ESPN Now - Photo Credit: John Atashian/ESPN

NASCAR Now will air Monday-Friday with half-hour episodes originating from ESPN’s studios in Bristol, Ct. A one-hour weekend edition will air on the morning of each NASCAR Sprint Cup race and NASCAR Now will air a weekend wrap-up edition starting with the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

AJ Allmendinger, driver of the Shell-Pennzoil Dodge for Penske Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, joins NASCAR Now this season as a guest reporter for the weekend edition programs. “The Daily Dinger” segment will feature Allmendinger in off-beat interviews around the racetracks with drivers, crew chiefs, fans and others or reporting on a unique aspect of that day’s race.

Mike Massaro will continue as the primary host of NASCAR Now with ongoing hosts Allen Bestwick, Nicole Briscoe, Marty Reid and Shannon Spake. ESPN SportsCenter anchors Lindsay Czarniak, Michael Yam and Michelle Bonner also will fill in as occasional NASCAR Now hosts. Marty Smith will again be the lead reporter for the program while Briscoe, Massaro and Spake will also serve as reporters.

Former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie of the year Ricky Craven will continue as an analyst for NASCAR Nowand other ESPN studio programs such as SportsCenter. ESPN NASCAR analysts Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace, Andy Petree, Tim Brewer and Brad Daugherty also will contribute to NASCAR Now as will ESPN pit reporters Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch and Vince Welch. NASCAR Now also will continue to have contributions from ESPN.com motorsports writers Ed Hinton, Terry Blount and David Newton along with ESPN the Magazine senior writer Ryan McGee and former NASCAR pit crew member D.J. Copp.

The program will originate from Daytona International Speedway for three shows surrounding the Daytona 500. In past years, NASCAR Now also has originated from remote locations including the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the White House, Chicago’s Navy Pier and other racetracks.

NASCAR Now and all of ESPN’s NASCAR television content is also viewable digitally through WatchESPN and WatchESPN.com, the groundbreaking online-accessible authenticated version of ESPN. WatchESPN is available on computers, smartphones and tablets through WatchESPN.com and the free WatchESPN app, which are accessible to fans who receive their video service from an affiliated provider.

About NASCAR on ESPN:

ESPN produces comprehensive, multi-platform coverage featuring telecasts of the final 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup races, including the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Additionally, ESPN is the television home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series. ESPN’s NASCAR coverage extends to ESPN.com, SportsCenter, ESPN the Magazine, WatchESPN, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio and ESPN International, among other ESPN platforms. ESPN aired 262 NASCAR Cup Races over a 20-year period starting in 1981 and returned to NASCAR coverage in 2007. The network’s award-winning, live flag-to-flag coverage on ESPN has been honored with 19 Sports Emmy Awards, as well as many industry honors. It is widely credited for helping to popularize the sport nationwide.

Source: ESPN Communications, Press Release

Dodge Motorsports

Howard Comstock (Dodge Motorsports Engineering)

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST ENGINEERING CHALLENGE YOU FACE WTH THE NEW RULES PACKAGE FOR THE DAYTONA 500?   “Without a doubt the cooling system.  Maintaining a safe engine temperature for 500 miles is going to be a big job.  When you run by yourself you can get plenty air to the radiator and you’ll be OK.  If you want to go fast in the two-car tandem it’s going to be a challenge.  Drivers have to really watch what their engines are doing for 500 miles or you’re going to risk a major engine failure.”

Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T)
HOW WAS THE FIRST DAY OF TESTING?  “We certainly didn’t have the overall speed in our Miller Lite Dodge Charger by ourselves in single-car runs.  Once we got racing as a tandem with the 22 team we were really, really fast.  Our race package seems to be very fast and reliable.  AJ (Allmendinger) and I worked really well together and it’s cool to see us near the top of the leader board.”

HOW DID YOUR CAR REACT TO THE NEW RULES PACKAGE FOR THE DAYTONA 500?  “There’s a subtle difference but it’s hard to tell right now.  The car seems to feel lighter.  We haven’t run in a pack of cars yet, so it’s tough to say.  I know one thing, our Miller Lite Dodge is fast in tandem racing.”

HOW WAS IT WORKING WITH AJ FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY?  “I thought that we worked really well together.  I enjoyed the positive attitude that he brings to the team and that makes me feel good heading into the season.”

AJ Allmendinger (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T)
HOW WAS THE FIRST DAY OF TESTING FOR THE SHELL/PENNZOIL DODGE TEAM?  “I thought that it was great.  I think just to get fit in the car and figure out how to be comfortable and get a relationship with the team was important.  Our Dodges are fast in race trim.  The big deal is drafting with Brad (Keselowski) and building chemistry with him and trusting each other.  We have a good relationship as teammates.  It was a fun day.  It was solid.  It was fun being back at the track and in the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge”

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST NOTICEABLE CHANGE IN THE CAR FOR YOU WITH THE NEW RULES PACKAGE?  “It’s fast.  You can really feel the speed of the car.  It’s a lot faster.  The cars heat up quicker.  All these smart engineers are going to go back and figure out how to keep them cooler before we head back for the (Daytona) 500.   There’s nothing major that stands out, but you can definitely feel the speed when you’re closing in on cars in front of you.  You get light and get loose and that’s where you need a good relationship with your teammate.”

Source: Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release

A.J. Allmendinger - Richard Petty Motorsports

December 1 2011 (Charlotte, NC)– While AJ Allmendinger is off to the races once again, this time contesting the Red BullKart Fight in Orlando on Thursday, the elves back at the shop have been keeping busy and have an exciting announcement to make as “25 Days of Dinger” launches today.

“25 Days of Dinger” will see one lucky race fan win one of 25 different gifts each day from December 1st right through to the 25th.

To be eligible to win, fans just need to either follow AJ on Twitter (at www.twitter.com/ajdinger) or LIKE him on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/AJAllmendinger).

We can’t say everything that’s on offer this month, but we can at least hint that in addition to some great stuff in from the AJ Allmendinger merchandise warehouse, there will also be some cool prizes from the folks that have helped out all year long like Best Buy and Ford Racing.

Since it’s getting a little cold out there, the first prize up for grabs to kick things off today will be an AJ-branded sweatshirt, the Prevail, for one winner. Stay tuned for updates!

- Walldinger Racing, LLC., Press Release

Ford Racing

CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion (Qualified 1st) –

YOU WERE SECOND FASTEST IN FIRST PRACTICE AND FASTEST IN FIRST PRACTICE. “That was all qualifying. We focused on our race runs the first practice and had a tire issue the second practice and only made two runs. It worked out great though. I just really appreciate Matt Kenseth’s help and all of my teammates helping me the best they could today to give us the best shot at this pole. I can’t believe we got the pole. We were just hoping to start in front of Tony somewhere and preferably the top-five. The pole is a gift.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER – No. 43 Best Buy Ford Fusion (Qualified 12th) – “That was okay. We struggled a little bit today with the Best Buy Ford. We’ve kind of struggled with getting into the corner and I’ve really struggled to run the top. I think the top is the faster way to go, but I can’t get there right now. It was a solid lap. You can always pick it apart and say it was a little bit better, but we’re working hard. This hasn’t been the best day for us, but Greg Erwin and all the guys are working hard. Hopefully, that gets us a decent starting spot because it’s a long race on Sunday.”

MARCOS AMBROSE – No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion (Qualified 18th) – “I just didn’t know what line to take. I went a bit higher than what I probably should have, but we’ll take it. I’ve just got to thank Ford Racing for putting on this huge show here. It’s great to finish here at the big Ford event. We’ve got Carl with a chance to win, Ford as well, and I’m real excited about it. With Stanley and DeWalt, it’s just been a ripper year. It’s been fantastic to drive with the King and I just want to thank all of my boys and Todd Parrott on the box. It’s been a really strong effort for us.”

GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 3M Ford Fusion (Qualified 8th) - “I think I have a great car for tomorrow. The lap was pretty good. We struggled earlier today in qualifying trim for some reason. Gosh, I let up the gas off of four and it started to slide and chatter a little bit. I lost a lot of momentum and I don’t know if I had to lift. It was one of those things where it was like; uh oh I am in big trouble. I backed off it for a minute and I don’t know. It is so tight up there. That is probably the top of the board but who knows if it would have stuck.

DO YOU HAVE A TOP FIVE CAR IN RACE TRIM? “Oh yeah. We were probably close to being the fastest in race trim. We are pretty dang good as a team. I would say we are all in that area of top-10 somewhere.”

MATT KENSETH – No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion (Qualified 6th)– “I think we just missed the set up a little bit. I thought I got a pretty decent lap. It wasn’t perfect. This is a tough place to get everything because the lines change the way the car handles so much. I think we missed it a little bit but I thought we got most of it.”

TREVOR BAYNE – No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion (Qualified 20th) – “I was pretty happy with that pick-up there. I didn’t expect to run a teen. I don’t know how good that’s gonna hold up. We’re fifth right now, but I think it’ll be a decent start. I’m really happy with the adjustments we made. We ran like a .60 in practice and I was hoping for a .30, but we ran a teen there. I caught a little cloud, so that was good for us, but I think we’re gonna race a lot better than we qualify either way. If we end up fifth, then we’ll really be good in the race, but I think there are obviously a lot of good cars still to go. If we can get a top 20, we can race from there. I’d prefer a top-15, so we’ll work on that, but I’m excited about this car so far and just excited to be a part of this all year long. Hopefully, I’ll be back in the 21 next year. We’ll see what happens, but I’ve just really, really enjoyed it so far. I remember a year ago when I was sitting on the pit box watching these guys and Bill Elliott was driving the car. It’s been a crazy year, but it’s been a really memorable one and I’m just excited to have been a part of it.”

DAVID RAGAN – No. 6 UPS My Choice Ford Fusion - “That was a good lap for us; it wasn’t perfect. We made some pretty big adjustments after that last practice because we knew the track was going to cool down just a little bit and maybe we went a little too far. I think we’ve got a great UPS Ford for Sunday. That’s in the top 15 and we’ll be able to go racing with that on Sunday.”

TRAVIS KVAPIL – No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford Fusion (Qualified 40th) – “It feels nice to be locked into these races because we didn’t really put any emphasis on a qualifying effort today. We really just worked on our race trim stuff. That’s a pretty good lap for us and we gained a lot of speed there, but it’s not gonna shake out very good overall. Still, I’m excited about Sunday.”

DAVID GILLILAND – No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford Fusion (Qualified 38th) – “We have struggled and have been nowhere close to where we needed to be. It’s a little disappointing when you unload that far off, but we made some good gains and we’ll just keep working on it. We’ve still got the race, but I’m a little disappointed. We’ve run really well here the last couple of years, but we’ve just struggled today. The track didn’t have a lot of grip and I know a lot of people are having issues, but hopefully we’ll get a handle on it.”

J.J. YELEY – No. 55 Ingersoll Rand Ford Fusion – “I think it’ll probably be pretty decent. The most important thing, obviously, is we’re in. We were really pretty decent the first practice and lost the balance in the second practice, so I was a little worried about what I had on the lap there. I think I probably gave it an 85 percent lap. I know I probably could have gained another tenth-and-a-half, at the same time I probably could have wrecked the thing, too. The good thing is we had a good run. I know these guys have worked their tails off all year long for me on this 55 car. It’s been a lot of fun and I’m glad that we’ve had a good run here for the final race at Homestead.”

CARL EDWARDS POLE-WINNING PRESS CONFERENCE –

ARE THINGS LINING UP LIKE YOU WANTED THEM TO THIS WEEKEND? “Yeah, things are good. Today went really well. I felt like our car was very fast in practice in race trim. I wasn’t really sure what to expect in qualifying trim, but that was a very pleasant surprise to run that well. That truly is just one lap, though, and, I mean, the biggest thing is that pit stall selection. That’s gonna be a big help the whole race. That’s something that’s hard to put a value on, so it looked like there were a lot of fast cars in practice. It didn’t look like we were head and shoulders better than anyone else, so this doesn’t dampen the amount of effort we’re gonna go out and put forth. We still have to go out and race this race. I do think that of all the tracks it would be nice to have a big advantage in qualifying at some of them, but this one you can pass at, so if there are faster race cars out there, they’ll be able to make it through the field.”

YOU MADE TWO QUALIFYING RUNS IN PRACTICE. DID YOU JUST FEEL YOU COULDN’T GET IT ANY BETTER? “Yeah, we ran the first practice completely in race trim and we felt that was the best strategy for us was to focus on race trim there, and then focus on qualifying trim the second practice. We actually had a cut in the right-rear tire after the first run in the second practice, so we had two sets of sticker tires, which we would normally run three or four runs total – a couple on the first set and then one final sticker run – but once we looked at that tire we realized we can’t use that again, we just couldn’t do it, so we made one more sticker run, so it was only two laps in the second practice. In a way, it probably helped us from tuning the thing out of contention. It was nice to just focus on two runs.”

DO YOU BELIEVE IN FATE? IT LOOKS LIKE THINGS ARE LINING UP FOR YOU? “I don’t know that I believe in fate, but I do believe that things happen for a reason. I do believe that whatever you encounter you have to treat as if that’s just the way it’s supposed to be. You can’t change things, I’ve learned that, so success and failure can both be good in the end, so you’ve got to be careful for what you wish for sometimes, but, yeah, this is going really well so far and, hopefully, this helps us all race. We didn’t need to qualify poorly, get a poor pit stall, have some little thorn in our side the whole race, so this will hopefully help us for the whole event.”

