/p>\n

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE RACE?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhew, that\u2019s my thought right there. There were a lot of close calls out there on the race track in just getting experience in my first Daytona 500. We wanted to do two things. We wanted to run a lot of laps and not wreck the car. We came home with one of those. We ran all the laps and got wrecked there at the end. But, that\u2019s part of it. When you put that aside, what an unforgettable week and a half it\u2019s been. Being followed by cameras every day 24\/7day for the last three months. Just dealing with that there was a lot of stress. But I think it\u2019s produced great content for my show, \u2018Behind the Wall with Bubba Wallace\u2019. You can check it out on Facebook Watch. I love coming to Daytona. It\u2019s not my favorite track, just because of the circumstances and what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

DID YOU FEEL ANY EXTRA PRESSURE WHEN YOU HAD THE LIKES OF HANK AARON AND LEWIS HAMILTON CONTACTING YOU AND WISHING YOU WELL?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWow. That makes you feel good. It definitely pulls on your heartstrings a little bit, just to know that you\u2019re being watched by so many greats. They\u2019re the ones you\u2019re looking up to and they reach out to you and that\u2019s really cool. So, I kind of feel like that little kid that looks up to me and I respond back to them. So, I kind of get that little girl feeling in me, or little boy feeling, or whatever it is. But it was just a great day and a great week for our Click n\u2019 Close team. The new Chevy Camaro ZL1 is in Victory Lane and the RCR alliance is one-two, so it\u2019s pretty good. It\u2019s good to see the No. 3 back in Victory Lane here in Daytona with the No. 43 at the top of the board as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

THEY SAY YOU\u2019VE GOT TO DO WHATEVER YOU CAN IN THE DAYTONA 500. DO YOU AGREE? IS THAT WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, going into it the whole time. I actually had the same piece of gum in for I think the last 10 laps. And it wasn\u2019t great. But, I think that helped me be calm. I\u2019m like okay, I\u2019m not chewing fast here; I\u2019m singing. No lie. When we were single with like six (laps) to go, I\u2019m singing to myself. And I think that\u2019s what really changed it for me is how calm I was for my first Daytona 500. And to just be able to walk away and talk to you here is great. I\u2019d love to talk to you on pit road with all my guys. They\u2019re the ones who really deserve this, and everybody back at the shop. So much goes into these speedway cars. Everybody knows that. So, I\u2019m excited. We\u2019ve got a lot of momentum heading to Atlanta. I don\u2019t know what we\u2019re going to have there, but I\u2019m pumped. We\u2019re good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nCHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 KLEENEX CAMARO ZL1 \u2013 Finished 5th<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was awesome.\u00a0 For us to even be in contention to have a shot at winning the (Daytona) 500 with our Kroger Clicklist team, that was pretty awesome, with two cars really.\u00a0 That was pretty neat. There at the end we just had to be a little bit too defensive with our Kleenex Camaro ZL1 to really go up there and push for it.\u00a0 The bottom really wasn\u2019t the place to be all night and that is where we lined back up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nRYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 BASS PRO SHOPS\/CABELA\u2019S CAMARO ZL1 \u2013 Finished 8th<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of expected that\u2026 not necessarily two of us in the top eight.\u00a0 Congratulations first of all to Austin (Dillon) and his team. That is awesome for RCR and ECR and all of our partners.\u00a0 To get a Camaro in Victory Lane, that was special as well, for us, we just weren\u2019t in the right place at the right time and got caught up in a little bit of a mess and that was it.\u00a0 We just finished with a bunch of damage, but we still finished eighth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nAJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CLICKLIST CAMARO ZL1 \u2013 Finished 10th<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cToday was a big positive for our racing organization. It\u2019s a great day for both teams, to get a top-five and a top-10 finish at Daytona. It was a fantastic job there by Chris and the 37 Kleenex team, especially at the end to have a chance to win it. Overall, any time you come out of Daytona with two cars in the top-10 that\u2019s a big deal for us. I feel like so many times I tried to make the right move and either nobody went with me or I got hung out, but that\u2019s the product of this racing. That\u2019s the way it goes. It can be frustrating sometimes. Overall, just a great day for our 47 Kroger ClickList team and especially Chris and the 37 guys for doing such a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CAMARO ZL1 \u2013 Finished 17th<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

YOU RAN A GREAT RACE, BUT GOT CAUGHT UP IN A MULTI-CAR ACCIDENT AT THE END:<\/strong>
\n\u201cYeah, just put ourselves in a good position all day and really shouldn\u2019t have been in that spot.\u00a0 That last restart I didn\u2019t do a good job and that is what put us there.\u00a0 My fault, learn from it move on.\u00a0 Definitely do some things differently going forward, but everybody on this Nationwide 88 did such a great job.\u00a0 It\u2019s cool to see Austin (Dillon) get the Camaro ZL1 its first win.\u00a0 Working with Kevin Hamlin (spotter) was great all day.\u00a0 Greg (Ives, crew chief) made good calls all day, but it\u2019s just Daytona.\u201d
\n
\nCHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 \u2013 Involved in a multi-car accident on lap 101<\/strong><\/p>\n

