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 sneak peek at what they all were thinking following the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway:
“With Roger Penske and our group, I saw all cars of Penske in the top 10 at one point today. I know they all didn’t finish there. We’ve definitely turned a good corner. Steve is working real good with Travis and Jay. All the thoughts of how is Steve going to be able to handle a different Busch, feels good to be able to get to victory lane right away. I haven’t even yelled at him yet, so it feels good.” – Kurt Busch, race winner in No. 2 Dodge
“To see a guy that’s a hundred laps down take out a guy that’s run really well, that was a tough, tough pill to swallow. It reminded me of when Keselowski was racing Edwards hard for the win at Talladega and Edwards ended on the short end of the stick. That was racing for a win. That wasn’t where you were a hundred laps down.” – Kurt Busch on the Brad Keselowski/Carl Edwards incident
“You know, it feels good. It honestly feels good to be with this race team, with Kurt as the driver, and come back and win before the [No.] 18 car got a chance to win. That’s a personal deal. There’s nothing against that. I’m still great friends with Kyle [Busch] and everything. But it’s a good feeling. It’s a relief in a certain way.” – Steve Addington, winning crew chief for the Penske No. 2
“You know we have those two lines we are supposed to start with and [Kurt Busch] went for it like 40 yards before the first one. It really surprised me. It is not a big deal, he deserves to win. I am not going to say, ‘Oh we should have won,’ because he did that here. I just want to make sure for the next time NASCAR knows about it, but it is OK.” – Juan Pablo Montoya in his No. 42 Chevrolet, finished third
“These guys work their tails off all during the offseason and it was a lot of fun out there today. All of our cars were fast this weekend. We got three of the top-six finishers, so I think Richard Petty Motorsports is back.” – Paul Menard in the RPM No. 98, finished fifth
“I don’t know what it is, but we keep getting screwed on these restarts. Every time we’re at the end of the race – green-white-checkered or three to go – the guy in my lane spins his tires and we get all jacked up. It happened the restart before that and then it happened for the final restart. I don’t understand.” – Greg Biffle in his Roush No. 16 , finished eighth
“We got two bad right-side tires and right-rear tires. I don’t know… it felt [like] the damn wheels were coming off. We pitted and the wheel was fine, but the car was vibrating so bad I couldn’t hardly see. I should have not pitted but I thought the wheel was loose and I have had them come off here and that isn’t fun. – Dale Earnhardt Jr., finished 15th, regarding his lap 112 visit to pit road
“I said after Talladega it’s going to happen at an intermediate track but that window of opportunity is only at the end of the straightaway. At Talladega it’s all the way around the racetrack. I guess I proved myself right. Luckily it wasn’t me this time.” – Ryan Newman on the Keselowski/Edwards incident, finished 17th
“I think it’s one of those things where when they come here and test, you expect them to build a tire that we can abuse and that we can race hard with. That obviously wasn’t the case. There is a good chance we were too aggressive, but until we go back and analyze everything it’s hard to say.” – Jeff Gordon on the Goodyear tires, finished 18th
“I know Brad has made his career on being super-aggressive. We both had a part in it and it’s not his fault, but it’s just a little too aggressive overall, I think, for that early in the race and caused us to wreck.” – Carl Edwards on first incident with Keselowski
“Brad knows the deal between him and I. The scary part was his car went airborne, which was not at all what I expected. At the end of the day, we’re out here to race and people have to have respect for one another and I have a lot of respect for people’s safety. I wish it wouldn’t have gone like it did, but I’m glad he’s OK and we’ll just go on and race some more and maybe him and I won’t get in anymore incidents together. That would be the best thing.” – Carl Edwards on second incident with Brad Keselowski, finished 39th
“I’m OK. Just a wild ride that was uncalled for. He cut down on a restart and I lifted, but I couldn’t lift fast enough (for the first incident on lap 41) because I was there. I don’t know what more you could do. To come back and just intentionally wreck someone, that’s not cool. At least I didn’t do it intentionally when it happen. It’ll be interesting to see how NASCAR reacts to it – they have the ball. If they’re going to allow people to intentionally wreck each other at tracks this fast, we will hurt someone on the track or in the grandstands. It’s not cool to intentionally wreck somebody at 190 mph.” – Brad Keselowski, finished 36th
About the author
The Frontstretch Staff is made up of a group of talented men and women spread out all over the United States and Canada. Residing in 15 states throughout the country, plus Ontario, and widely ranging in age, the staff showcases a wide variety of diverse opinions that will keep you coming back for more week in and week out.
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