Category: NTT Indy

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS 500
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
INDYCAR MEDIA DAY TRANSCRIPT – GROUP 3
May 25, 2023

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 CHEVROLET AT ED CARPENTER RACING, Indy 500 Media Availability Transcript:

WHAT’S YOUR CONFIDENCE LEVEL LIKE COMING INTO THIS WEEKEND?

“I’m very confident. Of course my best starting position yet for the race. But also the car feels really good in race trim, and I think I have just that bit of extra experience to challenge for a race win at the end tomorrow or on Sunday.”

CONOR (DALY) SAID HE THINKS THAT THE TWO OF YOU ARE IN THE GROUP OF LIKE LOW, (SCOTT) DIXON, PATO (O’WARD) AND FELIX (ROSENQVIST). DOES THAT SOUND ABOUT RIGHT?

“I feel like that, too, and how Conor charges forward like he always does in the 500, so we can work together like the other guys do. No, I definitely think we have our stuff together for the race. The team knows what they’re doing. I think the atmosphere in the team is also great.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE CHEVY HAS AN EDGE OVER THE HONDAS?

“I mean, in race trim, I haven’t really felt it. At least we have — we’ve made a big step in qualifying, so that’s very important. It means a lot to Chevy. In the race, I think it doesn’t really matter. I think it’s more driver based. One driver has a better package than the other does.

No, I think there’s a few guys that are going to look out for during the race, but it’s not like I feel an advantage or disadvantage with the Chevy.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE AERO CHANGES? I’VE HEARD DRIVERS TAKE OPINIONS IN 360 DEGREES.

“We get more grip. I think the racing might be a bit closer. Also, so far, we’ve only had one crash on Monday, but so far the whole month has been great.

I think the stability wickers that were put on the car, I think it calmed the car down quite a bit in qual trim. Hopefully that terrible Turn 2 will stop happening this year.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE TIRE WEAR MIGHT BE AN ISSUE FOR SOME PEOPLE? HOW IS YOUR CAR ON THAT?

“I think I’m on the good side of the tire wear. Depends on the track heat, too. I think Sunday, it looks like it’s going to be overcast, not too hot, so I think we’re going to be on the good side of it, but I know some guys, even when I got through tires at the end of a four-lap qual run. I think we have a really good car to save some tires for the end.”

SOME DRIVERS HAVE DIFFERENT APPROACHES ON HOW THEY HANDLE TRACK POSITION. WHERE DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU WANT TO BE CLOSE TO THE RACE? DO YOU WANT TO BE THE ONE IN FRONT AND DEFEND, OR DO YOU WANT TO BE THE ONE TO GO FOR IT?

“Tough one. It really depends on what position I get in. For the last 10 laps or five laps of the race, I’d like to be first or second at least, have to attack one car or only have to defend one car. But yeah, for me it doesn’t matter. I’m good at defending and attacking. As long as I’m in that shot to win the race.”

HOT OFF THE LINE, ARE YOU GOING TO GO STRAIGHT THROUGH OR SAVE FUEL?

“I think I’m in a position to save fuel and stay behind Alex (Rossi). It’s nice to lead the race, but it’s the nicest in one particular lap. That’s what we go for, and I think saving that fuel might give us the opportunity if the race proceeds that way to go for an Alex Rossi 2016 style strategy.”

INDY 500 FOR YOU HASN’T ALWAYS — YOU’VE HAD SOME TOUGH RESULTS THERE LIKE LAST YEAR, AND YOUR QUALIFYING HASN’T ALWAYS LED YOU UP TO THE TOP. HOW ARE YOU FEELING THIS TIME? DO YOU THINK YOUR BAD LUCK WILL RUN OUT?

“I think so. I feel good this year, and I think I’m more focused than I’ve ever been coming into this race. I’m feeling very confident, so does the team. That will help, and also I think I’m a bit more mature and experienced than last year, and I think that’s what I needed to stay in the race for such a long time and attack at the end.”

THERE USED TO BE THREE 500-MILE RACES IN INDYCAR, BUT THERE’S ONLY ONE 500-MILE RACE, AND YOU HAVE TO WAIT A WHOLE YEAR. I KNOW YOU HAVE THE TEST HERE, BUT HOW DOES THAT IMPACT YOU AND THE TEAM WITH ONLY ONE 500-MILE RACE?

“I mean, it’s different than other races. It’s definitely longer. But I mean, I like the challenge. I like what every race has to offer. I like the fast pace of the shorter races, and I like the different way of saving fuel and tires until the last part of the race in 500-mile races now.

Everything has its up and down sides, but this one only has ups.”

YOU’RE STARTING UP TOWARDS THE FRONT THERE; HOW DO YOU THINK THE RACE WILL PLAY OUT? DO YOU THINK THERE WILL BE A LOT OF PASSING? DO YOU THINK THERE WON’T BE?

“I think there will be a lot of passing. With the extra downforce we have now, I think that will be the case, but also, yeah, really depends. I think there will be a lot of passing from P5 and back. I think the top 5 are kind of going to be saving fuel, saving tires for the end, and not taking much risk just to stay in contention.”

HAS THERE BEEN A LOT OF TIRE DEG? HAVE YOU NOTICED A LOT OF TIRE DEG?

“Some guys do. There is some tire deg, but I think we are on the good side of the deg. I’m feeling pretty good in that case.”

