INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE DRIVER QUALIFYING QUOTES

CHEVROLET INDYCAR
GRAND PRIX OF INDIANAPOLIS
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE DRIVER QUALIFYING QUOTES
MAY 8, 2015

WILL POWER, NO. 1 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, POLE WINNER – TRACK RECORD – 01:09:4886: “Actually surprised me on old tires there in the Fast Six, the time that I laid down. It just shows the team has done a great job with the car. All teammates in the Fast Six, too. We’re pushing each other hard. Got the Ganassi boys there knocking on the door all the time. Got our work cut out for us. Just really happy to be on pole. Qualifying’s a day where you put absolutely everything on the line. It’s my favorite part of the weekend. Well, no, actually it’s winning on Saturday or Sunday is definitely my favorite part.

“It’s huge… very big. It’s one down and three sessions where I want to be P1 to go: the Grand Prix tomorrow, qualifying for the oval and obviously the 500.”

YOU HAD THREE OTHER TEAMMATES TO BATTLE FOR THE POLE TODAY. “It’s great. We all have the same cars, same equipment and everything, so it’s always great to get one up on your teammates. But they’ve all helped to evolve the car, and the reason we’re all in the Fast Six is because we work together. It’s a great team effort all around, and I’m really happy to see the Verizon Chevrolet at the top.”

SCOTT DIXON, NO. 9 TARGET CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 2ND; “It was pretty tight for us. We tried to get a bit tricky and go through on used reds and I didn’t really get two laps together. It put us in a situation where we had to throw on another set and throw a lap together. I think we made it by a few hundredths. That was the most nail-biting part of the session in making it to Q3. Once we got through, we knew we were going to have a decent car. Obviously Power was fast and had been fast on used tires. When we were the only one with new tires left in Q3, the writing was pretty much on the wall. We were just hoping for the next best thing. He’s obviously got a quick car and we have a little bit of work to do.

““I’m happy with the front-row start here for the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis in the Target car. We’ve had a really fast car here this weekend and we just missed out on pole to the No. 1 car. I think the race will be fast and furious here on the road course tomorrow. I’m not sure about the weather holding up but at the end of the day we’re on the front row and hopefully any trouble will happen behind us back in the pack if it’s wet. We’ve had a good run of late on the road and street courses and I hope that continues here tomorrow for the team.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 3RD: “The No. 3 Verizon Chevrolet has been very consistent since the weekend began yesterday. We would like to be starting on third-consecutive pole position, but we are happy with where we are. Eighth-straight Verizon P1 Pole Awards for Team Penske. Wow! That is something to be proud of! We just need to finish the job tomorrow and I think we have a car that can do it. We were close last year, and with Roger Penske on the stand we always have a shot.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO.2 VERIIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 4TH: First run was okay. Second run was pretty decent. Made a small change to the car. It got better. But too much understeering on one got me out of position, so I screw up one and two. I was a 10th and a half off. From there it’s tough, I mean, when you’re on that position. The pressure of one lap makes it exciting, to be honest.”

SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 DEVIBLISS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 5th: Thanks to Team Penske. We’re all up there in the top-five. Everyone is doing a great job. The car is fast and we feel pretty confident for the race. I won from fourth last year so I think we’re in good shape.”

WHAT DOES WINNING THE RACE LAST YEAR MEAN? “Just a lot of media and time being there to represent the win we had last year. But we’re back here now for this year.”

TONY KANAAN, NO. 10 NTT DATA CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET: “I’m pleased with the No. 10 NTT DATA Chevrolet’s qualifying efforts today. I obviously wanted to finish higher than sixth in the Firestone Fast 6, but I made a small mistake on my fast lap that cost me some time. After yesterday’s practices there were a few things we weren’t thrilled about with the car, but the team came together and worked through to make my car even better than it was. I think the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis is a great addition to the month of May and I’m excited for the green flag tomorrow.”

