NASCAR Cup

Daytona Duel: Ford teams race 2 notes, quotes

Today's win by Kasey Kahne was the first win for Ford's new FR9 engine. The win also marked the first for Richard Petty Motorsports since joining Ford at the beginning of this season. Kasey Kahne's win was his first at Daytona International ...

Published: Feb 12, 2010, 5:16 PM

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Today's win by Kasey Kahne was the first win for Ford's new FR9 engine.

The win also marked the first for Richard Petty Motorsports since joining Ford at the beginning of this season.

Kasey Kahne's win was his first at Daytona International Speedway, the first with Ford in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and the 20th win for Ford in a Gatorade Duel qualifying race.

Kahne becomes the third active Ford driver to ever win a Gatorade Duel, joining Bill Elliott (4) and Elliott Sadler (2).

***

BORIS SAID -- No. 26 Window World Cares Ford Fusion (Finished 27th)

"We're doing this race on a tight budget. We're in the race, so we want to save our car and save the motor for the race. The car ran great, but we really weren't planning on starting to run hard until tomorrow. That's when we plan on practicing hard and then running really hard in the 500, but it seemed to run pretty good."

IS IT A CASE OF NOT HAVING A BIG CAR INVENTORY TO FALL BACK ON? "Right. We did this program two weeks ago, so we have a backup but it doesn't even have an engine in it. We're trying to do this race with just one engine instead of two, so we've got to run limited miles. Being locked in the show, it would be stupid to go out there and wreck for just as starting spot, whereas the 500 is so long that you can start anywhere and do good. I think it's a good plan."

***

MATT KENSETH -- No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion (Finished 11th)

"When we started off I didn't think it was very good, and then about 15 laps into the run it really came to us and we were able to drive all the way up to the lead. I thought everything was pretty good. We were just a little loose, so we tried to tighten it up on the pit stop with four new tires and it just took off sideways. I burned the right-rear off that whole run."

SOME GUYS IN THE FIRST RACE SAID THE TRACK ALMOST FEELS LIKE A JULY RACE IN THAT THE TRACK IS SLICK. WHAT DO YOU THINK? "It seems like the tire maybe has a little less grip than what we had, which is OK as long as we're not blowing out tires. That's no big deal, but we also have a bigger plate. I don't know if we have more or less downforce, but when you're going faster and the track is really worn out because it's another year older, it's gonna be slick."

HOW DO YOU ADJUST TO IT? "You really just have to work on your handling and keep working to make it as balanced as you can, and make it handle the best you can."

***

ELLIOTT SADLER -- No. 19 Stanley's Ford Fusion (Finished 5th)

"I feel great. The car drove really good. We feel like we learned some things today for Sunday's race. We finished fifth and my teammate won the race, so it was a great day all in all for Richard Petty Motorsports, Ford and Stanley. I feel like I've got a pretty good piece for Sunday. It handled good and ran good on long runs, and that's what it's gonna have to have."

WHAT KIND OF A BOOST IS IT FOR YOU ORGANIZATINO TO WIN A RACE RIGHT OFF THE BAT WITH FORD? "It's a big boost. Doug Yates and his engine staff have given us a lot of horsepower here this weekend. It drafts good. It cools good, so those guys did a good job."

***

PAUL MENARD -- No. 98 Peak/Menards Ford Fusion (Finished 15th)

"I learned a lot for Sunday. We started off and were pretty good, but it seemed when the sun went down or things cooled off the track got a little freer. I was kind of hanging on at the end. The top line was the line you needed to be in, but I was a little bit too loose to run up there. I could run the middle and bottom good, but the car would bog down too much to get a good run off, so I learned some things and we'll be ready for Sunday."

HOW SLICK WAS THE TRACK? "It's been a slick race track since we unloaded last week. I don't know if it's the rear shock package or what, but it's definitely a lot slicker than it has been."

-source: ford racing

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