DOES TODAY REPRESENT A MOMENTUM SHIFT? “I don’t know. I didn’t pay any attention to them in practice and I didn’t see where he qualified, so I still don’t know where they qualified. I guess the deal is we’ve still got to go run this race and I know how tough those guys can be, so I’m not counting anything yet. We’re just gonna keep our heads down and work hard and go get the best we can. If anything, this is just good for our morale and for everybody to go sleep easy tonight and know we’re gonna have a good day on pit road, know we’ll hopefully be able to run out front and not get caught up in anything. But, truly, I understand that we still have to go run this race and anything can happen.”

IS TODAY A PRIME EXAMPLE OF YOU SAYING ALL THAT MATTERS IS WHAT HAPPENS ON THE TRACK? “I hope so, but, truly, it is just one lap and I know it could have gone any way. If we were out there and qualified 43rd right now, it wouldn’t change the way I’m gonna approach this race. I’m not just giving you all lip service. I’m here to do a job and to do it well and it truly doesn’t matter what’s said or what happens until that checkered flag falls.”

- PCGCampbell for Ford Racing, Press Release

Ford Racing

Carl Edwards, No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion — PIT LANE INTERVIEW

THAT LAST PASS GOT YOU THE POINTS TO END WHERE YOU DID. “It was a long day. It was interesting. I was real calm but it is hard to watch that 14 crew and Tony do so well. They have really stepped it up. They are making us perform the best we ever have and we are doing the same to them. I followed him for about 40 laps. It felt like I was working him over and really paying attention to what he does. I determined he is a pretty good driver. If we can win this thing beating him that would be really cool.”

Bob Osborne, Crew Chief No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion – “We finished in front of Tony. We would have like to increase the points lead but we didn’t because he was able to lead so many laps early on. We had a great car and they had a great day too. It is going to be exciting going into Homestead. We were guarding against cautions and getting caught there staying out a little longer, guarding against a caution and that let the 4 car get in front of us. It felt like we had a better car than they did. Kenny just juked me today. I will have to congratulate him on that when I see him. I can’t say enough about them. The 4 car had a great car actually. They were very fast all day long. My hat is off to them and the 14 also. It is going to be a lot of fun at Homestead.”

YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHERE YOU STAND FOR HOMESTEAD. WHAT IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF YOUR MIND FOR THAT RACE? “We will go there and try to repeat what we did last year. I feel like we have a good opportunity to do that this year. The car had the speed to do it today. The way the race played out here and my decision to wait a little bit longer cost us the win today. I think we will go into Homestead trying to sit on the pole and win the race and put a dot on this championship hopefully.”

Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Crown Royal Ford — WALK US THROUGH WHAT HAPPENED. EVERYONE IS SAYING IT WAS RETALIATION FROM MARTINSVILLE. “Well yeah, obviously it is retaliation for retaliation I guess. I was out of brakes and I was up on everybody and I saw him coming and I lifted at least 10 car lengths before where I would normally lift and he drove in there at 165 miles per hour and cleaned us out. I don’t know. If NASCAR is going to start parking people for being mad 25 second after you wreck and wrecking somebody then you would park somebody for that. You have someone that has been telling everybody for four or five that as soon as he got a chance at a fast race track he was going to make it hurt and wipe us out and they do nothing about it. It was so premeditated it just surprises me that they didn’t do anything. I am disappointed but I expected it. We aren’t racing street stocks at a quarter mile track so they need to figure out how to get the drivers to settle their difference in a different way and talk about it or figure it out or do something instead of using your car as a battering ram somewhere this fast.”

WAS THERE ANY TEMPTATION WHEN YOU WENT BACK OUT TO TAKE IT UP ONE MORE NOTCH? “No, not at all. I don’t stoop to that level. When we had our problem at Martinsville it was heat of the moment and he hit me eight or nine times and he hit me once. Hindsight I should have let him go and left him alone because you realize who he is and what he is and all that. You probably should leave him alone and go on. I would never sit down there and wait for somebody and take a cheap shot like that. You can hurt someone like that and that isn’t sportsmanlike and that isn’t something I would do.”

WHAT NOW? DO YOU TALK ABOUT IT? “Nothing. We go race at Homestead.”

Marcos Ambrose, No. 9 DeWalt Ford – “We had a good car today. We just needed a bit of clean air to get the nose down and feeling good. I am proud of my DeWalt team, they did a good job and we were solid all day long.”

THIS CONTINUES A REALLY GOOD SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON FOR YOU. “Yeah, it bodes even better for the first half of next season.”

AJ Allmendinger, No. 43 WIX Filters Ford – “It is a credit to all the guys on the 43 and at RPM. The test was really good and we came back really good. Man, I don’t know. We lost on that one restart. I don’t know. The tires chattered a little bit. The tires were so sensitive and they chattered and got hung out. I overdrove one lap and got in the dirt and that killed us from there. Sixth is okay but I feel like we deserved better. We have to work on our pit stops. Thanks to the 6 guys, our Ford teammates coming over and pitting the last two stops. That was a big difference.”

WHAT WAS BEHIND THAT CALL? “We were bad. We were losing four or five spots on a stop. You can’t do that and win a race and those guys are pretty good. They did a good job.”

J.J. Yeley, No. 38 Vampt Ford Fusion – “The guys did a good job with our No. 38 Vampt Ford Fusion all day. We had a terrible qualifying run so we had the challenge of starting in the back. And we knew that was going to be tough with the single-file racing that we’ve seen so far here. But the guys kept making it better all day, gave us some good pit stops, and Jay Guy made a good call on two tires at the end. We were all really proud to have Scott Bates here with us. It was a really special day for him, seeing the paint scheme that he created, in person, and also being recognized on stage during pre-race ceremonies. We’re all very grateful to veterans like him for their service to our country.”

David Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford – “That was a tough race. Starting from the back of the pack, we knew we had to have a pretty good car to be able to move up at this place. But we had some issues with the suspension. The car was bouncing and we were just adjusting on the shocks and stuff all day. I’m really looking forward to going to Homestead, though. I love racing there and we’ll look to end our season on a high note.”

CARL EDWARDS PRESS CONFERENCE

CAN YOU GIVE US OPENING STATEMENT GOING INTO HOMESTEAD WITH TONY THREE POINTS BEHIND YOU, YOU ARE THE ONLY TWO IN CONTENTION AND THIS IS THE THIRD CLOSEST CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE GOING INTO HOMESTEAD IN NASCAR HISTORY. “That is cool. I couldn’t ask for anything more. It is going to be fun. It is neat to go to Homestead and race it out. I am sure these guys are going to be good down there. They are fast at the mile-and-a-half tracks. I love that place. I am proud of my guys today. They did a great job on pit road. Tony was really fast and we got our car tuned in and we were able to race with them and compete. It was a good hard fought day. I am really pumped for Homestead, I think it is going to be a good time.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW THE TRACK WAS TODAY? “I think what Tony said is absolutely correct. All those guys that came out here and spent that time helped a ton. I think Brian recognizing the issue we were potentially going to have and addressing it was huge. It was a lot better than I thought it would be. The groove moved out wider and wider. I started to remember the old Phoenix when I would drive down in one and slide up and catch some rubber. I believe after it sits awhile and we come back here for the Subway 500 in the spring, and even a year from now, I think it will be awesome. I am a convert. I was ready to put a tombstone up and say goodbye to the place, but I think it is going to be good.”

I NOTICED YOU FOLLOWED TONY FOR A BIT, WAS THAT PART OF YOUR STRATEGY AND WHAT IS YOUR STRATEGY FOR THE LAST RACE? “That is exactly what I was doing, just hanging out back there trying to keep his blood pressure up. No, I was having fun. I think our car was a tick faster right then. I was watching what Tony was doing and searching around and doing what I could. That was really fun. It was neat to be able to race like that. I think if it would have gone green from there, which I know the chances of that are virtually nil, that would have been a fun race. We would have battled it out. The way this has turned out for us to be running 1-2 and racing like this is really cool.”

GIVEN YOUR SUCCESS AT HOMESTEAD, IS THERE ANY PLACE YOU WOULD RATHER HAVE THE SEASON FINALE? “There are some dirt tracks I grew up on that would be fine with me. (laughter) If we tie, we should go to one of the dirt tracks down in Florida, that would be pretty fun. Homestead is going to be a lot of fun. I really enjoy racing there. The cool thing about Homestead is we are going to go there and you will be able to move around and pass and you won’t get hung up as badly in traffic as you would at other race tracks. For the sport in general, I don’t know that there is a better place to go than Homestead to fight for this championship.”

LAST YEAR JIMMIE JOHNSON WOULD STAY OUTSIDE WHEN DENNY WAS TALKING. YOU DID COME IN HERE AND ARE SITTING WITH TONY. HOW IS YOUR MINDSET AND NERVES RIGHT NOW? “They are really good. I am fortunate I guess. There is the potential for me to get really nervous there at Homestead, you never know what will happen. The thing for me is I have always been fortunate enough to just get in the race car and go race and there is no time for me that is more calm or I feel better than in that race car. I understand what all this stuff is. I understand we come up here and answer questions and that is part of our sport. When it comes down to it though, both of us know we have to just go race each other. It is truly neat, like you said it is my first time to come into this not just tied but with a little points advantage in this final race, it is fun. I am just enjoying it. It really, truly doesn’t matter what anyone says or what anyone’s predictions are. It gets done on the race track and that is when we will see.”

WHAT WILL YOU DO THIS WEEK? “I don’t know what I am going to do this week. I don’t have a very busy schedule so that is good. I can always find something to do. I will just go hang out and do what I normally do. I will spend a little time hopefully with the guys and talk a bit with Bob and keep doing what we have been doing all year and go down there and enjoy it.”

HOW COOL IS IT TO BE BATTLING EACH OTHER FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP AND ALSO BE SO CLOSE TO EACH OTHER AND RACING EACH OTHER SO TIGHTLY THE LAST FEW WEEKS? “This is kind of strange to say right now because we are battling and it is a zero sum game, one of us will win and one of us will lose, but it is neat to me that Tony and the guys on the 14 have been running so well and have won so many races and are performing at such a high level. It is going to mean more if we are able to beat them in this championship because of that. To be racing these guys at their peak, for us I can say completely truthfully this is the best Chase we have ever had. We haven’t gone out and got the trophies we have in other Chase’s put we have performed better than we ever had. If they beat us they are beating us at our best and that is pretty neat.”

YOU’VE BEEN A PART OF ALMOST ALL THE CHASE’S. HOW WOULD YOU RATE THIS BEING ON THE INSIDE LOOKING AT IT? “It’s the best points battle I have been a part of at this level. It is fun for me. I still don’t understand why we are both running so good. It seems like subconsciously we are both able to dig down and our teams are able to give us what we need and everyone is performing at a real high level. It has been neat that this battle has brought out the best in us.”

YOU GUYS HAVE RACED HARD WITH EACH OTHER. HOW MUCH HARDER DOES IT GET. WHERE IS THAT LINE AT? “Heck, I’m gonna trip him when we walk out of this room. No, I think we are going to go race as hard as we can and both of us I believe want to win this thing because we are the best out there next weekend and that is all we can do, go out there and race hard like we have for years. There would be nothing better than coming down the last lap, side by side, racing for the win. That would be really fun.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON’S RUN OF FIVE STRAIGHT TITLES CAME TO AN END TODAY. CAN YOU PUT THAT IN PERSPECTIVE? “I would say that if anyone is going to go out and do it again it would be those guys. They have as good a shot as anyone at starting again next year. It is very impressive. I agree with what Tony said.”

KASEY KAHNE HAS SCORED THE SECOND MOST POINTS IN THE CHASE. HAVE YOU NOTICED HIM TURNING IT UP? “He kind of snuck up on me as well. I didn’t realize that statistic. We got to work with those guys really closely when he was driving a Ford and he is a really impressive driver. Those guys are going to be tough for a long time if they can find a groove and he can stick with one team and have people rally around him. I think he is going to be really tough for a long time.”

AS PRECIOUS AS THE POINTS ARE. WAS IT AT ALL DEFLATING WHEN YOU REALIZED AT THE END THAT KASEY HAD THE RACE AND YOU DIDN’T? “Yeah, but I felt that the strategy we went with, we had to do it that way. To pit early with him and leave the opportunity be to be a lap down and mired back in the field if there were a restart I believe Bob did the right thing. If we would have had a caution there at the end, I felt like our car was a little faster than his and we would have had a good shot at the win still. I would have loved to won this race for sure. That is what we all do this for. We still did our jobs. I think we did a really good job today. I am not certain if we had the fastest car but we performed well with it and got a good result.”

- PCGCampbell for Ford Racing, Press Release

Ford Racing

Carl Edwards, No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion (Qualified 9th)

WERE YOU HOLDING BACK AT ALL WITH HOW CRAZY IT IS OUT THERE? “Yeah, it is definitely slower. It was pretty exciting out there. I saw David Gilliland, I was most impressed with him. He almost hit the fence, went all the way back and almost did it again. This is pretty neat. If it were like this tomorrow it would be a really fun race. I think it is going to cool off tomorrow and be a lock down high speed race track. Now it is up to the crew chiefs.”

Marcos Ambrose, No. 9 DeWalt Ford (Qualified 3rd) “It felt horrible, treacherous and nasty. I hope the sun comes out. I think we will start in the first half of the field. If you can beat the championship leader it is pretty cool. I tell you what though, I am really thankful for DeWalt, Stanley and Ford and everyone else that supports me. Our team is getting better and better each week. We have had a good couple of months and I am looking forward to 2012.”

