What drivers said at Charlotte after the Coke 600 won by Ross Chastain
Ross Chastain — First: ""That's the dedication it takes from Trackhouse. There were people that had Saturdays off, and they came in for this Chevy. To drive on that final run and pass two cars that had been way better all night ... Holy cow, we just won the World 600!"
William Byron — Second: "He was catching me, I was trying to just defend and was getting a little bit tight. Disappointning. Just to lead that many laps and such a great effort by our whole team, and I could have anticipated that last run better. Just sucks. We'll just keep going and keep trying to put races together like that."
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Denny Hamlin — Third: ""You can't change the results, so you're going to have to live with it. They're the pros. I'm not a pit guy. I tried to do everything I could. We had a great car, fun battling up front. Heck of a battle there. Would have liked to have seen it through and unfortunately didn't get enough gas in it and had to come back in."
Brad Keselowski — Fifth: "We had a really good car. We got mixed up in some of the different stuff in the midpoint of the race and just clawed our way out. I feel like if we could have got to the lead, we could have won the race. I wish it was a 700-mile race. You feel like you earned it. Some of these races you're like, 'I don't know if I earned it.' Today, we earned it. Just getting to the lead dictated so many things and we weren't able to get there, but I think we had the effort to do it. By the end of the night, I thought we were one of the best cars, if not the best. I just wish it was a 700-mile race. We've been really competitive the last few weeks and I feel like it just hasn't all come together and it still hasn't all come together, but this car has got the speed to win the race and I need to go get it. This car was good enough to win. We just weren't able to put all the dots together and some of that falls on me for sure.'
Ryan Preece — Ninth: "Honestly, it felt like we were really good. We were really good compared to the competition the first 200, but I've got to figure out how to qualify better because we had a terrible pit selection with just the situation we were in. We kept going to 12th and then would drop to 28th and then drive forward again. Once we got there and the night cooled things off, I just got too loose for how good I was early and that was the difference. Ultimately, I'm happy with a ninth and we're going to continue on. Ford is really lucky to have a guy like Brad on his team, and I'm really lucky to have him as an owner, as a driver, as somebody that I can lean on. He's really been helpful, so it's been a lot of fun and certainly we want that position. We want to be in position to win these races, but today was one of those days where we grinded it out and got a ninth.'
Noah Gragson — 10th: "I felt like we had a really good Ford Mustang Dark Horse, but at the end of Stage 3, I was too short in the pit box and screwed us as a team. We really ran up in the top eight pretty much all night. I felt like our car was pretty strong and got set back to start that fourth stage. We were the last car on the lead lap, so to drive back up through the field and finish in the top 10 feels really good.'
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Cody Ware — 25th: 'I feel like today was a day where we can start building our momentum. It was a hard fought 600 miles but we were there at the end. I'm just thankful for the crew to build me such a fast Ford Mustang Dark Horse today and we'll be able to take this 25th place finish and hopefully get a better qualifying draw for Nashville and start to build some momentum. I'm really happy with it. I'm worn out and exhausted and ready to get some sleep and start prepping for Nashville.'
Austin Cindric — 31st: 'It's a bit of a shame. I thought we had a solid run going, but I got a little too free and popped the fence. I was trying to be patient all night and still didn't quite get it. I thought we had enough speed to sneak a top 10 in there tonight, but overall it was a difficult evening and I'm proud of the hustle from the guys to be able to finish the race.'
Ryan Blaney — 38th: 'It was three-wide and tight getting off the corner. I thought I was kind of high enough as I could go, and it seems like, I don't know if it was just a big squeeze, a couple of us bounced off each other – just tight off (Turn) 4. The first caution set us back and then finally got close to the top 10, but now we're gonna go home early. It's one of those things.'
Zane Smith — 39th: 'We got a little behind on adjustments and were racing with guys that are just a little sketchier. Unfortunately, I just got tight and tried to slide up in front of (Shane van Gisbergen) and got a little free and then just got finished off by him. It's unfortunate because we had a really good car until our halfway break. All in all, we've been fast this year and we just need to keep it going."
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Yahoo
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A Costa Rican Surf Gem With Waves That Sort Out A Crowd
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