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 11 TEAM MISTIC E-CIGS – KVSH RACING CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 7TH: “I had no idea what was going on with Scott (Dixon), but he was always going to be quicker than us. He showed that in round one of qualifying. The Circle K Mistic machine was pretty good today, but I have to do a better job on the Firestone red (alternate) tires. The car is really good on blacks (primary tires), but every time we put the reds on it is a bit of a struggle. I didn’t put a whole lap together in round two, I locked up on what should have been my quickest lap. It’s a bit disappointing. We have been strong in every practice and if I can’t qualify better than I did it’s going to be tough to take the challenge to the Penske boys. We will keep knocking at the door and hopefully at some point it is going to come to us.”

HOW DOES STARTING ON ROW FOUR PLAY OUT FOR YOU TOMORROW? “It’s like it’s becoming a bad habit. We’re close but we can’t seem to beat these Penske boys in qualifying. In the race we’re very strong, and we showed that again this morning. The car is very good on black (tires). We just don’t seem to be able to match them on reds. There might be a bit of me in there but we just need to find something.”

SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA, NO. 8 AFS CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET: ““I’m happy with where we’re starting and this is the second race where we’ve gotten the AFS car out of Q1. Of course we all want more though. I’ve been working very hard, and working with the team to make this car fast for us. I think we have good speed in the car for the Grand Prix tomorrow and will be looking to make our way forward from our starting position.”

LUCA FILIPPI, NO. 20 FUZZY’S AWARD WINNING VODKA CFH RACING CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 9TH: “I think we made an improvement in terms of performance. We made gains so I’m pleased. I think we found something we can carry along this season to improve our qualifying performances. I could’ve done a little better, but I think we got much closer than previous races. If the race stays dry I know we have a consistent car I’m motivated and really convinced that we will have a very strong pace.”

STEFANO COLETTI, NO. 4 KV RACING TECHNOLOGY CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED: 10TH: “I am really happy with qualifying. Finally we advanced to the next round and will start 10th for tomorrow’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. After the first session we thought we could maybe be a little higher, P7 or P8, but in the end that’s how it goes. We still need to find some more grip and get the car better for tomorrow, but I need to thank the No. 4 crew for all their hard work that they have done this weekend to get me this result today. We are happy that we can finally have a proper race, without having to pass everyone and push hard to get our way up front, so we are looking forward to the race tomorrow and to finally being in the top-10.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 21 CENTURY 21 CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 12TH: “It was not a horrible day; we got ourselves up into the top half of the grid which is great. There was a lot of good work from the guys. We tried using two reds because we just knew we didn’t quite have the top group pace and that really helped today. It got us into the front half of the field, but I wasn’t able to do much more after that. We’ll have to try and make a little more progress tomorrow and see what we need for the race. It’s all about scoring good points right now.”

CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 83 NOVOLOG FLEXPEN CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 14TH : “I’m obviously disappointed that the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen Chevrolet didn’t transfer into the second round and make it into the top 12 for tomorrow’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Despite that, I think we’re in good shape for tomorrow. We missed out a little bit today, but we just need to go back tonight and see where we missed those few tenths and figure out how to get them back. I have a lot of confidence in the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing guys and the Chevy aero kits, and if we just keep continuing doing what we’re doing and being consistent we’ll make our move to the front.”

JR HILDEBRAND, NO. 6 PREFERRED FREEZER CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 15TH: “It was disappointing not to make the cut there. We thought that we’d have a little bit more to make up, but it turns out that we were just like a tenth of a second off from making the cut. It’s unfortunate that it ended up being that close. There are definitely still some things that I’m getting a handle on. As it’s turned out, there are quite a few things between the track, the aero kit, and the way that the cars are set up that are different than what I am used to. I was anticipating that there would be a little bit less of that coming in. So there are certainly some areas where I can make up some time. Of the three of us, Luca (Filippi) definitely found some speed, so we’ll all take a look at the changes they made and what he’s doing to try to figure out if we can all elevate to there and make another step for tomorrow. All in all though, it’s good to be in a Chevy. With the weather being a little dodgy for tomorrow, who knows what we’ll get and hopefully that will play into our favor.”

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