Chase Elliott — winner: “Unbelievable. How about that? Are you kidding me? I never in my life. This is unbelievable. Thank you guys so much. What a special car. It was a lot of fun. This right here is something I’ll never forget. ... I just think that, honestly, all the cards fell on the right places there those last couple laps. What a crazy race, man. I don’t know if y’all had fun, but it was wild from my seat. I’m so glad we got to run that thing out there to the end. Some great partners... Chevrolet, say hey to Mr. Hendrick at home. Thanks for sticking with me, pal, and yeah, just again, thanks to all you guys because this right here is ... you can’t dream of this.”
Brad Keselowski — second: ""(Elliott) got a great push from (Bowman). If those guys would race, I could hold them off, but when they double-teamed me like that, it was the same thing when we had a coupe of teammates, we were able to hold them off. We lost that at the end, and they were able to double-team me. Good effort, led a lot of laps, in position. I don’t think there was anything I could do differently. Just put ourselves in position.”
Alex Bowman — third: “My car was really good, but I was pretty bottom dependent just with how our handling was. I’d say that win was a little popular, so congrats to the 9 team and Chase. Glad to have a Hendrick car in victory lane. Wish it was us, but we had a really fast 48 after we crashed. Just needed to not lose control of the race. That was hard to do. Everybody that led lost control of the race. I just led at the wrong time, I guess. Still a good day for us and our Camaro.”
Tyler Reddick — fourth: “We were really solid. Just made the wrong move at the wrong time. Most of the night if I sat and waited, I’d get shuffled back. Just needed to be a little bit smarter with my move on (Keselowski). It got us shuffled too far back to fight for the win. Disappoiting for sure, but it was nice to get a playoff point. Score some points at a speedway. More and more new winners, so we’ve got to find a way to victory lane.”
Erik Jones — fifth: “To come back and run fifth after we wrecked twice, I’m happy with that. It’s been a lot of fun to race. We had to make a lot of changes to the car. Just really proud of the effort, proud of what we’re doing. We’ve made a big climb in points and are still going. I don’t know. If we can keep making it better, we’re one good step away from being contenders. I hope we can take that step soon.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — sixth: “I felt really good in the first stage. We just worked the draft really well and got up there. I got some stage points. The second stage, I was going to save a little bit of fuel, and everyone was racing like it was the last lap. It kind of caught me off guard. We lost track position. I put myself in the fence. My guys did a really good job getting my toe link changed and getting back on the lead lap. We had a little issue on that last pit stop. Our can really well throughout the draft. Taking the lead with six to go was a little earlier than I wanted. I’m glad a Chevrolet got in victory lane. My team did a great job.”
Zane Smith — seventh: “It was fun to lead some of those final closing laps. I don’t know where it went wrong. I just feel like we went back and forth. Sometimes just one car was clearing me and I’d build my run back up and then go make another charge at it, and then it just kind of seemed like two guys got by me and you’re just not able to have as much throttle time. My runs weren’t quite the same, but, all in all, it was just a really good and a really fast Ford Mustang. It was really cool to have the Lucky Dog scheme back and run up front with it. I’m just proud of the effort, but I wish it panned out a little bit different there. Yeah, for sure I learned a lot. There are some things we need to work on ultimately – controlling distances. That was my first time really defending the lead with a digital camera. It’s just a lot different with how you see runs coming and so to be bummed out with a top 10 is a good thing. I just feel like that was an opportunity to win and advance, but it’s still a good night for us.”
Ty Dillon — eighth: “Our Chevrolet was awesome. I have to thank Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime. These are the best cars I’ve ever driven, and we’re building confidence and momentum week in and week out. That was pretty cool. I owe an apology to (Justin Haley), just got loose. I apologize for taking him out. Pretty pumped about our day. And to all you Denny fans out there: I just knocked your favorite driver out.”
