Notes & Quotes: Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis

Takuma Sato: No. 14 ABC Supply Honda
Jack Hawksworth: No. 41 ABC Supply Honda

TAKUMA SATO ON:

· The circuit: “It is unique, simply as it is Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It has a long straight so we trim out the downforce level which is unique as not many other road circuits do in our calendar. And because of that, there are quite few overtaking opportunities and that’s great for racing.”

· Why he likes it: “IMS did a good job to make it fun to drive by combining fast and technical sections together. The track layout is quite a bit different from F1 days but still one-third of the track is the same, so it reminds me of the USGP and my special memory here. It is a good feeling.” (Sato finished third in 2004).

· How he thinks the new aero kit will perform: “It should perform well as the track has a long straight line so we need a good top speed. Honda has been very fast in the speed trap so I am looking forward to racing there.”

· New superspeedway aero kit after May 3 test on oval: “I like it a lot. It works straight out from the box. Obviously the engineers prepared well but no one knows how it will behave until we run it. It is much more aero efficient than last year’s car so you can generate the same amount of downforce but significant less drag. So the car is very fast and the drivability is good so far. It’s still too early to judge but I’m happy to start with a very positive feeling.”

· His favorite restaurant in Indy: “There are many great restaurants in town but Eddie Merlot’s is one of my favorite steakhouses. We go there on some special occasions and I always enjoy the very delicious dishes there.”
JACK HAWKSWORTH ON:

· The circuit: “This has always been a great circuit for me. The front row start last year and then leading the most laps etc., winning the sports car race here in July, and topping the time sheets in my first Star Mazda test way back in 2011, it’s certainly been a happy hunting ground for me! I don’t particularly think there is any specific reason why I have been strong here other than I seem to have had some pretty good cars. It’s certainly an interesting circuit though and being good on the brakes and carrying good minimum speed is pretty important.”

· Key to a good finish: “The key is the same as it always is, you need to be fast, consistent and mistake free. We need to call a good strategy and be strong on both the start and restarts. It’s a very long run down to turn one and that makes things very interesting.”

· Going from the road course to the oval: “I’m glad we have a day between the two this year. Last year testing began the following day and for the smaller teams this is a real disadvantage due to the huge work load it places on the whole crew. Having a day in between also gives me time to recover mentally from the race and reset before we start preparing for the 500!”

· Honda’s Superspeedway aero kit: “I only ran a few laps but the initial impression was pretty good. Taku seemed to have a really good day and this is certainly promising. However, it is extremely early days and trying to draw any conclusions is like trying to predict the lottery.”
· Favorite restaurant in Indy: “My favorite place to eat is Piada! They do great salads and pasta. They just opened a new branch over at Keystone so they are definitely worth checking out. Apart from that, Fogo De Chão is high on the list, especially if it’s been a good weekend!”

The Foyt Team is dedicating this race to the memory of two parents who passed away recently— Lewis Rozolis, the father of Keith Rozolis, ABC Supply President and CEO, and Adele Westman, the mother of Kurt Westman, Alfe Heat Treating founder and CEO.

Past Performance: Last year Takuma Sato started 16th and finished ninth. Jack Hawksworth started second and finished seventh driving for Bryan Herta Autosport.

ABC Supply national account, Best Choice Roofing, headquartered in Henderson, Tenn., will be featured on the engine cover of the No. 14 ABC Supply car during the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Guests will receive the VIP treatment this weekend along with a Meet and Greet with Takuma Sato.

ABC Supply local roofing customer, CRG Residential, located in Carmel, Ind., won the ‘Your Name Here’ contest for the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The company name will be atop the sidepods of the No. 14 ABC Supply Dallara/Honda. Guests will receive VIP treatment, plus a Meet and Greet with Jack Hawksworth.

ABC Supply celebrates its 10th anniversary of AJ Foyt Racing sponsorship: ABC Supply began sponsoring the AJ Foyt Racing team with the 2005 Indianapolis 500. The company has leveraged its involvement by entertaining nearly 70,000 associates and customers over the past 10 racing seasons. This weekend the company will entertain 160 guests.

Headquartered in Beloit, Wis., ABC Supply was founded by Ken and Diane Hendricks in 1982. The company has more than 490 branches in 49 states and is dedicated exclusively to serving professional contractors. ABC Supply has distinguished itself by following a simple guiding principle – take care of contractors better than any other distributor. It remains an “employee-first” company that treats its associates with respect and gives them the tools they need to succeed. As an eight-time winner of the Gallup Great Workplace Award, which recognizes the best-performing workforces in the world, ABC Supply is one of only three companies in the world to have earned this honor every year since its inception in 2007. More information is available at www.abcsupply.com.

The Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis will be televised live on ABC-TV Saturday, May 9th starting at 3:30pm ET.

For more information on the ABC Supply/AJ Foyt Racing program, please check our web site: www.foytracing.com. To follow us on Twitter: @AJFoytRacing, @TakumaSatoRacer, @JackHawk41, @LarryFoyt14. On Facebook, we have the AJ Foyt Racing fan page.