Category: NTT Indy

INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, May 22, 2021) – Chip Ganassi Racing flexed its muscle Saturday during Crown Royal Armed Forces Qualifying for the 105th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, as Scott Dixon led all four of the team’s cars into the Firestone Fast Nine Shootout with the fastest qualifying run on the first attempt overall of the day.

There also was drama at the opposite end of the field, as 2018 Indy 500 winner Will Power was relegated to Last Chance Qualifying on Sunday after his two runs were too slow to make the top 30.

Six-time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Dixon was the first driver on track when qualifying started at noon (ET) after his team earned the first spot in the qualifying draw Friday night, and he delivered in the best track and air conditions of the five-hour, 50-minute session. Dixon produced a four-lap average speed of 231.828 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda, and his car number stayed atop the iconic Scoring Pylon for the rest of the day despite 58 attempts to topple it.
“You forget how stressful this is,” Dixon said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever gone first. It’s pretty interesting. Huge credit to everyone on the PNC Bank Grow Up Great car.

“It was a fairly smooth run. I made a mistake on Lap 2, which probably cost us a tenth or two from the average.”

2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Dixon will make the last attempt in the Firestone Fast Nine Shootout, which determines the NTT P1 Award winner for pole and the starting order for the first three rows, as the nine fastest cars from today start in inverse order in the one-shot format. The Shootout takes place from 3-3:45 p.m. on the 2.5-mile oval and will be televised live on NBC and Peacock.

Dixon will be the favorite to earn his fourth Indy 500 pole, but the powerful Ganassi team will have four chances to take the coveted top spot. CGR drivers Tony Kanaan (third, 231.639, No. 48 The American Legion Honda), Alex Palou (seventh, 231.145, No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) and Marcus Ericsson (ninth, 231.104, No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) also made the Shootout.

“Tomorrow will be a different day; it’s going to be different conditions,” Dixon said. “Hopefully all four of us can hit it right.”

But Ganassi’s day lost some of its sparkle at 3:35 p.m., when Palou crashed in Turn 2 while making his second qualifying attempt. Palou didn’t withdraw his first run, preserving his spot in the Shootout, but still was trying to improve his position when the rear of his car got loose and made heavy right-side contact with the SAFER Barrier, inflicting significant damage.

Palou climbed from his car without injury, but the Ganassi team will face a long night repairing the car for the Shootout on Sunday.

Other drivers participating in the Shootout are Colton Herta (second, 231.648, No. 26 Gainbridge Honda), Ed Carpenter (fourth, 231.616, No. 20 SONAX Chevrolet), Rinus VeeKay (fifth, 231.483, No. 21 Bitcoin Chevrolet), three-time “500” winner Helio Castroneves (sixth, 231.164, No. 06 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda) and 2014 Indy winner Ryan Hunter-Reay (ninth, 231.139, No. 28 DHL Honda).

Cloud cover broke shortly after the first trip through the original 35-car qualifying draw, and the sunshine raised track temperatures nearly 25 degrees, decreasing traction and engine efficiency. That prevented any successful attempts at bumping into the Fast Nine from multiple drivers after the first run through the draw, but there was plenty of suspense and tension at the back end of the grid in the final hour.

2014 series champion Power will be one of the five drivers trying to take one of the three last-row spots during Last Chance Qualifying, which takes place from 1:15-2:30 p.m. and will be televised on NBCSN and Peacock. Power, winner of 62 poles in his INDYCAR SERIES career, failed to record a speed in the top 30 in two attempts in the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet.

Power’s first run, at 1:21 p.m., averaged 229.052 and ended up outside the top 30. But he withdrew that attempt to jump a long line of cars in the “normal” lane and make his second attempt from the “fast” lane, ensuring he got another shot. That run, at 5:33 p.m., 17 minutes before the end of qualifying, averaged 229.228 and also wasn’t fast enough.

“You need to be scientist to work this one out,” Power said. “I guess we have to go tomorrow. We gave it our best shot today. I think if we just do a conservative run tomorrow, we should be OK.”

Joining Power in the Last Chance Qualifying will be Sage Karam (No. 24 DRR-AES INDIANA Chevrolet), Charlie Kimball (No. 11 Tresiba/AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet), Simona De Silvestro (No. 16 Rocket Pro TPO/Paretta Autosport Chevrolet) and RC Enerson (No. 75 Top Gun Racing Chevrolet).

Dalton Kellett exhaled most deeply among the drivers toward the rear of the field, as he avoided the Last Row Shootout and will start 30th in the No. 4 K-Line Insulators/AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet.

A 30-minute practice for the five Last Chance Qualifying participants will take place from 11-11:30 a.m. Sunday, followed by a 30-minute session for Firestone Fast Nine Shootout participants from 11:30-noon. An open practice will follow the Last Chance Qualifying and Shootout, from 5-7 p.m. All three of those sessions will be broadcast on Peacock.

Castroneves will go for pole on Sunday: Harvey locked into 20th for the 500 mile race

Indianapolis, Ind. (22 May 2021) – Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) qualified for the 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on Saturday with both of the team’s cars making it into the 500-mile race.

Jack Harvey locked the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM in 20th place for the Memorial Day Weekend race while Helio Castroneves closed out the day sixth in the No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda. The three-time Indianapolis 500 winner will have the chance to fight for his fifth Indianapolis 500 pole position during Sunday’s Fast Nine qualifying session (3:00pm ET, NBC).

High intensity is the only way to describe qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 and this year’s first day of qualifying was no different. Castroneves was fourth to roll out for qualifying and utilized the cloud cover and cool track temperatures to lay down a four lap average of 231.164 mph. That speed kept him firmly in the top nine speeds through the rest of the day.

Castroneves made a second attempt in hopes of moving even further up the order, but was unable to improve. Castroneves’ first qualifying run was good enough for him to advance into the Fast Nine qualifying on Sunday which will see the three-time Indianapolis 500 winner go for pole position.

“The AutoNation / SiriusXM car was very solid,” said Castroneves. “Qualifying went exactly how we practiced it yesterday – we were actually a bit quicker than we anticipated which was perfect. Our goal was to get in the top nine so that we could have a shot at pole tomorrow and we did that. Tomorrow is a different day though and we’ll work to find some more speed overnight and be back at it for qualifying tomorrow.”

After topping the speed charts during Saturday morning practice, Harvey went into his first qualifying attempt hoping to achieve his best qualifying position since his Indianapolis 500 debut in 2017.

Unfortunately Harvey got off to a rough start after experiencing a vibration on lap 1 of his qualifying run. Hanging tough to produce a four lap average of 225 mph, MSR quickly found the source of Harvey’s vibration troubles when the team discovered his right rear tire severely damaged. With no apparent cause for the tire’s deterioration, the crew got to work to send Harvey back out for a second run.

Harvey’s second run saw a big improvement with him banking a four lap average of 230.191 mph. The team hoped to get Harvey back out for a third run to improve his 20th place ranking, but then elected to stand on the time to confirm its position on the starting grid for next Sunday’s INDYCAR classic.

“Today was definitely a bit of a hectic day,” said Harvey. “I’ve never seen anything like that with the tire and I honestly just tried to bring it home. I’m just glad that we were able to do four laps at a decent pace to get us in the show. When you have an issue like we had this morning, it puts everyone in a high pressure situation. But everyone at Meyer Shank Racing dealt with it very well, they stayed as calm as you can while trying to quickly get the car ready again. So I have to say a big thanks to the team for working as hard as they did to get us back in for another go at the Indy 500.”

Sunday will see Fast Nine practice at 11:30am ET which will roll into Fast Nine Qualifying starting at 3:00pm ET with live coverage on NBC / Peacock TV. The field of 33 Indianapolis 500 entries will head back out on track for a final practice from 5:00-7:00pm ET.

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, May 21, 2021) – Scott Dixon raised the speed limit on “Fast Friday” at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, turning the fastest lap of the week – 233.302 mph – in the final full day of practice before Crown Royal Armed Forces Qualifying Weekend for the 105th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

It was the second day this week that six-time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Dixon topped the speed charts, as he also was fastest Wednesday in the No. 9 PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda.

“The team was really fast,” said Dixon, who also gained the advantage of drawing first in the qualifying order. “I think any time one of the Ganassi cars went out, they improved and improved in a big way.
“It was really tough out there today. Just really tough to get a clear track. I know it’s difficult. I know everybody wants to try to get a (qualifying simulation) run.”

Qualifying takes place from noon-5:50 p.m. (ET) Saturday, with positions 1-30 secured (noon-6 p.m., Peacock; 2-3 p.m., NBC; 3-6 p.m., NBCSN). On Sunday, the Fast Nine Shootout will determine the NTT P1 Award for pole and the order of the first three rows, and Last Chance Qualifying will determine which three of the five remaining cars will complete the starting field for the May 30 race.

Today was the first day of the event with elevated boost levels in the engine turbochargers, which continues through Saturday and Sunday for Crown Royal Armed Forces Qualifying. The additional boost added between 80 and 90 horsepower and increased speeds 8 mph from Thursday.

2008 Indy 500 winner Dixon’s top lap came with the benefit of an aerodynamic tow, which drivers won’t get in single-car qualifying this weekend. 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi was the fastest driver running alone on the 2.5-mile oval, marking him as a favorite to win the NTT P1 Award for pole Sunday. Rossi’s best no-tow lap today was 231.598 mph in the No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS/AutoNation Honda.

“I only I think (I got) just one four-lap (qualifying simulation) run because people kept jumping out or whatever,” Rossi said. “It’s always interesting on days like this when you have an unfriendly wind in Turn 2. For whatever reason, Turn 2 is hard. I don’t know if the air is different over there.”

All the top five overall speeds today came in a tow from traffic. Colton Herta was second at 232.784 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda, while 2013 Indy winner Tony Kanaan – fastest Thursday – was third at 232.690 in the No. 48 The American Legion Honda.

Marcus Ericsson was fourth at 232.531 in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Alex Palou helped Honda-powered drivers sweep the top five spots on the speed chart, clocking in fifth at 232.155 in the No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Rossi has been among the fastest no-tow drivers each day this week, so his perch atop that list today came as little surprise. Other drivers to watch this weekend based on their speeds without aerodynamic help include Graham Rahal, second today on the no-tow list at 231.518 in the No. 15 United Rentals Honda, and Pato O’Ward, third among the no-tows at 231.510 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet.

O’Ward and Rossi also were fast in traffic today. O’Ward’s best lap in the draft was 232.034, good for sixth overall. Rossi’s top tow lap was 231.863, seventh overall.

“There’s always surprises,” Rossi said when asked to predict qualifying. “I think this year has proved that correctly across all the races, right? How many races have we had, four or five? Five races, five winners. I think that’s a testament to the series, the level of all these teams and guys. The guy that’s going to be on pole is really anyone’s guess.”