MARCO WAS SAYING THAT HE WISHES THERE WAS MORE TIRE DEG.

“I mean, this place is already tricky enough. More tire deg, I mean, it will give different strategies to different — there’s going to be more excitement, I think, in that way, but also I cannot imagine having tires go off like Iowa on this track because that would be terrifying. I mean, we’re going at such high speeds and we have such little downforce, and if we go sideways once, there’s zero air on the wings.

I’m fine the way it is.”

SEEING THE CRASH ON MONDAY, DOES THAT GIVE YOU ANY CONCERNS, MAKE YOU MORE SCARED?

“I mean, we are still racing, and there’s been a new head rest that’s introduced to create more safety. A hit like that, there’s a SAFER barrier. Stefan is a tall guy, too. I think that might be one of the problems there.

I think if Takuma (Sato) was in the car, it might have ended differently.

It’s part of the job. That’s what makes it even cooler to get through the whole race and actually qualify up front, too. I mean, the risk makes it cool, yeah.”

DO YOU HAVE ALREADY A PLAN FOR HOW DO YOU WANT TO GO — DO YOU HAVE A PROCESS THAT YOU WANT?

“I think I can come up with a thousand different scenarios and they’re not going to happen. That’s how tricky this race is. But I have a plan of just making sure I’m in the top 5, 6 all the way through the race, and whenever the fuel save goes out the window and we go, we turn up that switch, I’m up there with the fast guys.

I want to contend for that win, and to finish first, you’ve first got to finish, so that is for me something very important to stay in that front group.”

ON GETTING THE INDY 500 WIN…

“It’s a dream come true to be in INDYCAR. To already have a win under my belt, a few podiums and now qualifying like this in Indianapolis is just very special, and hopefully we can translate it into something even more crazy, and that’s an Indy 500 win.”

SANTINO FERRUCCI, NO. 14 CHEVROLET AT AJ FOYT RACING, Indy 500 Media Availability Transcript:

WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN YOU FOUND OUT YOU’D BE WORKING WITH MIKE (CANNON) AGAIN?

“Well, I had actually told Mike, talked to Mike before I made my decision because he’s one of the people that I really trust in the paddock, so I just wanted to talk him through my options and listen to his feedback, and once his contract was up and he could start negotiating because I knew he was on for a year with Ganassi, once he was up I was calling him quite a bit just trying to get a feel for what he was going to do. Yeah, it was nice to convince him to come to Foyt with Larry’s help, of course, and I kind of knew in December that I think all of that was going to go our way.”

YOU’VE TALKED ABOUT THIS IS YOUR BEST START HERE. HOW DO YOU HOLD YOUR EXPECTATIONS AND WISHES AGAINST 200 LAPS OF RACING?

“I don’t really think it changes at all. I think it’s one of those things where it’s nice I get to start a race and not have to pass a ton of cars, but I’m basically in the same spot that I would have liked to have gotten to by like lap 50, let’s say. I’m just starting there.

So all I have to do is basically just kind of maintain, just run around. It’s just going to be — I’m hoping for a very boring race for myself up until probably the last stint or two.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE BY THE END OF THE DAY YOU’RE GOING TO BE ONE OF THOSE GUYS WHO’S MADE THE RIGHT DECISIONS TO HAVE ONE OF THOSE THREE CARS? IT’S ALL DOWN TO ABOUT THREE CARS THAT ARE REALLY READY TO BATTLE IT OUT FOR THE WIN?

“I’d say right now there’s six cars that could probably win this race if everything goes the correct way. Now, the order of which those six finish, if you take a look at last year’s race, you have the man that never makes a mistake made a mistake, the 10 car under what I’ve probably never seen as worse circumstances for a yellow, timely yellow.

So it’s just anything. I’m kind of expecting something to happen to us, as I am everybody else. That’s what 500 miles does. There’s no way that — you could be the fastest car on track, and I think my boss has proved this the best in the ’70s, he finished second, third, second. You could have this race going all day long and still not win this race. I’ve already sat in that seat once at Gateway.”

ALL THOSE LITTLE DECISIONS THAT GO INTO MAKING YOUR CAR ONE OF THE TOP CARS AT THE END OF THE DAY, DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE TOTALLY PREPARED TO —

“Yeah, we’re definitely one of the best cars. We’re probably one of the best racers. Just assuming that I do my job, we have clean pit stops, I don’t speed, I don’t make any mistakes on track, I keep my nose clean and I keep everything calm, cool and collected like I have done for the last four years, we’ll be there in the end.

My philosophy of this race is it’s just like any other race. You can always come back from somewhere here. It’s not special. You have to finish this one, and if you’re there, you are there to win it.”

WHO ARE THE SIX?

“The Fast Six. My opinion, cars that I’ve already been around and practiced with, yeah, those guys look good. Like the Fast 12 was tough and it was tight. The Fast Six, man, I mean, some good cars.”

GOOD IN RACE TRIM, THOUGH?

“Even in race trim, yeah.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE SEVENTH FASTEST, ROSSI?

“Fast Six is where it’s at. That’s all I’m going to say. He couldn’t pass us and we were the lead car and we were on pretty old tires, so I felt good about that, knowing it’s a McLaren. Pato ran me down right outside of 2, like right off of 2. We didn’t even hit the grass line yet.

I think that he’s not quite as comfortable as his teammate.

