What drivers said at Charlotte Motor Speedway

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CONCORD, N.C. — What drivers had to say during and after Monday’s 600-mile race at Charlotte Motor Speedway:

Ryan Blaney (Winner) — “I might shed a tear. This has been a cool weekend. Obviously, Memorial Day weekend means a lot, growing up here watching Dad run this race for a long time. It’s so cool just to be a part of it, let alone win it. I just was able to get the lead, and that car was so good that I could kind of bide my time a little bit and then we were able to drive off. I was hoping no caution just because you never know. I know we had the car to do it, but restarts can be crazy. … You start to get to feel like you can’t win anymore when you don’t win in a while. It kind of gets hard. So just super thankful to the 12 guys for believing in me. It’s just so cool. What a weekend with (Josef) Newgarden and Roger (Penske) winning at Indy and us winning the 600. I mean that’s just so cool. That kind of snaps our winless streak right there and that’s even better. We just kept working on it all night, and I think the track took a change. I didn’t feel great at the end of Stage 3. I was kind of getting pressured by a couple guys and we had to work on our car, and it was getting cooler outside.”

MORE: Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott crash and disagree

MORE: Charlotte Cup results, driver points

William Byron (Finished 2nd) — “We just needed a little bit. Really happy for Ryan. He really deserves it. He’s a good dude. Cool to see him get a win. We just needed a little bit. I felt like there were enough restarts for him to get back to the front. He had that one pit road where he lost a few spots, and it was kind of between us and the 5 (Kyle Larson). I knew the 12 (Ryan Blaney) and 45 (Tyler Reddick) were a little bit stronger than we were. Thanks to this Liberty University Chevrolet team. The car was great tonight. Just not quite good enough. Really proud of the effort. Pit crew was phenomenal on pit road. Those guys are just high energy, and that pit stall helps.”

Martin Truex Jr. (Finished 3rd) — “It was a handful. We just battled really hard and never gave up on the car. We had some stumbles on pit road – had some issues there. We had some issues getting a flat tire with some contact leaving pit road, which wasn’t our fault, either. Just battled a lot of adversity today, but our Bass Pro Shops Tracker Boats Camry was really fast. At the end of Stage 3, I thought that we had a shot to win this thing and then we got some damage out of nowhere on the splitter, and then I got too tight. We made some adjustments to try to get us balanced back out, but it just wasn’t as fast then, and we still ran third. Just proud of everybody for the effort. We definitely had a shot at this one tonight, just didn’t get enough things to go our way and we didn’t do a good enough job on pit road. It was a fun day overall. We had just too many hiccups, too many issues on pit road with a couple of bad stops and the damage that sent us to the rear and had to come back. I thought through Stage 3 we were going to have a shot at this thing, and out of the blue at the start of the final stage, we got some damage on the splitter from debris and the car was never quite as good. … It means a lot to have all of the soldiers on our cars this weekend. I got to meet an amazing family this weekend. Really wish I could have taken them to victory lane, so it’s a little bittersweet, but overall, it’s a solid day for us.”

Bubba Wallace (Finished 4th) — “It started on Friday. We didn’t get through tech. We are trying to push all we can get, and didn’t happen, so bad pit selection really set us back all day. I knew it would be a grind. I need my pit crew to know that as well – they made a couple mistakes – but they rebounded. We were playing the cards that we were dealt. I’m super proud of this Dr. Pepper Toyota team. Just continuing to make strides and continuing to show up and be a part of the factor. Just makes you think – if you were that close on the final restart, or closer, what could have happened. It looked like the 12 (Ryan Blaney) was lights out all day. About time he got him one. I thought he was done washed up (laughter).” (On confrontation with Aric Almirola) Yeah, we were just frustrated on how we raced each other. We were in Stage 2 of the Coke 600. I finished fourth and that’s a good day for our team.”

Tyler Reddick (Finished 5th) — “We had a great car. We were really, really strong there. Just made a lot of mistakes – we kind of went to the bad side of it on that one strategy in the second stage. We had a million cautions because we just kept crashing. We got behind there and we had to fight to get our track position back after that and we did. We got to the 12 (Ryan Blaney), and just being too aggressive, got sideways and hit the wall, and front there, hit the wall about 10 more times and pretty much took all of the life out of the race car. We had a fantastic car. We just couldn’t get around the 12 (Ryan Blaney). We were way faster than he was for most of the day. I tried to take our time, because it’s obviously a 400-lap race, but yeah, made a few mistakes along the way and then I knocked the fence down and then every time we did, we lost a little speed in our Jordan Brand 23XI Toyota. So yeah, fifth.”