A one-hour pre-qualifying practice, with the field separated into two 30-minute groups will take place from 9:30-10:30 a.m. (Peacock)

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS 500 PRESENTED BY GAINBRIDGE
TEAM PENSKE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY OVAL
MAY 21, 2021

Tim Cindric, President, Penske Racing, Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Chevrolet, Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet, Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menard’s Chevrolet, Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Pennzoil Chevrolet Press Conference Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to the DEX Imaging Media Center here on Fast Friday at the world famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
It is Fast Friday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s going to be Team Penske at the podium, winners of 18 Indianapolis 500s. We’d like to welcome Indianapolis’ own Tim Cindric, president of Team Penske. The driver of the No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Chevrolet, two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champ Josef Newgarden. The driver of the No. 2 Pennzoil Chevrolet, rookie Scott McLaughlin. He is the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion, we welcome the driver of the No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet in Will Power. And of course the 2019 winner of the Indy 500, driver of the No. 22 Menard’s Chevrolet, it’s Simon Pagenaud.
Some of the more impressive numbers from this great, great race team, you probably know many of them by heart. This year marks the 52nd year Team Penske has entered the Indianapolis 500, 18 wins, of course, from 13 different drivers over the years, all a part of a team that has a combined 767 years of INDYCAR experience. That seems like a lot.
Let’s start with Tim who is sitting there nodding his head. As an Indianapolis native, Tim, certainly your reverence for this race ranks right up there with anyone. What does it mean to you and Team Penske to be closing in on 20 wins in what is certainly the biggest race in the world and maybe share some of the secret to the team’s success?

TIM CINDRIC: Well, if we can just get to that question, I think the secret is the guy we work for, which is probably no secret.
Relative to 20, the first time I came here and raced as part of Roger’s team in someone, obviously we won the race, finished first and second, and I’ll never forget in Victory Lane I said to Roger, You know, this might be 10 for you or 11 I guess it was at that point, 11 for you, but this is something, my father has worked here all his life and never accomplished that. Pretty big day for me.
He looked at me, and he just said, I want 20. I’m just like, in the moment, trying to comprehend one, and he’s already thinking nine ahead.
I’d love to make all that possible here in a few years. But sometimes you can win this race a few years in a row and it doesn’t choose you for quite a few more years, so you never know when it’s your turn.

THE MODERATOR: Simon Pagenaud, the 2019 Indianapolis 500 champion. Last time the race was run on its traditional Memorial Day weekend, you became the first Frenchman in 100 years to win the race. Looking back on it now, how did that change your life, and what do you need to do to do it all over again?

SIMON PAGENAUD: Well, it’s the biggest race in the world. I think simply said, for any racer, it’s a magic moment that happens in your career. It’s personally a life accomplishment, so obviously has a very special connotation.
Doing it again, you know, I suspect the race is going to be quite different this year. We obviously have a different aero package, we’ve got the aeroscreen on the car, and INDYCAR has done a great job coming up with the aerodynamic parts to make the racing the best they can.
I think it’s going to be harder to hold a lead, so I don’t think you’ll see someone lead the race as I did in ’19. But Team Penske has prepared so hard for this one, as we always do, but you always keep looking for more, and it’s been a pleasure so far to go around this amazing place every day.

THE MODERATOR: It’s a privilege and an honor to drive through the tunnel to come to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Will, it hasn’t been all that long ago when you won the Indy 500. How much does experience pay when it comes to this place, and will it help going into next Sunday’s race?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, I feel more comfortable than I’ve ever felt around here right now, just from experience. And it’s amazing that you keep learning as you go. It’s different every year. The package once again is certainly going to race different. It’s going to be closer, kind of packed-up sort of racing where the top two will switch back and forth.
I think you’ve got to just put yourself in that position like every year in that last stint. You have to be in that top two on the last restart or the last pit stop, whatever is the last thing that happens.
Yeah, I feel like as a team we’ve done a lot of work to improve the cars over last year and have a really good chance this year. I think the moment of truth is qualifying to see where the true speed is, and I really hope that we’re all in the top nine.

THE MODERATOR: Josef Newgarden, certainly your resume stacks up with anyone over the last four years or so. There’s always something about Indianapolis. That’s the one you really want to win. You’ve come close the last couple years. Why is this the year for you do you think?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, I had to make sure we brought someone else in that hasn’t won it in the team so I’m not the solo guy that hasn’t won the Indianapolis 500 on the team.
Like Tim said, you never know when it’s your day, and I know having driven this place nine times, going into my tenth, you’ve just got to be prepared for the opportunity. You’ve got to put yourself in position here. That’s the key element, I think, is giving yourself an opportunity to win the race, and if it’s your day, then you need to seize it.
Yeah, we feel good. It’s been a blast working with everybody, as always. I’m always excited to be here. Always have fun every single day. Trying to stay calm and collected and make sure you’re absorbing any knowledge you can each day. Whether it’s good or bad knowledge, it all helps you at the end of the day.
We’re charging forward. I feel really positive with our Fuel Rewards car. I think it looks good. Feels fast with Team Chevy, so we’ll see what we’ve got this weekend.

THE MODERATOR: Scott McLaughlin, it wasn’t that long ago when you had your first test on the oval, but you certainly come into this with so much experience, Super Car championships, Bathurst 1000, you’ve been some to some world renowned events before and have won. How does Indy compare to all of that or does it? And what’s your experience been like so far?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, not one of those things prepared me for this. It’s a unique beast. But I have got a great team on my back with me, and my teammates, as well, push me along, and I’m learning so much. I’m just soaking everything up like a sponge.
Really excited. I think the Pennzoil Chevy is feeling really good in qualifying and race trim. But I’m building up to it, trying to just ride in traffic and learn different lines and follow different people and lead and go back in the six deep and five deep, and just enjoying the experience.
It’s obviously going to be a little bit different this year, but it’s going to be a hell of a lot better than it was last year, so I’m excited for that and excited for the experience.

Q. First of all, I just want to get out of the way, what is the difference between the photo you guys took on Tuesday and the photo Rahal took yesterday?
TIM CINDRIC: I think if you you’re referring to what happened yesterday, obviously we are all pretty fortunate that ended in the way it did rather than in some other way.
What we did on the first day or whatever is something we’ve done every single year here, or we’ve at least attempted to. It’s been a little different.
Obviously a lot of you know that the tradition here has been to be the first out. It’s changed a little bit in the fact that in the first five minutes of the first session, you can’t go by once. In the past, and I think if you look back in other years, you will have seen that we’ve waited to go by the first time, and our instructions really have been, Hey, if there’s anybody else on the racetrack we’ll call it off, and if not, we go ahead and do that.
It’s been the only time in which we’ve ever attempted that, but it’s been something that we try and do as a tradition is to be first out. It’s just a way to start May and something Roger has always taken a lot of pride in. And if we get the opportunity, then we come across the line as a team, and if we don’t get the opportunity we call it off.
Really for us it’s always been an awareness situation. But it’s always been the first session, the first time, and we’ve never had a problem.
Yesterday obviously was unfortunate and all the circumstances were not in a good place. But anyway, I think we’ll all learn from it and move on.

Q. Should there be a designated time for teams that want to do that?
TIM CINDRIC: I don’t know. I think that’s really not up to us. I think it’s just as opportunity presents itself. We’ve taken advantage of it more as a tradition more than anything else and really never thought of it at any other point.

Q. I’ve noticed Greg Penske on the timing stand a lot more this year. What is he doing? What’s his role?
TIM CINDRIC: Greg is a supporter of ours, big supporter of ours.
I think on the timing stand itself, maybe you’ve noticed him more often, but honestly, Greg has always been there. He’s been there whenever he can be there. Obviously his business is — his core business is all in California. But he’s been a key supporter for the 20-some years that I’ve been here, so I guess I don’t really see it as any different.

Q. He’s not making any race-changing calls?
TIM CINDRIC: No. I’d love for him to call the races. I’ve always wanted as many members of the family as possible, and obviously Jay was part of the series for many years, and now he’s doing Formula E.
I always enjoyed — I had always hoped that Jay would join our team and be part of our team rather than have to compete against him because he’s a very competitive person and all the rest of it. But for me, I welcome any day that the Penske family shows up and want them to participate in any way they can.

Q. For the drivers, Tim said that RP says he wants to win 20 Indy 500s. I know you all know that he loves this race, he wants to win this race. What sort of pressure is there to go and get numbers 19 and 20?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I think just driving for Penske, you have that pressure no matter what, and just the event itself. So I don’t think there’s really any added pressure to get that number 19 or 20.
It’s what every single driver and team comes here to do is to win this race. You feel it over the month just with the media attention and I guess the amount of practice you get and watching everyone else. You just feel that build as it comes to race day.
Yeah, we’re all super determined all equally determined I would say to win number 19 for Roger.
SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, it’s kind of what you’re expected to do here. We all know it’s No. 1 priority for Roger and the race team. As a driver if you’re here in INDYCAR, I think it’s your No. 1 goal, as well.
Obviously, yes, it’s more pressure because it’s the biggest race in the world, like I said, and yeah, you’ve just got to get it done at some point, but like Tim and Josef said, she kind of chooses you, so you’ve got to be patient.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think you start to — the more times that you’re here the more you feel the pressure to compete with the group around you. Obviously that starts with Roger, but I think it’s everybody.
On my team specifically it’s Tim, it’s all the boys on the 2 car. You want to get the job done for everybody. Really the other cars, as well. There’s a tremendous amount of work that goes in at our team across the board. You want it to be your car, but I think there’s a sense of pride there on any of these cars that win the race.
I think you feel that pressure across the entire group that you want to get the job done.
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: There’s really not much more I can add. I think we all know how big this is to Roger and his team, especially now with the ownership structure here at IMS. But I’d just love to get one on the board at least.

Q. (No microphone.)
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I’ve been here before on various occasions. I came here for the 100th in 2016, and it was a pretty special moment then.
But I think being here as a driver, especially with a sponsor like Pennzoil and the Yellow Sub, it’s pretty special, and you know the history of what’s been put ahead of you.
You’d love to be a part of that and create your own legacy, but you’ve got to respect it and respect this place. And it’s very similar to a place back home that I know well, Bathurst, but they’re two different beasts.
It’s a very cool thing to be here for sure and a race that I’ve seen and watched growing up for a very long time.

Q. Scott, you’ve practiced, of course, prior to this year at this track. Now that you have nearly a few days under your belt in the month of May, how do you feel you became acclimated to the track, especially with the adapted conditions over time?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I think it’s been nice to have some different conditions throughout the week. It’s got hotter and hotter as we’ve got on. The wind has changed in various amounts but not a huge amount.
Yeah, I think we’re progressing nicely, just along our program. There’s been a couple of hiccups as everyone has seen, but at the end of the day we’ve got through pretty smoothly and just run to our program.
I think that’s the same across all four cars. I think we’ve been pretty methodical in the way we’ve approached it from a race trim perspective and then trying out some qualifying and all that sort of stuff, and just really preparing me for what’s ahead, I think.
Fast Friday, I’m really excited for the extra boost level and seeing what it’s like heading into Turn 1 for the first time at around 240 miles an hour, something I haven’t done before, and looking forward to seeing what that feels like.

Q. You mentioned already feeling that 240. Is there anything that might rival it, something similar?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Nothing. No, nothing. It’s a very special thing and very unique to this one place, and that’s why it’s so special.

