Optimism Abounds As The Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Returns To Daytona
June 29, 2016
As the Sprint Cup Series heads to Daytona International Speedway for Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 and the traditional start of the second half of the season, there’s a sense of optimism in the Motorcraft/Quick Lane camp.
After the first 16 races, rookie driver Ryan Blaney is 17th in the points standings, 16 points out of 15th place, which would put him in the running for a berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup based on his position in the standings. He has finished in the top 25 on 13 occasions. Among those finishes are six top-10s with one of them a fifth-place at Kansas Speedway.
Now Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team begin a stretch of races where they will be returning to tracks with the benefit of experience they didn’t have the first time around, as Blaney had never raced Cup cars on eight of the 16 tracks on the schedule.
For rookie crew chief Jeremy Bullins, the first swing around the Cup circuit has gone by in a hurry.
“As I finished up my Sonoma post-race summary on Monday, it blew me away that we are at the ‘halfway’ point of the season,” Bullins said. “Heading to Daytona for the second time this year has us excited as we have so much confidence in how our speedway cars have raced.”
The anticipation doesn’t end there.
“I’m even more excited to be going back to so many tracks for a second time, and even a third or fourth time counting back to last year,” Bullins said. “The more we run the more Ryan learns and the better we get as a team.”
Bullins said that the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team has a lot to be proud of at this point in Blaney’s rookie season.
“To be sitting here 16 races in, knowing we are in a position to earn our way into the Chase via points is a testament to the job he and the team have done in our first full season working together,” he said. “I’m still confident we can put ourselves in position to win before the season is over.”
He said the team’s performance at Kansas in May, where Blaney was the highest finishing Ford driver, shows that the driver and team are building on their experience, as the May race was the third appearance at Kansas for Blaney and Bullins, including one start in 2014 in a Team Penske Ford.
“We ran for the third time and got a top-five,” Bullins said. “If we start cracking off top-10s and top-fives, good things happen.”
Still, Bullins said, he and Blaney will continue to approach each upcoming race with the same determination and work ethic that they have so far in their time together.
“We truly don’t talk about points or goals,” he said. “We just work hard and try to run the best we can every week.”
“All the teams I’ve been a part of, if you go about your business the way you should, all those things tend to take care of themselves.”
Qualifying for the Coke Zero 400 is set for Friday at 4:15 p.m. eastern, with race time being 7:45 p.m. Saturday night with TV coverage on NBC.
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About Motorcraft
Motorcraft® offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended and approved by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to under-hood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer exceptional value with the highest quality and right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln dealers, independent distributors and automotive parts retailers are backed by Ford Motor Company’s two-year, unlimited-miles Service Parts Limited Warranty. Ask for Motorcraft by name when you visit your local auto parts store or your favorite service facility. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.
About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Centers
Quick Lane® provides automotive quick services for all makes and models. Quick Lane’s nationwide network of more than 700 facilities, each providing the convenience of an aftermarket company (no appointment necessary, service while you wait, evening and weekend hours, competitive prices) with the confidence of a major automotive manufacturer (quality parts, factory-trained, technicians). In addition to offering trusted parts from Motorcraft, Quick Lane Tire & Auto Centers offers brand-name tires from Goodyear, Continental, Michelin and others. Quick Lane® is a registered trademark of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.quicklane.com
Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 98 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 117 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion driven by Ryan Blaney in the famous No. 21 racecar.