But yeah, I do know that, or at least I can see that.”

IT SEEMS LIKE THE CONSENSUS IS THAT THE FIRST ONE, TWO, MAYBE THREE CARS ARE GOING TO BE SWAPPING POSITIONS PRETTY DARNED OFTEN THROUGHOUT THE RACE BUT THEN FIFTH AND FARTHER ON BACK IT’S GOING TO BE HARDER TO PULL OUT. IS THAT KIND OF WHAT YOU’VE FELT, AS WELL?

“Well, it’s really hard to say, to be perfectly honest. You don’t really know what people have for fuel and for tires. When I was third in line I was able to pass, but I was also — the way that we were on fuel with tires, I’m not going to say that we were the best, but we were definitely not the worst, and when we put stickers on, I went to the back of the pack and I was passing cars all the way from the tail of the train.

So I felt good about my car in traffic. I think I can pass from a few back if I get it right. Like I said, I don’t think there’s a lot of people that can do that right now.

But I do think it’s going to be more racy this year than it has been the last two.”

YOU LIKE THE AERODYNAMIC CHANGES, THE SETUP PACKAGE?

“Yeah, I think that the series has actually done a really good job with the new pieces. They’ve done a good job with a little bit more adjustability for everybody because you’re now allowed to remove certain pieces and have certain configurations that are more efficient for downforce and drag.

So I think the car is the best it’s been in a while. I’d still like to see it better. I think there’s definitely ways that we can make that happen, but they don’t want pack racing, and I guess I’m okay with that because I’ve never raced in pack racing, so I can’t comment.”

HOW DO YOU MANAGE — OKAY, YOU’RE SAYING YOU WANT TO BE THERE AT THE END, THERE’S GOING TO BE OPPORTUNITIES PASSING AND STUFF RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. HOW DO YOU BALANCE THAT EARLY IN THE RACE, LIKE THE RISK TAKING AND WHEN TO BE CONSERVATIVE OR NOT?

“I think if there’s a pass given to you, say you’re running fifth in the train, fourth makes a mistake and you can pass him easily, you’re going to take that pass. Same thing if you’re second and you’re going back and forth with the leader and you’re leapfrogging in a sense, I think it depends on fuel. There’s definitely going to be a point on Sunday where I probably would like to lead just to get a sense of what we’re like leading. If I get that opportunity, yeah, if I can get into the lead I will gladly lead.

You just have to be able to watch, your spotters have to watch, but at the end of the day, yeah, you’re kind of playing a game of chess, so not only do you have to run the race when you’re up front but you have to make notes of what everybody can do up front and kind of keep that in the back of your head for when you do get to the end, so you’ve got to be thinking about everything strategic.”

WHEN YOU’VE WON RACES BEFORE, DO YOU FEEL CONFIDENT (INDISCERNIBLE)?

“I have won a lot of races before, too, so I like that spot a lot. Trust me, I was a little upset to not get pole, and that’s on me. And again, not be on the front row. We’ve got next year. But starting fourth, yeah, I like that a lot. I feel good about it. I feel really good about it.”

YOU MENTIONED LAST WEEK, YOU COULDN’T BE AS AGGRESSIVE AS YOU WOULD HAVE LIKED WITH THE TEAM. HOW DO YOU BALANCE WITH SUCH A GOOD CAR THIS YEAR NOT BEING OVERLY AGGRESSIVE WITH THIS CAR TRYING TO GET TO THAT FINAL STINT?

“Well, last year was a different position because I was kind of fighting for my life and career to survive. This year I’m just not. I’m just not in that position to where I feel really comfortable with where I’m at, feel comfortable with where my career is heading and the direction, especially with this team.

The pressure is different. It’s not the same type of pressure. It’s one of those that’s fight or flight, so you have to make smart decisions, and you have to finish, versus here, you have to make smart decisions, yet you can actually go for winning this race. If we’re second going into the last lap and I make an attempt for the lead and we don’t make it, I’m going to sleep just fine Sunday night because there’s nothing worse than finishing second not knowing that there was a gap that you didn’t go for. That would crush me, and I think it would crush our team.

I think that Sunday if we’re in that position — if you’re running third or fourth, yeah, you’re not risk championship, good points, all of the above. The only time that that’s okay to risk is when you’re running second and it’s there for the taking. That’s the only time. That’s the only time it makes sense.”

WOULD YOU SAY THAT THIS TEAM FEELS MORE LIKE A HOME THAN THE OTHER PLACES YOU’VE BEEN SO FAR IN YOUR CAREER?

“Yeah. This has definitely been — it’s been a very different type of relationship for me and Larry. We were at the Kentucky Derby to start the month off. It was 72 hours of nothing but alcohol and betting. It was so much fun. It was so cool. I’ve never started off a May like that before, and I will tell you that there is no better way to kick off the month of May than the derby. I think that’s going to have to start to become tradition, considering how we’re running.”

I HAVEN’T LOOKED UP YOUR ODDS FOR SUNDAY. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY ARE BY CHANCE?

“I do know that they are significantly better now, according to a couple of my friends that did put some money down on me that said, we can cash out now and make a lot of money. I was like, hold on a little bit here, let’s see how we do on Sunday.

No, I think it’s cool to be the underdog, and for us to be as competitive as we’ve been all week, to know that, I think we’ve opened everybody’s eyes. I think everybody has opened their eyes to the 14 car, that we’re here to win this thing.”