Q. Tim, we saw how it ended in the Daytona 500 with Brad and Joey. You guys talked about how the top two guys can pass pretty easily. Has there been any discussions or foresee any discussions if you guys are running one-two in the closing laps next Sunday?
TIM CINDRIC: We haven’t got to Sunday yet for sure, but yeah, we’ve seen that, obviously, and how that turned out, and that was unfortunate for a lot of things and a lot of reasons.
I think when you look back to watching — was it Will and Montoya going toe to toe there? Was probably the most recent one from our end.
I think these guys know exactly what they’re trying to achieve, and it’s the biggest race in the world, and Daytona is right up there with it as far as prestige in the NASCAR Series.
It’s really hard to tell these guys anything else but to go for it and just race each other fair and clean and hopefully they bring it home. I think they all know and respect exactly what it means to the team, to Roger and all the sponsors.
I think even going back to Brad and Joey, they certainly didn’t want that outcome, but it’s part of racing. It’s part of the risk that you take. I think these guys doing it at the speeds they do it at, they’ve got a little self-preservation in mind, as well. I think it’s very, I guess, expected from whoever is first and second here to race right to the line.
Roger has always said that you can race as much as you can, but just don’t hit each other. Sometimes it goes the other way.

Q. The drivers, you guys race each other any differently than you would if it was not a teammate at the end?
WILL POWER: Yeah, no. I think Tim hit the nail on the head. It’s self-preservation. It’s pretty high speed, and yeah, it’s not like NASCAR. You can’t bump, you can’t touch, and you know that.
Basically if you put yourself in a position where you’re going to hit a car, you’re not going to finish the race and you’re not going to win it, so you know that, and you race accordingly.
Obviously it’s a pretty big prize at the end, so yeah, it — yeah, I mean, just got to — it is what it is. You’ve got to race smart and that’s the only way you’re going to win the race.

Q. Simon and Will, back in ’18 and ’19 obviously you guys won. Was there a moment in the month that you knew I’ve got a car that’s capable of winning this, and are you there yet after three days of practice?
SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, I mean, we had an incredible package in ’19, and Chevy power really helped us tremendously all month, all two weeks long really. We knew we had a shot.
There are so many things that can happen during the race that you’re not in control of. We tried to take our destiny in our own hands in the race and led a lot, maybe too much at some point, and then it turned back into our hands. It could have gone the other way.
I think this year we’re close to being where we were in ’19, but I think the whole field is a lot closer. I can’t control the others. I can only control myself and my team, and I think we’re doing everything we can to be in the same spot.

Q. Porsche recently announced that they’re going to be partnering with Penske to go to IMSA and Le Mans. Do all four of you have an interest in going to Le Mans and racing for Team Penske over there?
WILL POWER: Yeah.
SIMON PAGENAUD: Yes.
WILL POWER: Certainly. That would be awesome.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yep.
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yep.

Q. Scott, what happened to your keys?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I don’t know. I’m lucky I can drive.
TIM CINDRIC: Who gets to go in the Porsche? I don’t know. We’ll talk about it in a couple years.

Q. Simon, you’ve been toward the top drivers in the no-tow speeds. Is that by design or is that by just the way it’s fallen when you’ve been on track, and how important are those speeds?
SIMON PAGENAUD: Well, we did some qualifying runs yesterday to try and see what speed we could squeeze out of the 22. We were pretty pleased. I don’t know what others are doing. It’s just like I said to Eric, we’ll see really today where we are. But we had a good feel for it.
I think we’ve got a little bit more speed that we can find today, so it’s really encouraging for the whole team. The goal is really to get one Penske car on the pole.
WILL POWER: I don’t know if they’re valuable from yesterday, but yeah, we’ll see today, get a feel. It’s very difficult. If you can see a car, you’re getting head. But that will be classed as a no-tow because it’s about 10 seconds ahead. You won’t really know until everyone runs on Saturday, but I feel like we’ve got pretty reasonable cars.

Q. There seems to be a tremendous youth movement that is involved in INDYCAR right now. Three of the first five winners have been first-time winners. Scott is knocking on the door, ready to get a victory. How do you assess the way this influx of talent over the last couple of years has been for INDYCAR?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I think it’s just — I guess you could say in some ways it’s a changing of the guard. Someone has got to step up. There’s a lot of young people coming through the Road to Indy program, which I’ve seen firsthand this year for the very first time.
I think it’s a great program that INDYCAR and everyone involved has got through the F 2000s, the Pro 2000s, all the way through the Indy Lights. It’s a great category to watch.
I think Rinus, Pato, Colton, they’re world class drivers and they’re in world class teams. And like Simon said before, the competitiveness between the teams now in INDYCAR is — there’s not much in it, and really anyone can win on the day, which not many race series in the world have that.
It’s exciting. I think it’s great that INDYCAR are taking it in their stride to promote it and get excited by it. And yeah, I’d love to be a part of that, as well.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, like Scott said, there’s a great mix of talent. I think the most glaring thing about the series now is the parity. You really have immense parity amongst the teams, which has created intense competition amongst the drivers. It’s really a drivers’ championship through and through. You feel like you show up and can make a difference nowadays.
I think you’re seeing that with the young guys. The young guys are coming in and they see that opportunity, and they’re quite frankly taking to it very well. A guy like Scott can come in and push us around and make us better and be right there. He’s pretty close to us right out of the gate in these first five races.
I think you’re seeing the same stuff with other drivers and new drivers coming in. It’s created a good challenge for everybody. It’s a very difficult championship now to be the best at. Consistency is pretty important. But trying to stay on top of sort of the speed mountain is getting increasingly difficult.

Q. Scott, obviously one of the last most recent rookies to win this race was Helio in 2001 for Penske. Do you go into this feeling like you actually have a legit shot at not just being Rookie of the Year but actually winning it, and does that add extra pressure?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No one puts more pressure on me than myself. I’ve always run by that. I’m in a car that certainly can win the race. I’ll be right there.
But I’ve got to work on my timing, I’ve got to learn this, I’m trying to learn it at a very fast rate, understand the mountain that I’ve got to climb to be in that bracket, buy my ticket to that last stint.
At the same time, I back myself to learn as much as I can at a fast rate, and I back the team that I have around me. Yeah, I don’t think nothing is possible. I think we can for sure give it a good shake, and if the opportunity presents at the end to take it, I back myself to take it when I need to.

Q. How do you rate Scott’s chances? What do you think he still hasn’t experienced in the tests or here that could prevent him from being your next rookie winner?
TIM CINDRIC: He’s obviously a fast learner. I think like Will said, I think you learn here every year you’re here, and every year you’re here you put yourself in different circumstances, different situations. Just qualifying for the race is going to be the first step of that, is where you start.
The qualifying process and the things you go through, I think it’s really hard to maybe answer that question until you see a rookie of any kind go through the whole qualifying process because it’s different than anything they’ve ever done before, the four-lap average and the conditions that we’ll have and the falloff that you have during those runs, depending on how aggressive you are.
I guess the only thing we’ve really said to Scott is just try and worry about the things you can control. He’s a race car driver. He’s a winner. He’s had a taste of oval racing at Texas, obviously, and he responded to that quite well.
This place, it’s a long race, but yet it seems really short sometimes. It’s like Simon was talking about his race where if you’re sitting in my shoes, you’re wondering why he’s leading so many laps, but he’s learned that there’s times when that’s the right thing to do, depending on what car you have and all the rest of it, and I do believe that this place chooses you sometimes.
For him, he wasn’t going to have enough fuel to make it happen until there was a caution, and it all came at the right time, and he took advantage of that.
I think Scott has as good a chance as any rookie here has ever had. But experience, you can’t put really a value on the experience around here. Yeah, he’s with our team for a reason.

Q. Question for either Will or Simon or both of you guys. It took you guys a handful of years to come across your first Indy 500 victory. Can you describe a little bit about what that anticipation was like coming close a handful of years and how you guys managed maybe the mental side of things to be able to break through in 2018 and 2019?
WILL POWER: Yeah, when it comes up on 10 years, I guess it was added pressure, especially when you’ve won a championship and you know that the other box that you have to tick to be regarded as a successful INDYCAR driver was to win this race. Yeah, it certainly built a lot, and you’d started to wonder if you’d ever win it.
Like these guys have said, Tim said, the place basically chooses you. I remember in ’18, the week before, I almost said to my wife, I know I’m going to win the race. I just felt that way. I don’t know why. It was just a pretty normal month, car felt really comfortable.
Then waking up on race day, just had such an easy, good feeling. Yeah, it’s such a funny race. It’s so hard to even kind of predict what you think is going to happen. You just don’t know the things it’s going to throw at you over the years.
Yeah, it’s a hard one to win, but when you win it, it’s the most satisfying moment of your whole career.
SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, more than the recognition in the business, for me it was more a personal thing, just all the work that you do since you’re eight years old in a go-kart learning, and then learning the right way and going every step of the way through the racing ladder.
Personally as a Frenchman coming here at the speedway, you’re not a favorite. You’re not a favorite because oval racing doesn’t exist in Europe. Having to learn that discipline or that skill, I should say, was something new in 2012, so it’s not that long ago at the time.
It just felt like a great personal accomplishment. At the end of my life that will be a very, very special thing for myself.

Q. For Tim, going back to that conversation with Roger in 2001 in Victory Lane, obviously he’s got a lot of other responsibilities now with INDYCAR and IMS and everything, but how much do you hear from him about performance of the team and wanting to do well?
TIM CINDRIC: Oh, it hasn’t changed, without a doubt. In fact, it continues to increase. I don’t see that letting up at any point.

Q. 18 months into him sort of being now separated from the team, how is it different? Is it more comfortable? Was it ever awkward at all?
TIM CINDRIC: No, I think the biggest difference is we miss him in pit lane, not knowing really where he is or knowing — when I say ‘where he is’, I mean during the race itself. I’m used to knowing what pit he’s in and how to have a conversation with him during the race or ask his advice or vice versa. You kind of miss that camaraderie during the race.
Obviously we all understand why that is and respect why that is. But for me, once the flags fly or checkered flag falls, it’s very similar. I don’t think it’s really a lot different from where I sit in terms of our interactions or how he helps us run our business.

Q. For the drivers, five races this year, five different winners, none of them from Penske. Somewhat surprising. But then again there was so much talk about how competitive it was going to be coming into this year. Do you feel like it’s circumstantial that one of you hasn’t won a race yet?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think most of us have been second at some point. Yeah, it’s hard to answer that. We’ve definitely — every car is a little different story-wise, but I think we’ve been in the mix as a team, and that’s the first step. You’ve got to be in the mix to win these races. And I think we’ve been there, without a doubt.
I actually felt very positive about the race cars that we’ve had as a team to start the year, and it hasn’t resulted in a win, like you said, but what a perfect place to start that off for the season next weekend, so we’re definitely working on that.

Q. Scott, you have the distinct advantage of working closely with Rick Mears, who is as good as anyone who’s ever been at this facility. Talk about how that has aided you in terms of your development.
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I think we all have that advantage. Having Rick in the garage is such a fantastic moral boost, morale boost, and he’s such a nice guy. For a guy that’s done it all in INDYCAR racing, to lend a hand and really just simplify a lot of things, especially for me, when things are coming at me very quickly, especially these last few days, he’s even making little changes just in terms of car setup to make sure I’m comfortable before I go out, and that was in the first day. We made a really good change before I went out, and it worked out really good, and I gained a whole heap of confidence from it.
To have a guy come in like that, talk about lines, he calls them patterns, get my timing right, it’s a really cool thing and very unique, and I’m really taking it in my stride as well as everyone else on this table.