ARE YOU OKAY?
\n<\/strong>“Yes, I’m alright. \u00a0I had such a fast Camaro ZL1 today, and I just wanted a shot there at the end. \u00a0Tough circumstances. I was just trying to feel Blaney out and see what he was going to do; how aggressive he wanted to be. \u00a0I had a big push and got light at the wrong time. Didn’t make the right move.”<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

ARE YOU OKAY AND WHAT HAPPENED?
\n<\/strong>\u201cYeah, I\u2019m fine, just unfortunate set of circumstances.\u00a0 I had a big push from Brad (Keselowski) and was trying to do something with it on Ryan (Blaney).\u00a0 I didn\u2019t really expect to get by him.\u00a0 I was kind of feeling him out to see how aggressive he wanted to be and just kind of got light over the transition and was a big push at the wrong time I guess.\u00a0 It happens and we will just move on down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

HOW DISAPPOINTING IS THIS?<\/strong>
\n\u201cYeah, very, I hate it.\u00a0 I just wanted to make it to the end and give ourselves a chance, so I hate that we didn\u2019t have that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

WAS IT AGGRESSIVE EARLY?
\n<\/strong>\u201cYeah, it was.\u00a0 It was really aggressive all day.\u00a0 I hate that\u2026 it\u2019s so tough I think that everybody kind of\u2026 the safest place to be is out front and everybody wants to be there, that is the problem.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know exactly how you fix that.\u00a0 It just kind of is what it is.\u00a0 I hate it.\u00a0 Disappointing way to end the 500 this afternoon, but we will move on down the road and try to get \u2018em in Atlanta.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

YOU WERE MAKING VETERAN MOVES YESTERDAY IN THE XFINITY RACE DID YOU FEEL YOU WERE ABLE TO MOVE AROUND AND MAKE GOOD MOVES TODAY?
\n<\/strong>\u201cYeah, you were just not quite as much.\u00a0 I think you\u2019ve got to be able to move around and make moves and take some chances every now and then to win these events.\u00a0 I tried to do that yesterday and wanted to do that later on this afternoon and it just didn\u2019t work out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

DANICA PATRICK, NO. 7 GODADDY CAMARO ZL1 \u2013 Involved in a multi-car accident on lap 101<\/strong><\/p>\n

WHAT WAS FIRST HALF OF THE RACE LIKE FOR YOU?
\n<\/strong>“Pretty decent. \u00a0The car was a lot better than it was in the Duel. It was a lot better than practice. \u00a0Tony Eury, Jr., my crew chief did an awesome job. The guys on the whole team did a really good job. \u00a0I know we pulled this together not that long ago, a month ago. That is a tall order to get a car ready for a superspeedway that is competitive. But, it was. I said earlier today that I feel like the whole thing was picture perfect with GoDaddy on the car, and it being that green again. It just wasn’t meant to be today. I am proud-we raced the whole race other than a little bit at the end of that first stage when it looked silly with all the cars with tires and no tires. Other than that, we raced it and the car was competitive. That is all you can do. That is the gamble at Daytona. It can go so well; and it can go so awful. I’m grateful for everything. Thank you to all the fans. \u00a0Still have one more. It is not a stock car, but still have one more.”<\/p>\n

WHAT DID YOU SEE HAPPEN OUT THERE?
\n<\/strong>\u201cA superspeedway accident.\u00a0 You guys probably know better than me based on a replay, but just a superspeedway accident. That is the way it goes.\u00a0 I\u2019m proud that the car was a lot better handling today than it was in the Duel.\u00a0 I feel like we were competitive. We weren\u2019t the fastest car out there, but the car was competitive.\u00a0 That was important.\u00a0 Not the fastest car, it was definitely lethargic getting up to speed on the starts and when we checked up, but other than that it ran really well.\u00a0 I\u2019m just sad that it ended that way.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIt\u2019s funny Jeff Gordon and I did an SMT for FOX the other day and he said his last Daytona didn\u2019t go well either and I was like \u2018oh wow I don\u2019t remember that\u2019, I remember your career, so I hope that is how it is with me with everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nKASEY KAHNE, NO. 95 PROCORE CAMARO ZL1 \u2013 Involved in a multi-car accident on lap 101
\n<\/strong>\u201cI couldn\u2019t see what happened.\u00a0 I was just on the outside entering the corner and then Chase (Elliott) came across, hit the wall, by the sounds of it in the infield care center, him and Brad (Keselowski) got together, but I didn\u2019t see any of it.\u00a0 Disappointed, our Procore Camaro ZL1 was good, we kept getting back towards the front and then falling, but we were fighting.\u00a0 We had a great car all Speedweeks and get ready for Atlanta.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE\u2019S FOR PROS CAMARO ZL1 \u2013 Involved in a multi-car accident on lap 60<\/strong><\/p>\n

