"First off, just thanks, everybody, for coming out. Y’all made for a really fun environment for us. We don’t race in stadiums like this, so it’s just really cool. Appreciate y’all making that moment special for me and my team. This is awesome.
"It was a tough race. Ryan [Blaney] kept me honest there at the end. Denny [Hamlin] was really good at the second-half of that break. I just felt like he was kind of riding, and I was afraid to lose control of the race and not be able to get it back.
"Fortunately it worked out. Great way to start the season. Huge
thanks to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports; a lot of hard work over the off-season. NAPA Auto Parts, Chevrolet, some great partners. Excited to get to Daytona. It’s a great way to start the season." - Chase Elliott, race winner
"I got to 10th before the break and I kind of got to the top-five relatively quick – a couple of restarts went my way – and by
the time I got to second I saved a pretty good bit even to get to second because I knew it might go the whole way, and then it was just kind of like a game between [Chase Elliott] and myself like who can save more right-rear tire. I just didn’t quite have enough to lean on there at the end. I started pushing like with 25 to go and I just didn’t have enough. I was like, ‘Uh oh.’ I needed some help by lappers and I just never really could get there. I kind of just didn’t have enough to lean on,
but it was fun coming from the back and just not quite having enough, but it’s always fun when you can move forward like that." - Ryan Blaney, finished second
"I just didn’t do very well on that restart there, and kind of lost the bottom and Chase [Elliott] took advantage of it. Once you get the lead, it is a lot easier to hang on to it. I thought that
they were just a little better that second half than we were, along with [Ryan Blaney] was as well. We just have to get a little bit better, but overall, a good day for our Sport Clips Toyota." - Denny Hamlin, finished third
"I got damage early in the race, like lap three. Briscoe tried to get in and we wheel-hopped and it kind of jumped the front of my
car up and ripped the steering wheel right out of my hands and knocked the toe out about half-an-inch and then it just plowed the whole first run of the race. That puts you an adjustment behind because in the 100 lap break you’re sitting there saying, ‘OK, I was really tight but was that because my toe was out a lot, or am I really that tight?’ So that makes it a challenging adjustment and really just kind of put us one adjustment behind. I wish I didn’t get that damage. I think I could have
maybe been in contention there. We had decent track position. I was trying to manage where I was before the 100 lap break so I could still be in the hunt. We just had a couple of mediocre restarts where I couldn’t launch as good and let a couple cars down in front of me, and then the long haul there I was able to get a couple cars there at the end of the race. I was trying to position myself to where I was in the second row and you never know what happens on a late race restart at a track like
this, so it was just trying to say semi close and hope for a caution, which there never was, but, overall, I would say the race was pretty interesting." - Joey Logano, finished fourth
"I hate that I got into [Brad Keselowski]. I didn’t want to get a top-five finish that way. He was doing everything he could to get down – and I got greedy and wanted to
fill the hole. I really didn’t think I hit him that hard, but obviously I did, so apologize for that. A good day – I wish I had the hard charger award. This – [Ryan Blaney] beat me for that. I looked in the mirror, before the break, and he is two back and I’m like, he’s fast. But all-in-all, a good day for our Leidos Toyota Camry. We start off the season with a top-five. Does that count? We will count it. All-in-all, a good day – we were still missing it on something. This tire was also from
Martinsville in the fall. I didn’t like the car then. I don’t like the car now, but you have to fight for it. I need to look back on what I need to do better with this tire. I think it is more me than the car – just getting the potential, but all-in-all, it was a fun night. Crowd was loud and proud, and it was a good time." - Bubba Wallace, finished fifth
"I have no idea.. I don’t know. We had every chance to get torn up and get spun out. We were in the middle of a lot of stuff, but we survived.
"I had fun. A strong second-half of the race makes it more fun, when you finish the best that we’ve ran all weekend." - Ross Chastain, finished sixth
Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo
is courtesy of NASCAR Media via Sean Gardner of Getty Images.