Chris Buescher — ninth: “It was a really solid night for us. This is the best race car we’ve had here since the reconfiguration, so I appreciate everybody working hard to make that our reality tonight. We were up there running strong and I was there at the end. I just needed to keep that track position and a couple cars were able to maneuver a little bit better there at the end. We were fast. We were able to work together pretty well. We got far enough in a run where handling was definitely a balance offset for us and I wasn’t able to stay connected as well as I needed to the 6 to keep us out front. You want to be up front. You want to be leading this thing, but you were a little bit of a sitting duck tonight with some of the runs that came on and with handling the way it was – there were a handful of cars that were able to take tires at the end with no penalty. They just really didn’t have anything to lose and it ended up showing up pretty big for them at the end.”
Carson Hocevar — 10th: “Our guys are really good. We only lost one lap going to the garage and just constantly keep working on it. We drove up to fourth, I had a flat, and we got lucky with a yellow. There was a loose wheel at some point in all the chaos. Just raise our floor and get the most of the day. Just solid. That’s how you build a championship team worthy of being really good is maximizing days like this.”
Connor Zilisch — 11th: “It was great. It was a kind of battle of attrition a little more than anything. To be running up there that close to the front was awesome. I learned a lot. There’s a lot of things to learn when you’re up there against the guys who are out there winning races. I wish I could have gotten that top-10. We were so close. But I’m looking forward to Watkins Glen. That’s going to be a really good one for us. These cars are so much different (than an Xfinity car). The runs were a lot bigger. Air made a difference here. We were almost never wide-open. It definitely was challenging but at the same time I enjoyed it a lot and got better throughout the race.”
AJ Allmendinger — 12th: “Honestly, not sure how to take the day. We had a really fast Chevy. The car was really good that first stage and I thought we had a real shot at the end of that stage, with the right couple of moves, to get up there and score some points. We got caught up in that wreck but our guys did a good job to fix it and the car still pretty good. I was never really overly comfortable to make some big moves there at the end of the race. I was trying to get myself in position, but just never did a good job of that. Proud of the guys and their effort; definitely improvement from the first race. I would love to have seen what we could have done without the damage, but that’s the way this racing goes. It’s all part of it, and we were able to get a decent finish at the end of that day.”
Austin Dillon — 20th: “We had a fast No. 3 Chevrolet tonight in Atlanta. We qualified decent and raced in the top-10 for most of Stage 1. Unfortunately, at the end of the stage the No. 20 car got loose and collected us. We had major body damage and that ruined our night. We made up two laps with a damaged car and finish 20th. Proud of the effort and we have something to work with for our next speedway race.”
Shane van Gisbergen — 24th: “It was definitely a great run there at the start, getting points in both stages. It was fun being competitive. We made some good moves. Stephen and the guys did a great job making changes and got our No. 88 Chevrolet better and better. We just got unlucky getting taken out, and then we had damage. But it was really promising to run up front.”
Denny Hamlin — 31st: “All of us were in the top line pushing off Turn 2, and some zigged, some zagged, most crashed. I don’t know. I was on the bumper of (Nemechek), and he was on the bumper of somebody else. We all were just pushing and speedway zigging and zagging, and we all crashed, so part of it. Now we go watch the rest of the race.”
Josh Berry — 32nd: “I have no idea really what happened. It looked like they were just pushing each other hard for 8th, 10th, 12th like that and got squirrely. It’s just disappointing getting taken out and having that happen with this many laps left. It’s tough, but (Team Penske) had the four fastest cars yesterday. We were doing our best to fend off all the battles and work with each other at the beginning. Everyone on our 21 team and everybody at Team Penske have a lot to be proud of for how yesterday and the start of the race went. Unfortunately, we just got swept up in somebody else’s mess.”
Ross Chastain — 33rd: “It’s just unfortunate being that early in the race. I couldn’t really see what happened. All of a sudden, they were crashing and our No. 1 Chevrolet got caught up in it. Our Chevy was a four out of 10 to start the race, and then we got it to a seven out of 10 on the first pit stop. We were halfway to where we needed to be. We still had some work to do, but we set ourselves up well there restarting 12th and full of fuel for the start of Stage Two.”