WHAT HAPPENED?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“There was some great racing throughout. But unfortunately, many thought it was the black and white checkered flag and not the green and white checkered flag. On lap 59 to be throwing blocks like that just…a lot of wrecked race cars. \u00a0We will go to work and go to Atlanta next week. But it is disappointing for this Lowes team and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports for all the work they put into it. \u00a0But we’ll get this Camaro ZL1 dialed in for Atlanta and take it over there.”<\/p>\n

\n

WHAT HAPPENED FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE?
\n<\/strong>\u201cIt looked like everybody thought that was the finish of the Daytona 500 and it was really only lap 59 coming to 60.\u00a0 Unfortunately, we lost our third car for the weekend.\u00a0 It\u2019s unfortunate it has turned out that way, but we will get this Lowe\u2019s for Pro\u2019s Chevy dialed in for Atlanta and go do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

ON THE INCIDENT:
\n<\/strong>\u201cJust racing that hard coming for a green and white checkered flag.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure everybody was thinking big picture and really using their head through that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

IS THAT A PRODUCT OF SO MANY YOUNG DRIVERS IN THE SPORT RIGHT NOW?
\n<\/strong>\u201cIn that instance it looked like it, but I\u2019m not picking on the young guys by any stretch.\u00a0 Veterans typically cause more problems out there.\u00a0 Because we have more confidence and experience and usually create more issues than the young guys do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

TALK ABOUT THE CARS BEING HARD TO HANDLE:
\n<\/strong>\u201cWe are going way faster with this rear ride height rule in the cars.\u00a0 Just everything is on edge.\u00a0 It\u2019s a lot of fun, we are flying around here, but it puts handling at a premium.\u00a0 It gets us closer to the edge of traction and we are just slipping and sliding all over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

WHAT IS IT ABOUT YOU AND DAYTONA LATELY?
\n<\/strong>\u201cI know.\u00a0 It\u2019s been tough lately.\u00a0 I have had some great days and nights here through the July race and this race, but of late it\u2019s been tough. That is just how it goes.\u00a0 If I want to think too hard about it I can look at Earnhardt\u2019s record here and know how long it took him to get his first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 \u2013 Involved in a multi-car accident on lap 60
\nWHAT HAPPENED?
\n<\/strong>\u201cOur GEICO Camaro ZL1 was running pretty good.\u00a0 I was trying to get some stage points.\u00a0 It\u2019s really important for us to kind of come out with a good start and I was wanting to be aggressive in the first stage, get some points so we could do whatever we wanted to later on in the race.\u00a0 I saw them crossing lanes up there in the front and I was kind of pinned to the top, so I didn\u2019t really have anywhere to go and once they started crashing I was just stuck in the oil and didn\u2019t really<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 \u2013 Involved in a multi-car accident on lap 101<\/strong><\/p>\n

ARE YOU OKAY?
\n<\/strong>“Yes, I’m alright. \u00a0I had such a fast Camaro ZL1 today, and I just wanted a shot there at the end. \u00a0Tough circumstances. I was just trying to feel Blaney out and see what he was going to do; how aggressive he wanted to be. \u00a0I had a big push and got light at the wrong time. Didn’t make the right move.”<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

ARE YOU OKAY AND WHAT HAPPENED?
\n<\/strong>\u201cYeah, I\u2019m fine, just unfortunate set of circumstances.\u00a0 I had a big push from Brad (Keselowski) and was trying to do something with it on Ryan (Blaney).\u00a0 I didn\u2019t really expect to get by him.\u00a0 I was kind of feeling him out to see how aggressive he wanted to be and just kind of got light over the transition and was a big push at the wrong time I guess.\u00a0 It happens and we will just move on down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

HOW DISAPPOINTING IS THIS?<\/strong>
\n\u201cYeah, very, I hate it.\u00a0 I just wanted to make it to the end and give ourselves a chance, so I hate that we didn\u2019t have that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

WAS IT AGGRESSIVE EARLY?
\n<\/strong>\u201cYeah, it was.\u00a0 It was really aggressive all day.\u00a0 I hate that\u2026 it\u2019s so tough I think that everybody kind of\u2026 the safest place to be is out front and everybody wants to be there, that is the problem.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know exactly how you fix that.\u00a0 It just kind of is what it is.\u00a0 I hate it.\u00a0 Disappointing way to end the 500 this afternoon, but we will move on down the road and try to get \u2018em in Atlanta.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