Q. For the drivers, we’ve seen with the trains and practice, we’ve seen the top four are able to overtake and move around, and if you get a little bit further back in the train it’s a little more difficult to pass. Is there an extra focus on your qualifying position to make sure you’re near the front of that train?
WILL POWER: I still believe track position is really key this year. It’s still closer and packed up, but unless you’re in that top four, you’re pretty much locked out of being able to pass because obviously the car, the further back you get, every car is drafting off the car in front, so you don’t get the advantage of a car breaking the air in front of you. So yep, qualifying you want to be in that top nine.

Q. Josef, you won the first race under kind of Roger Penske’s ownership at Indianapolis last year, and we know that was a big thing for the team and a big thing for you, as well. Just wondered if there’s extra motivation to win the first 500 for Roger being the fact that it’s under his ownership now, the speedway.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I mean, I think certainly obviously we’ve already had a winner with Sato, right, last year. Are you speaking specifically to being on the team or just in general?

Q. I’m talking about since Roger Penske has owned the speedway, you were the first person to win for Penske at the speedway last year in the road course race, and then obviously since Roger has owned the speedway you didn’t win the 500 last year so Penske has not won a 500 since Roger has owned the speedway. I wondered if that gave you extra motivation as a team.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think there’s definitely motivation on all of our parts, just circumstantially. You look at what happened last year and the effort that went in from everybody to try and keep this place moving forward was substantial from everybody involved. It was a substantial effort. So there’s a lot of gratitude, I think, from all of us to go out and put on a good show.
It would mean a lot to be a Team Penske driver, driving for Roger Penske, to be able to win this race and win it in front of a crowd which we’re going to have here. I think it would mean a heck of a lot this specific year, again, looking at the circumstances that we’ve all had to fight through together.
It would mean a great deal, but obviously any one of us would love to be able to do that. We need to work together to make it happen.

Q. For Tim, are you happy with the gains you’ve made from last season’s Indy 500 to this season’s 500 in both the aerodynamics and the engine department, and why?
TIM CINDRIC: I guess probably early to answer to that question, to be honest. Today will give us some indication of the difference between last year and this year. But it’s really difficult to tell in the running that we’ve done at this point in time to what degree our competitiveness has changed from last year.
I know there’s been a lot of work put in, not only from our team but also everybody at Chevrolet into how to make ourselves more competitive than we were last year, not only as a team but as an overall manufacturer’s group.
I think we’re optimistic that we’ve closed that gap, but we only know what we’ve accomplished and what we’ve done. And I think we’ve taken good steps there. I think our preparation for the race and understanding the different things that occurred last year I think is as good as any year that we’ve been here.
Then you have to execute. So you can have the best cars and the best aerodynamics and the best engine, and if you don’t execute on race day in the pits or anywhere else, I think that it’s not going to be your day. This race is won typically by somebody that doesn’t make any mistakes as a team, so we still need to execute on that end.
The answer to your question is our first goal is our qualifying. Last year we didn’t have any cars in the top nine. That may have been the first time we’ve ever been in that situation.
As one of the guys said, It’s our goal to get the cars in the top nine and then focus on race day. It’s probably a little too early to give you, I guess, a full grade on kind of where we are.

Q. Scott, just wanted to follow up on the Rick Mears. Obviously you’ve spoken about how much experience he has at IMS. What’s the best piece of advice he has given you?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Trust your ass. Feel the car. Feel the car. Sorry, but that’s literally the best piece I’ve ever had. Trust it. If something doesn’t feel right, come in. If it feels good, play with it, get used to it, the front bar, the rear bar, the weight jacker. But yeah, he’s been phenomenal.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you so much, and our thanks to Team Penske for coming in this morning.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

NTT and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES set to enhance the Indy 500 viewing experience by powering real-time, data-driven technology at “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”

INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, May 20, 2021) – NTT is continuing its multi-tiered partnership with INDYCAR, signing a multi-year extension as the entitlement sponsor of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. In doing so, NTT will continue to deliver the smart technology backbone that will enhance the race experience for INDYCAR fans attending the 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500 – and from wherever else they may be watching – on Sunday, May 30 at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Technology from NTT will further enable the return of fans to the iconic race after last year’s event was postponed until August and held without fans on-site due to COVID-19 precautions. This year, additional solutions and services will help bring the race to life for those in attendance, as well as the millions of fans following the race around the world.

NTT, a global technology and business solutions provider and Fortune Global 500 company, became the title sponsor of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES at the start of the 2019 season and has extended this agreement, and its Official Technology Partner status with INDYCAR, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis 500 and the NASCAR Brickyard Weekend.

“With world-class technology and innovation, NTT has helped take the INDYCAR SERIES to the next level,” said Roger Penske, Founder and Chairman, Penske Corporation. “Over the first two years as entitlement sponsor of the series, the dedicated team at NTT has helped INDYCAR become more efficient and effective through smart technologies. As our sport continues to grow by connecting with a new generation of fans, NTT helps take us down new roads by creating more engaging experiences through our shared digital platforms. We thank NTT for the long-term commitment to the INDYCAR SERIES and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and we look forward to driving the future of our sport forward, together.”

NTT remains committed to accelerating the future of smart communities and has developed an enhanced digital experience powered by real-time, data-driven insights, analytics and machine learning that will enable race fans to enjoy the “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” like never before across multiple channels and environments.

At this year’s Indianapolis 500, fans will experience a whole new level of engagement, whether they plan to be at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in person, or to soak in all of the excitement from the comfort of their homes through an amplified, virtual experience.

“With no spectators at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for last year’s Indianapolis 500, due to the pandemic, we were set a new challenge – to think outside of the box in terms of leveraging our technology to bring the race to fans at home,” said Simon Walsh, Chief Executive Officer, NTT Ltd. Americas. “Enhancing the viewing experience and creating the next generation of INDYCAR followers – wherever they are – is a critical objective for INDYCAR and NTT, and we look forward to continuing our work with INDYCAR and the broader Penske Corporation and serving as a trusted partner to help the organization continue their digital transformation and achieve their ambitions.”

“The past year has significantly changed the way people engage with sports. NTT is helping INDYCAR adapt by creating new ways for fans to engage and connect through digital,” said Bob Pryor, Chief Executive Officer, NTT DATA Services. “We’re excited to enhance the enjoyment and experience of motorsports for more fans. As the digital partner of choice for our clients, NTT DATA is proud to grow with INDYCAR and help fans enjoy their racing experiences—on and off the track.”

The key to this unique fan experience is NTT Smart Solutions. The secure, distributed platform captures data via sensors and micro data centers in designated areas through video and sound. The platform also integrates historical data sources, such as traffic, weather and social media to leverage cognitive analytics, learn regular patterns and detect and alert operations teams to the presence of abnormal ones. Dynamic visual environments featuring the most exciting data-led content and storylines are enabled by machine learning and AI to bring the race to life for fans both at IMS and off site. New features and enhancements this year include:

• NTT Smart Venue: AI-enabled optical detection technologies, combined with real-time entry gate flow rate data, give the IMS operations and security teams better visibility into current and possible scenarios, enabling them to see a bigger, more real-time picture of the venue that includes visitor and vehicle traffic flow and congestion, social distancing, etc. These enhancements will allow the event teams to optimize their resources in real time with faster, more data-driven decision making to focus their resources on areas where race attendees can benefit the most. At-gate IMS personnel also now have mobile POS capabilities at their fingertips for digital ticketing and parking transactions – all to help manage the event venue more safely and efficiently, providing a more positive and consistent experience for attendees at the world’s largest sports venue, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
• INDYCAR Data Experience: Powered by NTT, fans can now engage with more race and driver data than ever before via multiple channels, including the INDYCAR Mobile App , the IMS Media Wall (a 100-foot wide, high-resolution LED data display on the Pagoda) and more as they engage with real-time, data-driven racing insights powered by NTT. The multiple track views stay up to date with real-time leaderboards and provide access to more exciting, easily shareable data and stats coming off of more than 140 different data points from each car and the track itself. Among other events highlighted by the data experience will be a live race view of all competitors, biggest movers, featured head-to-head battles, race team and pit stop performance impact, as well as highlighted race events such as the green flag, yellow flags and the checkered flag.
• INDYCAR Mobile App: Powered by NTT DATA, fans can now enjoy an enhanced user experience and virtually ride along with their favorite driver athletes and teams as they tear down the course at 200+ mph. With additional live, in-car cameras and new video feeds, users can see up to five drivers from a first-person perspective. In addition, fans this year will also get to enjoy live streaming and a more integrated INDYCAR Fantasy League and e-commerce experience. Global usage of the mobile app continues to expand, with usage during live racing events continuing to grow. The free app is available for year-round use around the world via download from the iOS App Store or Google Play.

NTT’s proprietary Smart Solutions consumes, analyzes and transforms massive amounts of data (supporting an organization’s full data lifecycle) to deliver valuable insights driving technology-enabled business outcomes and helping organizations like INDYCAR further along their digital transformations. NTT Smart Solutions can be applied in a multitude of environments, whether a sports venue, like Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a city, like Las Vegas, a national landmark, like Chicago’s Navy Pier, or a major transportation center such as Edmonton International Airport. NTT is committed to developing and delivering disruptive technology that helps solve challenges and deliver the best outcomes for its clients.

About NTT

NTT believes in resolving social issues through our business operations by applying technology for good. We help clients accelerate growth and innovate for current and new business models. Our services include digital business consulting, technology and managed services for cybersecurity, applications, workplace, cloud, data center and networks, all supported by our deep industry expertise and innovation. As a top 5 global technology and business solutions provider, our diverse teams operate in 80+ countries and regions and deliver services to over 190 of them. We serve over 80% of Fortune Global 100 companies and thousands of other clients and communities around the world. For more information on NTT, visit www.global.ntt.

About NTT Ltd.

NTT Ltd. is a leading, global technology services company. To help our clients achieve their digital transformation goals, we use our global capabilities, expertise, and full-stack technology services delivered through our integrated services platform. As their long-term strategic partner, we help them enhance customer and employee experience, transform their cloud strategy, modernize their networks and strengthen their cybersecurity. And across their transformation priorities, we automate their business processes and IT, drawing insights and analytics from their core business data. As a global ICT provider, we employ more than 50,000 people across 57 countries, trading in 73 countries and delivering services in over 200 countries and regions. Together we enable the connected future. Visit us at hello.global.ntt.

About NTT DATA

NTT DATA – a part of NTT Group – is a trusted global innovator of IT and business services headquartered in Tokyo. We help clients transform through consulting, industry solutions, business process services, digital & IT modernization and managed services. NTT DATA enables them, as well as society, to move confidently into the digital future. We are committed to our clients’ long-term success and combine global reach with local client attention to serve them in over 50 countries around the globe. Visit us at nttdata.com.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS 500 PRACTICE SESSION
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY OVAL
DAY 2
MAY 19, 2021

CHEVY TEAMS AND DRIVERS HAVE TWO DAYS OF PRACTICE UNDER THEIR BELTS FOR 105TH RUNNING OF INDIANAPOLIS 500
From qualifying prep to running in “trains” for race prep, incident-free day yielded positive results for Bowtie brigade

INDIANAPOLIS (May 19,2021) – Day two started at 11 am as the NTT INDYCAR Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway allowed a one-hour window for RC Enerson and the No. 75 Top Gun Racing Chevrolet to complete the Rookie Orientation Program. (ROP). In the time allotted, Enerson accomplished all the required tasks and is able to prepare for qualifications for the May 30th 500-mile race.