HOW DO YOU THINK THE RACE IS GOING TO GO ON SUNDAY AS FAR AS PASSING?

“I think it’ll be pretty good. I think it’ll be better than most years. Cars are pretty planted this year in my opinion. I don’t know, I think we might have a pretty green race like we did in 21, which will make things interesting.”

RC ENERSON, No. 50 CHEVROLET AT ABEL MOTORSPORTS, Indy 500 Media Availability Transcript:

WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT GIVE YOU CONFIDENCE THIS YEAR?

“The car feels the same as it did before. When you’re by yourself in qualifying trim, it just feels super planted. Every time we trim out more and more it keeps creating speed even though we’re trimming past what other people are running at. I don’t know if it’s a floor thing or a chassis that’s better mechanically, but it’s felt really comfortable. The real speed gain was through uprights, gearbox, all these things that help free the car up on a speedway that we finally had the time to prep for. My lap one of ROP, which I thought was going to be well below 205 just because I was so tense in the car – I had been out of it for a year and a half, so everything feels weird – I crossed the line and I was 211. I didn’t even touch full throttle yet. That’s already a good sign. It was really confidence-inspiring to see the car with that kind of speed. By that point on I knew we had an amazing chance to be locked in on Saturday.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT COMPETING IN THE INDY 500, WHICH HAS BEEN YOUR GOAL?

“It’s still sinking in for me. Every day you wake up in the driver lot and I cannot believe that we’re in the race. Somebody did research and after this 500 there have only been 790-something people that have ever done the race. To be part of that is something special. I’m just excited to get going on Sunday.”

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO PREP FOR SUNDAY IN PRACTICE TOMORROW?

“I think mine is going to be tools in traffic. There are so many tools now at my disposal. There is so much you’re changing lap to lap depending on how far you are from the car in front of you. Friday we’ll just have a chance to work with the tools and get more comfortable in the car. Pit stops, I don’t think we’re too worried. Our goal is to not rush anything. Just nice, steady, no-mistake pit stops. Making sure I’m not locking up any tires going into the pit box. I think Sunday is going to be the biggest learning curve because everybody is going to be on the same set of tires, fuel load instead of the craziness that you see on Monday and Friday where you have people coming out of the pits some on new tires, full tanks of fuel and some are on second-run tires.”

YOU THOUGHT YOU HAD MORE SPEED IF YOU NEEDED IN QUALIFYING?

“I think we had more speed, but we didn’t really want to risk having to go lane two for another run. Our goal is to be in the race and figure things out throughout the race. There is so much that can happen over 500 miles that I don’t think it matters too much where you start. It helps being up front but strategy can play into it so much, fuel mileage, yellows. We’re pretty confident in ourselves.”

CAN YOU GET TOP 15?

“I think for a top 15 we’d need a little luck. And luck comes down to strategy. If we hit the right fuel window with the proper yellow you can get shuffled up. The original plan is start the race, keep everything clean, run at a leaner fuel map and hang out with the pack. It’s a really long race and my longest race. I’m just excited to be doing it.”

BENJAMIN PEDERSEN, NO. 55 CHEVROLET AT AJ FOYT RACING, Indy 500 Media Availability Transcript:

AJ FOYT IS HERE AND THE CROWDS ARE BUILDING UP. ARE YOU GETTING THE REAL SENSE OF WHAT THE FOYT TEAM IS NOW THAT YOU ARE HERE?

“So special. Obviously, I am wearing the AJ Foyt tribute suit from the 80s, which has just been a huge favorite this month. It turned out really cool and the details are tremendous. The whole month has just been so special to be a part of. Super-fast, and we were the fastest rookie of all time for one lap speeds and second fastest on four lap average. And to make it into the Fast 12 for a rookie is a great effort from the whole team. So, yeah, excited to experience Carb Day for the first time ever. Everything this month has been a first for me. Fast Friday was a first, qualifying was a first, so just taking it one day at a time and embracing every tradition. I milked a cow out here.”

YOU BROKE TONY STEWART’S RECORD FOR A ROOKIE FROM 1996. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BREAK RECORDS LIKE THAT AS A ROOKIE?

“It’s been very humbling, and I had no idea that we had achieved it until after I got out of the car and was in a press conference or doing the interviews. When they told me I was like, ‘holy cow’. That is a massive to have a record here in anything. So, just very humbling and special to be a part of.”

WHEN YOU ARE INTERVIEWED BACK HOME DO YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN OVAL RACING VERSUS F1 AND SPORTS CARS?

“I haven’t had to explain too much because most people throughout the world are very familiar with the Indy 500, and they understand it in most regards. Obviously, the caliber of this event is like no other. Its just a really cool experience in being a rookie and being where I am and doing what we have achieved as a team. More of it is just driving for a team like AJ Foyt that is so iconic here and to have two cars in the Fast 12. And bring little touches like the suit as a throwback….I tell you, he definitely has woken up a lot this weekend and his eyes started to not water, but he got emotional when he saw the suit. His smiles on pit lane when we made it into the Fast 12 were just really special to be a part of something like that.”

WHAT IS IT ABOUT SUPERSPEEDWAY RACING THAT IS NATURAL TO YOU AND FITS YOUR DRIVING STYLE?

