Talladega raceday quotes (Update)
WHAT HAPPENED?
"Unfortunately blew an engine, no warning. The temperatures were fine. I blew it going into Turn 1. I have to apologize to the other teams that we took out. Of course the bad thing about Talladega is when something happens other cars are all around you, unfortunate short end to our day. ECR engines and RCR everybody at the shop does a great job. I’m sure they will bring it back and they will diagnosis it and they will fix the problem whatever it was. But their horsepower, our engines everything has been great. On the XFINITY side they ran flawlessly. I hate it for our partners Shore Lodge, Whitetail, Albertsons, everybody to have a day ruined like that."
05/03/15
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| David Ragan's stint with Joe Gibbs Racing ends with an accident at Talladega |
DAVID RAGAN, No. 18 Pedigree Camry Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
What happened in the accident on the back straightaway?
"It looked like the 6 (Trevor Bayne) car and maybe another white car got turned sideways down the back straightaway and we were in the top groove and tried to slow down. Someone on our left side just kind of came across our nose. It's very unfortunate with our Pedigree Toyota. I felt like we had some good speed. Just one of those things at Talladega – if you're not up in the top-two or three or if you're not running 38th to 40th then you're very subject to being involved in some accidents like that. Just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but had a good run with the 18 guys. Have to thank everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing for the opportunity and wish it would have worked out a little bit better."
How was the tone of the race up until the accident?
"I felt like it was very much the same for a sunny Talladega race. Our Pedigree Toyota handled well and thought it had good speed. The bottom lane wouldn't work very well for some reason – didn't have a lot of speed with the pack on the bottom so you're forced to run the second and the third groove. I thought it was a pretty normal race. We got single file for a little while and pretty low key until someone gets turned sideways at 200 mph."
What did you see in front of you in the accident?
"I just saw two cars sideways coming across the track in front of me. We were in the third lane and tried to get checked up. I thought we were really going to be fine and then someone from the inside spun across our nose and collected us to the outside wall. Just very unfortunate to tear up a lot of good race cars that early in a 500-mile race, but that's what you have at Talladega. You have to take the good with the bad at a place like this. It's just one of those things. You hate for the employees at Joe Gibbs Racing, for Pedigree, for all the folks at Toyota – they put a lot into it and we had a car that was capable of winning today. When you're in the wrong place at the wrong time and guys are wrecking in front of you, that's just one of those things here."
Are you looking forward to jumping into the 55 Camry at Kansas?
"I wish Kansas was in about an hour. I just don't like the five or six days that you have to dwell and think about last week's race. Certainly, this is not a good race to go out on. I was hoping we could get a good finish and contend for a win here today, but just wasn't meant to be. I'm very thankful for everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing and M&M's/Mars, Interstate Batteries for their support. We had a lot of fun. We didn't end on a good note, but you have that at Talladega sometimes."
Toyota Racing