AJ Allmendinger, No. 43 WIX Filters Ford (Qualified 2nd) “That was insane. The track is way different than what we had yesterday and the Wix Filters Ford was fast. Greg Irwin and everyone at RPM did a good job. Marcos put a good lap up and explained to us what the track was going to be like. I am not sure that will hold up, it wasn’t a great lap by any means but it will be a good starting spot at least.”

Travis Kvapil, No. 55 Aloft Hotels Ford (Qualified 37th) – “It is a whole different race track than yesterday. Even in practice yesterday at noon the track had a lot more grip. I guess it is just a little warmer and greasier obviously. That is the slowest lap we ran all weekend and I can’t believe it made the race because it was horrible and really slippery with the back end of the car. We squeaked it in so I am happy. We worked hard yesterday and had good speed.”

IF CONDITIONS MIRROR THIS TOMORROW, WHAT DO YOU EXPECT? “The thing is I think it seems like the tire is really hard and the groove is really narrow, it is only like one and a half lanes. It is hard enough to get around in this heat by yourself slipping and sliding, let alone to try and run two or three cars wide through a one-and-a-half groove track. There are going to be a lot of wrecks tomorrow, I really think so unfortunately. It might spice up that championship battle.”

JJ Yeley, No. 38 Vampt Ford (Qualified 44th) “It was a slippery lap. There was too much Ford horsepower. I think we may have missed the boat. Yesterday as the evening went on it seemed like scuffs were the way to go but now the sun is out and the track is very slick. I am not so sure that we may have needed to be on stickers. The beauty of this weekend is the No. 38 Ford Fusion is locked in on speed and there was no need to put ourselves in jeopardy. We will work hard on getting a good lap and put ourselves in position for a good finish Sunday.”

David Gilliland, No. 34 Aloft Hotels Ford (Qualified 46th) “Our car was really good last night we felt like and it felt like there was no grip today at all. Something with our car didn’t like the sun at all. Hopefully it is sunny and not raining tomorrow and we get a race. We have some work to do but I think the guys will figure it out.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER PRESS CONFERENCE

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR LAP OUT THERE TODAY? “You kinda watch everybody out there to see how quick the race track is going to be and it was a lot different than yesterday. After being on a race track that had so much grip. I messed my first lap up and just tried to basically back my second lap down to get a clean lap in and see where that put me. I definitely knew there was a chance of it getting beat. I was surprised it held up as long as it did with the guys that were behind me. It is really cool to have Ford with the first three cars and I am excited about tomorrow. I think our car will be really quick. We were good in race trim and more than anything we have to see how the track plays out now.”

WERE YOU SURPRISED WITH THE DEGREE THE TRACK CHANGED AND WAS IT A MATTER OF GUESSING RIGHT ON THE SET UP? “It was definitely a huge surprise. Obviously the sun is out and it is warmer but for as much grip as the track had yesterday you would think maybe it would be a little slower. At night last night I think the quick time was like a 25.50 by Carl so to be almost a second slower was a huge surprise. I was in the hauler watching the first 10 or 15 cars run and you see Jimmie go sailing off and almost get in the wall. Every car seemed to get looser and looser. At that point you have what you have. We tightened it up from yesterday. Marcos put up a good lap and fed back what the track was like so I went in there with an expectation and my first lap was worse than even I expected. It was definitely a lot different than yesterday.”

MARCOS AMBROSE PRESS CONFERENCE

TALK ABOUT YOUR LAP OUT THERE. “It was pretty sketchy. I was pleased to get through it really. It was a lot slicker than yesterday with a brand new surface and tire I don’t think anyone knew what to expect. I was pleased with my lap. We used our scuffs. I think the front two used sticker tires out there. All things considered I think we took a conservative approach to it and it paid off.”

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FOR TOMORROW? “It depends what the weather does. We have some rain forecast and it might clean that rubber off and we have to start again, who knows? We have to really watch the weather. It seems there is a lot of grip here when the sun is down. It felt great yesterday afternoon. The track was fast and we were and today with the sun out it was a disaster. It was really slick. I don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring. If it is cloudy then you can expect fast speeds and happy drivers. If the sun is out like this then it could be a handful.”

MATT KENSETH POLE PRESS CONFERENCE

TALK ABOUT YOUR LAP OUT THERE TODAY. “It was good. We watched everyone else and obviously there were a lot of people low on grip and it looked like the track and cars were a lot looser than yesterday. Everyone had a different strategy. Jimmy (Fennig) had a strategy to go fast in the first practice to go out late. Even though we knew the temperature would be hotter he thought the track could be faster with more cars having run on it. A lot of people chose the opposite strategy and worked on race setup in the first practice and did their qualifying stuff in the second practice to go out early. He had a plan and made the right adjustments. He thought it would be looser today. I didn’t get all there was to get out of the car. It was just that good. They made all the right choices there.”

WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE TOMORROW? HAVE YOU SEEN A GROOVE COME IN? “You know, it has been kind of a moving target, at least for me it has. The first practice yesterday I thought the track was different than the last practice when it was almost dark. Conditions were different today being in the middle of the day and warmer. It is a moving target I think. It depends if it rains tonight and a lot of things. There is still basically one good groove and it has widened out center of one and two and off. You can run side by side there. The middle of three and four is getting wide but I don’t think you can run side by side all the way around at a competitive race. Hopefully after the Nationwide race when cars are forced to run out there with two-wide restarts and lap and traffic and things like that, hopefully it will come in.”

BASED ON WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN SO FAR, DO YOU THINK THERE WILL BE GUYS THAT HIT IT AND GUYS THAT MISS BASED ON THE TRACK CHANGING SO MUCH? “I am not really sure to be honest with you. I didn’t expect qualifying to be as all over the place as it was today. That surprised me a little bit how different the speeds were and everything. You always have that risk at a new track that a couple guys will hit it. The biggest keys to this race are going to be I think you start with qualifying and then after that it is pit stops and restart strategy. The tires don’t fall off at all. They don’t really drop off in speed at all. It is going to be who can figure out how to keep their car up front. Who can be in the bottom on restarts and get good restarts and take advantage of the restarts when someone is in a bad position. I think that is going to be a big deal. I caught cars yesterday. You get two or three car lengths behind them and you just can’t do anything more. Hopefully that will change if the track widens out.”

HOW MUCH OF A FAVOR DO YOU THINK YOU MIGHT HAVE DONE FOR CARL BUMPING HIM FROM THE OUTSIDE LANE TO THE INSIDE ON THE START? “I have no idea where Carl qualified. That was my plan. I thought man if we can sit on the pole, that will really help him. (laughter) I have enough problems to worry about. I can’t really worry about his. The bottom is probably going to be an advantage to get started but it is still 300 miles and I think at some point in the race every car is going to be in the top groove for a little bit.”

AS IT TURNED OUT, YOUR QUALIFYING RUN PUT TONY (STEWART) ON THE OUTSIDE AND CARL ON THE INSIDE. “Yeah, I planned that. I am that good.” (laughter)

IS THIS ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT MAKES YOU THINK MAYBE YOU STILL HAVE A CHANCE TO SNEAK BACK INTO THIS THING? “I don’t know. It feels good to sit on the pole and qualify that good. We have won three poles and I think that is more than half of my career total I think. Jimmy and the guys have been giving me really fast cars and in a way that is encouraging but in a way, I hate to say is disappointing, but if you look at Martinsville and how I self-destructed there and Talladega with David breaking on the last restart. All that stuff happened and knowing our stuff is fast enough to be in the hunt but we aren’t in the hunt which I feel is my own fault. It is frustrating yet it is fun to have fast cars every week. Each week we have had a car capable of running top five and we haven’t done that ever since the Chase has been implemented, especially with this car. One lap is going to be different that 300 or whatever it is tomorrow. Hopefully we can keep it up tomorrow. They still have to have a problem. If they have a problem and we run in the top three then you can say we maybe have a chance. If neither of them have a problem and run like they have the last 10 weeks then we are out of it.”

I KNOW YOU HAVEN’T BEEN ON TWITTER MUCH THIS WEEK. KASEY KAHNE ASKED IF YOU ARE TAKING THE INSIDE OR OUTSIDE TOMORROW. “Kasey tweeted me before Martinsville and we were going to try to hook up as drafting partners at Martinsville. I am going to surprise all you guys tomorrow. I will let you know on the one to go lap. I can’t let my strategy go til then.”

- PCGCampbell for Ford Racing, Press Release

2011 NSCS AJ Allmendinger - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

November 12, 2011 (Charlotte, NC)–

The site has gone live after a rapid development cycle, and will host the first-ever AJ Allmendinger Facebook give-away this week thanks to Ford. Two lucky fans will win the full sweep of tickets for the NASCAR season-finale Ford Champions weekend.

Fans can enter to win by “Like”-ing Allmendinger’s Facebook page. The winner will receive tickets for themselves and one guest to every race of the Ford Championship weekend at Homestead Miami Speedway.

For the winners, the weekend starts off with two tickets to the Ford 200 on Friday night for the NASCAR Camping World Series finale, then again on Saturday for the Ford 300 and the NASCAR Nationwide Series finale, and then one final race of the year with two tickets to the Ford 400 on Sunday. The two winners and their guests will also get the chance to take in some pre-race hospitality courtesy of Ford.

But before they hit the track, the winners will also get the chance to gear up thanks to Best Buy, who will provide $100 gift cards to each set of winners.

“It’s cool to finally have an official Facebook site,” said Allmendinger, who will target another front row start at Phoenix this weekend. “Having a sponsor like Best Buy helps me keep on the sharp end of technology and it’s always fun to get the chance to interact with fans, even if they are not right there at the track. I’ll admit to being a little hooked on Twitter already, so hopefully this is just as much fun–for me, and for the fans!”

Please see http://www.ajallmendinger.com/contest-rules.php for contest rules. Does not include travel or hotel considerations.

About Walldinger Racing, Inc.: Walldinger Racing was formed in 2006 to support AJ Allmendinger’s motorsports career by developing commercial opportunities and partnership programs.  

- Walldinger Racing, Inc., Press Release

AJ Allmendinger - Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

November 8, 2011 (Charlotte, NC)–

But between his testing duties at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this week and his return to Phoenix International Raceway this weekend for the 500-mile race, Allmendinger took some time out to say thank you as the nation prepared to celebrate Veterans Day this Friday.

Allmendinger, who has carried the colors for both the Air Force and the Paralyzed Veterans of America on his Richard Petty No. 43 this year, counts himself lucky to get to know some of the amazing individuals who have served the United States in the past, and countless others that still do today.

“I don’t really have a history of military in my family, so getting to meet so many good people in the armed forces has been really cool for me,” said Allmendinger. “What they all do every day, as a team, for our country is so important. The more I learn about what they do, and the more people I met, the more impressed I am. It’s humbling to have so many people with such talent out there representing and protecting me. It’s important for us to think of all the sacrifices that our veterans and their families have made through the years. Not just on Veterans Day, but every day.”

AJ Allmendinger started both rounds of competition at Phoenix from the front row in 2010, and will look to make the most of the recent test on the repaved surface as NASCAR heads west for the penultimate round of the 2011 season. The Best Buy Racing driver will sport the WIX Filters paint scheme this weekend as he looks to build on his run to 10th place at Texas last weekend.

About Walldinger Racing, Inc.: Walldinger Racing was formed in 2006 to support AJ Allmendinger’s motorsports career by developing commercial opportunities and partnership programs.

- Walldinger Racing, Inc, Press Release

Ford Racing

CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion – WHAT DID YOU SAY TO TONY WHEN HE DROVE BY.

WHERE DID YOU COME UP SHORT TODAY? “I think Tony said it there. On that last restart, I think if I could have stayed in front of him, I’d have been able to get him. The restart before that he spun his tires and I felt really good about that one, and he timed it just right on that last restart and hung on my door. I give those guys credit, they’ve done a good job, but now we get to kind of pull out all the stops here. Our Aflac team, we’ve been hanging on. We’re leading these points. We get to pull out all the stops for these last two races and there couldn’t be a better place to finish it than Homestead. I think folks ought to stay tuned. It’s gonna get pretty exciting and I’m just glad Tony and I are out there and we can race for this thing.”

GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 3M Ford Fusion – “We had a pretty good car. I got the car off a little bit on Saturday, I have to admit. I probably didn’t have the right front swaybar in it, a few other things. The car was just real twitchy and hard to drive. I couldn’t drive it at all when the sun was out. When it cooled down and got dark, my car really took off. The last pit stop of the day when you’re trying to make up, that extra little inch made me slid through the box and that probably cost me a third-place finish or a couple of spots anyway. We fought hard and came back and that’s what a championship team is made of – not giving up and fighting back.”

MATT KENSETH – No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion – “It’s hard to be disappointed when you run in the top five. I was a little disappointed in our performance. We just dropped the green and we weren’t really that great. We led some in the beginning having the track position and clean air. We kept fighting it, but we just could never get enough rear grip in it off the corner all day and really kind of struggled. So I’m happy to get a top five. I wish we could have performed a little bit better, but that’s all we had. We had great pit stops. Jimmy made great adjustments. I thought we did everything we could possibly do, but we just weren’t fast enough.”

ROUSH FENWAY WAS STRONG TODAY. “This has always been a pretty good track for the organization. You always want to win. It’s fun to be disappointed to be fourth, but all of our stuff seemed to run okay.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER – No. 43 Best Buy Ford Fusion – “That was probably the most comfortable I’ve ever felt on a mile-and-a-half, especially one like this. It was fun. From the start we were just passing cars and making good adjustments. The track was tough because the sun would keep popping out and the track would change a lot, but, overall, I felt like it was definitely the best I’ve ever felt in a car around one of these places. We just got a bad break there on the two tires. We didn’t need that extra caution. I got back into sixth on the restart and we were good, and then the yellow came out and we went backwards after that. It was a good fight to get back to 10th, but, overall and more importantly, that’s something to build on.”