The remainder of the afternoon the Chevrolet powered teams went through their specific plans in preparation for qualifications on Saturday and Sunday, May 22 & 23 as well as the race.

When Happy Hour ended at 6:15 p.m., Ed Carpenter Racing’s Conor Daly, No. 47 US Air Force Chevrolet, and Ed Carpenter, No. 20 SONAX Chevrolet were second and third respectively on the time chart. Both turning laps in excess of 226 mph.

Practice will continue tomorrow, Thursday May 20 at noon concluding at 6:00 p.m.

TEAM CHEVY LINEUP:
JR Hildebrand, No. 1 ABC Supply/AJ Foyt Racing
Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske
Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske
Dalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators/AJ Foyt Racing
Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP
Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP
Charlie Kimball, No. 11 Tresiba/AJ Foyt Racing
Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske
Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT/AJ Foyt Racing
Simona De Silvestro, No. 16 Rocket Pro/Paretta Autosport
Ed Carpenter, No. 20 SONAX Ed Carpenter Racing
Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Bitcoin Ed Carpenter Racing
Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske
Sage Karam, No. 24 DRR-AES Indiana Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Conor Daly, No. 47 U.S. Air Force Ed Carpenter Racing
Max Chilton, No. 59 Gallagher Carlin
RC Enerson, No. 75 Top Gun Racing
Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 86 Arrow McLaren SP

ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET AND
CONOR DALY, NO. 47 US AIR FORCE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET
PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
THE MODERATOR: Welcome to day two at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway practicing for the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500. We have Conor Daly and Ed Carpenter.
THE MODERATOR: Worried about no tow or just kind of working on your race car right now.
ED CARPENTER: Yeah, I was surprised, too, because we were out there thinking there was going to be a group, and everyone started doing Q sims, and I was like, hmm, I guess we’ll just wait.
Ed, you’ve got your guys together. How important is that to replicate the speed when it’s spread across all the drivers on your team?
ED CARPENTER: I mean, the speed charts don’t necessarily mean a ton. Those are more representative of just getting a bunch of cars in front of you with the right gap and putting up a time. The majority of the running we’re doing, working in traffic, they’re 2:17s.
I mean, it’s nice for the team, depending on the time sheets. But I think more importantly we’re all feeling pretty good and making progress with the cars. Soon we’ll find out what we have for speed, too.
Q. Also there’s been a little bit of disappointment in the garage with the decision today by the mayor that it’s going to be June 7th before the mask thing is lifted. You could have probably had more people in here for race day. What are your reactions to it?
ED CARPENTER: I don’t know, I thought we were following CDC guidelines. I guess that’s all I’ll say.
ED CARPENTER: Yeah, but I don’t know. That’s all I’m going to say.
ED CARPENTER: It is confusing.
ED CARPENTER: I thought the internet had all the truths. That’s where I got it from.
Q. But the prospect of the fact that there could have been more people —
ED CARPENTER: All joking aside and me taking jabs, I’m super excited that we do have the ability to have the fans that we have here. It’s great having fans in the garage area with us. I don’t want to say we took for granted the fans being back there, but it really is nice. You get to know people over the years, and it’s great to see that they’re still with us.
Q. For the two ECR guys, Rinus’s win, what kind of a boost did that give the team coming in here?
CONOR DALY: I mean, I think the team has done an incredible job, obviously. Both of our cars were fast last weekend, which is great, and I think our cars have a lot of speed here, as well. I know my own journey with the team has probably been a little bit more difficult, but I think we’ve definitely rounded a nice corner for sure recently, and I think they’ve done a lot for me personally because I think my style has required a little bit more work with this generation car.
I think it’s great. I mean, if the team is winning, that’s great. Know what I mean? I think it’s good for Ed, it’s good for all of our partners, it’s good for everyone involved. I would also like to have a trophy, though, too. I think that’s why we keep trying every day, we keep showing up and ready to do the job.
ED CARPENTER: We’ll get you a trophy.
Q. You could take his from him. He’s younger.
CONOR DALY: No, he’s a young lad, he deserves it.
Q. Ed, he had said that he felt the team was pretty excited for the Indy 500. He felt that the win last week would have elevated the team to another level.
ED CARPENTER: I mean, I think anytime you win a race, it’s so hard to win races in this series, so anytime a driver or car on your team wins a race, I think it does lift everyone up. You don’t get to celebrate the Indy GP as long as you do some other races because we’re just turning the page and getting ready for the 500, but I think it makes it easier for the guys that come in to work excited about spending most of their hours out here for the rest of the month, and they deserve it. They’ve done a fantastic job.
Q. That was the first win since 2016 for you —
ED CARPENTER: Yep, it had been a while.
Q. What does that do for your program?
ED CARPENTER: You know, I think it tells us we’re doing the right things and using our resources in the right way, using our people in the right way, and the next step is just being consistent week in, week out, every type of circuit.
Historically we’ve been pretty good at the Indy road course, so I think we expect to be strong here, but we just have to maintain a level of consistency.
Q. Have you seen anyone out there that’s young that you’re just like, whoa, look at that guy?
ED CARPENTER: I think there’s a lot of good cars right now. So much of it’s dependent on where you are in line, I think, can change the way you look quite a lot right now. But I think there’s more cars looking good than not, so it’s hard to really say.
Q. Conor, can you just say some things about America and —
CONOR DALY: Well, I didn’t know if anyone would ask me a question up here, but it feels good to be up here with these three incredibly talented gentlemen.
I mean, our car has been great, so our car looks incredible yet again, U.S. Air Force, honoring the Red Tails, super cool scheme. It’s been fun so far.
Yeah, so I mean, to be fast two days in a row, we want to keep that going. I think it’s — I’ve been in the opposite position before where you’re driving around and saving your life all day and you’re like, how on earth am I 28th. So to be driving around and kind of more towards the sharp end is just a really nice feeling. I’m just really pumped to have the car that we’ve got and the team support that we’ve got right now.

BETH PARETTA, SIMONA DE SILVESTRO, LAUREN SULLIVAN, ANDRA BUZATU FROM PARETTA AUTOSPORT, NO. 16 ROCKET PRO/PARETTA AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:

