Each week, we’ll go through media reports, interviews, PR and all of 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 car owners themselves. This week, here’s a peek at what the drivers were thinking following the EnjoyIllinois.com 225 at Chicagoland Speedway and the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve:
EnjoyIllinois.com 225
“It was a really good night for us. The Miccosukee Tundra was pretty good. We were real proud of the way that we brought a brand new truck here out of the box. We were dragging in practice a little bit and had to work through a few things to get the truck off the racetrack. We’re going to take it home, work on it a little bit, polish it up and get it ready for the next one. Hopefully we can [win] a few more times this season.” – Kyle Busch
“These things are so aero sensitive that you get within four car lengths and it starts to push really bad. It’s really hard to pass. Right now, it stinks because we should have won this race, but second is pretty good after how we’ve run recently.” – Todd Bodine
“Overall, this was a pretty good race for us. We had a lot of guests and old friends here in Bobby’s (Dotter, crew chief) hometown. I’m disappointed we could not come out of that battle with a top five. That was pretty wild at the end; we got three-wide a couple of times. I just wish we could have picked up a few more spots at the end for the guys on the ASI team. This is a good truck and we have something to work with for our next race with it.” – Chad McCumbee, finished seventh
“We had a really good Turtle Wax truck. Unfortunately, we were not able to show just how good we were. There have been times this year that pit strategy has worked out for us and got us a win. We got caught a lap down there and I felt like tires made a major difference. I’m glad we finally did get our lap back so that we could get up to 11th. I would have really liked a top-10 finish, but we just ran out of time.” – Ron Hornaday Jr.
“My biggest frustration this season has been the fact that I have never seen most of these places. Going into Chicago, I felt like I was on the same page as all the other guys. I tested a truck there and did have some laps on the track.” – Ricky Carmichael, finished 18th after spinning and bringing out a late-race caution
NAPA Auto Parts 200
“Just an amazing, amazing last lap. I can’t believe I caught him, and I can’t believe we won the race. Just goes to show you should never give up. Anything can happen. The difference was the tires and the way the track was changing. As soon as it gets dry, there’s so much more grip and there were places out there I saw that had a little more grip. Maybe I could just see better through my windshield.” – Carl Edwards
“There’s not much to say. I made a mistake at the end there and just lost it. Carl [Edwards] put pressure on in the hairpin. He got a great run, and it turned into a drag race. I couldn’t make the turn, bounced off the curb and Carl [Edwards] slingshotted the corner. We led a lot of laps and I’m starting to get annoyed with this track, to be honest with you. That’s three years in a row that I have seemed to have given it away. When you’re on the wrong side of it, it’s pretty tough.” – Marcos Ambrose, finished second
“I had another great run today. The car was amazing, the pit stops were great. The battle with the big guys was pretty impressive. I was definitely impressed with myself. I think for the fans in Montreal, it’s pretty fun to finish on the podium like that. Thanks again for the team; to give me a ride like that was just fantastic. We’ve been fast all weekend long. It’s great to finish on the podium in Nationwide – the big race here.” – Andrew Ranger, finished third
“It went quite good. My Dollar General Braun car was amazing at the restarts for two laps. The brakes were strong, I could attack, overtake a few cars and then take it easy because the brakes were overheating a little bit. Every time there was a caution I was happy. But there’s nothing that’s not bent on the car. It was like being in a pinball machine at every restart. It was just a matter of surviving and when I saw the racing coming, I was quite happy.” – Jacques Villeneuve, finished fourth
“That was a really tough way to end a long, long day. We got banged around a good bit out there today, but still we were looking like we had a shot at winning this thing at the end. [On the green-white-checkered restart] they got bunched up in front of me. We had to check up and got spun from behind. It’s disappointing, to say the least.” – Kyle Busch, finished 10th
“The car was good. The NAPA team did a great job. I thought we were going to win this thing. We kept moving forward, and I was looking at Marcos Ambrose. I was like ‘we’re going to battle with him in a few laps.’ I was waiting to pass Jacques [Villeneuve] and missed a down shift coming on the hairpin. It revved too high and damaged the engine, and then it blew up down the straightaway.” – Patrick Carpentier, finished 38th