TREVOR BAYNE – No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion – “We had to battle there all day long. We missed it to start the race because the track freed up a lot, but we didn’t really expect it to be that much freer. We knew it would free up a little bit, but we just didn’t adjust enough. And then every time we would make a change the track would change more and we never got ahead of it until the very end. Once it started cooling back off our car was really fast. We had one bad run after the 20 car blew up. I don’t know if we got his oil on our tires or just garbage or something was wrong, but that run we were 14th and I thought we were gonna be able to drive to the top 10 because our car was strong, but it was just slipping and sliding and it drove like a different animal and I fell back to twenty-something. At the end we had a good car again and I was able to rally back to 17th.”

CARL EDWARDS PRESS CONFERENCE –

“I’m proud of our cars for turning what looked like was gonna be a bad night overall, or a disaster really in the points, to something that is real manageable and something we can move forward with. Obviously, we definitely wanted to beat Tony tonight and pad that lead a little bit, but at the end of the day we can walk out of here with our heads up. We’re still the points leaders and the third and fourth guys, I’m not sure how far back they are, but we had to open up a little bit of space on them, which is good. Man, we’re gonna hold Tony to it. They’re gonna have to run that well to beat us these next two races and I think, really, it’s gonna be a great battle. I’m really excited about it.”

WHAT CHANGES DID YOU MAKE THROUGHOUT THE DAY? “We struggled a little bit with the balance. The car was kind of all over the place and I was really proud of the guys for getting it tuned back in at the end. I think if we would have had one more stop, we could have made another adjustment and made it a little better, but I’m sure everybody could say the same thing. We never got it quite right and, like I said in here on Friday, we gave the best performance we could and we lost a little bit of ground, but it could have been a lot worse, so I’m really proud of my guys and, if I had it to do all over again, I wouldn’t do anything differently. That was a good, solid race for us.”

WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE AT PHOENIX? “I think that Phoenix is still a huge unknown. Tony was out there for that tire test with us and I got to see how good those guys were. I feel like we’re gonna be pretty good, and, really, I think the surprising thing for all of us today was how well Tony ran here. I didn’t expect him to run quite that well, so those guys did a really good job and it makes me think that Homestead could be a lot closer than I expected before this race. We’ll go to Homestead with the same package, the same ideas and, hopefully, have similar performance and it looks like Tony might be in the same boat. Their mile-and-a-half program is good, so we really think that next week at Phoenix has a larger opportunity by a landslide to change the outcome of this Chase. That one will be a very important race. If Tony and I go run one-two at Homestead, there’s not gonna be much of a points change if we run like we did tonight, but Phoenix has the potential to be huge.”

WILL YOU ENGAGE TONY VERBALLY? “I don’t plan on it. I go out and compete as hard as I can and it is fun to joke around a little bit, but, at the end of the day, any extra energy I spend thinking about other stuff or worrying about other things is not spent in the right place. I’m focusing on what I’m doing and it would be really fun to be standing up there the last one on stage at the banquet, and I might have a couple of jokes then. That would be a good time for them, but I learned early in life that you’ve got to be careful about throwing the jabs out there because somebody might get you.”

WHY WERE YOU SURPRISED WITH TONY’S EFFORT TODAY AND THEY HAVE GAINED POINTS ON YOU THREE STRAIGHT WEEKS. HOW DO YOU ADDRESS THAT WITH YOUR TEAM? “I think we’re very fortunate to have led the points for as long as we have this season. I think the guys, I know myself, have a certain comfort level with it. We’ve watched guys make runs at us and fall away, and make runs and fall away. At the end of the day, it truly doesn’t matter what the 14 team does or what Tony does or what anyone else does, all we can do is just go do the best that we can do. It might feel comfortable to them to be in the position they’re in, to be gaining points, but, truly, the past is history. We’ve got to go out and run these next two races and, yeah, I don’t underestimate them for a second. I know how good they are, but we’re gonna be good as well.”

WHAT SURPRISED YOU ABOUT THEM TODAY? “I was just surprised they were able to put together two weeks like that that were so good. That was really good work on their part and there’s nothing saying that will play into another solid two weeks after that, but it very well could, so we’re just gonna go home and work hard and put all our notes together from our test at Phoenix and do the best we can. But I figured from the way practice went and everything, I thought we would have a little bit more of an advantage, or I thought we’d have a little advantage tonight. They did all their jobs very well.”

HOW DO YOU THINK THE EXPERIENCE CHASING NNS TITLES THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS HAS AFFECTED WHAT YOU’RE GOING THROUGH NOW? “I forget about those things, but I guess you keep the lessons with you. I think, at least to this point, the story of our season and the story of this Chase for us has been just never quitting, never giving up. No matter how well someone runs, we’re always gonna be right there racing them every lap, racing them hard and I think having those championship battles in the Nationwide Series and a couple in the Cup Series lately, I think they’ve made us tougher in general and a little wiser. I guess the best way to sum it up is I feel more comfortable right now in this points battle than in any other points battle I can remember. I feel like we really only have to worry about one other guy. We still have the advantage in the points. I’ve raced Tony long enough. I feel comfortable with him. He’s not gonna surprise me with anything, and I’m grateful for all that experience. I hope I can turn that into a championship.”

DID FRIDAY NIGHT’S INCIDENT CALM THINGS DOWN TODAY WITH THE DRIVERS? “This track lends itself to clean racing. It’s so fast and it’s easy to drive a little bit sideways – you don’t lose control as quickly. It’s a fun race track. There might have been a little more restraint on the part of all the drivers just because of what happened. I can say for myself I didn’t really think about that much during the night tonight. I think Phoenix will be the test. Everybody is gonna be fighting for a place in line on the bottom and you’ll see a test of how big a message NASCAR got across there at Phoenix.”

WERE YOU AWARE AT BURTON’S FUEL SITUATION? “Yeah, I never cheered so hard for Jeff Burton in my life (laughter). If I could have loaned him some fuel I would have, but that’s what they had to do. I thought that was a good move. They had to do that. I’m sure Bob thought about doing that, but as early as he ran out I’m glad we didn’t. I think we did the right thing to stay out there. I’m really proud of Bob. I think, on a side note, he’s been a really good leader throughout this whole thing. He’s not letting me lose my head. He’s not flailed and tried for something crazy, and he’s a huge part, if not the most important part, of why we’re leading the points right now.”

DO YOU STILL THINK TONY WAS STILL ALL WORKED UP FROM WINNING THE RACE? “I think he was. I think he’s calmed down a little bit this week, but it didn’t slow him down any. I’ll have to maybe bring him some lunch over before Phoenix. Maybe that will help. I hope this roll doesn’t last much longer, otherwise this is gonna be really tough.”

WHAT DIDN’T GO RIGHT TODAY. THIS SOUNDS LIKE A PATTERN. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? “We haven’t had a dominant car since Dover. That’s been the last time we really had a dominant car. For us to finish the way we’ve been finishing without those dominant cars, I think, says a lot about our team. I’m still waiting. Once we get that dominant car again, I hope we can use it and make the most of it. Tonight, really, as frustrating as it is to see Tony go out there and win that race and close in on us, the biggest thing that I’m gonna go back and talk to my guys about and think about when I leave here is, ‘Hey, take a breath. We’re leading the points. We’re fighting hard, and two races is a long time. We can’t look in that mirror. We have to keep moving forward’ and hopefully all of these experiences of making the most out of something, hopefully we won’t have to do that the last two races. Hopefully, we’re just a little bit faster.”

IT LOOKS LIKE JIMMIE IS OUT OF IT. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO KNOW THERE WILL BE A DIFFERENT CHAMPION? “I still refuse to count anyone out. I think from what you saw go on this weekend with everything, including the Truck race and NASCAR making rulings, literally anything can happen in this sport, so until somebody is mathematically out of it, I can’t let myself count them out.”

WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE TIRES TODAY? “It kind of surprised me as loose as were at the beginning that Bob said we had a little problem with the right-front, so for a few runs there I was kind of babying the tires and just being real careful. I knew how much we had to lose if we had a tire failure, but I’m assuming it was something we did with the setup because I don’t think a lot of people had trouble with tires. Did anyone pop a tire or blow a tire? I imagine we were a little aggressive on something and we might have missed something there, but that’s not a good feeling after the first stop, ‘Hey, you’ve got to be easy on the right-front tire,’ because I felt like I already was being easy on the right-front tire.”

- PCGCampbell for Ford Racing, Press Release

Ford Racing

David Gilliland, No. 34 World Hunger Relief Ford (Qualified 42nd)

TONY STEWART SAID THAT YOU GUYS AREN’T GOING TO BE ABLE TO HOOK UP LIKE YOU HAVE IN THE PAST. “Yeah, we aren’t. It is such a tight points battle right now and we are going to try to help the Ford guys out all we can. We are going to go that route. Our teammate Travis made the race and in the past he has had to do stuff to ensure he made the race and had to go behind the wall sometimes and change the oil and stuff like that. This time he is not doing anything like that so we can make a plan to work together and stick together. We are One Ford. That is the goal for this weekend. I feel good about it. Tony was great to work with those last couple of races and you never know what will happen. If you get down to the end and he is out of a partner and something happens to Travis, we are 100-percent comfortable working together, with each other. You never know what can happen on into the race. As far as our initial plan, it is to work with Ford.”

SO WILL YOU HELP IF CARL OR SOMEONE LIKE THAT NEEDS IT. WILL YOU HELP THE CHASE GUYS? “Yeah. I worked with Carl at Daytona and we worked really well together. He was really comfortable with us working together. We have kinda built a rapport with those guys. So much can change throughout this race as you guys know. When it gets down to the end, we are going to leave our options open.”

SO YOU CAN HELP SOMEBODY IN THE COURSE OF A RACE. YOU AREN’T BANNED FROM WORKING WITH ANYONE? “No, we aren’t banned. When you lay out your initial plans you have to think of the big picture and Ford does a lot for us and we would really like to see a Ford win this championship.”

DID THAT DIRECTIVE COME FROM FORD RACING? “You know, obviously they would like to see that. We are here to help them just like they help us if we can.”

Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Jeremiah Weed Ford (Qualified 11th)
“It drove good. I hope it drives good going that slow. Qualifying is pretty uneventful here for the driver. It seemed like our speed was reasonable and that should probably get us 15th or so hopefully.”

David Ragan, No. 6 UPS My Choice Ford (Qualified 8th)
“Our UPS Ford has some speed. Drew and the guys, this is all about them on qualifying days at Daytona and Talladega. Our job is to try not to go out and make a mistake. Our car was fast and drives real nice. The engine shop has been doing a good job, it has good power. I think we have a fast car and it will be in the top-10 for sure and have a good starting spot for Sunday.”

FOR THIS RACE THERE IS A RESTRICTOR PLATE CHANGE AND THE VENT FOR COOLING. HOW HAS THAT AFFECTED YOUR RUN HERE? “Zero. No affect. We will be able to push all day long and run like we have all year at these restrictor plate tracks.”

YOU HAVE BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL AT THE RESTRICTOR PLATE RACES THIS YEAR. WHY SHOULDN’T I BET THE FARM ON YOU FOR SUNDAY? “Because there are 42 other cars and the B factors come into effect. Anything can happen but we will have as good a shot to win as anyone this weekend. I guarantee we will lead some laps and we are going to be fast. We are going to have some fun but crazy things do happen. Mechanical problems do bite you sometimes but we will be fine. We’ve got good race cars, good teammates, good engines and it is a lot of fun here being at Talladega.”

AJ Allmendinger, No. 43 Best Buy Ford (Qualified 24th)
“That was pretty much all skill by me right there. Actually no, we didn’t qualify very fast so that was all the car then. It was pretty stable. We got on the back straightaway there and there are a couple people partying pretty hard so that was pretty good. I was pretty impressed. I think they were left over from last night. I heard them last night as well. Other than that it was Talladega qualifying. The Best Buy Ford should start mid pack to start with and end up front. That’s the plan.”

WHAT’S THE MOST INTERESTING PART OF THIS TO YOU? “Yesterday it seemed like all the stuff they did to make us not be able to push as long still didn’t help. NASCAR will figure out how to do something but the teams are so smart now that they figure out a way to still make it better. I think it is honestly how long you can run in a tandem group and whether we will do that all race or all pack up for awhile and then get with our partners and try to race at the end. We will see.”

WOULD THERE EVER BE A SCENARIO WHERE A MANUFACTURER WOULD SAY YOU AREN’T ALLOWED TO PUSH ANOTHER MANUFACTURER? “I haven’t been told that yet. Maybe I will be told that after this now. Maybe they forgot to get to me. I could easily see that though. The biggest thing is that first off, I want to win the race for myself, Best Buy and Richard Petty Motorsports. Secondly we want to get one of these Fords to win the championship and Matt and Carl are right there for it. Anything we can do to help them is what is always going to be our focus.”

Marcos Ambrose, No. 9 Stanley Ford (Qualified 19th)
“Me and Todd Parrott have been through a lot together. I have a lot to thank him for. He has been a great crew chief for me and we get on well. We’ve had a really good month with three top-10s in row and that run will put us somewhere around 15th here. We are close to AJ, our teammate, so we should be able to find each other pretty quick on Sunday and get to the front.”

