Ford Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Ticket Guardian 500 (ISM Raceway)
Sunday, March 11, 2018
Page 1
FORD’S KEVIN HARVICK WINS FOR THIRD STRAIGHT WEEKEND
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Kevin Harvick put Ford in victory lane for for the third straight weekend, his fifth race win with Ford.
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The win makes Harvick the first driver to achieve three straight wins since Ford’s Joey Logano swept the Round of 12 Playoff segment in 2015 (Charlotte, Kansas, Talladega).
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The win marks his 39th career Cup Series triumph and his 101st career NASCAR National Series win.
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This marks the sixth win for Stewart-Haas Racing since joining Ford last year.
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The win is Fusion’s 92nd Cup Series triumph since becoming Ford’s flagship vehicle in 2006.
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Today’s win is Ford’s 661st all-time in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition.
FORD FINISHING RESULTS
1st Kevin Harvick
10th Kurt Busch
6th Clint Bowyer
7th Aric Almirola
15th Brad Keselowski
16th Ryan Blaney
19th Joey Logano
20th Trevor Bayne
22nd David Ragan
23rd Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
25th Matt DiBenedetto
32nd Michael McDowell
36th Paul Menard
KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion
Finishing Position: 1st
VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW: “I’ve been mad as all get out because this team does a great job. This organization does a great job and we’ve got fast race cars. And to take that away from those guys just really pissed me off last week. To come here to a race track that is so good for us is a lot of fun and everyone was just determined this week and we just wanted to just go stomp them. We didn’t stomp them, but we won. That’s all that really matters. Just proud of this team. Put a fire in our belly. I’ve just got to thank everyone at Jimmy John’s, Busch, Ford, Mobile 1, Outback, Hunt Brothers, Morton Buildings, Textron, Liftmaster, Haas Automation. I always forget the owners. Gene Haas and and Tony Stewart. What a badass team right there!”
CLINT BOWYER, No. 14 Haas Automation Ford Fusion
Finishing Position: 6th
“It was a solid day. We just have to get better as a team. I buried us a little bit in qualifying. It was a good run for us. A good run for Stewart-Haas Racing. We weren’t very good here last year. We sucked as a matter of fact, so that is a breath of fresh air after stubbing our toe last week. Having a good run today is definitely some positive mojo going.” THREE IN A ROW FOR YOUR TEAMMATE: “Yeah. That there is a statement.”
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Fusion
Finishing Position: 7th
“We just keep plugging away. Johnny and the guys made a lot of good adjustments on the car throughout the day. We started off okay and then we started dialing ourselves out the first few stops. We got some track position there with that two-tire call and got our Smithfield Ford Fusion up front and it really liked the clean air. Our car got a lot better up there. I am proud of everybody. We just keep building on it. Top-10 ‘em to death. Just keep scoring points and doing what we do.”
KURT BUSCH, No. 41 Mobil 1/Haas Automation Ford Fusion
Finishing Position: 10th
“The car responded well to my steering and gas inputs. I was a little slow on restarts but I love being able to lean on the right-rear tire and make passes later in the run. Our strategy unfolded the best it could have to win stage 2 and get back in the top-10. We just didn’t run the same lap times we did at the end as we did at the beginning of the race, but all in all it was a good day.”
PAUL MENARD, No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Fusion
Finishing Position: Single Car Accident (Lap 191)
WAS IT BRAKES OR A TIRE? “I think the tire went down. The right-rear tire blew. Not sure what caused it. Maybe bead temp or something. I am not real sure what caused it. We will have to go back and look at it. The tire is definitely down. Not sure what came first, the chicken or the egg. It is a disappointing day for sure. We made some good adjustments early and I thought we would be okay. I had a hard time getting in the corner that last run and we started backing up, then something happened to the tire.”
Campbell Marketing & Communications for Ford Performance/ Photo Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