Kyle Busch (Finished 6th) — “Coca-Cola 600s are normally up-and-down, so we definitely had an up-and-down day. But the guys fought hard all race long and made some good repairs. We made a lot of good adjustments. There were a couple that we had to go back on, and then go back on again. But all-in-all, just proud of everyone on the No. 8 Alsco Chevy team. Our car wasn’t as fast as we wanted on the fire-offs there – we wanted the long run to finish. Even though we hadn’t been good on the long runs all night, we adjusted for that, but we just didn’t get it. We’ll take a good solid effort and top-10 finish.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Finished 7th) — “I feel great. I got up and did the ‘Murph’ workout this morning. My trainer wasn’t too thrilled about that, but went ahead and did that, and then came out here and ran 600 miles. Our No. 47 Kroger/Coca-Cola Chevy was so good all night. We just fought some track position every now and then, and then the No. 8 (Kyle Busch) fenced us there. I felt like we would have had a top-five if it wasn’t for that. But all-in-all, it was a great Coca-Cola 600 for us. It was what we needed after last week at the All-Star Race. We kind of got beat up there a little bit. But it’s cool to get another top 10. This team is doing a lot of good things.”

Chris Buescher (Finished 8th) — “It was a really strong day. Our Fastenal Mustang was really good. We got hit on pit road and definitely took a decent amount out of us, so I’m upset about that, but at the end of the day it was a good recovery. We kept digging back and it’s cool to have this camo paint scheme up front for a lot of the day, but I want to do more.”

Austin Dillon (Finished 9th) — “We never gave up all night, and it feels like we passed more cars than anyone else all race long in our Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Chevrolet. It was a hard-earned top-10 finish. We started this year’s Coca-Cola 600 deep in the field – 33rd — after practice and qualifying were canceled due to weather, but I knew that we would have a chance to be in contention at the end because this is the longest race of the year and there are plenty of laps to work our way forward. It was challenging, though. Pit road was tight for us today, and it felt like every time we gained positions we would pit and get trapped in our box and lose everything we worked so hard for. We never gave up and to finish in the top-10 is a testament to the tenacity that this No. 3 team has. We were just too tight at the end to advance any further, but I think we showed how hard we are willing to work. Today is about our heroes who served and made the ultimate sacrifice. I’m thankful that I can do what I love, which is race, because of them. Thank you to the families of Navy Seal Mark Crampton and Army soldier Rusten Smith for allowing us to recognize them.”

Zane Smith (Finished 10th) – “I am so happy, as happy as could be, really. I was worried when we didn’t take tires there and were running really good and had a really good day. It just worked out, so just a great job by this whole 38 Boot Barn FRM team. We got our Mustang better and better every single stop and that’s so cool. We run on half the budget, if that, than a lot of these guys, so to finish top 10 in our sixth start at the Coke 600 is really cool. It’s been a rough three weeks for me. The Cup Series is a different level and obviously I’m trying to prove I belong here and it’s just an outstanding run. Ryan does an outstanding job and it’s so cool to finish this race, but better yet with a top 10.”

Alex Bowman (Finished 12th)“It doesn’t feel very good at the moment, but about what I was expecting. There was no pain in the car really, but now that I’m out, I feel it a little bit. Just proud of my No. 48 Ally Chevy team. We had a really fast long run car. Obviously the short runs were what we needed, but we were just too tight for that. We got stuck on pit road – every stop, we came in like 10th, but lost spots coming out. But that wasn’t on my guys, it was just pit stall selection. We’ll move onto Gateway. Hopefully we’ll get to qualify there, have a good pit box and just go have a normal day.”

Ryan Preece (Finished 13th) — “What a night. We battled all night long. Some of those cautions just did not work in our favor at all, but we had a good car and just needed track position and clean air. We made strong adjustments throughout the night, and my crew was on it. I think we had a top-10 car. We’ll take 13th after a day like that, and it’s definitely the momentum our team needed. Those top 10s and top fives are coming, and I’m looking forward to St. Louis.”

Justin Haley (Finished 15th) — “We fired off tight today, but the No. 31 team made some great adjustments and had good pit stops. We made it as high as eighth and thought we would get a top 10 there but just got shuffled at the end. A top 15 is not a bad day, but our car was by far the best car we’ve had all year. We made some major gains today as a team.”

