Budweiser Duel #1 - Daytona International Speedway

Ford Finishing Order:
4^th – Marcos Ambrose
6^th – Josh Wise
7^th – Aric Almirola
9^th – David Gilliland
13^th – Greg Biffle
17^th – Joey Logano
20^th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
22^nd – Michael McDowell

RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – No. 17 Nationwide Insurance Ford Fusion – “Our car was really fast.  At the start of that we had been on the bottom and got shuffled to the back.  Everybody fell in line on the top and I think we were the last car on the lead lap in the line for a while.  We made the move to the bottom and really worked our way to the front and had some pushers, and some of the others dropped down in front of us because they saw we had a good car.  All in all, I think we’ve got a really good car for Sunday.  I just made a mistake getting to pit road.  Following Junior in his mark was a lot further down than mine was and I locked the right-front up and we had to change tires.  I couldn’t tell if it was just the rights or the lefts, so you can’t take a chance.  We went ahead and changed all four and lost the draft, but another mistake.  The last time I sped on pit road, so maybe next year we can figure these Duels out, but the car was really fast so I’m excited about Sunday.”  SO YOU WEREN’T GOING TO CHANGE TIRES ORIGINALLY?  “We had to take tires.  Mike’s plan all along was to take no tires, just gas so we didn’t lose that track position but I messed that up and we had to take four.  We won’t do that come Sunday and we’ll make sure we don’t make anymore mistakes.”

DAVID GILLIAND – No. 38 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Fusion – “We did really well tonight.  Our Love’s Travel Stops Ford Fusion ran really good.  The Roush Yates horsepower was really, really good.  It ran cool all night, everything you need to have a successful night at a speedway track, but the guys did a good job.  Our car has had good speed all weekend long.  We were good.  We had a little bit of a snafu in the pits as far as if we were gonna take a little bit more gas than one can or not, so it got us a little bit behind but we stayed patient and got in line there and was able to catch the front pack and make some moves there at the end.  It was a lot of fun.  The nerves down here at Daytona, you can’t compare them to anything else, so I’m glad that we’re in the Daytona 500.  That’s something I missed one time and that was a feeling I’ll never forget and hopefully never want to feel again.  I’m real happy and real proud of the guys and I can’t wait until Sunday.”  HOW WAS THE RACE COMPARED TO WHAT WE SAW IN PRACTICE AND THE UNLIMITED?  “I think everybody was obviously aware between practice and the Unlimited about everything that’s been torn up here.  I think everybody did a good job out there tonight.  You never know when you get the first Duel or the second Duel what’s going to happen.  Are the guys in the first one going to race hard and wreck and then the guys in the second one be a little more patient?  But it all worked out well and I think everybody was patient and drove smart.  I just saw the end of the race on the replay and I think the fans got what they came here to see.”

ARIC ALMIROLA – No. 43 Smithfield Ford Fusion – “We had a good car.  Trent Owens and all the guys on this Smithfield Ford Fusion did a great job.  The car has plenty of speed in it.  Right there towards the end I didn’t move up and block the 88 like I probably should have and that probably cost us a shot at winning it, but, all in all, our car is still in one piece.  We’ve got a really good race car and I’m looking forward to the Daytona 500.”  THE RACE SEEMED TO BE PRETTY CALM COMPARED TO THE RACE SATURDAY AND PRACTICE.  “Yeah, it was very calm.  You saw everybody wreck in practice and all the wrecks in the Unlimited, so it seemed like everybody was a lot more calm.”

JOSH WISE – No. 95 Curb Records Ford Fusion – “For me, I went into this trying not to make mistakes and just execute, and getting on pit road clean and not speed, and do everything right.  We were just fortunate to have all of those things happen.  I was able to make up some spots getting on pit road, which helped a little bit, and the guys got it full of fuel real quick.  Being up there around 10^th it took a little bit of the pressure off to where we weren’t having to be quite so aggressive to make sure we were in a transfer spot.  Then on the last lap I saw the 88 drop to the bottom and I figured we’d maybe close the gap to him and dropped down and was able to close in there up to him and finished sixth, so that was great.”

MARCOS AMBROSE, No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion -- "That was a better race for us. We had a rough Unlimited but that car there is a great car for the 500. It is straight as could be and we are just going to fluff it and buff it for the next three days to get ready for the 500."  A LOT WAS MADE ABOUT HOW CHAOTIC THIS MIGHT BE. "As a rule the first duel is normally calmer than the second. All the drivers go out there with their best piece and don't want to hurt them. It was a little dicey out there but I think all the good cars hit the front pretty quick and we were able to have a clean race. I look forward to Sunday. It is going to be a good day."