“Yeah, great question. I think there are two sides of it. On the oval side, my experience from the Indy Lights days, for two years there racing at Gateway and Iowa – definitely helpful. From a speed perspective, I think its very interesting. I am the only rookie that feels……when I did my first race at Texas and first time on track, I think it was like 225 (mph). I came in and they were like, ‘how did it feel?’ and I was like ‘it felt good’. And they were like, ‘it was 225’, and I was like, ‘really?’. I was kind of underwhelmed and it is the same thing here. As soon as we turned the boost up you can feel it on Fast Friday, but I have never had a sensation in this car, and maybe it’s because it makes so much grip, of being like ‘holy cow, its moving’. I haven’t experienced that once. So yes, I just find it very natural and oval racing is very feeling based and I am a very feeling-oriented driver. More than most people. So, it just makes sense to me.”

CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 CHEVROLET AT JUNCOS HOLLINGER RACING, Indy 500 Media Availability Transcript:

DO YOU FEEL LIKE WHILE SOME GUYS ARE GOING TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE AT THE START THAT YOU MIGHT TAKE A MORE CONSERVATIVE APPROACH?

“Obviously starting 27th there is a rush to get further forward, but you are not going to make ground that quickly. I think there is no reason to take unnecessary risks from that position. But yeah, honestly through the race I will be looking to tune the car with what we can and go from there.”

REGARDING THE DECISION TO NOT CHANGE THE CAR…

“It’s a bit more complicated than that. We changed a lot of things, but not the chassis. We changed a lot of things from the previous car in the open test and there were some things that made more sense. What could have been statistically more of a problem, the chassis was brand new and was the stiffest chassis we had. So, on that side, there was no real issue visually and shouldn’t have had a problem. But with these things, it can be anything on that. Then it becomes a little bit too late. Because what we understood is that it was going to take a lot longer to change the chassis. But the guys did such a good job, that wasn’t the case, because it got changed very quickly. But the fact that I was going to miss a bit of the testing to change the chassis, the idea that there were other things to change along the way, that affected the decision. And we all sat there and there were all these reasons, and I agreed to these reasons, but yes, in hindsight we should have changed the chassis before we arrived. Or even the Wednesday night we had the rain days as well. It’s tough because you run out of time and the pressure increases.”

WHAT IS THE BEST SCENARIO FOR WHERE YOU ARE STARTING AT AND FOR THIS CAR LIKE IF IT GETS HOT AND SLICK?

“I cool personally. Cool would give me the most downforce and confidence in the car. As the setup of the car is much like it was last year, we struggled when it was warmer, and it sent the car a bit outside of the window and we couldn’t really figure out how to get it back into that window. So, I think the cooler side would be better.”

ARE YOU GOING TO BE TESTING SOME NEW THINGS ON CARB DAY FOR SUNDAY?

“Yeah, I think that is normally the goal. Once we get the car in the window, we will be testing some things to make it better and more efficient.”

ARE YOU PREPARING LIKE SOMETHING MIGHT HAPPEN IN FRONT, SOMEONE MIGHT HAVE A PROBLEM?

“Something always happens in this race. You just don’t know how many or how big. Of course you have to, but that is the thing about staying in the race. Staying in the race and getting something that works and something you can work with is massively important.”

AGUSTIN CANAPINO, NO. 78 CHEVROLET AT JUNCOS HOLLINGER RACING, Indy 500 Media Availability Transcript:

HOW’S YOUR CAR FOR THE RACE?

“At the moment, really good honestly. We had a decent qualifying. Maybe we could do better because our car is good. Maybe further up than 20th. We didn’t have big problems, but it wasn’t perfect. I think we have a car to do a decent race. Of course it’s my first Indy 500. It’s a long race and a difficult race. We will do our best to finish the race in the best position possible.”

ARE THERE STILL PEOPLE IN ARGENTINA WHO STILL TALK ABOUT JUAN MANUEL FANGIO?

“Yes, of course. In Argentina, he is our hero. He is our best driver in history. In my case, it’s a weird situation because I always drove touring cars. Now I have this opportunity and of course there is a huge difference. It is a big step but I am here trying to do my best.”

GRAHAM RAHAL, NO. 24 CHEVROLET AT DREYER & REINBOLD RACING, Indy 500 Media Availability Transcript:

WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT — I REFLECT ON SOME THINGS WITH YOU BECAUSE YOU SAID HAVE BEEN MOST OF MY RACING CAREER WITH MY FATHER, AND I ALSO HAVE THIS SENSE OR THIS QUESTION FOR ME, WHAT WILL BE TO RACING IN ANOTHER TEAM WITH A DIFFERENT PERSON. I RELATE COMPLETELY WITH THAT FEELING. DO YOU FEEL LIKE IT’S — I DON’T KNOW, THE ENERGY, WHAT DO YOU FEEL NOW?

“You know, it is certainly very different for me, even just doing 10 minutes out there. It’s a different — sitting in the car, seeing new faces. Obviously, the engine is different. The brakes feel different. The way the button — everything feels different. The buttons for your thumbs through the gloves is different. There’s a lot that goes into that.

Look, as I said, I don’t want to overshadow what I think Stef has done and done very well at the last couple of weeks to get this team and the car to where it’s at. I also know Ryan has done an exceptional job, and having known Dennis for a long time and Don Cusick, who’s obviously put together the package to be here, it just felt right for me to step out.