THE MODERATOR: Good morning. Thank you for coming to meet the Paretta Autosport team, a female-dominant team attempting to make this year’s 105th running of the Indianapolis 500. We’re going to start off with a quick video presentation so you can meet the team.
As you can see scrolling across the screen, those are many of the ladies associated with Paretta Autosport this year. We will start with meeting team owner Beth Paretta.
BETH PARETTA: Thank you, Katie. I realize that it’s exactly four months since I was sitting here to announce the team. It was January 19th. So here we are on May 19th, a very special day for a lot of reasons.
We’ve done a lot in four months. There was a lot of stuff that was done before that day of the announcement, but really excited to finally be here and for you to actually meet the faces that comprise Paretta Autosport, both on the commercial side, the competition side and the support that we’ve been getting through our technical partnership with Team Penske, which has been amazing. Very excited to be here today, and thank you for being on Zoom for those looking at us remotely. We couldn’t get our message out and tell the story without all of you, so thank you for your time and the way that you have very kindly covered this story.
Hopefully it’s resonated with people to be more than another team, another entry, trying our best. We’re trying to do a lot more and trying to provide opportunity and hopefully some inspiration, both for kids and for women everywhere to push and work hard to also know that anybody might be possible for yourself. Very happy to be here.
You saw the names on the team, but if we can just kind of cycle through quickly, I don’t know if you can go back through that or if there’s a way to pause them. But Simona, myself, but we’ve got the competition team, Ayla Agren, Caitlyn Brown, Andra Buzatu, Madison Conrad, Linda Conti, Sara Durant, Amanda Frayer, Mallorie Muller, Chelsea Pechenino and Lauren Sullivan, Runa Amin — this is the commercial side. Runa Amin, our intern; Barbara Burns, PR; Maria Grady, our photographer, Belicia Montgomery, business operations; Heather Pirowski on partnerships, and Linda Rosenberg in marketing.
This is also on the competition team, the support from Team Penske. Clint Cummings, Casey Eason, Chris Fry, Jefferson Hodges, Michael Nelson, Tom Novins, John Picchinotti, Raul Prados, our race engineer; Gary Prall, Sean Rinaman, who is our amazing pit coach who’s been training the women in pit stops; Vance Welker, our crew chief; and that’s it alphabetically.
So although this is female forward, I want to make sure that everybody understands that this is with the support and help and guidance and mentorship from some very amazing and experienced men who have worked in racing for many years, who have been part of this process from the beginning and teaching some of our women that are new to INDYCAR some of the ways of working around this car and working around this racetrack.
I also want to give a big thank you to Rocket Pro TPO, our primary sponsor, Money Lion, our two main sponsors, who have been amazing. Not only have they been supportive but they are leveraging our story to also highlight some of the women’s forward initiatives on the business side for each of their companies. So it was a really great fit for both of those, Money Lion, talking about financial literacy for women. We’re talking about education and careers which lead to independence for women, financial literacy, so Money Lion is doing that. And Rocket Pro TPO, females in the mortgage industry who are business owners.
So it’s wonderful to align with like-minded companies.
Also a big thanks to everybody at Chevrolet for the Chevy power that will be hopefully making Simona go very fast here at the speedway in car No. 16. That’s it. That’s kind of — you’ll meet everybody individually afterward, but just want to show you some of the important people sitting next to me, too, to summarize their journey for the past four months.
Simona?
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO: Yeah, well, for me it’s definitely pretty special to be back at the speedway. I think you know that Beth has kind of put this opportunity together for me and as well for all the other women. I think it’s quite special.
For sure I think our association with Team Penske is just incredible. I’ve learned so much just over the last like — the test day and yesterday, as well, so just kind of getting confidence out there, and the car feels really good, so from that point of view, I’m really excited to be here because I think we have the tools to do something great, and everyone is really learning really quickly from everyone. Me myself, as well, I haven’t been in an INDYCAR for six years, so it’s great to have great teammates around me and everyone from Team Penske really kind of helping us out on that side.
For sure, like Beth said, having Rocket Pro TPO and Money Lion kind of coming on board and telling this journey together, I think it’s great special. I think without them we wouldn’t be here, as well, so I think, yeah, car looks pretty good, as well. Looks fast and cool. Yeah, and Chevy, to welcome me back in the family, I think it’s really special.
Yeah, I think we’ll have a good month of May, and I can’t wait to go back out on track today.
Lauren?
LAUREN SULLIVAN: My name is Lauren Sullivan and I am the performance engineer for Paretta Autosport. I support the race engineer Raul, and I was asked to loan my skill set to this team by Team Penske. My full-time job is actually being a NASCAR wind tunnel test engineer for Team Penske, and earlier this year upper management came to me and asked if I would be interested in translating what I do on the NASCAR side over to the INDYCAR side to support Paretta Autosport, and so I of course said absolutely. This is a fantastic opportunity to translate data quality and wind tunnel testing to track-based testing and data quality.
From there, the journey has been incredible and has exceeded many expectations, every expectation actually, from the men from Team Penske who have been supporting us to all the ladies I’ve been able to work with, and each experience has just gone beyond predictions and how I thought it would go. It’s just been wonderful. The energy and the excitement that is in this team is infectious, and we are here and we are ready to do what we came here to do.
Watching all these ladies and myself, all of us learn a new skill set so quickly, the relentless amount of hard work and hours we’ve each put in since the start of the year to be ready for race day, and we’re ready for it. It’s cool to see it all finally come together.
We’re also very aware of our unique position to the next generation, the eyes that are on us, in particular the young ladies that are out there watching this unfold, and we hope that by seeing us, you guys realize that we didn’t do anything extraordinary to be here. We are just like you, and so if you can see us, you can be us. By all of us coming together, we’re hoping to make that message very clear.
One of those wonderful ladies that we have with us is Andra.
ANDRA BUZATU: Good morning. My name is Andra Buzatu. I am a mechanic on the car as well as being on the pit crew.
I recently got out of the military last year in September and decided to come to NASCAR Technical Institute, where I was recruited for the team.
Since February, we have all been getting up at 3:30, 4:00 in the morning four days a week to be at the Penske shop by 5:00 a.m. to practice our stops. Every single day we’re learning something new, and we had quite a few women start out on the team, so the women that you see standing here are the ones that made it and are in a final part of the team.
When it comes to being over the wall, we’re hoping to see a lot of us going over the wall. It will still be tentative on race day, where we are, but we have — we’ve been working very, very hard to be where we are.
I think the biggest point is that we’re just another race team, and we’re here to win, and we’re here to really show that we deserve to be here. Thank you.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, ladies. Great to put some faces and names behind the Paretta Autosport story. Now that you have met the women of Paretta Autosport we’re going to open the floor for a few brief questions.
Q. (No microphone.)
BETH PARETTA: I’ve worked in motorsport a long time, and this is different than anything I’ve ever been part of, obviously, for all the reasons that you see.
I started just as a fan watching from home. I was somebody that watched racing all the time, and I didn’t necessarily plot out that this would be where I’d find myself. It’s the most extraordinary — it’s the most extraordinary thing to be able to do for a living, in fairness, and we’ll all say that, everybody on the team, even on our toughest days and our early mornings and late nights and covered in schmutz. We love it, and we do it because we’re competitive and we do it because it’s about pushing ourselves.
Many of us have individual journeys but there’s nothing like being on a team and knowing that the person standing next to you is as driven as you are. We’re all better together.
Those sorts of things, these are opportunities of a lifetime, and it’s funny because all of us have worked in racing we can think back to different teams we were on and have such affectionate memories and I’m hoping that this is the start of something and we’re going to work together for many years if all goes well and if we have our partners that would like to continue this with us and see how far we can take this.
A day like today is something that we’re always going to remember.
Q. Beth, you had talked about this a few years ago, and you wanted an all-female team. How difficult was it to — when you first announced it to actually get here today?
BETH PARETTA: Well, there were some logistics challenges at the 11th hour in 2016 that were unfortunate, and they affected a few teams that year, and we got caught up in that. It happens; it’s kind of the trials and tribulations of Indy.
Yeah, I took a couple of years in between. I was focusing on the education side of things and building that and still continuing to build my network, and in fairness, Roger Penske and his team were supportive then and we were going to work together sort of in a different alliance, so when the race for equality and change was announced last year, I reached back out to him to say, hey, what is this about and what’s your ambition with this program, and he said, let’s talk, because it was already — the seeds had already been planted. So it was a very short conversation this time.
We immediately got a car and the car was secured and immediately my next call was to Chevrolet and then the engine was secured. In fairness I think because I went through that it made this a little easier because it was a known idea.
I think obviously the climate has changed. I think five years ago, six years ago we might have been too early for the world.
Q. Now you have Roger Penske on board with diversity efforts. Did he give you that push that got you across the finish line?
BETH PARETTA: I’d say the push in the sense of the technical alliance obviously then is easier when you call somebody like a Simona De Silvestro and say hey I’m putting this team together and I have a technical partnership with Roger Penske. I don’t think there was any hesitation. I mean, not that there’s hesitation, but it’s extra. I mean, to be able to be aligned with a team that knows their way around the speedway is a little easier.
In fairness, I have a good relationship with Chevrolet, so did the Penske situation help? No, I had that and I’m a known quantity in some places. But there’s no doubt that it just helps, because also when you’re calling and talking to possible potential sponsor partners, it’s one thing to back an idea, it’s another thing to back an idea that has a connection to something that’s a going concern.
Q. For the others, you look around and you’ve got this team of females and it seems like something that would never be possible and yet here it is. I’m wondering how that makes you feel.
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO: Well, I think for me personally, like when I look at pit lane, to me it doesn’t matter — I think they all deserve to be there. I look at whoever is changing my tire because it’s the best person to do that job, but for sure I think what Beth was able to do is just give this amazing opportunity.
Everyone is learning from the best people like in the paddock, and I think that’s something that even in my career I’ve fought for. At the end of the day racing is all about being in the right place at the right moment, and right now we just have literally all the tools in our hands to really show what we can do, and I think that’s really uplifting.
I think everyone involved in the program, as well, is just really — realizes that. Everyone is putting the extra work into it, and I think that’s really special to see, and for sure when we’re on pit lane, I think all the other teams kind of look at us, but we just do our job and that’s what it is, and hopefully I think it’ll just open even more opportunities to other girls out there.
Also in different teams, for example, just to — if somebody is good at what they do, they should also get a shot at it.
BETH PARETTA: And to be fair there are women in other teams and you’ll see them in pit lane. I don’t know if some teams have done this where they’ve actually put some of their women more forward where they might have been back at the shop, and if that’s maybe something that’s new this year for whatever reason, good. Then it worked. Because they were there all along.
Q. Do you two feel part of something?
LAUREN SULLIVAN: Oh, yeah, the camaraderie hits different. Being on the NASCAR side, it’s also a male-dominated field, but to come over here and be in a female-dominated team, it hits different, just because you’re so used to being one or two in a field of many other men and stuff like that.
It’s a very unique experience, and it’s really cool to see and look around, especially like when we’re walking together down pit road or something like that, and it’s like, we’re doing this, and we’re doing it well. It’s exciting.
ANDRA BUZATU: It’s so crazy to be with a bunch of other women that want to do what you do because on my ship I was one of the only female mechanics. The rest of them were officers, so I was the only one like down in the pits in the engine room.
It’s so cool to be working alongside other women who are so driven to do what you love to do.
Q. Simona, a few weeks ago Will Power was saying that — he said, Simona is going to be my favorite. The Swiss Missile, she’s going to be fast in that Penske car. I think you’re really highly respected as a racer and maybe people look at you as you just haven’t had the right opportunity. Do you feel like you’re in an opportunity now that you can really shine?
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO: Yeah, definitely. If I look at my career, like INDYCAR has done so much for my career. I think it’s really put me on the map. But when I was here in 2010, 2013, I never got the call from a big team, even though I think kind of the results were okay, and it could have been a possibility.
I think it just took a little bit of work, and finally I think, yeah, with Beth doing this and also Roger, I think when they called me, I think it was quite special because I feel like, okay, I’ve put a lot of work to be in this position finally, and here I am today.
From that point of view I’m grateful that I stuck with it all these years to finally be here, and for sure I think this is the best opportunity for me yet in INDYCAR and here, as well, at the Indy 500 because literally everyone in the team, everyone around us really wants us to do well. They really give you everything you need and try to make you as comfortable as you can, and the car is really fast, as well.
From that point of view, it’s just, yeah, putting my head down and getting it done, and hopefully this will be a really strong month of May and we’ll see where the journey goes.
Q. Can you win the Indy 500?
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO: Yeah. You know, I think so, if we — I think at the end of the day this place — you need a little bit of luck. You need things to go well. But I feel like we’re really putting the right amount of work into it, and at the end of the day the things I can control is doing the job. I can be as prepared as I can, the women, as well, the guys on the team, as well, my engineer. Everyone knows that, so we just have to get the work done, and hopefully on Sunday we’ll be in a good position.
Q. Pit stop times, what did you guys start out at and what have you improved to?
ANDRA BUZATU: Oh, man, we started off at, I don’t know, 17-, 18-second stops —
BETH PARETTA: On a static car.
ANDRA BUZATU: Yeah.
BETH PARETTA: We could put a car right here and see how long it would take any of you to do it.
ANDRA BUZATU: And I think now our average is around 5.5, five seconds.
BETH PARETTA: There’s average, so there’s some sub-five.
Q. Also Team Penske guys like Rick Rinaman were famous for — he was going over the wall when he was 62. The fact they’ve won the pit stop challenge so often, what’s it like getting coached by some of those guys where to shave a tenth of a second off here, a half a second there, what’s the process?
ANDRA BUZATU: Sean is the best coach that we possibly could have asked for. This is his first time coaching a group of women. I mean, the process is so minute. You think we’re just taking a tire on — taking a tire off, putting a tire on, but there’s — like the angle of how you pick up the tire, the angle of how you put the gun on, it started off with the basics, and now we are so just picking apart the finest of details.
It’s been a long process of just the basics down to the details. I’m super confident with how all of us stand when it comes down to pit stops.
BETH PARETTA: It’s like going to the Harvard of pit schools.
Q. I believe the pit stop challenge is canceled for this year, but for next year how big a goal would it be to get out there and fight for that championship?
ANDRA BUZATU: I mean, that’s all we could ask for, right?
Q. How oversubscribed was it like when you announced this deal? Did you get a lot of applications? What was your feel for how much enthusiasm there was behind this?
BETH PARETTA: We got a ton of CVs, a ton of resumes, through the website, through my LinkedIn, every way. From a lot of men, as well, which was lovely. In fairness because it was such a short timeline, we really relied on people that we knew and had a relationship with and then kind of like one degree of separation of then using — like going to a resource like Jefferson Hodges with Team Penske who had previously worked with a bunch of the women before or knew them through the NASCAR Technical Institute. We really were pragmatic about it.
Q. I wanted to ask also about — I realize why you picked the 500, but obviously with 35 cars it’s high risk coming in with a team, not because they’re individually inexperienced but just working together. Wouldn’t it have been safer to do like a Long Beach or St. Pete where you’re guaranteed to actually be on the grid?
BETH PARETTA: Absolutely, and we actually considered doing a bundle of races. Part of it has to do with Simona’s day job as a Porsche factory driver so there were some conflicts with some of the dates, so we looked at that, but we decided collectively with Roger and their upper management that we would start here and then go from here.
Q. So are you hinting that there are more races coming up?
BETH PARETTA: (Nodding head.)
Q. Simona, how quickly did you get back into the swing of driving an open-wheel car because it was completely alien what you were doing down in Supercars to come here.
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO: Yeah, actually to be honest, I felt at home pretty quickly. I think if I think about my career and all that, I always felt the most comfortable in open-wheel car to be honest. That’s I think how my driving style is. Also growing up in Europe and all that and just having driven these type of cars for such a long time, I felt pretty quickly at home.
