Top 10 quotes from NASCAR Daytona 500 Media Day, ranked

Here are some notable quotes from Wednesday’s Daytona 500 Media Day, in order of interest.

1. Clint Bowyer on the end of the Clash: “Man, I hit the 21 car. I don’t even know how he got turned around. All I know is that I went to Disney World with 20 people. My God. That wreck was nothing compared to the hell I have been through the last two days.”

2. Denny Hamlin, reflecting on the $25,000 fine he received in 2013 for saying the Gen 6 car did not initially race as good as the Gen 5: “If you go back and look at the comments I made, I should get my money back. That’s BS. I didn’t hardly say anything! (NASCAR officials) owe me a beer or two.”

3. Martin Truex Jr., revealing Furniture Row Racing was at risk of going out of business after the 2015 season — something that was previously unreported — and required him to find sponsorship to keep the ride: “Furniture Row was the Furniture Row car every week in ’15, right? It wasn’t anywhere in ’16. That was why. Things change.”

4. Brad Keselowski on races for the lead in plate races turning into wrecks: “It seems like there are a number of people that get into the top two or three that really just have no clue what they are doing and they pull really bad, juvenile mistake moves and wreck the field. … People throw blocks that don’t understand the runs or what is around them. They don’t have full situational or spacial awareness — but they think they do, which is even more dangerous.”

5. Joey Logano on whether there will be more conflict between drivers with the new rules package this year: “I totally expect to crash more cars. As cars are closer and drivers are more aggressive, a mistake will create a bigger crash and we can’t get away from it if you’re right behind the guy. You know how it is on the highway and they check up right in front of you — you can’t stop quick enough and you’re only going 70. Try going 180, you know? So, yes, I assume there will be more crashes, I assume that we’re all gonna tear more stuff up this year — and usually when there are more crashes, there is more conflict. So it’ll be interesting. Hang on.”

6. Bubba Wallace, joking about the aftermath of finishing second in last year’s Daytona 500: “The media center was the highlight. Shed a little tear for TV ratings trying to get those up — that was all part of the plan. It worked out. Hell, I got a lot of people on my side over that. Got to pump up the waterworks again this year.”

7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on criticism after playing a role in multiple wrecks during July’s Daytona race: “The only issue I had with July is we didn’t win. I could care less what the perception of everybody else is.”

8. Kyle Larson on his new teammate Kurt Busch: “Everybody that I’ve talked to about him that’s been a teammate of his has said as crazy as he is, he’s a great teammate.”

9. Kyle Busch on the new rules package: “We’re just race car drivers. We don’t know anything. We just drive what we’re given to drive and the rules are what the rules are.”

10. William Byron on iRacing: “It helps. Does Michael Jordan play basketball without practicing? I think it’s the weirdest thing that our sport goes out there with no practice and races. I try to use it as much as I can.”