When the call first came, I won’t say that there wasn’t a part of me that thought it wasn’t right and that I was just going to accept that I wasn’t racing and I was going to move forward and move into kind of a different phase in my mental process and the way the rest of my week was going to be, but as I said the other day and I still mean it, that this felt like the right opportunity for me to do something, as well.

So ultimately, I decided to jump back in, and yes, it is exciting to try something different. So we’ll see how the weekend goes.

But so far, I’ve been very impressed. Not surprised but impressed with Dreyer & Reinbold and everything that they’ve done. I’ve been very impressed with Chase. I think Chase does an excellent job to rally the entire team. Paddy-O is the chief on the car. He and I worked together at Ganassi. So a lot of familiar faces there, two. Obviously the two engineers, Jeff on my car and Todd both worked at Rahal for a long time. Those are familiar faces.

As I said out there, when you’re around as long as I’ve been around, there’s most of the same guys all the time. But yes, it’s exciting for me to try something different.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE THE FREEDOM TO DO WHATEVER YOU WANT IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING?

“No, I don’t look at it that way. I’m here to fill a big void for the weekend, and ultimately next week we return right back home and go race at Detroit. My job is to do Stef and to do Care Keepers and all the partners on this car, to do them proud and try to put together a great run and to go forward in the race.

These guys have done a great job. You remember Santino last year in this car was up front with 50 to go, so I feel — I’m excited. I do think it’ll be pretty strong.”

YOU SAID THE CAR, EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT. DO YOU FEEL PERSONALLY A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HONDA AND CHEVY ENGINE —

“With all due respect for the situation, I really don’t want to comment on any of that. Clearly they’re going to be different. They’re different manufacturers and all of that. But as I said before, to respect both manufacturers, I appreciate both of them giving me a chance to be here, and I certainly don’t want to get into much of that.”

GOING BACK TO THE QUALIFYING SITUATION AND ALL THE PROBLEMS, COULD YOU IDENTIFY TOGETHER WITH YOUR ENGINEER WHAT WAS THE MAIN PROBLEM?

“You know, we weren’t fast enough, period, all week. As I said –”

BUT THERE MUST BE A REASON.

“If you can figure it out, let me know. Because if we knew, we would have fixed it. That’s been our problem. It’s not a problem of today. Last year we had two cars in the last row at RLL, so it’s not a problem of today, it’s a problem of the last few years, and even in 2021, Dad keeps saying to me, well, 2021 you should have won the race. Yeah, but I still started 24th. I wasn’t fast.”

A FEW DRIVERS SAID THE CARS ARE VERY WEATHER SENSITIVE —

“The cars are very weather sensitive and the cars are very wind sensitive. The cars are very ride height sensitive. They’re very — John and were talking about this. The cars of 10 years ago were so much easier to drive. These cars are not easy at all. I know it looks that way. It’s not. These cars have become animals to understand because of the mass and so many other things, but to understand what it takes to be good and how to care for the tire and all these things, so they are very sensitive to everything.

But in lieu of that, you see like in Fast Six or top 12 qualifying, those teams could match their best pace of the morning, right, when they had the top 12 practice. We went out, we were 1.6 miles an hour slower, and I wish we knew.”

YOU HAVE TO WORK TO LOOK FOR A SOLUTION.

“I think we know. I think on that side we know.”

IS IT FAIR TO SAY THAT YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE A DIFFERENT MENTALITY OF HOW YOU APPROACH THE RACE IN THIS CAR THAN YOU WOULD HAVE?

“For sure, yeah. Unfortunately, like Christian, I was of the frame of mind Monday afternoon that — like in that practice session, I bounced between the three cars to give input. I was in the frame of mind that that was now my role is to help, but now my role is to go beat them, so it changed like that. There’s no doubt I feel excited by the opportunity. I know they’ve had very strong cars.

But the mentality is different. My job is turn from maybe a team leader to a guy that wants to go win this thing again. Not that that ever went away, but clearly I have a chance now whereas I didn’t Monday afternoon, so it is different for sure.”

HAVE THE LAST TWO DAYS BEEN A SCRAMBLE FOR THE LITTLE DETAILS, EVERYTHING FROM SEAT FIT TO FIRE SUIT DETAILS, ALL THAT STUFF?

“You know, everybody at Dreyer & Reinbold and their partnership with Cusick Motorsports, everything so far has been really good, actually. It is very weird, and they will tell you that. I certainly know as little about my car and the engine as I’ve ever known about anything I’ve driven in my entire life, but it’s a race car, and ultimately you’re going to go out there tomorrow and try to get it better and try to go perform on Sunday.

I think they did a great job. The steering wheel had a couple suggestions, hey, let’s put — the wheel was never going to be identical to mine, but hey, let’s put this button over here, just to try to stop me from making an error. Like for instance, their pit line speed button was right where my radio button is roughly. I certainly don’t want to hit those inadvertently. We did a few things like that, but the seat fit went really well. I thank the guys at RLL, too, like Josh. I know how hard this time is for them. But Josh and Sean Ford and those guys brought over right away, brought over my pedal faces, brought over my seat, gave them measurements for my steering wheel spacer, did a lot to make the transition a heck of a lot easier.”

IS IT ENOUGH THAT YOU’RE GOING TO FEEL COMFORTABLE IN THE RACE?

