Diamond Hill Plywood 200 - Ford Post-Race Quotes

TODD KLUEVER – No. 16 3M Ford Fusion (Finished 38th) – “It was just a bad day for our 3M car. The guys brought an awesome piece. We showed yesterday in practice, I think we were pretty quick and we were really excited about today and had a right-rear flat in qualifying and qualified 38th. To start way in the back like that is just so hard to do, especially at a place like this. We were a little bit off and had our car pretty good there. We came in and put tires on it because we were trying to do anything to get off cycle and get some fresher tires on it so we could run up through the field, but I got to the outside of the 18 car and I don’t know if he didn’t know I was there or he couldn’t slow his car down in time. This place is so tough over there and I just got pinched up. It’s unfortunate because, like I said, these guys brought a great piece and, unfortunately, it’s all torn up.”

MATT KENSETH – No. 17 Dish Network Ford Fusion (Finished 37th) – ARE YOU OK? “Oh yeah, it wasn’t bad. I just decided we needed to pit. We got off sequence there and just didn’t do the right things. Everything just went wrong all day pretty much after we took the lead, so we just decided we were gonna pit and get tires – short pit and catch up. I didn’t wave Bobby off, but he was way behind me on the backstretch and I pulled all the way down on the apron to slow down and come in the pits, and he followed me down there and just got into the back of me.”

MARCOS AMBROSE – No. 59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion (Finished 19th) – “It’s our first time at Darlington and what a great race track. It’s a shame to tear it up and put a new surface down because the racing tonight was just a lot of fun. I know there were a lot of cautions, but the track itself is just fantastic. I’m just really pleased to finish on the lead lap. It was probably our best race, even though the result wasn’t great. We had to stop with 15 laps to go because the tape they put on the front came off onto the windshield and I couldn’t see, so considering all of that, we had a pretty strong night.” HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THIS TRACK WITH THE ABRASSIVE SURFACE? “No, I haven’t. I’ve driven in the rain before and it’s a bit like that. It’s just really slippery and you’ve just got to really feel the car out. I’m just pleased we had a nice, strong night. We qualified well. It’s nothing to write home about, but it’s something we can build on. I think our team is on the upswing. We’ve had some tough weeks. I think we’ve got a much better package underneath us now. The team is really gelling and I’m just excited. We’ve got a good test coming up at Charlotte with a new car, so I think we’re gonna be on an upswing.” IS IT TOO BAD YOU ONLY RACE HERE ONCE A YEAR? “Yeah. I’ll come back here and race a go-kart or something around here because it’s so much fun. It really is, but we’ve got some more tracks to look forward to, some really great race circuits. Every week is a thrill, so I’ll be happy to sleep 365 days to come back here because it’s pretty cool.”

GREG BIFFLE – No. 37 Cub Cadet Ford Fusion (Finished 8th) – “I don’t know what happened. They changed tire pressure right there at the end because we were a little too tight and it was way, way too tight. It’s frustrating because we had a good car. We weren’t as good as the 20, but I think we had a top five car for sure – a top three – and we just couldn’t get it done at the end. We tightened it up on that last run and got a little too tight.” SO MANY CAUTIONS. “Yeah and that hurt us, too. I swear the thing had a tire going flat. It was a totally different car from the way it was all night – just a completely different animal. I’m not real sure what happened.”

CARL EDWARDS – No. 60 Scotts Ford Fusion (Finished 3rd) – PRESS CONFERENCE – “Just like Mark, I didn’t get it done in qualifying. We just didn’t get the thing right. We started the race and it was super-tight and I came in and they said, ‘OK, we’re gonna pull these two spring rubbers out of the left-rear and it will be great.’ And I thought, ‘Man, this is gonna be awesome,’ and the wires pulled straight out of the spring rubbers, so we couldn’t get the spring rubbers out. We jacked some rounds in the right-rear the rest of the night and never got it really free enough. My hat’s off to Denny Hamlin and really off to Mark Martin. I came over and told him after the race, I really took advantage of him a couple of times early in the race. That part he was talking about early in the race, we were just racing so hard. There were a couple of moves that Mark let me get by with and I just really appreciate that. There at the end it was neat to be able to race him and we ended up third.” IF THE RED FLAG CAME 4-5 LAPS EARLIER, COULD YOU HAVE RUN THE 20 DOWN? “I wasn’t going to. He probably could have, but I couldn’t.” CAN YOU TAKE ANYTHING FROM TONIGHT TO TOMORROW? “I don’t know. I guess – some lines on the race track – different spots where there is grip, but they’re so different. To me, I just had a blast tonight. This is just a fun race.”

BOBBY HAMILTON JR. – No. 35 McDonald’s Ford Fusion (Finished 20th) – “We were a top 12 car on the long run, but tonight we couldn’t get long runs. I got into the 17. It was like he just stopped in front of me getting in the corner and I just ran over him, so I’d like to say I’m sorry to him. I don’t know where we ended up as far as the Busch guys, but, overall, it was a pretty good night.”