ELLIOTT FASTEST FORD IN DAYTONA 500 QUALIFYING

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Bill Elliott set the pace for the Ford Fusion drivers at Daytona International Speedway, who are qualifying for the Daytona 500.

BILL ELLIOTT – NO. 21 MOTORCRAFT FORD FUSION (QUALIFIED FIFTH)
“I have such mixed emotions. This whole Motorcraft team—David Hyder, Len and Eddie [Wood] —they really put a good plan together to come down here for the 500 this year and I’m so proud of what they’ve done.

”I’m disappointed for those guys that we didn’t sit on the pole as good as we ran yesterday, but on the flip side I looked back a year ago when we ended up loading that Motorcraft Ford up going home. It’s such a fine line.

”We’ve got to make sure we get a good, solid qualifying run because, to me, it’s in steps. You’ve got to look at it from the standpoint of first, this is your best opportunity to get in the Daytona 500 today as far as qualifying speed. If you miss that, then you’ve got a second chance on Thursday, but you want to do it a step at a time. So now if we hold where we’re at today, we’ll be locked in for the 500 and then we can worry about racing and doing what we need to do—get through the Dual 150 and go from there.”