Joey Logano (Finished 21st) — “Tough night for the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang team. We struggled with the balance and unfortunately couldn’t miss the late accident and got damage. So happy for Team Penske, Josef and Ryan on a weekend sweep.”

Aric Almirola (Finished 25th) — (On confrontation with Bubba Wallace) “It was early in the race, and I felt like he ran me all over the racetrack and then when he got by me he shot me the bird, so I just went by and asked him why you shot me the bird. I felt like I gave him a lot of room and a lot of respect and he started mouthing off and saying a lot of bad things and cussing at me after he shot me the bird, so I just wasn’t gonna take that. I think it’s squashed. I got my point across. I let him know it’s not acceptable. He’s not gonna cuss at me and shoot me the bird. It was a good night, honestly, for our Smithfield Ford Mustang. It’s Memorial Day and such an honor and privilege to race on Memorial Day. We were running 10th there with 20-something to go and got caught up in that restart wreck in the middle of one and two and got a lot of heavy damage that really killed the race car after that. I hate we didn’t get out of here with a top 10. I felt we certainly had a top 10 race car, got loose on a restart early and hit the right-rear toe link, we fixed it, got two laps down, got all of our laps back and drove from the back to the top 10. I’m really proud of the effort and the fight, not the result, but we certainly fought hard. We’ll go get ready for Gateway. That was a really good racetrack for us last year.”

Austin Cindric (Finished 31st) – “You’re patient for 550 miles; why be patient for the last 40? I probably could have helped myself there by not drifting up the racetrack and knowing my own strength and weaknesses. It’s just unfortunate to get so close to the end of this race and not being able to finish it last year and the same with this year. I felt we had a lot of positives from today – some really good pit stops. We had good speed at times, but just having to put the whole race together as a team. I definitely made some mistakes today and unfortunate not to be able to finish it off.”

Erik Jones (Finished 32nd) — “We had a fast No. 43 U.S. Air Force Chevy, but nothing to really show for it. Appreciate the U.S. Air Force and their support. Just hate that we had the radiator issue, but hopefully we’ll go to Gateway with the same speed and have a good day.”

Chase Elliott (Finished 34th) — “The 11 (Denny Hamlin) ran us up into the fence there. Once you tear the right-side off these things, it’s kind of over. I hate it. I thought our No. 9 NAPA Chevy was getting better. It was nice to be making some gains there throughout the race. Our pit stops were really good. We had some pretty good fortune to get up towards the front there. I was just trying to get to mile 600 and have a shot, so unfortunately failed to do that again.”

Denny Hamlin (Finished 35th) — “I got right-rear hooked in the middle of the straightaway (referring to his collision with Chase Elliott). It’s a tantrum, and he shouldn’t be racing next week. Right rear hooks are absolutely unacceptable. I don’t care. It is the same thing that Bubba Wallace did with Kyle Larson. Exact same. He shouldn’t be racing. It’s a tantrum.”

Noah Gragson (Finished 36th) — “Bummer day for the No. 42 Black Rifle Coffee Company Chevy team. We made it through the first stage clean. Something went through the radiator. We replaced the radiator and the motor blew up. Just frustrating. Thank you to Black Rifle Coffee Company and the Menusa family for coming out here. Wish we could have had a better run for them, but it was an honor to have Sgt. Menusa on the windshield. It makes this weekend all worth it. Wish we could have given him and his family a better run, but we’ll try again at Gateway.”

Jimmie Johnson (Finished 37th) — “I just didn’t know we were put in that three-wide situation. There were a bunch of us cars that were wrecked and just trying to limp it home. Unfortunately, I ended up in a situation I wasn’t aware of and got turned around. It’s a bummer for the No. 84 Club Wyndham Chevy team.”

NASCAR Cup Series results: Ryan Blaney wins at Charlotte

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CONCORD, N.C. — Ryan Blaney outran William Byron over the final miles and through several restarts to win Monday’s 600-mile NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Blaney thus ended a 59-race winless streak and qualified for the Cup playoffs.

Following in the top five were Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick.

Charlotte Cup results

Charlotte Cup driver points

Ryan Blaney wins NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway

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CONCORD, N.C. — It was the longest wait for the longest race, and it ended on a very long day. And it marked the end of a long winless streak.