YOU HAVE ‘NO BRAKES’ WRITTEN ON YOUR HAND, WHAT’S THAT ABOUT? “That is just a cue for me when I jump in the car I always tend to test the brake pedal and here that will push the pads back. I didn’t want to be that guy that pumped the pedal and forget about it. It is just my mental cue before I put my gloves on to make sure I don’t touch the brake. This stuff here is unique. The car has all this stuff in it to make it run fast and produce drag.”

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST THOUGHT ABOUT THE WEEKEND’S RACE? WHAT IS STILL ON YOUR MIND? “I just want to get to the finish. It is one of these deals here where I have had trouble finishing lately being caught up in weird accidents. Our goal here is to be in contention coming to the checkered flag and hopefully put ourselves in good position.”

DO YOU SEE A SCENARIO WHERE YOU WOULD PUSH A CHEVY? “If it is Kevin Harvick then there is no chance. We are trying to help as best we can our Ford drivers win the championship. Carl and Matt Kenseth have had a great year so far and I don’t want to get in the way of the championship and don’t want to change the outcome, I don’t want to be in the way. I think pushing a Chase contender in a Chevrolet would probably not be the best thing for your career if you have blue blood, and that I certainly have.”

SO YOU PAIR UP BASED ON WHERE THEY ARE IN THE CHASE AND WHAT MANUFACTURER IS ON THE CAR? “In the end you want to have a dance partner already set. If you can’t find your teammate or person you want to work with then it will be a scramble and you have to do what you have to do to get your car as high as you can. I don’t think that if there are 43 cars out there that I will be looking for anyone but a Ford driver to get me to the line.”

Carl Edwards, No. 99 Subway Ford (Qualified 9th)
“You know, it is Anytober and we are promoting Subway. They will sell any regular foot long sub for five dollars. Here comes the other six inches of my foot long sub, the 16 of Greg Biffle. He is 17th? Okay, we will be probably eighth or ninth and Greg will start back there and that will make it easy for us to meet up and work together. I was just talking to Mark (Martin) and the driver can’t do much on these laps. You have to just not make a mistake and get through the gears correctly. Our car was pretty good and the great thing is that working with Greg I felt like we could pass anybody yesterday. This is going to be a fun race.”

Greg Biffle, No. 16 3M/O’Reilly’s Auto Parts Ford (Qualified 18th)
“It was a pretty uneventful lap, always is qualifying here at Talladega. We got a pretty good gust of wind down the backstretch and I could feel it slow the car down. The wind is starting to pick up a little bit and I think it hurt us a little bit. Carl and I, we have a marriage made in heaven and we are going to work together in the race. The 21 car was really fast in practice, so we will see if he can knock Mark off the pole. We will have to wait and see. We didn’t qualify quite where we wanted. I think we lost a tenth with that gust of wind and Carl’s car and my car really match up on speed pretty well.”

Trevor Bayne, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford (Qualified 4th)
“I think that shows how much work the 21 guys put into these cars and they do a great job at the superspeedways and the work shows up here. It is all about speed and our car has it. I think it is a solid run for our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford. Hopefully we can keep it up there all day. Qualifying doesn’t really matter once the green flag drops with all the drafting that is going on. You will move around from the back to the front and back again. We will hang out and see who we hook up with.”

Andy Lally, No. 71 TRG Motorsports Ford (Qualified 33rd)
“It means a whole lot to the manufacturers and we have a good strong motor here. This Ford is pulling real well. We are a small team and this is a real good effort by these guys. There is no wind tunnel time on this car. We are relying on the Roush Yates Ford power under that hood and some little tricks these guys learn along the way. They have been learning a lot and we have been working behind the scenes as hard as we can. I am proud of them. They have done a good job.” DO

YOU HAVE A PARTNER STRATEGY FOR TOMORROW? “I got to work with Terry Labonte at Daytona and had a blast. To get to work with a veteran like that, you just want to keep coming back and doing it some more. If he will have me I will certainly be willing to push him all day tomorrow. We have a couple other guys we are talking to in case things get shuffled around but Terry is good people and a champion and it would be very cool to get to do that with him again.”

Travis Kvapil, No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford (Qualified 17th)
“It was a good run. It is hard to really do anything as a driver here. It is all on the team and Front Row Motorsports did a good job. This is a different car than we have had for speedway races. We wrecked our Daytona car earlier in the year and we brought this one here. I have to give a big thank you to Ford and Doug Yates for the great horsepower. The guys at the shop pay attention to all the details and so far, so good. Surely it won’t hold up for a pole but we are solidly in the show and that was objective number one for us.”

DO YOU HAVE A PARTNER FOR TOMORROW? “I think so. It all can go out the window but myself and David Gilliland are planning to work together and be there for each other all day long. We are looking for a good solid day tomorrow because that can go a long way for our fight to get back into the top-35. We want to keep chipping away at it. That is the plan.”

JJ Yeley, No. 55 Front Row Motorsports Ford (Qualified 28th)
“It was good. The most important thing is that we are locked in now. The biggest disappointment was that we were in full qualifying trim and had really good speed yesterday. We thought we would pick up a couple tenths today. The first lap wasn’t bad but we didn’t pick up those extra tenths on the second lap. I’m not exactly sure why but again at the end of the day the goal has been achieved and we are in the race.”

WHAT IS YOUR STRATEGY FOR TOMORROW? “I think you almost have to shoot from the hip. You can sit there and plan but as soon as the green flag drops there are 40 other guys out there to disturb your plan. It is tough because there are 43 cars starting this race so there will be one guy left out, as long as you aren’t that guy you will be okay.”

- PCGCampbell for Ford Racing, Press Release

Ford Racing

A year ago at this time, nobody knew what the future held for Richard Petty Motorsports as the team searched for investors to try and keep the operation running.  Since then, Richard Petty, Andrew Murstein and Doug Bergeron have come together and brought stability to an organization that has one victory and both of its drivers in the top 20 of this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings.

            Robbie Loomis, chief operating officer, and drivers AJ Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose, spoke to Ford Racing about the state of RPM and the goals it has for the future. 

ROBBIE LOOMIS, Chief Operating Officer, Richard Petty Motorsports — COMPARING WHERE THE ORGANIZATION IS AT NOW TO A YEAR AGO, THINGS ARE A LOT BETTER AREN’T THEY?  “Yeah, I think the foundation the owners have put under us with Richard Petty, Doug Bergeron and Andy Murstein has put us on a lot more solid footing as we have tried to put the pieces into place for the team and build it up. We still have deficiencies at certain race tracks that we need to work on, namely at the mile-and-a-half tracks. We think we made some gains in practice atKansas. When you look back at a year ago from where we came from to where we are at today it feels good, but we still have miles to go before we rest.”

HOW MUCH DID THE TURMOIL OF LAST YEAR AFFECT YOUR DRIVERS?  “I think that anytime you have uncertainty going on it is hard as an athlete or a professional to block it completely out of your mind, especially when you are having a rough day or something is going on. That is what AJ was able to do though. He was able to still manage through a difficult time and not let it eat at him. I think he relies a lot throughout his career on his talent. That is a big part of what has gotten him to where he is at today. For Marcos to be a winner in everything he has drove and believe in us and still come to the organization through all that meant a lot and I think to Ford as a whole.”

WHAT WAS THE TURNING POINT FOR THE ORGANIZATION?  “I think the turning point was atCharlotte last October when we found out that we might have trouble finishing the season and Richard Petty stepped up himself and said he was going to make a commitment to finish the year and worked with his partners at the time to get to the end of the year. That worked out and from that point it gave Andy and Doug something to be able to come in to. I think that was the real turning point, and I remember atCharlotte when we talked about the possibility of maybe not finishing the year out. Richard said then that, ‘This has been my life, my whole life and this is what we are going to do. We are going to finish it and start working on next year.’ Then he said, ‘We have to finish this year so we have something going into next year.’”

THAT MUST HAVE BEEN A HUGE SHOT IN THE ARM FOR EVERYONE TO HAVE HIM MAKE THAT STATEMENT.  “It really pumped the guys up. I know from AJ Allmendinger especially, he stepped up. If you look at his performance those last five or six races or whatever it was when we found out we were in some trouble. He really stepped up and was a team leader to the guys and drove the car ten-tenths, which he always drives the car ten-tenths, but he was the leader during the week also for them which helped and he has carried that into this year and now he sits 14^th in points. To have Marcos still believe in us and come into the deal was big too. We felt like for sure we could win one of the road course races, if not both of them. We missed atSearsPoint pretty bad, but we were able to capitalize at The Glen.”

WHAT HAS MARCOS BROUGHT TO THE ORGANIZATION OTHER THAN HIS ROAD RACING PROWESS?  “I think his strength obviously is with the road racing, but we went to Vegas and qualified on the front row with him and ran fourth in that race. He has brought a fresh perspective and describes what he wants in the car really good. We all have the same things in our trucks that we need to get in the cars; it is about making sure we have the right stuff in the car when we put the car on the grid. That is the thing we are working on the hardest.”

AJ HAS HAD A CAREER YEAR WHEN YOU LOOK AT HIS POINTS, WHAT DOES HE NEED TO DO TO MAKE THAT NEXT STEP AND GET A WIN?  “AJ is very dedicated and passionate about racing. He is getting where he handles and manages the bad days and bad moments of the race better. That is what has helped him be 14^th in points. I think for him to excel and be in the Chase we just have to keep managing and minimizing those days when we are off and how big those mistakes are so we can take a 25^th or 27^th place finish and turn them into 15^th place finishes. That is what will propel us forward. It is time for us as a team with the 43 to step up and win. We need to win.”

ARE THERE ADVANTAGES OR DISADVANTAGES TO RUNNING A TWO-CAR SHOP?  “Due to Ford and the way Ford structures their engineering program and as strong as Ford has been in supporting us through it, there are some definite advantages to being two cars. The model is you want to be four because from a financial standpoint it gives you more resources. With Ford’s support it helps us be as strong of a two-car team as probably anybody out there.”

WHAT IS THE FOCUS FOR RPM IN THE FINAL STRETCH OF THIS SEASON?  “We have big tasks ahead of us. We have struggled a lot at flatter, mile-and-a-half, lower grip race tracks. We tend to run great atAtlanta and some other places but the flatter they get and lower the grip level the more we struggle to get the right parts and pieces and feel for the driver so that he can have confidence and capitalize on it from there. We will continue to work on that for sure. I think looking ahead that we are looking forward toMartinsville, which has been a great track for AJ. Marcos was a top-five car atTexas. Last year atHomestead we finished fourth and fifth down there, so we have a lot of great race tracks coming up. We just need to finish up strong because it is that momentum you end the season with a lot of times that carries you into the next year.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER – No. 43 Best Buy Ford Fusion – WHAT’S YOUR RECOLLECTION OF HOW YOU GUYS WERE ABLE TO MAKE IT THROUGH LAST YEAR WITH ALL THE TURMOIL SURROUNDING THE ORGANIZATION?  “I don’t want to remember it (laughing).  It was a tough time and it was right about this time when everybody started feeling the pressure and hearing things about what was going on.  Ultimately, some of it was selfish.  I thought we had a good thing going and I didn’t want my guys to leave.  All of these guys in here have a lot more at stake in a certain way.  They have families and they work so hard.  They’re gone from their families a lot and the way this sport is right now it’s a tough time and I didn’t want them without jobs more than anything, so I was trying to just focus on keeping them updated with what was going on and trying to keep them here if that was what was gonna happen and, if not, trying to let them know as soon as possible if not because they had the right to know and those guys are usually the last to know, so, at that point, it was just about trying to get us all together and when the time was right let them know the information I knew.  Most of the credit goes to them because they could have easily just packed it in and said, ‘screw it,’ but they showed up to the race track and they jumped through hoops to get the race cars ready when they weren’t allowed in our own shop and out in parking lots of race tracks, so most of the credit went to them.  They showed up.  They’re racers.  They knew all they could do was show up and try to run as good as possible and we did a good job.  We were really fast every weekend and, at that point, luckily it worked out.”

DO YOU FEEL YOUR TEAM IS A TIGHTER-KNIT GROUP THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU WENT THROUGH AT THE END OF THE YEAR?  “I think so.  We had a couple of minor changes on the race team from last year, but I felt that all of the core guys were really tight.  We were really tight anyway.  I try to do my best to let them know how much I appreciate them.  Maybe I don’t do it enough, but I try to do everything I can to show them that.  I feel like if they consider me a friend or somebody that’s close, maybe they’ll work just that little bit harder.  There’s no secret that my life is in their hands whenever they want it to be, but I feel like we all get along pretty well.  I think the team going down to two cars really helped the whole organization because I feel like everybody is a lot closer, so, overall, it was tough to go through but I think it did make us stronger.”

MARCOS AMBROSE – No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion – HOW FAR HAS THIS ORGANIZATION COME IN A YEAR?  “It’s been a fairytale year forRPM and all of us associated with the company.  We didn’t know what the future held.  It was completely out of most of our hands.  We had to rely on good faith and judgment by people smarter than me and AJ and I’m just pleased it has all worked out so well.  We’ve got a lot of momentum and a lot of good things to talk about.  We’re competitive.  I would say we’re the best two-car team right now and it means a lot to all of us.  It’s a privilege to drive for the King and to have the King’s support and have him treat me like he did.  He could have walked away.  It’s not as if it’s his first season of racing and he’s got the blinkers on.  He knows this sport and it can cost a lot of money when things go wrong, but he put his money where his mouth was and shored the team up.  He found the investors to make it happen and we’ve come out the other side a lot stronger.”