YOU WERE MAKING VETERAN MOVES YESTERDAY IN THE XFINITY RACE DID YOU FEEL YOU WERE ABLE TO MOVE AROUND AND MAKE GOOD MOVES TODAY?
\n<\/strong>\u201cYeah, you were just not quite as much.\u00a0 I think you\u2019ve got to be able to move around and make moves and take some chances every now and then to win these events.\u00a0 I tried to do that yesterday and wanted to do that later on this afternoon and it just didn\u2019t work out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

DANICA PATRICK, NO. 7 GODADDY CAMARO ZL1 \u2013 Involved in a multi-car accident on lap 101<\/strong><\/p>\n

WHAT WAS FIRST HALF OF THE RACE LIKE FOR YOU?
\n<\/strong>“Pretty decent. \u00a0The car was a lot better than it was in the Duel. It was a lot better than practice. \u00a0Tony Eury, Jr., my crew chief did an awesome job. The guys on the whole team did a really good job. \u00a0I know we pulled this together not that long ago, a month ago. That is a tall order to get a car ready for a superspeedway that is competitive. But, it was. I said earlier today that I feel like the whole thing was picture perfect with GoDaddy on the car, and it being that green again. It just wasn’t meant to be today. I am proud-we raced the whole race other than a little bit at the end of that first stage when it looked silly with all the cars with tires and no tires. Other than that, we raced it and the car was competitive. That is all you can do. That is the gamble at Daytona. It can go so well; and it can go so awful. I’m grateful for everything. Thank you to all the fans. \u00a0Still have one more. It is not a stock car, but still have one more.”<\/p>\n

WHAT DID YOU SEE HAPPEN OUT THERE?
\n<\/strong>\u201cA superspeedway accident.\u00a0 You guys probably know better than me based on a replay, but just a superspeedway accident. That is the way it goes.\u00a0 I\u2019m proud that the car was a lot better handling today than it was in the Duel.\u00a0 I feel like we were competitive. We weren\u2019t the fastest car out there, but the car was competitive.\u00a0 That was important.\u00a0 Not the fastest car, it was definitely lethargic getting up to speed on the starts and when we checked up, but other than that it ran really well.\u00a0 I\u2019m just sad that it ended that way.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIt\u2019s funny Jeff Gordon and I did an SMT for FOX the other day and he said his last Daytona didn\u2019t go well either and I was like \u2018oh wow I don\u2019t remember that\u2019, I remember your career, so I hope that is how it is with me with everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nKASEY KAHNE, NO. 95 PROCORE CAMARO ZL1 \u2013 Involved in a multi-car accident on lap 101
\n<\/strong>\u201cI couldn\u2019t see what happened.\u00a0 I was just on the outside entering the corner and then Chase (Elliott) came across, hit the wall, by the sounds of it in the infield care center, him and Brad (Keselowski) got together, but I didn\u2019t see any of it.\u00a0 Disappointed, our Procore Camaro ZL1 was good, we kept getting back towards the front and then falling, but we were fighting.\u00a0 We had a great car all Speedweeks and get ready for Atlanta.\u201d<\/p>\n

Menard Quotes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

TALK ABOUT YOUR RUN:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cWe had a really fast Omnicraft Ford today. These guys are awesome. Great race car. I ran upfront the first-half of the race. I got shuffled out. Denny (Hamlin) bumped me in Turn 3 and got loose and lost all my track position. I just kept fighting from there to get my track position back. Great run for us. We had shot to win the Daytona 500 at the end of the race. We just came up short.\u201d<\/p>\n

TALK ABOUT YOUR DEBUT WITH THE WOOD BROTHERS:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cWe had a really fast Ford Fusion. The guys have been great all week. The Omnicraft Ford Fusion was a rocket ship. It was really fun tonight. I\u2019m so proud of this team. The car was fast all day. We survived and were able to bring it back home in one piece.\u201d<\/p>\n

TALK ABOUT HAVING A SHOT TO WIN THE DAYTONA 500:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cWe were so fast. I just wasn\u2019t able to get the restart that we wanted on the green-white checkered. I had a bit of a run, he blocked and just got outrun on the outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

YOU HAVE TO BE HAPPY THAT YOU SCORED STAGE POINTS IN ALL THREE ROUNDS:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cIt was huge. To score points in all three stages is awesome. That\u2019s good for the overall picture. I had a shot at a stage win. It was a good points day for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CAMARO ZL1 \u2013 RACE WINNER ON EMOTIONS: \u201cRight now I just want to thank the good Lord above. I did what I had to do there at the end. I hate it for the No. 10 (Aric Almirola) guys. We had a run, and I stayed in the gas. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nascar","category-touring-series-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22776"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22777,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22776\/revisions\/22777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}