Ryan Blaney sprinted away from William Byron in the closing laps of Monday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and ended a 59-race winless streak.

Byron finished second and was followed by Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick.

MORE: What drivers said at Charlotte

MORE: Charlotte Cup results, driver points

Blaney pushed through several late-race restarts and held on to finally write finish to a frustrating losing string. The win marked the first time long-time team owner Roger Penske has won both the Indy 500 and Coke 600 in the same year.

“You start to get to feel like you can’t win any more when you don’t win for a while,” an emotional Blaney told Fox Sports after the race.

Following the lead of his Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden, who won Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 and went into the stands to celebrate with fans, Blaney ran into the frontstretch grandstands after grabbing the checkered flag.

Contender Kyle Larson lost control of his car on a restart with 26 laps to go, starting a crash that also involved Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell.

Blaney, 29, scored the eighth win of his career. He last won at Daytona International Speedway in August 2021 and had posted four runne-rup finishes during that span.

“I tried not to think about that very much,” Blaney said of the losing streak. “It’s hard to win these races. Sometimes you get in these streaks where things don’t go right. It can definitely be frustrating. It’s easy to get down on yourself when you don’t win. You got to think to yourself can I still do it. Can I compete at a winning level?”

A mid-race collision between Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin left their cars seriously damaged and their feelings hurt. They were racing in close quarters on Lap 186 when contact between the two cars sent Hamlin hard into the wall, resulting in major front-end damage. Elliott’s car sustained serious rear damage.

Hamlin said Elliott had a “tantrum” and that he should be suspended for the next race for what Hamlin called “a right rear hook.” Elliott denied intentionally wrecking Hamlin.

A few laps earlier, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski crashed.

The third-stage win went to Blaney. Following were Reddick, Truex, Byron and Ty Gibbs.

Chris Buescher won the second stage, leading Kevin Harvick, Keselowski, Joey Logano and Gibbs.

Byron won the first stage, leading a three-way battle with Christopher Bell and Blaney on the 100th lap. Bell was second, Blaney third, Reddick fourth and Truex Jr. fifth.

A crash involving Bubba Wallace and Aric Almirola resulted in the drivers having a tense red-flag discussion. Almirola shoved Wallace before the altercation was broken up.

Stage 1 winner: William Byron

Stage 2 winner: Chris Buescher

Stage 3 winner: Ryan Blaney

Who had a good race: Ryan Blaney had the day’s fastest car and held off a following herd over the final miles. … William Byron was strong throughout the race but couldn’t challenge Blaney at the end. … The fourth-place finish by Bubba Wallace and the fifth-place run by Tyler Reddick marked the first time 23XI Racing has put two cars in the top five in a points race.

Who had a bad race: Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson had a tough day in his third race of the year. He lost control of his car 74 laps into the race and slapped the outside wall. He lost a lap in the pits and ultimately finished last. … Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin had top-10 cars but both left the race after a controversial collision near the halfway point.

Next: The series races June 4 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1).

NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings: Kyle Larson surges to No. 1

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The NBC Sports Power Rankings typically don’t get too excited about the All-Star Race as it might relate to a driver’s positioning in the top 10, but it’s impossible to ignore Kyle Larson’s spectacular drive to victory Sunday night at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

In a move almost as meaningful as his acceptance of a $1 million check Sunday, Larson jumps a spot in the rankings to No. 1, replacing William Byron, who finished two laps behind Larson at North Wilkesboro.

MORE: Long: Don’t judge North Wilkesboro’s future off All-Star Race

Riding into this weekend’s 600-mile marathon at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Tyler Reddick rejoins the rankings after a third-place run in the All-Star Race.

NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings

1. Kyle Larson (second last week) — Few All-Star Race winners have produced the dominant run Larson had in winning Sunday. He led 145 of the race’s 200 laps and was 4.5 seconds in front at the checkered flag.

2. William Byron (first last week) — Byron drops out of the top spot after a dismal night in North Wilkesboro. He finished two laps behind Larson.

3. Chase Elliott (third last week) — Although no one threatened Kyle Larson over the closing laps Sunday night, Elliott was at least in position to see Larson. Elliott finished fifth.

4. Ross Chastain (fifth last week) — Only half of the field — 12 drivers — finished on the lead lap in the All-Star Race. Chastain came home 11th and, for a change, avoided controversy.