DID YOUR WIN AT WATKINS GLEN VALIDATE YOUR DECISION TO MAKE THE MOVE TO RPM?  “Yeah, definitely.  You’ve got to take chances in life and I knew it was a gamble. I didn’t know how much trouble was going to happen when I signed the contract withRPM, but we had Stanley and DeWalt who were committed and they were happy for me to be their driver and we made it work.  I’m really happy with it.”

IS THIS RACE TEAM STRONGER AS A RESULT OF WHAT HAPPENED?  “No doubt.  We’ve been through a lot together and racing is a tough sport because no one remembers what it took to get to where you are, they’re worried about the next race.  None of us can rest easy saying, ‘Now we’ve made it.  Here we are.’  We’ve got a lot more to strive to do and we’ve got more goals we need to reach.  We’ve got a lot of coherency.  We’re a great team.  We get on well and communicate well and we perform well.”

- PCGCampbell for Ford Racing, Press Release

Ford Racing

MARCOS AMBROSE – No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion –

HOW WAS YOUR NIGHT? “This tire wasn’t that hard in the spring, but it got really hard tonight. The bottom seemed to be the place to go and you just couldn’t get guys out of the way. It was a tough night. We were around the 29 a lot and around the 11 a lot, around Carl a lot and around the 18 and 17 as well, so we were up with the Chase guys. Next year, we want to be one of those guys that gets looked after.”

CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion – “It was a solid night for us and congrats to Matt. This is a big night for Ford. We have five times the points lead we had coming in. We went from one point to five points, so that’s something. We didn’t know what to expect coming in here, but our Aflac Fusion was fast. My pit crew did a good job. Bob made the right calls on the box and it ended up being a good night. I’m just glad we didn’t tear anything up. We dodged a bullet here. This has been a tough track for us. I’m excited, well, I’m stretching the truth there, I’m not too excited to go to Talladega because you never know what’s gonna happen there, but it will be fun one way or another.”

WHAT DOES A FIVE-POINT LEAD MEAN? “That’s five more spots. If we can slowly build a little bit of a lead, that’s the best thing we can do. It’s so competitive right now. Everybody is so fast that you just take everything you can get. I’m happy with this run. I’ll go to bed tonight and sleep well and I’m just glad we didn’t make any big mistakes. This is a really treacherous place.”

TREVOR BAYNE – No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion – “That’s a bad feeling to run out of gas, especially when you’re not expecting it. We weren’t even pushing it. It wasn’t time for that yet and I think that 21 was just fast. It must have been sucking up more fuel than we thought being that fast, but I think something just had to be funky in the fuel cell or something messed up on the can because it just wasn’t taking all the fuel we needed it to. We had an easy top five car tonight. I feel like this would have been another shot to win a race. That thing was just so fast. It was that way all weekend. On the long runs it was that good and the whole race we didn’t adjust one thing and we were really competitive. There aren’t many nights when you get to do that and be that fast. We didn’t get the finish we deserved, but it’s definitely a confidence-builder for the whole team to run that good all night. We want results, but they’ll come if we keep running that good.”

YOUR BEST RACE SINCE DAYTONA? “This is probably our most competitive night we’ve had. I’d definitely say that for sure. At Vegas early in the year we were this competitive. I was running eighth and I sped coming to pit road, so mistakes have taken us out of it. But the Fords are just so fast on these high-banked mile-and-a-halfs. At one point I looked up and I think all but one car in the top seven were Fords and that was just really cool to see them that dominant at a track. It’s cool that they got the win, but I wish it was the 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Fusion in victory lane instead.”

GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 3M Ford Fusion – WHAT HAPPENED IN THE WRECK WITH TONY? “I’d have to watch the replay, but it sure seemed to me that he ran me into the fence.”

IT LOOKED LIKE AFTER YOU HIT THE FENCE THE FIRST TIME YOU CAME DOWN ON HIM TO MAYBE RETALIATE, BUT WE COULDN’T TELL IF THAT WAS MOMENTUM OR ON PURPOSE AND HE WASN’T SURE EITHER. “I hit the fence and I came down and hit him in the left rear and then we were hooked together, but I wouldn’t have hit the fence if I had enough room. He ran me out of room. I had a run coming and there was nowhere for me to go. I either hook him in the right-rear and wreck him or I hit the fence, so I hit the fence. I could have just turned him into the fence the wrong way, which, in hindsight maybe that’s what I should have done, but I know he’s a Chase car and I’m trying to be a little courteous out there. He just didn’t quite leave me enough room. I’ll have to watch the replay before I really get the whole deal, but I was coming with a run on the top, which I had done on all restarts. I was killing them down there and he came up off the corner and the hole wasn’t big enough, so I stayed off of him but I hit the fence. There wasn’t anything there, but I’ll go back and watch it and see what it looks like.”

YOU HAD ONE OF THE BEST CARS AND IT MUST HAVE FELT LIKE YOU COULD PUT IT WHERE YOU WANTED. “Oh, you can. I could drive anywhere, but he didn’t expect me to be coming on the top, I’m sure. He felt like he drove by me. I’m sure he did. I’m sure he never planned on me to be there because the top was so effective for me down here. It’s funny, I could pass on new tires on the top down there, but not on old tires. New tires it would just stick and go around the corner like crazy. It just wasn’t enough room, but that’s racing with 40 or 30 to go. And then that momentum carried me down into him and we were kind of hooked together. I was turning to the right and I don’t know if my splitter was hooked in his quarterpanel or what. I don’t know what happened. I kept turning to the right and finally came off of him, and then when we went down into the corner the left-front was flat.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER – No. 43 Best Buy Ford Fusion – “It’s not what I wanted, but the end result is good. I’m happy there were so many Fords in the top 10. I’m just a little confused on what we need from practice to the race because we’ve had a few races where we’re really quick in practice, but I was complaining running inside the top 10, so it’s getting better than usual. I’m just a little disappointed that we weren’t quite there. I’m not sure where we’re missing it from practice to the race. I don’t know if it’s me and what I need to feel better. The car was decent all night. We’ve got to work on our pit stops on these track position gains. You can’t lose that much time, but the guys fought hard. Greg made a good call at the end for four tires. It was a good result. I’m happy for Ford. There were a ton of Fords in the top 10. I’m not sure we were the seventh-best car, we might have been the ninth or 10th, but we’d get to about seventh or eighth and be really tight – the back end would be wiggling a little bit. It just wasn’t quite what I was hoping for. The result was good. It was a good night for points. To win these things we’ve just got to be a little bit better.”

CARL EDWARDS PRESS CONFERENCE –

“It’s huge for us. We’ve had this one circled on our schedule as one that our whole Aflac team was nervous about. We qualified well. We weren’t that fast at the beginning of the race and Bob did a really good job dialing it in. The car and the track kind of came to us, so, overall, it was a really good night for Roush Fenway. It’s great to see Matt get a win. Those guys, I guess it’s great as teammate, it’s not great because now he’s only seven points behind us in the Chase, but it was just a good race. It’s a lot better finish than I thought we were gonna have, so I’m happy with it.”

SHOULDN’T THE GUYS RACING FOR SECOND AND THIRD BE RACING HARD? “Yeah, we should definitely be racing each other hard, it’s just that there’s a difference between racing hard and just cutting across the guy’s nose. What I told Kyle is I just wondered why coming off of turn two, when I got underneath him, he drove down instead of going up to the wall like we’d normally do. I just let him know that the next time that happens, I’ll just stay where I’m at and he can drive across my hood and wreck himself. It just surprised me. He told me that he didn’t mean to do it, so I’ve got to believe that, but I don’t know what else there is to say about it. It’s just racing and we didn’t wreck. We’re gonna race hard like that and that’s just how I saw it.”

WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN YOU HEARD JIMMIE WRECKED AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? “It can happen to any of us. Obviously, the more points we can get on the guys in the Chase the better, but it’s obvious that could happen to anyone. He could go on a tear and be leading the points in three or four weeks, so that could happen too, so I will never count him out.”

MATT SEEMS TO BE OVERLOOKED FOR THE TITLE. IS HE A THREAT? “He’s the only one of the three of us with a championship. He’s doing really well and tonight that car was really fast and he drove it really well. I spent a little time behind him and he was wheeling it, so I don’t think you can count him out at all.”

WAS THERE ANY KEY ADJUSTMENT YOU MADE TO THE CAR AND HOW WAS IT THIS WEEK? “The car was a lot better this week than it was last week, but we were still off a little bit. We weren’t as fast as Kyle or Matt. We’ve got to go back and look at it. Greg was really fast and Trevor was screaming fast at one point in the race. He was really good. I don’t know what happened to him, but I thought he was gonna be the guy to beat, so we’ll just go back and look at it and figure out what we’re missing. It might be something I’m doing driving that’s not correct here and there might be some setup stuff, but we’re slowly working on it. I feel better after this run. The All-Star Race, Coke 600 and this race were all decent for us, so that’s three in a row and that’s the best we’ve ever been here.”

HOW DO YOU LOOK AT THE CHASE AFTER FIVE RACES WITH ONLY ONE WIN THIS YEAR? “The wins matter, obviously. It’s great to win, but our goal is to win the championship. We’ve won nine races in a season and not won the championship and I’d definitely trade that for a zero or one-win season with a championship. Our goal is to win this championship. We’re leading the points now, which really doesn’t amount to much with five races left, but we’re on track. We’re doing well. There are some tough races coming up for us. Talladega is not my best track. Martinsville is not my best track, but after those I feel pretty good.”

THIS IS THE LATEST YOU’VE BEEN THE POINTS LEADER. WILL THAT CHANGE YOUR STYLE AT ALL? “I don’t know. I think right now you still have to get everything you can. I raced really hard tonight, not quite as hard as you. I’m racing as hard as I can trying to get every point I can. That’s how we’ve raced all season. It hasn’t worked out for some wins, but that’s mostly been strategy and stuff like that. I’ve found a balance where I’ve wrecked enough and made enough stupid decisions early on that I’m trying to be better at not giving them away. We’ll just keep doing what we’ve been doing and if it works out, it works out. But the season isn’t like others. I think it’s gonna literally come down to the last few laps at Homestead. If you watched what happened tonight, anything can happen and it can turn quickly.”

IT’S SO HARD TO PASS. SHOULD THEY MAKE SOME CHANGES? “It would be fine with me if they took the spoilers off and the splitters off and we didn’t have any downforce. The cars are so close that the difference between them is smaller than the difference when you’re following somebody. NASCAR has done a really, really good job of making sure that the rules are close and we’re all about the same speed, but then when you’re going that fast and relying on downforce, it makes it really tough. This track is probably one of the toughest ones to pass on, but it’s overall tough almost everywhere we go.”

DAVID GILLILAND – No. 34 Taco Bell Ford Fusion – “It’s obviously disappointing that we didn’t really get to race after we suffered the damage on that restart. The 5 car checked up and everyone behind him just wound up in a pile-up. There was nothing we could do. We were just starting to get the Tastykake Ford where we needed it, and then that happened. Peter (crew chief Peter Sospenzo) and the guys did a good job making our car better all weekend. It’s too bad we didn’t have the chance to do more with it.”

J.J. YELEY – No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford Fusion – “It was a pretty good night for the Long John Silver’s Ford team. We had a lot of things go right for us with some cautions coming at the right times and a Lucky Dog, and we had a chance to lead some laps. I just wish we had a little bit more for them at the end. Jay Guy and the team did a good job adjusting as the track conditions changed, and the guys did a great job in the pits, too. It was a good points day for us, which is what this 38 team is really working for right now. ”

MATT KENSETH – No. 17 Fluidmaster Ford Fusion – PRESS CONFERENCE –

“It was an awesome win for us. We had a pretty decent car all night. I felt like we had a car that probably the last 150 laps or so that if we could get it to the front it would be hard to beat, but it was just really hard to pass tonight, especially if you had about 20 laps on your tires. You had to get it done right away and we got a little behind that one time and got back to fifth or sixth and, honestly, it took that last 150 laps or whatever to get back to the lead. It was a good race. I had fun racing with Kyle there. We had a pretty decent restart, the second-to-last one, and got by Denny and Carl and ran Kyle down. It was tough to get by him and I’m glad we could make it happen because it was challenging.”

JACK ROUSH, Car Owner – “I’m really proud of what Matt and Jimmy did tonight. Crew chiefs have a really hard job. He’s out shuffling the car through the tech line to make sure the height measurements are fair and everything works out the way he thinks they should. That’s the reason why he’s not here right now, but with all the engineering and all the technical support behind these teams, it comes down to decisions – the last 20 percent of the decision for what the setup is – that’s worked out between the driver and the crew chief. Jimmy is a championship quality crew chief. He won with Kurt Busch a few years ago and Matt won with Robbie, of course, and Robbie is our general manager now. But we’ve got a lot of depth in the organization. All of the Ford cars ran well tonight. It was just a matter of time until Matt broke loose from his obscurity in the back and middle of the pack and worked his way to the front, but what happened to Jimmie Johnson is a sobering lesson for everybody. You can’t afford to break apart. You can’t afford to put a wheel wrong. A loose lugnut on pit road with an extra pass at the wrong time to serve a penalty could be a championship losing event. There is just a lot that these guys have to do that has to really be done correctly and Jimmy and Matt got it done tonight and I’m sure they’re going to be a factor in this championship going down the stretch.”

JIMMY FENNIG, Crew Chief – “It was pretty good at the end there. We made another adjustment and it seemed like the car came to life a little bit better. We still didn’t get it totally fixed, but it was good enough to win tonight.”

