Q: YOU MUST BE SATISFIED WITH YOUR DEBUT.
MA: “I couldn’t believe it, you know? Here I am passing Jeff Gordon and racing with Earnhardt – it’s just fantastic. It’s what I dreamed about, dreamed what it would be like, and it’s certainly like that. It’s just fantastic. It’s just a shame we couldn’t finish the race.”
Q: SO YOU FEEL YOU RAN WELL FOR YOUR FIRST CUP RACE?
MA: “Yeah, I’m just so excited about it. I would never have dreamt that we would’ve run this well. I just wanted to try to get in the race and just race. We did that, we ran up front, raced some guys, with Gordon and Earnhardt – just a blast. It was everything I dreamt it would be like.”
Q: IS THERE A LESSON THAT YOU TAKE OUT OF TODAY?
MA: “It’s hard work. I wish I would’ve come over 10 years ago. I’m just so lucky to have this opportunity with Little Debbie and the Wood Brothers crew. I just want to thank them so much for giving me the chance. Road racing is my background, it’s where I feel most comfortable. I’m not saying every week is going to be like this; this is definitely a race I’m going to remember for a long time.”
Q: YOU MADE UP A LOT OF GROUND AFTER YOUR FIRST PIT STOP. DID YOU GET MORE DOWNFORCE?
MA: “Not really – just had to drive harder. We were just rolling around there through the first third of the race. The pressure’s coming on there the last part of the race, and unfortunately we just didn’t make it home.
“What happened in the incident when Elliott got into the back of me, I was just downshifting to first gear and the impact behind me just must’ve shoved the gearbox and broke the gears. We actually finished without first gear – it put a hole in the gearbox casing. We didn’t want to oil the track down for everybody else. We leave with our heads held high.”
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