5. Martin Truex Jr. (fourth last week) — Truex finished a lap down at North Wilkesboro, one of many drivers who couldn’t keep up with the Larson Express.

6. Denny Hamlin (sixth last week) — Hamlin was 13th in the All-Star Race. He was the leading driver among those who were a lap down, though, so there’s that.

7. Christopher Bell (eighth last week) — Bell finished 12th at North Wilkesboro on a night when two other Toyota drivers (Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick) were in the top three.

8. Kyle Busch (seventh last week) — Busch failed to make any noise on All-Star night, finishing 22nd, two laps down.

9. Joey Logano (ninth last week) — Logano rallied late to manage a top-10 run at North Wilkesboro.

10. Tyler Reddick (unranked last week) — Reddick returns to the rankings after a third-place run in the All-Star Race.

Dropped out: Kevin Harvick (10th last week).

 

What drivers said at North Wilkesboro Speedway

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What drivers had to say Sunday at the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway:

Kyle Larson — Winner: “I can’t even tell you what it means. This is my third All-Star win and my third different track. In an historical place like that, you guys and the crowd made this weekend so awesome. We could feel the atmosphere all weekend. So much fun there. That was old-school ass whipping, for sure. We had a great car on the long run there and was just thinking for sure there was going to be a caution. I got out to a big lead and I could see everybody’s cars were driving like crap in front of me, but I cannot thank this 5 team enough. We were God awful all weekend. Practice I was like the worst on 30-lap average, went backwards in a heat race yesterday. You obviously had some strategy work out there in the beginning, but we drove from dead last to the lead and checked out by 12 or 13 seconds. Then just could pace myself there that last run.”

MORE: North Wilkesboro All-Star results

Bubba Wallace — Finished 2nd: “I think we needed the louvers and whatever chewed up stuff they have on there. No, just his (Kyle Larson) capability throughout the whole run, he could attack hard and then have something there at the end. If this was any other race I’d be excited, but for a million dollars to come up short and walk home with nothing. Tail tucked between our legs, but, all in all, just continuing to ride the momentum train. I want to get Columbia in Victory Lane and they’ve done a lot, and they came up with the best paint scheme here in the field, so we come up one spot short, so congrats to Larson. He’s been on a rail lately. Just have to keep it going. Now we show back up to home turf and really got to keep the momentum going there and get ourselves deeper into the playoffs here. Excited to be where we’re at right now. Just come up one spot short.”

Tyler Reddick — Finished 3rd: “Just needed a little bit on the balance, but yeah, the Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry TRD was really fast. I made a mistake earlier in the race, back in the first 100 laps, let Kyle (Larson) squeeze by, and he really mowed through the traffic, and yeah, we lined up obviously behind him on that restart and we could kind of stay in touch, but he was able to keep far enough away. I was trying to figure out how much me and Bubba were trying to figure out how much to push, how much to save, and I had an opportunity to get around him with 40 to go, and I just made a mistake on the fuel all night, and it put us behind.”

Chase Briscoe — Finished 4th: “Truthfully, this car at every short track has kind of struggled. I think a lack of grip didn’t really fix the issues. I don’t know. It was fun. I still think this has a great opportunity to be an incredible event, but it would be different if every other race on short tracks had been really good. I think we just need to keep continuing to work on the car. I feel like we made it better on short tracks than what it was last year, but we just need to get it better. We’re slipping and sliding around and doing the things we need to do, but, truthfully, I just feel like this race would have been really, really good if the track had more than one lane. It was almost the track more than the car, necessarily. It was just so fast on the bottom groove. If you miss it by six inches, you are a half-second slower. We all know that, and we all just continue to fight for the bottom. I would almost just put it up as the racetrack is so bottom-dominant that that’s why it’s really hard to pass. We were really, really fast at the end. I felt like if I could have ever just got the lead, I would have been hard to beat, but I’m sure a lot of other guys would say that, too. It was definitely frustrating. We kind of got beat around there on that one restart. I went from running fourth to seventh or eighth and had to drive back up to fourth, so I felt like we were one of the few cars that could pass. I’m proud of that effort, but I would have obviously loved to win a million dollars. Truthfully, with how our last couple of weeks have been, just to get a good run and prove that we can run with these guys is nice.”