MATT KENSETH CONTINUED – HOW IMPORTANT IS YOUR IMPROVED QUALIFYING EFFORT? “It makes a big difference. It’s a lot different than it was five or six years ago. I used to probably not stress out quite as much about qualifying because if you started 25th and had one of the best cars, it wasn’t a problem to pass 24 cars in four hours. But everybody is a lot closer to the same speed, which obviously makes it a little bit more difficult to pass and track position is really important, so qualifying always helps. It helps you with your pit stall, it helps you with your track position. Hopefully, you can get out and get a bonus point and lead a little bit, so it’s always important.”

JIMMY FENNIG CONTINUED – “Qualifying is real important. For one thing, if you don’t qualify good you’re stuck back in the pack and you’ve got all that dirty air and it makes your adjustments for us a little bit harder racing against the dirty air and figuring out what to do, so it’s pretty important to qualify good.”

MATT KENSETH CONTINUED – HOW WERE YOUR RESTARTS BETTER TONIGHT? “Restarts have obviously not been my specialty lately. If you watch many races, especially when we restart second on the bottom, and I’ve done an extremely poor job of that. I was kicking myself on the third or fourth restart from the end when I restarted alongside of Kyle and Carl got around me and then the 11 got around me on the next restart. I knew we had a shot to win the race if we could get in front of Kyle. I ran him down the last long run we had. I knew our car was a little bit superior to his and I was gonna feel pretty bad if I was the weak link and cost these guys a race again. Thankfully, on the second-to-last restart we were fourth on the outside and I could get rolling with Kyle right away and had a good couple sets of corners and got up to second, and then I was able to race him one-on-one so that was a big key.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT ONE RESTART WHERE YOU WENT THREE-WIDE? “That particular restart I ran three-wide through turn one and two, which isn’t really advisable, but it’s difficult to pass and what happens is there’s a lot of guys on two and you’ve got to take advantage of your four tires. Tonight it was real weird because you could run maybe 15-20 laps and you had an advantage, you can pass, and then it was like you flipped a switch and everybody was the same speed and you just couldn’t go forward anymore. We were real aggressive there and made our way back up to fifth or sixth and settled in right there. We had a good pit stop. Jimmy pitted me a couple laps early and we passed a couple more of those guys and got ourselves back up to third and that put us back up in the mix again.”

JACK ROUSH CONTINUED — WHAT IS THE SATISFACTION LEVEL TO WIN? “I don’t know if you saw the same race that I did, but we had seven of our cars tonight that ran in the top 10 most of the night, except for problems we had. We’re at the top of our game as far as our mile-and-a-half program. There are other teams that have got good programs, but nobody has a better mile-and-a-half program than us. Including tonight, there were three mile-and-a-half races left in the Chase, so I felt really good about that. Ford has given us great support for our Fusions. We’ve got a good aero package on them. Our kinematics work well based on the lab testing we’ve done and engines make a lot of power, so I’m not embarrassed that we haven’t won more races. We’ve had a lot of races that we’ve missed just because we made the wrong decision that worked out for two tires, no tires. We’ve been challenged with judgments about how much fuel was in the tank a couple of times, but we’re in championship form. In my 24 years I’ve never had better cars for the championship stretch than we’ve got and we’re anxious to see how it’s gonna work out. I don’t feel vindicated, I just think that the hard work everybody has done is paying off and we’re getting what we deserve.”

MATT KENSETH CONTINUED – “I’m happy to have won, obviously. Like you said, it’s been 20 races, which doesn’t really seem that long because I don’t know how many it was before that, but I think it was 70-some before that. You’re always thankful. I’m always thankful to get to victory lane. You never know if you’re ever gonna win another race or when your last win is, and I’m certainly thankful for them all and I greatly appreciate being in a position to be able to win races and these guys giving me the cars and the crew and the opportunity to do that.”

JACK ROUSH CONTINUED – HOW MUCH DOES JIMMIE’S ACCIDENT CHANGE THE CHASE FOR YOU GUYS? “For anybody that hopes to win the championship that has a wreck or breaks an engine or has a cut tire at the wrong time, you can’t expect to get a mulligan. You’ll be very lucky if somebody will give you back a chance to make up a whole race. I thought that Jimmie Johnson would be a factor in it and he’s definitely gonna have to stand in line and wait for the other folks that are in the top five to have problems for him to get back in it. He won’t race his way back in it. He won’t finish high enough above the top four or five cars to beat them on the race track. He’ll have to wait for them to have trouble, I think.”

WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT THIS SPORT WHEN A GUY WINS THE RACE AND HIS FIRST WORDS ARE ABOUT NEEDING A SPONSOR FOR NEXT YEAR? “We do need a sponsor for the 17 car. I didn’t hear him say that, but that’s a fact. The 17 car is secure in Roush Fenway’s livery. We will run it with or without a sponsor next year, but it would be a shame if we’re not able to attract sponsorship. We’re talking to people with some interest, but this is my 24th year of being in the business and this is the most difficult time that I’ve had. We’ve gone through a transition with our sponsors from a time when they wanted to compete for top car to where now the best sponsors want just enough of a car to be able to do their promotions and want to share the bulk of the expense of it if they can. It’s a really strange time. I’ve never seen anything like this. I’m not sure what we’ll have coming out of it. It’ll be different than it’s been in the past.”

MATT KENSETH CONTINUED – DOES IT BOTHER YOU THAT YOU KIND OF GET LOST IN THE SHUFFLE OF CHASE CONTENDERS? “It doesn’t really matter to me that much what everybody things. We’re in it or out of it or whatever. What’s important to me is trying to win races and trying to be competitive and go do the best job we can do every week. I don’t really care about Wii dance offs or how much coverage you get for doing certain things. If somebody wants to say I’m boring or whatever, I was hired to try to go win races and try to run good and that’s what I try to do every week. I take my job real serious when I’m at the race track. Jimmy and I and all the guys work as hard as we can on the common goal of trying to be the best and trying to win and trying to run for a championship and that’s who we are at the race track.”

IS THERE A SENSE OF URGENCY AS FAR AS SPONSORSHIP? “I’m not gonna get stressed out about it, especially right now in the Chase and with all the things we’ve got going on. I don’t know really what else we can be doing, except for trying to be competitive and run good. Those guys in the marketing and sales department need to figure that out and need to figure out how to get that done. Jimmy and I will keep working on the jobs that we were hired for and I’m sure it’s all gonna work out. I’ve been really fortunate through my career. We had DeWalt for over a decade. Crown Royal was involved at Roush for over eight years and have been great supporters of the organization and really thankful for all the time that they have been there and how much they have helped the whole organization – not just me, but a few different drivers there – so I’m certainly thankful for that and look forward to whatever is next.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT JOHNSON’S ISSUE TONIGHT? “I have to be honest, I don’t know where anybody is at in the points, really. All we have any control over, and we always can’t control the whole outcome of that, but all we have any control over is our own car and ourselves and what we do, so I honestly don’t spend a lot of time to see where anybody else finishes or what they have going. We go out every week and try to beat the other 42 cars and finish as high as can and that’s how you get the most points and not really worry about what everybody else does. I think Jimmie, I don’t know what happened to him tonight or where he finished or anything, but a few weeks ago everybody thought he was out of it and he finished first and second and he got right back in it. I don’t know the whole points thing, where anybody is at, but certainly anything can happen at Talladega and I think Phoenix is gonna be quite interesting as well. There’s a lot of racing to do. We’re halfway through it, but five races is a lot of races.”

WOULD WINNING A CHASE CHAMPIONSHIP HOLD ANY SPECIAL MEANING FOR YOU? “If we could actually do it I could probably answer the question better afterwards, but certainly no matter what format they come up with or what point system they come up with or how they do it your goal every year is to try to win a championship and your goal every week is to try to show up and win. That never really changes. Yeah, you’d love to be able to win another one, but, I tell you what, they’re hard to win and you’ve got to have everything go right and you’ve got to have a lot of nights like we’ve had here the last two or three weeks, and the next five I think you’re gonna have to run in the top five every week to have a shot at it. That’s just the way I feel with the way those guys are running, so we’ll just keep taking it one week at a time. If that happened, that would obviously be great. The same guy has won it for five years straight, so I think anybody that could beat him, I think, would feel pretty good about it no matter what system or how they count the points or how they do that. I think it would feel good.”

JIMMY FENNIG CONTINUED – DO YOU LIKE HAVING THAT FIRST PIT STALL WHERE YOU CAN DICTATE STRATEGY POSSIBLY? “Picking back down there, I like dictating what people do. If we can control the race, then they’re at our mercy you could say, but I don’t really pay attention to what they’re doing because I’ve got that pit stall, I just kind of worry about what we’re doing.” MATT INTERJECTS: “He picks 43 so I won’t get lost.” (laughter)

MATT KENSETH CONTINUED — WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES THESE NEXT THREE TRACKS PRESENT FOR YOU? “Out of the first five, Loudon I feel is one of my worst tracks and Jimmy got the car rolling there good, and we finished sixth. That was one of our worst tracks and I felt like we did okay. I guess moving forward, I don’t know what’s gonna happen at Talladega. Certainly in July at Daytona David and I had a plan and stuck to it the whole weekend and it worked out great. We finished first and second. I think it would be expecting a lot to expect it to go that smooth again and for that to all work out, but the way that kind of tandem racing is there, hopefully, him and I will be able to finish and stay together and make something happen there again. I don’t think anybody has an advantage or disadvantage at Phoenix. Who knows what’s gonna happen at that one, and Martinsville we’ve gotten better at lately. I feel it’s one of my worst tracks, but the last few times we’ve actually run pretty competitively there, so I don’t feel our cars are limited to only being fast at the mile-and-a-half tracks. Certainly, the tracks with more speed and more banking seems to fit not so much our cars or style or whatever, but it seems a little easier for us maybe than some of those other tracks, but I think we’ve been pretty competitive at most of the tracks this season most times.”

HOW DO YOU NOT LET CHICAGO HANG OVER YOU OR THE TEAM? “It’s gone and the only thing you can do from that is learn from it. I know Doug and everybody has been working really hard at trying to keep power, but also get us fuel mileage and tonight I think we were closer to where we needed to be if we would have been like that at Chicago. I don’t feel like, as a team, what we do on the 17, we could have done a thing about Chicago. I don’t think we could have executed the race any better. We were on the pole. We led quite a few laps. We were leading on the last restart. He put me in position to win. There’s just nothing else we could have done. I would have had to go so slow that we would have finished where we finished anyway and probably went two laps down, so we just didn’t have control over that. That’s just when the caution fell and we were getting a few tenths worse mileage than most of the field and couldn’t do anything about that. All you can do from those things, I think, is hopefully learn from it, work on it and try to be hopefully closer or better if the caution flag falls at that point again.”

WHAT WAS IT LIKE THOSE YEARS WHEN IT WAS AN UPHILL BATTLE? “I probably meant more you’d kill for a couple wins. I think we’ve contended for some wins, even toward the end of last year it seemed like as an organization all of our cars started running better and by the end of last year I think Jimmy and I, we’ve always understood each other, but I think after you get to work together for awhile you kind of work better together and know more of what each other is saying. I felt good about things when we finished the year off last year. We had some really good runs. We were in contention a few times. Our finishes didn’t show, I don’t think, how good we ran, so I felt like the potential was there. You have to learn to enjoy these. Like I said before, you don’t know if you’re ever gonna get another win or if it’s your last win or not and I’ve certainly gone a long time before in my career without having a win at all and the longer you go without one, the more it weighs on your mind about if you’re ever gonna win another one or not. As you get older and you do this longer, I think you realize how hard it really is and I think you appreciate the wins and the success probably more so than when you first start.”

HOW IS THAT APPRECIATION IN THIS CHAMPIONSHIP RUN? CAN YOU APPRECIATE THIS? “Yeah, we’re gonna appreciate it. I might even talk Jimmy into having a drink tonight maybe after he gets through tech. I think this is the first time we’ve ever won a race in the Chase actually. It seems like for some reason through the years we’ve been better in the beginning of the year than the end of the year, so certainly you appreciate running that good. I know you guys probably don’t believe me, but I honestly don’t look at the points that much. If you go out and do the best job you can do every week and you leave the track knowing that everybody did their best, you executed as good as you could, you did what you could do on the track, any points you’ve gained or lost you’re not gonna give them back and you’re not gonna get them back – the ones you lost – so I don’t really look at it much. If we can keep running like this every week, I think we’ll be in the mix toward the end, so I really just take it one race at a time. I’m happy about this. I’m already thinking about Talladega and how that is all gonna go and when we get there, we’ll have a plan and be able in this new kind of racing there get that all figured out where we have a plan and a backup plan and be there at the end.” WHAT DO YOU APPRECIATE? “Just winning. It’s hard to say exactly what you appreciate about it. I appreciate being with a winning organization, with a winning team, with Jimmy on top of the box calling the races and working so hard bringing me fast race cars every week. You just appreciate being in the situation. Never when I started racing did I dream I would ever be able to race at this level, much less be pretty competitive and be able to win a few races along the way and a championship. I just appreciate being able to drive that car.”

WHAT TRACKS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO? “If I had to look at the final five, I probably look forward to Texas and Homestead the most. It’s weird going to Homestead because it’s the last race of the year and a really different layout and you only race there one time a year, so you almost get there and it feels like a new track everytime you go there, but they did a really nice job with that track with the configuration and everything. It’s a racy track and a difficult track because you’ve got to run so close to the wall for most of the race, so those are probably the two I look forward to the most, but I’m really looking forward to the challenge of all of them and looking forward to hopefully staying on this run that we’re on.”

IF YOU WIN THE TITLE DO YOU THINK NASCAR WILL CHANGE THE POINT SYSTEM? (LAUGHTER). “Jimmie had to win five of them before they changed it.”