“Yeah, I already felt comfortable there. I don’t foresee — the only thing I can’t do is change the steering wheel. So what I’m used to is going to be different than what I’m going to get. But we’ll make it work.”

I’M SURE IN PRACTICE, THE MONTH THEY HAD THAT CAR READY FOR STEF, HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO DIVE INTO SIMILARITIES BETWEEN WHAT THAT CAR HAD TO WHAT YOU LIKE? I KNOW YOU HAVEN’T BEEN ON TRACK –

“Honestly, I don’t know anything.”

IS THERE ANY INPUT YOU CAN HAVE —

“I’ve asked some questions, but in respect to the situation, it’s not appropriate for me to push any harder. That’s why that 15 minutes was important. Yeah, I don’t necessarily need to go do a 30-minute session on my own and run around out there, but I did want to feel, how does the car turn into the corner. Some guys like it when you release the steering wheel the car naturally tracks into the corner on its own. I don’t. I’m a road racer at heart from my past, so I’ve never liked that. Some guys like it very right hand down. I remember Dan Wheldon, watching him, his steering wheel down the straight was like this, and when he’d get in the corner it was straight. That visually messed with me a lot, so I never liked that. But maybe Stef did.

So you’re trying to understand some of that, but that’s why I think that 15 minutes right there was important, and it really all felt very similar, steering weight, caster wise, all that stuff. Very close.”

IS THERE ANY BENEFIT TO THE FACT THAT IT IS SIMPLE BECAUSE THERE’S LESS INFORMATION AND LESS THINGS, IF THAT MAKES ANY SENSE?

“As I kind of said, in some ways it is nice that my job is to go out there and perform. I don’t have a whole lot else to do than that. Just focus on when I get in, is it comfortable for me, is it not, where is the car, how does it feel. And go race.”

HOW INTEGRAL IS IT TO HAVE LIKE A SOLID CHASSIS FOR THE 500 BECAUSE FOR A WHILE I GATHER YOU WERE DEALING WITH A MUCH OLDER CHASSIS THAT’S DONE WELL IN THE PAST.

“Yeah, it has done well. I was joking earlier that I’ve had like 10 drivers come up and tell me they drove this chassis, so she’s been used up a little bit.

But the truth is, same at RLL, we’ve got chassis 23 running around out here. That thing has been running around — I think I won Mid-Ohio in 2015 in that car, and that thing has been run around for a million years.

Once you get a good one, it’s good.

It’s a little bit different, I think, from what I’m understanding just on its strength and stuff like that, but there’s no issues at all with it. I think the guys have done an amazing job to prep that thing in a short period of time.

As I said, tomorrow we’ll go out there and see how it is.”

THE PIT STOP COMPETITION, DOES THAT GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH THIS NEW CREW?

“For sure, and it’s very different the way that they do a lot of stuff is very different, so I’m excited for that. We were talking about it coming over here, but I’ve only ever had the sign board on my nose cone, only, for 16 years. They do it off the left front tire, which a lot of people are doing nowadays. I’ve just never done it. To get more repetition and reps with that is important.

But it’ll be nice, and those guys have done a great job. You look at historically, I think they were in the finals three years in a row, so they do a good job, and I’m excited. First round I think we got, what, Will Power, so not an ideal pick for round one, but we’ll see how it goes.”

DO YOU GET TO PRACTICE BEFORE TOMORROW –

“Just practice at Carb Day. The downside, the pit stop competition for a smaller team, and again, they’ve done great, but for a Dreyer & Reinbold is — most of the other teams will use backup cars, square cambers and set up like a road course car so it’s easier to stop, easier to do stuff. Clearly we’re going to be using the race car. But there’s no problem with that. We’re excited.”

A FEW YEARS AGO I REMEMBER SEEING YOU AND COURTNEY LEAVING A SOCIAL EVENT OVER AT DALLARA AND SHE WAS DRIVING THE VETTE, YOU WERE DRIVING THE ACURA. WILL YOU BE ABLE TO SIT IN THE SAME CAR THIS YEAR, TAKE HER CAR?

“Yeah, she said — well, my father-in-law called me right away and of course his first comment was about being a part of the Chevy family now.

My wife is like, oh, now I can wear my Team Chevy hat. I said, look, just pause for a minute. Again, in the spirit of relationship, I’ve had a wonderful relationship with Honda for 16, 17 years. I certainly don’t see that changing.”

A TECHNICAL QUESTION. EVERYBODY HAS GOT A DALLARA. YOU REMEMBER THE YEARS DRIVERS BROUGHT THEIR SEATS WITH THEM —

“Yeah.”

DID THEY HAVE TO EXTEND YOUR WHEEL BASE?

“No, no. No, pretty much most teams I think run long wheel base here, but we can run any really. Not a whole lot put a seat in. Dr. Trammell, who’s done amazing work, the foam inserts have to be the same in every car, and then the seat basically sits inside of that foam. They’re all very, very close. Move the pedals a little bit, get the steering wheel up and down closer to you, whatever you want, the headrest is the same minus a little pad. It’s nice.”

SO YOU HAD NO PROBLEM SWITCHING?

“Not that. I think we had one seatbelt adjustment, just to tighten things up a little bit. That’s it.”

YOU AND STEF BEING TALLER DRIVERS, DOES THAT GIVE YOU ANY PAUSE, THE SAFETY OF THE CAR?