Chase Elliott — Finished 5th: “Based on what we saw in practice on Friday, I thought it was about what we were expecting from there. It was pretty anticlimactic; I would say for the most part. But Kyle (Larson), Cliff (Daniels) and the No. 5 team did a great job and really set the pace there once they took tires at the start and controlled the event from there. These races are hard to win. They’re not always going to be barnburners, side-by-side, banging-door finishes. But it doesn’t take away from the fact that they’re still hard to win and that should always be celebrated.”

Ryan Blaney — Finished 6th:  “I had a fun night. Sixth was probably the highest we got to and where we finished, and I thought we could run fifth. Overall, it wasn’t a bad night. We didn’t have winning speed, but it was a fun night, for sure. It was just a case of how disciplined you wanted to be. The whole last run going green was super-cool. It was big tire management because you never really know how many laps you’re gonna run. I kind of had it in my mind right away like, ‘Alright, we might go the whole way, so let’s kind of plan on that,’ and it happened. It was a pretty fun night trying to conserve tires. It reminded me of my late model days.”

All-Star Open

Josh Berry — Winner: “Man, I feel so relieved. These guys deserve to be in this race so bad. Thank you so much to Hendrick Motorsports for believing in me and giving me this opportunity under the circumstances. Ally, everybody back at Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet, man, this is really cool. Our car was solid. We were definitely better the second run. We got some help there, whatever happened with the 34 (Michael McDowell). I don’t know what that was. That was pretty bad. But we were able to get the lead and stretch it out a little bit, kind of maintain it. I think the two best cars made it, so we’ll just see what tonight gives us.”

Ty Gibbs — Finished 2nd: “I, 100 percent, understand his (Michael McDowell) frustration. I moved him out of the way. They fenced us and completely wrecked us for 18th at Martinsville out of nowhere. It’s just a learning experience, I think. We will keep digging. We made it in, so that’s all that matters. It’s the Open. … Everybody’s doing Hail Marys and stuff like that. They all wadded themselves up in (turn) 1. I understand his frustration, but at the same time. We got completely clobbered at Martinsville for 18th. I never said anything and never reacted. Just have to keep to rolling and worry about the future. We’ve got a race for a million dollars, so that is pretty cool. I think our Monster Energy Camry is really fast. We’ve got a little damage from getting hit by him on the apron. I tried to go down on the apron there, probably a little too early and slid, so we are going to get that fixed up and keep digging.”

Aric Almirola — Finished 3rd: “They made their cars better on the pit stop, and we made ours a little bit better, but they made their cars significantly better. I thought we were still better than them in traffic. Surprisingly on a little half-mile racetrack, traffic still matters. I didn’t do myself any favors choosing the outside of that restart. I thought I could maybe make it work. … I was kind of hanging on there at the end trying to hustle to make something of it, and just wasn’t able to get close enough to make a move. Just frustrated. Had a really fast Smithfield Ford Mustang. Proud of the guys. Starting deep in the field against those guys that started on the front row, to drive from ninth all the way up there and have a shot to outrun those guys says how good our car was, but needed more laps. … We’re a great race team and we had a great race car here this weekend. I thought we were a fifth-place car in practice on average. On a long run for sure we were one of the best cars. I would have liked to see it play out tonight here in such an iconic event and running for a million dollars here at North Wilkesboro would have been awesome, so that’s what I’m most disappointed about, just not being in the show tonight and having to watch it on TV. That hurts.”

Michael McDowell — Finished 13th: “Well, it’s short track racing to try to get into the All-Star Race, so somebody has got to leave with hurt feelings. I guess it’s me. I’ve got a great restart there, kind of worked the outside, got a couple guys and was able to get down, and Ty just plowed into me, just knocked me into the 31 (Justin Haley) and spun us both out, and got a lot of damage from that. We ended up on the short side of it. It sucks. Felt like we had a pretty fast Gr8 Auctions Ford Mustang, but at the same time all that stuff comes around, man. You get away with it a few times, but it comes around, and I don’t have a budget for the fine, otherwise I would not be standing here, I’d be standing down there.”

Todd Gilliland — Finished 15th: “I think my spotter said the 42 (Noah Gragson) hit the inside wall. The only thing I saw was the 42 coming right across my nose, and I just shot to the outside wall. That’s probably about as hard as you could possibly wreck here, and it definitely sucks that we tear up a car here, but that’s racing. For me, I lost a spot on that restart. If I had just maintained, I would have been ahead of that. To me, that’s disappointing for myself that I let that happen, but at the same time I didn’t want to get stuck top of three wide.”