- PCGCampbell for Ford Racing, Press Release

AJ Allmendinger - Photo Credit Sam Greenwood / Getty Images

The team, which competes in the Daytona Prototype class in Grand Am, has formed a new partnership to compete in IndyCar that includes NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger.

Allmendinger, who competed in open wheel before moving to stock cars, has competed for Michael Shank in the Rolex 24 Grand Am race at Daytona but won’t drive the IndyCar entry.

“For me, the Indianapolis 500 has always been the dream,” Shank said. “With the new 2012 Dallara IndyCar, there is a window for a team like mine to join the series and pursue that dream.”

A driver for the new Indy team has not been announced.

“Obviously I have a close connection to open-wheel racing, but add that to the chance to work with Mike and his organization and it’s something that really appealed to me,” said Allmendinger. who drives the No. 43 Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports. “Mike is one of the hardest working guys in motorsports and he’s a racer. I’ve always liked that about him, so I know he’ll fight hard for MSR Indy’s performance. We also hope to open some business relationships for our NASCAR Cup partners with this effort too.”

- al.com

Ford Racing

Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Crown Royal Ford (Qualified 1st)

Greg Biffle, No. 16 3M Filtrete Ford (Qualified 7th)
“I just was probably a little to scared down there in three and four. I should have put the gas down sooner. I have been giving up a lot of time down there and the track is a little bumpy. I waited a little long on the gas pedal and I could tell as soon as I put it down that I waited long. Matt’s time is looking pretty good. That is going to be hard to beat. Hopefully we will stay top five. We will see.”

Carl Edwards, No. 99 Cheez-It/Kellog’s Ford (Qualified 5th)
“My hat seems to have shrunk. I guess my head is getting really big now that I made the Chase. They can’t ever get hats big enough for my skull. The lap was pretty good. Imagine how bad this hat would fit if I had knocked Matt off the pole there. That is a fast lap for him. Our lap was really good. It is all about the Chase right now. Hopefully that will hold up for a top-five or six starting spot and get an opening on pit road and it will be a great race for us.”

Marcos Ambrose, No. 9 Stanley/Dewalt Ford (Qualified 17th)
“We had a great one and two and I have to thank my Stanley and Dewalt team for a much better qualifying. I just got tight off of four and started to shake the tires. I don’t know. We were close. I think with another quarter pound of tire pressure we might have had something.”

AJ Allmendinger, No. 43 Best Buy Ford (Qualified 18th)
“I don’t know what happened. We didn’t have that problem yesterday but we just bounced it off the race track in three. I probably drove it in too deep. It just crashed to the ground so when it crashed it got the race track and when you are this fast and not in the throttle we missed it. I am not very happy with the lap. At times we have had the car really fast and at other times it is not as quick. I think track position will be key. I was hoping to start out higher but we will just have to pass some race cars tomorrow.”

David Ragan, No. 6 UPS Ford (Qualified 15th)
“Our UPS Ford is pretty good. We didn’t make a lot of qualifying runs yesterday; with the new schedule, we really just needed to run as much as we could in race trim. We always would like to go a little bit faster, but here, it’s all about winning. I think we’ve got a great car for tomorrow. It was a fun lap; I was bouncing around and loose the whole lap, and it was okay.”

Trevor Bayne, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford (Qualified 28th)
“Well, we are in but it isn’t exactly what I wanted. We have been pretty fast all weekend so we definitely wanted to be top-15 in qualifying here. It is tough coming back and forth from the Nationwide car. I didn’t have enough grip in three and four and moved around too much and lost a lot of time down there. I think it will be good in race trim, so I am ready to start this thing.”

David Gilliland, No. 34 Taco Bell Ford Fusion (Qualified 39th)
“Track conditions felt very similar to where it was yesterday. But we had some issue with, I think, the carburetor. So we’re going to go to work on that and get that taken care of. We’ll have a ways to go tomorrow, but I feel like the car drives good and our Taco Bell Ford Fusion will be what we need to get up through there.”

J.J. Yeley, No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford Fusion (Qualified 32nd)
“It was an OK lap. The car was a little bit too loose, at least for my comfort level. When we went out, the racetrack had changed from what we had yesterday. We had really good balance yesterday and the car was a little bit on the snug side, so we just left it alone. I got through Turns 1 and 2 really good, a little bit on the edgy side, so going through 3 and 4 I just had a hard time getting the throttle down. I legitimately thought we could run a 29.80, but at the same time I had to be smart about what I’m doing out there and know that going for it could cost me at the same time.”

MATT KENSETH POLE PRESS CONFERENCE

TALK ABOUT HOW GOOD YOUR CAR IS AND STARTING OUT FRONT TOMORROW FOR THE FIRST CHASE RACE. “Well, it reminds me a little bit of Vegas so yesterday we worked on race trim the first practice and then only made one qualifying run the second practice and it drove as good as I could expect it to drive. I told them to just leave it. In race trim we struggled just a little bit more but it seems like the key is getting through the bumps in turn three. It reminds me of the bumps in turn one in Vegas. In qualifying trim it went through the bumps perfect but we struggled with it in race trim. I was thrilled with our car for one lap and being in qualifying trim and race trim I think we have a little bit of work to do.”

WHAT DOES TRACK POSITION MEAN HERE? “It is a factor everywhere. I think the track is really wide so there are a lot of grooves to pass. I think it is going to be important. There were a few times in practice yesterday that I ran up on some cars and it was more difficult to get around then what I expected. I think it is always important and starting up front and having a good pit stall is nice. Hopefully you get a good start and get bonus points and try to keep up with the track a little better. We have been qualifying a lot better, if you throw Richmond out, but slipping at the end of the race. I am happy to be on the pole but it is still just a starting position and we have to work hard on the race and keeping up with our adjustments.”

I ASKED YOU AFTER BRISTOL ABOUT YOUR NEW QUALIFYING PROWESS AND YOU DIDN’T WANT TO TAKE CREDIT FOR IT. IS IT NOTHING PERSONALLY YOU ARE DOING? “Not really. My cars have just been fast and driving really good. I have always tried really hard. I have probably done a little better job at not over driving the car. That has been a fault of mine in qualifying in the past, over driving and driving the corner too hard and messing up the rest of the corner. I think Jimmy (Fennig) works really hard on it too and it has always been really important to Jimmy. Back in the day when it was easier to pass it probably wasn’t as important to us as it is today. Maybe I am a little better at it but the main thing is the cars have been really fast.”

AT THE END OF THE DAY TOMORROW IF CHASE GUYS STRUGGLE HERE ON THE MILE-AND-A-HALF WOULD IT BE FAIR TO SAY THEY ARE IN BIG TROUBLE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP OR IS THERE ENOUGH TIME TO GET IT FIGURED OUT? “Not necessarily. I know we always group them together because they are the same size track and there are guys that seem to run good at all of them or not as good. They are all really a lot different. I think this is similar to Texas but a lot different than Charlotte for instance. You want to start off running good here but it is a little of a unique track, a little like Texas and Kansas. We only come here once a year and haven’t been here in a long time. Last year we saw David get the set-up perfect and blew everyone away. Some other guys you maybe expected to run better kind of missed it. I think it will be a little bit of a race like that. I think a few guys will hit it better than the others and hard for the rest to keep up.”

YOU SAID YOUR QUALIFYING TRIM GOT YOU THROUGH THE BUMPS BUT NOT YOUR RACE TRIM. IS THE RACE TOMORROW GOING TO BE DECIDED ON WHO CAN GET THROUGH THE BUMPS THE EASIEST? WHAT IS THE TRICK WITHOUT REVEALING TOO MUCH? “It is not just about who can get through the bumps but the way they are in turn 3, especially with the tail wind today that is an important part of the track. Where the biggest bumps are is kind of your entry and where you are trying to get to your marks in turn three. For me, when we didn’t have it quite right, no matter what I did it was hard to make a fast lap time. Turn one and two is not bad. It is not just about that but I think to have the front end working good everywhere it is going to have to work good in those bumps. Certainly if you go high enough you can go around them but I would assume most guys are going to be on the top on a long run and if you expect to pass or the better cars will have to get through there. It is pretty tough getting into one but it doesn’t affect the corner much. Turn three and four the whole thing is pretty rough.”

ARE YOU SURPRISED A FORD HAS NEVER WON HERE? “I haven’t really thought about it to be honest with you. I guess we have been close here a few times and just couldn’t quite get it done. This has been one of our better tracks, maybe not the last couple of years. You gotta have a lot of things go right to win these days, it is pretty competitive.”
“I think the concentration for the Chase is every track the same. This isn’t an exciting answer but all ten races pay the same amount of points and I don’t think you want to try to give up anything. Really we honestly do have a plan ahead of time for what cars we want to bring and things you want to implement through the next 10 weeks but we don’t really plan much farther ahead than one week. You try to bring your best stuff and put your best foot forward, get the best result we can tomorrow. We try to learn from that for the future tracks and put it behind you and move on to New Hampshire and do the same thing. Ten races is a lot of races.”

DOES GETTING ON THE POLE MENTALLY HELP YOU FOR THE RACE? “Yes and no. You feel good about having the first pick for the pits. You feel good about hopefully leading a lap and get one bonus point. It doesn’t sound like a lot today but it really kind of is. You feel better about those couple of things but on the other side of it you started on the front, you qualified on the pole and everybody is expecting big things. It puts pressure on you and the team to keep up with the track and adjustments and try to keep the car there all day.”

- PCGCampbell for Ford Racing, Press Release

2011 NSCS AJ Allmendinger - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

AJ Allmendinger is 13th in points and knocking on the door of a Chase wild card spot heading into Saturday night. Allmendinger must win and have Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Tony Stewart fall out of the top-10. He can also snag a wild card spot by winning the race and finish higher in the points than Denny Hamlin if Brad Keselowski does not move into the top-10. It is a confusing scenario, with one basic concept. Allmendinger has to record his first career win tomorrow night to score the coveted spot.

YOU HAVE TO WIN THIS RACE TOMORROW NIGHT TO HAVE A SHOT AT THE CHASE. “Yeah, it is pretty simple. We have to win and get a little bit of help. We don’t have to worry about everyone else and where they are at points wise until you cross the finish line and unless we win it doesn’t matter. I feel like over the last six weeks we have been getting stronger and kind of flying under the radar. Our last four finishes have been eighth, tenth, 11th and 12th. We have been right there. As a race team I feel like we are getting better. I feel like we had about three or four more races before the Chase started because I feel like we are starting to get there and be a contending race team. It is pretty simple. We go out there and try to win the race and let the cards fall where they may fall.”

DO YOU CONSIDER WHERE YOUR RACE TEAM IS AT RIGHT NOW TO BE THE NATURAL PROGRESSION OF WHERE YOU EXPECTED TO BE, AND WHAT IS YOUR SATISFACTION LEVEL WITH THAT? “I felt like at the beginning of the year we weren’t too bad and then we kind of hit a lull in the middle of the season. When we were off, we were really off. We had a couple of races where we finished like 25th and 27th or something like that. I felt like our consistency wasn’t where it needed to be and we struggled with that. I feel like the addition of Greg Erwin over the last six weeks we have been stronger and as the weekend goes on progress really well and we run a lot of laps in practice. I feel like during the race we run well. We are progressing better than we had been and I feel that as we keep getting stronger we are a 7th-8th to 13th place race team right now. Hopefully as we keep getting stronger, whether we make the Chase or not, we can take the last 10 races and contend inside the top-10 on a consistent basis. There are races coming up like Loudon and Dover that we have been really good at and maybe get a win. We are getting there but I wish we had a few more races before the Chase starts. The Chase doesn’t define our season. If we don’t make it, we can take those last 10 races and have a chance to run up front every weekend. If we get to Homestead and are a lot better than where we were last season, I will be happy with that.”

NOW THAT YOU ARE IN THE HEAT OF THIS WILD CARD THING, DO YOU LIKE IT? “I wish we would go back to 12 guys. We are 13th in points and only like seven points out of it. No, really I think it is cool for the fans and the drivers. Everybody has a shot and I am sure it will be played up really well on TV Saturday night. I think it is a good thing.”

DO YOU ANTICIPATE TAKING WILD CHANCES TOMORROW NIGHT? “I think you have to just race normal. If there is a shot at the end of the race you are going to try it, but that is every race right now. It is hard to win one of these things. The way the races play out now, any little thing you can do to try to get yourself up front with how aero sensitive the cars are you are going to do it anyway. To make the Chase, you want to try to win at all costs, but for me I am not going to do anything crazy that is going to cost us a bad finish too. Whether you make the Chase or not you still have to focus on having a good finish and points for the rest of the season. If the opportunity is there to try to steal one we are definitely going to try to do it but it is not going to be, I guess doing real crazy things that could hurt us on the race track and not finish well.”

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST THING GREG ERWIN HAS BROUGHT TO YOUR TEAM? “I think Mike Shiplett did a good job of getting the race team really organized. All our cars were well prepared and our people were well prepared. Mike had a good play. Greg brought experience. He is a race winning, championship contending crew chief. Just his experience level throughout the weekend. How the weekends are run. Changes made during practice. We are one of the race cars with the most laps every practice session now, which is good for me because I am still learning out there. During the races, the way he calls the races. He knows when to maybe take a big swing at it and when not to take a big swing at it, whether I want to or not. Overall I think it is just the experience he has brought and his mentality has been good for the race team and for me. I think the organization, especially on the 43 side of it, they were really close to Mike so I was nervous how they would take to the change but everyone has been really good of fitting in with the change and moving forward with the race team.”

- PCGCampbell for Ford Racing, Press Release