Drivers’ reactions following the Pocono Raceway NASCAR Cup race.
Winner Ryan Blaney: “I feel like everything is kind of clicking into place for us.” We have, in my opinion, advanced significantly in the last two months in particular. In all honesty, I believe we let a few races slip away from us that we had a strong chance to win. We had planned to have a track position in the end, so it was good to follow the plan today. Our automobile was quick enough; I knew that. I have the utmost pride in the entire 12-man squad. The Ford Mustang Wabash was incredible. It’s awesome to triumph here once more. I took home the Cup seven years ago, having won here first.
Denny Hamlin, who placed second, said, “Track position is a huge deal. They were in front of us as Ryan Blaney leaped onto the stage after we had won. It would undoubtedly be difficult to pass. Not just a few laps of green at the end, either.
Alex Bowman placed third: “We had a lot of trouble with our car in the filthy air.” Ultimately, I believe that most of our modifications injured us a little bit since they were too liberated once we had pure air there. I’m proud of my No. 48 Chevy Ally Best Friends squad. We just needed a little bit more to get to No. 12 (Ryan Blaney), but it was a fantastic run. After I mistreated the right rear tyre for an extended period of time, Denny Hamlin’s job became quite simple to avoid. However, it was a strong day for third place.
William Byron, placed 4th: “We didn’t really do anything. I had a really good No. 24 Raptor High Heat Chevy, for sure. Excellent execution, and everyone did a great job of simply staying focused. We were able to have good restarts, particularly at the finish there, and just kind of maintained it till the very end, even though not every situation went our way with the plan. There are a lot of things to analyse, but overall, I’m happy with the team and it’s nice to be in the top five.
Joey Logano, who placed fifth, said, “You have to be somewhat satisfied with a top five overall.” Towards the conclusion of the race, we showed some speed, and I believe we could have finished in the top two.
We just waited too long to find the appropriate balance; I’m not sure if we could have done better than Ryan. I nearly ruined the restart once we had the track position and the balance close. I am proud of the speed we brought to a track like this, even though those locations kind of lost us the opportunity to win it in the end. It seems like our car performed fairly well on the straightaways this time, which makes me look forward to Indianapolis a little bit more.
Tyler Reddick, placed 6th: “We did okay on stages 1 and 3. It was a little difficult on Stage 2. Regretfully, we simply ran out of decent restarts in the middle section and lost some points. Overall, though, we had a strong day and reduced the distance to the top in points. And evidently, Denny (Hamlin) got a little closer to us. Overall, an excellent day with many positive elements.