GREG BIFFLE, No. 16 3M Ford Fusion -- YOU SEEMED FRUSTRATED WITH THE 3 CAR, IS THAT THE CASE? "You know, my car drove really good but the 3 car there at the end kind of took our chances away from us, from probably getting up there. We were a half a lap from being able to race with 'em and he started slowing down on the backstretch a little bit and I thought it was because we were starting to catch the cars and the guys pulled away from him and maybe he lost a little draft. I started pushing on him and he just kept going slower. Then all of a sudden I figured out that he was pulling down. He just quit right in line and just started slowing down instead of waving off and pulling out of line. He just started slowing down and that slowed me way down. By the time I was able to get back up there the race was over. Coming onto pit road, I really don't know what happened. I practiced three times coming on pit road and having my brakes set. I just locked the left-front up completely and so that is what got us ratcheted back there anyway. I wasn't even that deep on braking. I don't know what it was about it but it didn't want to stop."

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion -- "It stinks how you get penalized for trying basically. The top lane is the preferred lane. I was riding sixth or seventh and it doesn't matter if you don't win. You go to win and that is it. So I took the opportunity to try to make something happen and I went down low and got up to third almost and then the top lane stacked up and got going. I had the opportunity to get up in fourth and try something again later but I got greedy down there. I just wanted more and to keep that lane going. The bottom lane just sucks with these cars. It doesn't go and that is frustrating. Then of course I get stuck on the bottom and the car in front of me blows up on the last lap and the rest of the field goes by me, so go figure. It looked decent for a minute but it went bad in a hurry."

Budweiser Duel #2 - Daytona International Speedway

Ford Finishing Order:

6^th – Trevor Bayne

12^th – Terry Labonte

15^th – Carl Edwards

17^th – David Ragan

23^rd – Eric McClure

24^th – Brad Keselowski

TREVOR BAYNE – No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion – “It was more than nerve-wracking.  I was waiting on what happened off of four to happen a lot earlier.  Fortunately, we just happened to go to the bottom.  I can’t take credit for any of that, that’s just being at the right place at the right time, and I’m just so thankful for this team.  It’s a lot of pressure, though.  I’m not gonna lie. I kind of take it for granted all the time when we qualify good and don’t have to worry about these Duels, but we did it when it mattered and I’m really proud of these guys.  They’ve worked hard on this car and deserve to be in the 500, and I’m just thankful Jesus spared us on this one.”  YOU SEEMED SETTLED IN 10^TH AND THEN MADE A MOVE.  WHAT WERE YOU THINKING AT THE END?  “At the beginning of the race I tried some things just to learn a little bit.  We drove to the front and then I kind of got rooted out.  I tried to go around the 11 on the bottom and everybody stayed with him in the middle.  From there I went to the back and I seemed to lead the charge every time to the front.  We’d get a group from the back pack and we would catch them and then once we’d catch them I’d get shafted a little bit and have to do it all over again.  David Ragan, Bobby Labonte and some others helped me that whole time and stuck with me.  That’s what I needed was a couple guys to stay right behind me and David did that right until the end.  I’ve got to thank him, and then we went to the bottom.  I rode around in 10^th there for a while and then I saw the 78 get a little loose. I figured if there’s gonna be a crash it’s gonna wash to the top, so I went to the bottom and fortunately it worked out.  I was just in the right place at the right time.”

CARL EDWARDS, No. 99 Fastenal Ford Fusion – “Everything was going really well and then everybody started sliding around and I saw Clint go way up in the air in front of me. I don’t know what it looked like on TV but to me it looked like he was 25 feet in the air. That is alright. We have a good car and even with the damage we sustained we will be okay. It hit harder than what it looks like. Hopefully everything is okay. We will just work on everything and practice a little bit. I had a lot of fun learning a little bit. I think it will be a good 500 for us.”

DAVID RAGAN – No. 34 CSX – Play It Safe Ford Fusion – “It’s unfortunate to tear up a lot of race cars coming out of turn four in a qualifying race.  Our CSX Ford was fast and our mindset that last lap was we were just kind of cruising 10^th-12^th and the bottom lane got rolling.  It looked like everybody was separated pretty good, so I just stayed in line.  I felt like the bottom would be a safe place and it appears the 48 ran out of gas or something and just a chain-reaction.  When guys start turning left and turning right and slowing down it just kind of creates a trap.  The 15, I think, got spun in front of us, so there was nowhere to go for our 34 Ford, but we’ve got a fast race car and I’m looking forward to Sunday.”

FRANK STODDARD, Car Owner – No. 32 C&J Energy Services Ford Fusiont have many more years left in me.  I just lost five more lives, maybe 10.  One car.  We were 17^th with two to go.  s not gonna affect him a lot.  And then when the 13 had that problem, that put us in the transfer spot in 16^th, Bobby was gonna be 17^th – he’d use the past champion – we’d be in on the deal and everybody is happy.”