For sure here at the speedway definitely the first few laps it’s pretty quick because I hadn’t been here for six years, but yeah, I felt pretty comfortable pretty quickly, and I think that has a lot to do just with the team, as well, taking it really step by step and having also with the other drivers like people to kind of lean on a little bit. That felt actually pretty good.
I think it was good that we did the open test because we just all kind of got to know each other for the first time and know how everyone works and also with my engineer and things like that, so now we had a little bit of time off to kind of work through these things. So it feels really comfortable out there, and for sure the racing is a tough part because how you’re racing on an oval, but we’ve been doing a bit of practice, and today, as well, we’ll try to do a bit more traffic running to get as comfortable as we can out there in traffic, as well.
Q. If Paretta Autosport does continue to other races, I assume that you’re going to try and make yourself available? Porsche commitments allowing, yeah?
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO: Yeah, at the end of the day I am at the moment under contract with Porsche, but I think in that sense I’m pretty lucky that they are really big racing brand. I think even when I called them about doing the Indy 500, it didn’t take two seconds for them to let me do it. From that point of view I think it’s really special. They know how important INDYCAR is, as well, so yeah, from that point of view I think I’m lucky for them to kind of be on my side for those things.
Q. Just wanted to clarify with you, you’ve talked about kind of the pit crew over the past half an hour or so. I wonder if you’ve committed to an all-female crew over the wall for the race or if there’s still work to be done with finalizing that crew before the race actually comes.
BETH PARETTA: No, the crew over the wall will be coed. We’ll see as the week goes on who may go over the wall, and ultimately the number one priority is safety and then competition. Here’s the thing: If we have zero women over the wall for the Indy 500 you’ll see them at the next race. It’s all about progress. Just the fact that you see this lineup and how far we’ve gotten in these four months, that’s how I’m measuring our progress. Every time we can integrate and add one more woman in a key role, that’s what we’re going to get to.
Is it going to be 100 percent over the wall? No. And we’re going to prioritize safety and competition.
Q. You’ve had some on-track testing time and also yesterday, as well. What are you expecting in terms of competition for the race? How confident are you going into that and what are you expecting in terms of targets?
BETH PARETTA: We are very happy with how everything went yesterday. We’re following our plan, and we’re taking every day with a very robust methodical plan, and we’re going to follow our playbook.
Q. How excited were you yesterday to have the team on track?
BETH PARETTA: Over the moon. I mean, I don’t show it. I laughed when the Indy star referred to me as stoic because if anyone knows me, it’s like, really? Because it worked, if they thought I was stoic. Because obviously it’s a balance. We want to make sure that we’re focused, but yeah, I want to make sure that we all have a job to do, this is very important, it’s very exciting, but also allow ourselves that moment to exhale and just say, this is also very amazing and very cool. Hopefully we have a little bit of fun with it and do our jobs and hopefully on the night of May 30th we can celebrate.
Q. For Simona, obviously you haven’t raced with the aeroscreen, but how have you found adapting to the aeroscreen considering the last time you were in an INDYCAR it didn’t have it?
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO: Yeah, to be honest when you’re in the car you don’t really realize it. It doesn’t really change that much. In traffic it is a little bit different because when I raced here six, eight years ago you would feel a bit more the turbulent air on your helmet, on your head, and you don’t really feel that now with the aeroscreen. So it’s a little bit more tricky in just getting your runs and stuff, your timing of the runs. So that’s kind of the only thing that has changed a little bit.
To be honest when you haven’t driven here for so long, you kind of just take it as a brand new like everything and kind of just learn from the things — you learn out there like all the time and don’t really think too much about how it was like six years ago because it’s quite far away.
Q. You’re saying you’re coming from a military background; how has that prepared you to come in to motorsport, but then you’re also coming from the Penske NASCAR side, so has that been an easy transition to INDYCAR?
ANDRA BUZATU: Yes and no. Four years in the military, I mean, we’re used to long days, and I was deployed for six months at a time, so traveling isn’t that big of a deal.
I was a mechanic for four years, so I have that background coming into it. Going to NASCAR Tech was an option that I decided to take, and I was not expecting to get this offer.
Transitioning out of military life is difficult on its own, so this opportunity came, and my life just picked up after that. It’s been an awesome transition, and everything starting out — they didn’t really throw us into the deep end right away. We got acquainted with everything, and it’s just been a great ride ever since.
Q. Simona, since you left in the car, you have been in a bunch of other cars. What have you learned since then, and how can you adapt that when you come back?
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO: Yeah, I think the biggest thing because I’ve driven so many different cars in the last six years is I think what I’ve learned the most is just adapting myself a bit. When you’re in open wheel for so long, you kind of start to understand and know what you kind of need in the race car to be quick, and jumping from Formula E to a Supercar and now to a GT car, I think the big thing is just in my driving, being adaptable. I think that’s the big thing that I learned just — sometimes things I want to do doesn’t really work for that car, so just being a bit more open-minded about things and about my driving, as well.
Q. What do you expect of yourself for the Indy 500?
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO: You know, I think like any racer who enters, I try to be as competitive as I can be. You come to race to win races. That’s what we do this for. For sure I think right now it feels really good. For sure it’s only early days, but I feel pretty competitive out there, and yeah, the team around me is great.
From that point of view, we’re just taking it day by day and just getting the confidence up every day and keep working on the things that I can do better and getting as comfortable as I can. I think if these things come together, I think we can be pretty strong on Sunday.
Q. Have you had enough time to prepare?
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO: Yeah, for sure. Well, compared to everyone else who’s driving INDYCARs every weekend, it’s a bit different, but in the sense that the team is just really good around me. They really let me also take my time. They have really good guidance, and that point of view I feel super comfortable.
Like I said before, I feel really comfortable in an INDYCAR. I love open wheel racing, so for me just the level of excitement being here is just really big, and I’m just super happy that I get to be back here and back at IMS, back in an INDYCAR. I think it’s special. Definitely pinching myself every day that I get to do this.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
107546-1-1002 2021-05-19 15:29:00 GMT
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET AND JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 86 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET
PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. On behalf of everyone at Penske Entertainment and management at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, welcome to the world’s greatest race course. Wrapping up day one today, which started early with practice. We had a little rain delay midway and then wrapped it up quickly this afternoon with some 35 cars out on the two-and-a-half-mile oval.
A couple of Indy 500 champions joining us here this afternoon. We expect to hear from Ryan Hunter-Reay, I believe, as well, and Takuma Sato, the two-time and reigning Indy 500 champion again here momentarily. Let’s get started with two-time Indy 500 champion Juan Pablo Montoya, and Will Power, who topped the speed chart this afternoon with a lap at 226.470 miles an hour. Juan, it looks like you’re ready. This is a nice little bounce-back after the weekend you had GP weekend on the road course.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: Yeah, it was kind of expected to be honest. At the end of the race, we were actually pretty decent on lap time and everything, but it’s hard when you go into qualifying and you’ve done I think eight timed laps or something or 10 timed laps. We knew qualifying was going to be difficult and race was going to be difficult, but we did everything we needed to do with the pit stops, the fuel saving, work under pressure with the engineers.
I mean, I think it was a really efficient weekend for the mechanics, as well. They didn’t have a lot of time to make all the changes.
I’m really proud of everybody, Arrow McLaren, Speed. So it’s pretty good.
I think our car, I don’t know, it’s weird because my reference is the old car before, all the halo and all this, and it feels pretty bad, but if you look at when I run with everybody, it seems pretty good.
THE MODERATOR: I remember even when you left here after the open test you felt pretty good about things.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: Yeah, and when we started here I felt a lot happier then. I felt like we really gained a lot and had really good ideas, and this morning the track was really grippy. It was cool. It’s hard when it’s so cool because you can fool yourself a little bit. Overall it’s okay. I’m pretty happy. Got to wait and see what it brings.
THE MODERATOR: Will, just recap your day today and the rain delay and all of that, but 226.4, P1 here on day one.
WILL POWER: Yeah, so obviously not much, just big tow, as simple as that, trying to catch that train. But as far as stuck in traffic I felt pretty good just running with two or three cars in front. Felt more comfortable than I have for a while.
That was promising, and yeah, I think cooler conditions can make everything feel pretty good. I think when the heat comes it’ll certainly change everything and become harder to follow.
I think adding that downforce is certainly going to help the racing. I think you’re going to have one of the old style races where the front three are just swapping positions constantly because you can follow so close now. I think, yeah, it’s good for the fans.
THE MODERATOR: That begs the question did the aero changes make a difference? So far so good? Do you like what you see out there?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I think they needed that after last year’s race and they added it all to the flow so that makes it much better in traffic. Yeah, so far it feels really good.
Q. I’m wondering how important is it to know this place and to understand what it’s about? Is that an invaluable amount of experience?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: Yeah.
WILL POWER: Yeah, I think so. I’ve had so much time around here, you know the cars — having worked with Juan and Helio before, these guys were very, very good because of experience, so they know how to get the car right and know where to put it and not get themselves in trouble. I feel like I’m at that stage now.
But yeah, you understand very well.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: Yeah, it’s interesting because as you get more experience you really know what you’re looking at on the car, as Will said, but sometimes when you don’t know enough, it’s good, as well, especially because we drive this — the way these cars drive at the moment.
I don’t know, like if you look at Pato, for example, he’s comfortable with a car that is like really, really neutral. I mean, we can handle it, but for me is the question can you do it 200 laps.
The way I look at it is like, I’m going to complain as much as I can until race day and then I’ll do the best I can with what I have. That’s all you can do.
Q. Look at Pato; these guys are coming in here, everybody is saying look at the young guys, but does this particular race benefit guys like you?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: At the end of the day you look at how many young guys have won the 500 the last few years. I think that answers the question. I mean, do they have a shot? For sure, no question. I think Pato and Herta and all those kids, they’ve got a lot of talent and everything. Felix, as well. At the end of the day you’ve got to run the 200 laps and see what happens at the end of it.
First of all, you’ve got to make it to 200, you know? So we’ll see. To tell you the truth, it’s tough. It looks like the forecast is going to get hotter this week and next week, so that’s going to make it even harder. I don’t know, they say that it’s better now with the new improved aero kit and everything to follow people, but I still find it pretty difficult to be honest.
You know when you have one car it’s not an issue or two cars you can travel and pass, but when you’re behind five, six cars, it’s like, good luck.
WILL POWER: No, I feel the same. Once you get back in that train — it’s always been that way. It’s just so hard in all that dirty air. Yeah, that’s the game. It’s kind of hard in practice to understand, too, because you’ve got people checking up, you’ve got guys coming out on different fuel loads and new tires and old tires, so you don’t know where people are setup-wise or tire-wise.
You honestly don’t get a very good idea until race day how it will truly race.
Q. Juan, last week was a little bit more difficult. Today it seemed like you hadn’t missed a day. How did it feel?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: Honestly last week was what we expected. What do you expect, you haven’t been in the car three years. We did an afternoon in Laguna that is really no reference to this, and I got in the car and you try to do the best you can. Like if you look at my pace in the first practice I was only six-tenths of Pato and Felix. I felt pretty good after one session. The second session was a disaster; we made some changes, and I hated the car, couldn’t really be comfortable at all. Next you’re qualifying, next you’re racing. Warmup was pretty good, and we started the race with the same car, and it wouldn’t turn. We don’t understand why, and we kind of made some changes during the race, and at the end my pace was decent. But by then, who cares.
But for me, as I said earlier, it’s really important because we pushed the guys to make a lot of changes. The car was always right, the car was always on time. We didn’t miss a beat. And I think that’s really important. The pit stops were good. Couldn’t hope for a lot more.
It’s very easy to do pit stops when there’s no pressure, but in a race situation it makes it a little bit more interesting for everybody, including myself, so it was good.
Honestly it made a huge difference. I got in the car today and I didn’t even think about it. That’s basically the reason of those painful days was today.
THE MODERATOR: They’re talking about heat indexes around 90 degrees this week.
THE MODERATOR: I’m curious as you sit here, all Indy champs, you’re looking at Montoya’s return. Did you think you’d seen the end of Juan Pablo Montoya at Indianapolis Motor Speedway?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: I thought I did.
WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, I thought it would be smart for your team to employ you. You’ve got a pretty good record around this joint.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: Honestly the only reason I came back is because I think they got the potential to give me a winning car, and RP didn’t let me run the last few years. It’s the truth. He always — the last two years before this, I said I’m pretty sure he’s going to say no, but if you want to call, go ahead, and he called and it was like, nah, not happening.
THE MODERATOR: There are nine former Indy 500 champions involved in this field. The record is 10 back in ’92. This is a pretty stacked field looking at this. You talk about the competition, how much more difficult it seems to be this year. That’s certainly relevant when it comes to this year’s Indianapolis 500.
WILL POWER: It would be hard — how many cars have we got, 35, 36?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: Freaking impossible.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: Oh, my God. And you’ve really got to be patient enough for somebody to screw up to make the passes much easier.
WILL POWER: I was saying actually qualifying would be tough at the back 10 or 12 cars because I think everyone is so close. You’ve seen a lot —
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: I think the track will make a huge difference on your performance.
THE MODERATOR: The bigger the better on Saturday.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: Normally, yeah.
Q. Have you gotten a read as to how the engines are performing relative to each other?
WILL POWER: Yeah, no, not really. I think they’re pretty even just based on today. If you’re following Honda, they’re a little better if they checked up to get up to speed. But yeah, we won’t know until qualifying. Obviously that’s a different boost level. Then again, Carb Day is a race engine. I think it’s all so close now that it’s almost coming down to how you prepare the car.
Q. Juan, you’ve been in various formulas around here. How do you feel it compares?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: I think — I don’t know, it’s hard to tell. I was telling Will that it seems like they recover a little better than us off the corners, but if anything I would say probably at the moment what we’re showing and what they’re showing, they seem to be a little better at — we’re a little better at the end of the straight. Until they really put those race engines in and everybody really shows everything — it’s hard to tell because you might be doing a long run and somebody comes out and looks really good and they’ve got 10 laps less on their tires. Unless you got on the same lap and you take the beating of the whatever laps you want to run, 20, 25 laps, then you really don’t know where you stand.
Q. Will was up front. Juan was dropped all the way back to 33rd the year he won it in 2015 and Takuma won it last year from starting pretty close to the front. Why is it so important where you qualify here this weekend?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: Aeroscreen.
WILL POWER: Yeah, I think last year was evident if you didn’t start at the front you didn’t have a chance. It might be a little bit better this year.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: Yeah, I think they improved the car, but if you look at the guys when you run in a pack, the top three guys, as Will said earlier, they can pass each other and you look really racy. You drop to sixth or seventh and you’re like praying for dear life.
Q. Also for Juan , how big would it be to win a third 500?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: I think it would be cool. I think we’ve got a good shot at it. I think it’s exciting. I think having Pato and Felix as teammates is really cool. I think everybody at Arrow McLaren has been doing a really nice job. It’s a great atmosphere to work with, and they have good cars. They won Texas. They really showed they have fast cars. Even when we unloaded today they looked really strong. I don’t know, we’ll see. It’s a long week ahead. There’s many ways you can screw it up, so try to avoid most of them.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks so much, guys, for your patience and coming over and saying hi to everybody. Nice way to kick things off here in the 2021 Indy 500.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, May 19, 2021) – Trail-blazing motorsports icon Danica Patrick will drive the 2021 mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette Stingray hardtop convertible at the 105th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 30, returning to the track where she made racing history.

