* Jamie McMurray’s victory at Daytona International Speedway was the second of his career.

* McMurray’s previous best finish at Daytona was second in 2005.

* Ford has now won 579 all-time NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races.

* Ford has now won 27 times at Daytona International Speedway.

* The win is Fusion’s third of the season and ninth all-time since its debut in 2006. Fusion’s first-ever NNC victory was by Matt Kenseth last February at California Speedway.

***

CARL EDWARDS — No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion (finished fourth)

“It was unreal. I’m just so happy for Jamie and all those guys on the Crown Royal No. 26, IRWIN tools, Diaggio, all those fellows work really hard, and Jamie, that guy works harder than anybody else. I was pushing the 5, pushing the 5, and then Greg was pushing Jamie and a gap opened up, and I thought, ‘Well, three Roush cars are better than two,’ so I stuck it up there. I thought about going around and going to the outside, but I thought, no, I’d be a lot better off just pushing him, and he was in a position to win. I’m so glad he won.”

IS THE HAPPIEST YOU’VE EVER BEEN AFTER A RACE YOU DIDN’T WIN? “Yeah, exactly. I felt like I won. Just to know how hard Jamie works, to know how close that team’s been.”

WHAT DECISION DID YOU HAVE TO MAKE AT THE END? “I had a good run down into three and I had Greg behind me, Jamie right there, and I had a little run, and then I couldn’t decide. If I go outside of Jamie, the 5 will probably get ahead and then we’ll have to fight him for the win, but if I stuck by with him, I knew he could probably have a chance. That’s awesome.”

WHAT HAPPENED THE LAST LAP? “What happened was I was behind the 5, by chance I was stuck behind him, so I was pushing him, Greg was pushing Jamie, and then a gap kind of opened up and Greg kind of lost the run, so I filled the gap, and it worked out.”

MORE ON THE LAST LAP. “I hope the fans enjoyed that one. That was a lot of fun. I’m so proud of my Office Depot team. I was pushing Kyle and we went under the white flag and I’m like, ‘Man, I’m pushing the wrong guy here,’ and I saw that gap open up and Jamie and Biffle on the outside, and I thought I’d just fill that gap and push Jamie for all I was worth there, and hoped he’d get the win. I’m just so happy for him. That guy works as hard or harder than anybody down here; he deserves it.”

[Ford Racing]

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