Daniel Suarez — 34th: “The sad part for me was that our No. 99 Chevrolet was very good. I was being patient, and I felt like we were coming through the field pretty well during Stage One. I felt like our Chevy had potential. It was the start of Stage Two and we didn’t get to race. It’s a shame. Our team did a very good job with the car and we just got caught up in the mess.”
Chase Briscoe — 35th: “We were about ready to go. I guess NASCAR came over there and saw our chassis was bent or broke, so they’re like, ‘Yeah, you guys can’t go back out.’ So kind of wasted 30 minutes working on it. Just unfortunate. The No. 19 Toyota missed the balance at the beginning and put us behind, and obviously, that big wreck, there was just nowhere to go. Looking forward to two road courses coming up and hopefully a JGR or Toyota car can win. Just an unfortunate day for us.”
Joey Logano — 36th: “I was in the middle of it, so I haven’t seen a replay yet to know what happened. Cars are sideways, and you get in the brakes, and everyone is just running into each other. Just a speedway wreck, especially with everyone so tight on the restart. Wrong place at the wrong time. We tried to win the stage and unfortunately didn’t’ get that done, and then you have to pay the piper and go to the back. It’s unfortunate that it happens. The Penske cars were so strong, so fast. It’s part of the game sometimes. Sometimes you’re the ball, sometimes you’re the bat. Today we’re the ball.”
William Byron — 37th: “There wasn’t really a whole lot I could see. I was kind of catching the No. 22 (Joey Logano) with a little bit of a run. All the guys at the front had pitted during the stage break and cycled to the mid-20s. We were just running a great race in the top-five. They all stacked up and at that point, I went right a little bit; the wreck was already happening and I just kind of got shoved into it. It’s just a bummer that early in the race. I don’t really know what was going on. We were getting up to speed and everyone was throwing a lot of blocks or something, I don’t know. It was fun out there, honestly. The first stage was fun. Handling really mattered. I thought my No. 24 Chevrolet was good. I thought our team was calling a great race and we were doing everything we could do.”
Austin Cindric — 38th: “A lot of cars wrecking in the middle of the straightaway, which here you kind of more expect it in the middle of the corners, but maybe just a push gone wrong. It’s hard to say. I had a small chance to get through a gap there, but obviously it didn’t work out. It’s a shame. Obviously, we had a super fast Ford Mustang. We wanted to keep the thing out front. I was looking forward to it because we got back in traffic with staying out to win the stage, but I was looking forward to see what our car was gonna do in dirty air and see what final adjustments we needed to make and have that opportunity to learn there. It’s just a shame and a shame for everybody at Team Penske bringing such fast cars and all of them wreck out.” I’m a big believer in the law of averages and we’ve reset after Talladega and here we are.”
Corey LaJoie —- 39th: “Saw a little smoke and then it was my hood on my windshield, unfortunately. We were getting it going, and I felt like the car was good right until the point of impact, unfortunately. Man, we had run so good here in the past, and I thought our car was really, too. Track position is so important. Who knows how the night could have gone. That’s the risk you take just jamming it in there and being aggressive on restarts. I really appreciate Rick and everybody on that 01 team. I don’t know when I’ll be doing it again, hopefully in a couple of weeks. This is still the best seat in the house. The TV stuff was good, but driving these things at 200 mph is pretty badass. I don’t know why we see guys pushing like dummies early down the backstretch. I don’t know what we’re doing. We just started the stage. I don’t know why we’re pushing like we’re damn bumper cars at Frankie’s Fun Park, but that’s not to be surprised. I think there are a lot of guys who don’t make wise decisions driving these things on speedways. Unfortunately, we were right smack in the middle of it.”
Ryan Blaney — 40th: “I couldn’t see much. As soon as they started spinning and coming down, I tried to get to the apron and finally got there and got blocked. Story of our year: Getting caught up in other people’s garbage. As soon as I feel like we get it going pretty good and find some momentum, we never really seem to have things going our way. Tried to flip the stage and was right in the middle of it. Stinks and that’s the way it goes sometimes. We’ll be back and go at it in Chicago next week. I definitely thought we could improve (the car) in dirty air, but I was excited to work through it during the night and never got the chance.”
