Each week, we’ll go through media reports, interviews, PR and all our own stuff to find the best quotes from the Sprint Cup race, capturing the story of how the weekend unfolded. It’s the most original commentary you’ll ever find: the truth, coming straight out of the mouths of the drivers, crew members and the car owners themselves. This week, here’s a sneak peek at what a select few were thinking following the Centurion Boats at the Glen at Watkins Glen International:
“I knew [Tony Stewart] was going to be hard to beat. I was racing against the same stuff with Tony Stewart and Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota so I knew it was going to be hard to beat Tony. He’s such a great friend and such a great teammate and I’m really going to hate to see him leave at the end of the year. I have to thank the fans because they are the ones that make us race. Everybody out there – I appreciate your support.” – Kyle Busch
“I was pretty happy with it and it was pretty uneventful from our side. We didn’t have any big dramas during the race. The red there at the end kind of killed us a little bit. Really happy with the day. Proud of Kyle [Busch] and how he ran. I saw behind us that Denny [Hamlin] was having a good day, too. I’m really proud of the whole organization. It’s days like today that you want every week – to be uneventful and to be this smooth everyday.” – Tony Stewart, finished second
“It’s just a great weekend all around. I thought yesterday was great, but when I wound up there on that red flag, I realized where I was. I was behind Tony and in front of all those other great drivers. I’m just really excited that I’ve been given an opportunity and I’m able to make the most of it. You know, you don’t get many chances in life to do something special like this, and today I’m going to look back at very fondly – the whole weekend, to be honest with you.” – Marcos Ambrose, finished third
“It was a great day for our Big Red Slim Pack Dodge Charger. The crew did a great job and we had a fantastic car. We got a little messed up on the second pit stop. I’m not sure what happened. The pit stop itself was OK, but the pit lane that we were in screwed us up a bit and we lost some spots. Other than that, we had a really clean race.” – Juan Pablo Montoya, finished fourth
“It was a lot of fun out there today. I just want to thank all my guys on the Bass Pro Chevrolet. We had a really good car all day. Had a great engine under the hood today, so I got to thank ECR engines for that. Just a lot of fun today. It was great to get another top five… It’s been a while coming.” – Martin Truex Jr., finished fifth
“We ended with a good finish for our Shell-Pennzoil Impala SS. It was a great points day for us, but just as important, it just continues to show how strong our team is. We needed a couple more cautions to pit for more adjustments, but all in all, we rallied from a car that wasn’t quite right to a good car at the end.” – Kevin Harvick, finished sixth
“I’m really proud of the guys. We were good all weekend and just came up a little short. We battled a tight racecar and had a tire go down early on, but we were able to battle back and get a good finish.” – Jimmie Johnson, finished seventh
“We were about a 10th-place car. We could have been 15th or we could have been fifth. It was a great race for us. We hardly made any adjustments. We had to make sure we had enough fuel after last week. I’m happy for this team to get a top-10 finish. That was a good day for us right now.” – Kurt Busch, finished 10th
“It doesn’t matter where you are in the points until after Richmond, really. We didn’t really run that great. We had a real average car, and we had a real above average strategy and pit crew, so those guys got me the good finish, really.” – Matt Kenseth, finished 12th
“I’m going to have to go back and look at it. I had a run and I went underneath him and he just didn’t give me a whole lot of room. Maybe I shouldn’t have been in there, but we’re racing hard to stay in the Top 35 in owner points and try to get back into the Top 35 – that’s what we needed to do with our Champion Mortgage Toyota.
“It’s unfortunate, and I’m sorry for the fans and all the cars that got wrecked there and then they had to wait through that red flag. I was just racing hard and really it doesn’t look much different than how it was with Kyle Busch and Jeff Burton yesterday, but I’m sure they’ll make a big deal out of it.” – Michael McDowell, finished 25th, on what caused a nine-car pileup with eight laps remaining
“I was trying to get around the No. 78 car, and the first thing that I saw was someone’s radiator – so I turned and tried to get down on the track. It’s not a good feeling to look down and see the end of pit wall coming up really fast. We got really lucky that we didn’t damage the car any more then we did. It was a tough day, for sure.” – Sam Hornish Jr., finished 32nd
“I’m a little sore everywhere, I think. But I’ll be OK, I think.” – David Gilliland, finished 40th, after taking two hard hits with eight laps remaining
“I’m fine. I’m broken in my heart because the guys at Haas Racing were doing an awesome job. Strategy was perfect and we were ready to attack for the last nine laps. I don’t know exactly what happened; I need to see the replay. Pushing and shoving is okay, but that was crazy. It was just crazy. There were cars everywhere. I had nowhere to go. And unfortunately you know, I want to see the replay, I can’t really say much. But definitely it’s heartbreaking because we were bound to do a great race.” – Max Papis, finished 43rd
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