Patrick will lead the field of 33 cars to the green flag for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on the 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Live coverage of the race starts at 11 a.m. (ET) on NBC and the INDYCAR Radio Network, with a global audience watching the popular Patrick drive the Arctic White Stingray, the first Corvette convertible since 2008 to pace the world’s most prestigious auto race.

“I am very honored to drive the Corvette Stingray Pace Car this year at the Indy 500,” Patrick said. “It is even more special because of the past year we have all endured, and it will be so nice to see fans back in the stands. I’m also excited to again be a part of the NBC broadcast team for the race.

“I have always loved Chevy vehicles, and the Corvette convertible is such a beautiful car. Maybe they will let me drive it home!”

Driving the Corvette Stingray convertible will be part of a busy Race Day for Patrick at IMS. She also is serving as a studio analyst for NBC’s live race broadcast with host Mike Tirico and fellow analyst Jimmie Johnson, a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion who is competing this season in road- and street-course events in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

Patrick, who grew up in Roscoe, Illinois, achieved numerous milestones during her eight Indianapolis 500 starts, which took place from 2005-11 and in 2018. She achieved the best starting spot for a female driver, fourth, as a rookie in 2005 and electrified the racing world that year by becoming the first female driver ever to lead laps in the race.

She finished third in 2009 – the best result ever for a woman in the “500” – and holds the race record for laps led by a female, 29.

“We’re happy to welcome back Danica to the place where she made motorsports history as the first female driver to lead ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,’” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “She will provide a unique perspective for NBC viewers while behind the wheel of the powerful Corvette Stingray convertible.”

Chevrolet and Corvette have led the starting field more than any other manufacturer and nameplate, respectively. The 2021 race marks the 32nd time for Chevrolet to pace dating back to 1948, and the 18th time since 1978 for America’s favorite sports car.

Patrick made the last of her eight Indy 500 starts in 2018 behind the wheel of a Chevrolet-powered car. She also competed for the first five seasons of her six-year NASCAR career in a Chevrolet, including becoming the only female driver to win the Daytona 500 pole, in 2013.

“We’re honored that Danica Patrick will pace the field at this year’s Indianapolis 500,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president of Chevrolet Performance & Motorsports. “It’s going to be great to see Danica back at the Speedway that she knows so well, behind the wheel of our 2021 Corvette convertible.”

Chevrolet has a storied history at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Chevrolet was founded in 1911, the year of the inaugural 500-mile race. Company co-founder and namesake Louis Chevrolet, along with brothers Arthur and Gaston, competed in early Indy 500s. Arthur competed in the 1911 race and Gaston won in 1920.

Nine drivers with Chevrolet engines have combined to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” 11 times, with Rick Mears, Emerson Fittipaldi, Arie Luyendyk, Al Unser Jr., Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Juan Pablo Montoya, Will Power and, most recently, Simon Pagenaud in 2019.

Team Chevy also has won the NTT INDYCAR SERIES manufacturer championship six times since 2012.

INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, May 18, 2021) – Will Power led a busy, compressed opening day of practice for the 105th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Tuesday, turning a top lap of 226.470 mph at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

2018 Indy 500 winner Power’s fastest lap in the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet came in the final session of the day, an open practice lasting one hour, 50 minutes between 4:10-6 p.m. (ET) on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. Delays due to late-morning rain compressed the final session from three hours to one hour, 50 minutes, so drivers wasted no time clustering in packs of thick traffic and swapping positions in the aerodynamic draft.

“Just a big tow,” Power said of the aerodynamic pull of leading cars. “It’s as simple as that – trying to catch that train. But as far as in traffic, I felt pretty good. Running with two or three cars in front, I felt as comfortable as I have in a while.”

2014 “500” winner Ryan Hunter-Reay was second at 226.371 in the No. 28 DHL Honda, while two-time and reigning winner Takuma Sato was third at 226.132 in the No. 30 Panasonic/PeopleReady Honda.

Sage Karam was the fastest non-“500” winner on the speed chart, fourth at 225.942 in the No. 24 DRR-AES INDIANA Chevrolet. Conor Daly rounded out the top five at 225.640 in the No. 47 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet.

INDYCAR introduced a regulation in 2021 that requires teams to fill in the front half of the “hole” in the underwing of the Dallara chassis with a carbon fiber clam-shell piece. This increases downforce and reduces the reliance on the front wing, which will create more passing. After just one day in traffic, 2014 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Power thinks the changes will generate even more action on Race Day, Sunday, May 30.

“It’s promising,” Power said. “I think adding that downforce is certainly going to help the racing. I think you’re going to have one of the old-style races where the front three are just swapping positions constantly because you can follow so close now. I think it will be good. It’s good for the fans.”

Power was the busiest and fastest of the 35 drivers on track today, turning 87 laps. The field combined to turn 2,369 laps overall.

Graham Rahal led the morning session for veteran drivers, which was interrupted by three times by light rain. His top lap was 223.449 in the No. 15 United Rentals Honda, and that stood as his top speed of the day.

After a rain delay of two hours, 20 minutes, the track opened for two hours for the Rookie Orientation Program and veteran refresher tests.

JR Hildebrand and Stefan Wilson completed their refresher tests in the No. 1 ABC Supply Foyt Stewart Racing Chevrolet and No. 25 LOHLA SPORT/Cusick Motorsports Honda, respectively. RC Enerson was the only one of the three rookies assigned to cars who didn’t complete his rookie test during testing in April, and he was nearly finished with the second of the three phases of his test when mechanical trouble struck his No. 75 Top Gun Racing Chevrolet.

Enerson will return to the track at 11 a.m. Wednesday to try and finish the second and third phases of his rookie test. The track is scheduled to be open from noon-6 p.m. for open practice.

Indianapolis, ind. (18 May 2021) – Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) completed its first official day of Indianapolis 500 practice on Tuesday. MSR – which will be entering its fifth consecutive Indianapolis 500 – comes into the week of preparation for the first time with its two-car assault .

MSR veteran, Jack Harvey will continue his Indianapolis 500 hunt in the No. 60 AutoNation/ SiriusXM Honda. While new to MSR but certainly not new to the Indy 500, Helio Castroneves will make his MSR debut in the No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda as he looks to claim his fourth victory in the 105th Running of the iconic race.

With practice opening at 10:00am on Tuesday, Harvey wasn’t able to take to the track right away after unfortunately got off to a slow start when the team diagnosed as issue with the engine following the install lap. But quickly getting to work, the team replaced the No. 60 Honda engine in just three-hours time, and Harvey was sent back out into afternoon practice. Harvey closed out the day 30th and posted his fastest speed of 222.113 mph.

Castroneves was fast right off the bat with the team right on target during the morning’s two hour ‘oval veterans’ session. Although onboard a new car and sporting a new color suit, Castroneves showed no rust as he clocked in 63 total laps and finished out the day 22 with a fast lap speed of 223.059 mph.

INDYCAR practice will continue through the week with open practice set for 12:00pm – 6:00pm. Live streaming will be available on Peacock TV or on SiriusXM Ch. 205.

Driver Quotes:

Jack Harvey: “I think we made good progress throughout the day. It’s always hard on a day like today to see how everyone shakes out. I don’t think the time sheet necessarily reflected how we were at the end of the day. I was just happy that the car got back out on track and that we made progress on the race car.”

Helio Castroneves: “This is the first official day with Meyer Shank Racing and I thought it went really well. We collected a lot of data today and that was the goal. We were able to get through our program, and found some areas that we can improve on to get us through the rest of the week. As of right now the speed may not be up there, but we are focusing on a lot of things and hopefully that will translate at the end of the week. The AutoNation / SiriusXM car, it was good and it’s always great to be back at the Indianapolis 500.”