“No, it doesn’t. But right away, I knew when I saw the accident, I said to the guys on my pit stand that I was worried about his low back because unfortunately being a taller driver, as Justin Wilson once told me, being tall in this sport, you’re never going to be comfortable, and it’s true.

I knew when I saw what happened, I was worried right away about a compression just because you lack so much support in your low back, and to get low enough or to get to where they want you in the car, you end up rounding your back a lot, pushing yourself forward, and it just creates a very weak point. But look, I don’t know that that’s ever going to change. That’s the reality of it.

I think the position that we’re in now with the chassis, this chassis hasn’t changed in a long time. I don’t know when it will next.

When they do another car, it would be nice if they just made our life a little bit easier and made the thing a little bit bigger because there’s no reason they can’t. But we did that back in 2007 with the Panoz. The Panoz is very roomy. Justin was the mold, and it worked well. So I’m hoping the next one, the next time around, they take that into consideration.”

I SEE YOU’VE GOT SOME OF YOUR SPONSORS ON YOUR SUIT.

“Yeah, United Rentals and Fifth Third Bank will be with us. I don’t know what deal Dad worked out. I’ll let him speak to that. I don’t think it was any — well, I don’t believe there was any monetary. It was more just hey, do you want Graham, and here’s what we need.

But those guys, Dad and Dennis Reinbold are pros. They’ve been in this a long time, and Don Cusick was a part of it, and it literally happened in like five minutes. I was very, very surprised.

As I’ve said all along, I’m very grateful. I’m very grateful to Honda and to Chevrolet for making it happen because I didn’t see this — legitimately I almost didn’t answer the phone because I thought it was just going to be wasting Dennis’s time, so to be here is a big surprise.”

IT’S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO SHINE.

“You know, it’s a crazy story, and let’s see where it goes.”

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.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS 500
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
INDYCAR MEDIA DAY TRANSCRIPT – GROUP 2
May 25, 2023

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 CHEVROLET AT TEAM PENSKE, Indy 500 Media Availability Transcript:

“We were definitely just shy on speed. I don’t have an answer for you on why. I think we felt confident that we were going to make another step, and I think we were similar to last year in a lot of ways as far as our gapping to where we needed to be.

So yeah, I don’t have an answer for you, but yeah, we were shy on speed. Just didn’t have it in the car.”

DID IT FEEL DIFFERENT TO PREVIOUS YEARS FOR THE RACE?

“For the race? Yeah, I would say so. I think in race trim, the car feels like it has everything it needs to be successful. I think it feels quicker than last year’s car in race trim. That side of it, I feel really good. I think the race car is great.”

DOES IT FEEL TOO DIFFERENT FROM THE SPOT THAT YOU WERE LAST YEAR, STARTING TO WIN RACES AND BUILDING CONFIDENCE?

“I think I feel confident in what we’re doing right now. I feel like the potential is super high, and our team, we’ve not realized the potential for the last couple events. I feel like if we’ve had five events, three of them were potential winners and we only won one of them, so we didn’t fully realize our potential up to this point, but it’s there, so that gives me a lot of confidence not only just for this weekend but for the rest of the year.”

THE NIGHT BEFORE THE RACE, DOES YOUR APPROACH CHANGE TO KEEP YOU BUSIER OR MAYBE HAVING A KID NOW KEEPS YOUR FOCUS? DOES THAT CHANGE AT ALL?

“Not really, no. Honestly, I don’t have a great answer for it. It’s not that different. My family was in Alabama, as well, and just the whole cadence or the flow up to the race day has not changed much. I feel like having the family is very similar. Very, very similar. Not a lot different.”

ARE YOU MAD (INDISCERNIBLE) DO YOU TAKE IT AS A COMPLIMENT THAT YOUR IDEA HAS BEEN SO CLOSELY FOLLOWED?

“I didn’t understand it. It felt like a layered joke that’s not fully played out is what it felt like. It also felt like a compliment, yeah. Like it was just a big Bus Bros promotion. Like should we just be thankful for that? Like we didn’t pay them to do it, so I didn’t know — I was confused by it more than anything. But maybe we owe them money. Maybe that’s what it is.”

CANAPINO HAS A GOOD PACE, BUT HE HAS A PROBLEM WITH THE PHYSICAL QUALITY, ABOUT THE TRAINING. WHY IS IT SO HARD — EXPLAIN TO THE FANS, WHY IS IT SO HARD TO DRIVE IN INDYCAR?

“They’re very physical cars. I think it’s been so impressive to see Canapino. He’s been one of the most impressive people this year. I think most people sort of wrote him off in the very beginning and said he wasn’t going to be worth anything in INDYCAR, and he’s been the exact opposite. He’s been fantastic. He’s never driven an open-wheel car from what I understand up until this year, so that’s one of the most impressive drivers I’ve ever seen, but physically very different to what he’s used to. He’s used to sort of a touring or a sports car which I’m assuming has power steering, which is very different to an INDYCAR. INDYCAR has no power steering, has a lot more downforce, so the physical loading that you’re susceptible to is probably twice whatever he was used to in the past. Just being able to drive the car at a high level and also physically being able to get used to it is a huge challenge, and for someone like Canapino, I’m so impressed, crazy impressed.”

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THE TRAINING OF YOUR BODY IN THE FIRST THREE OR FOUR MONTHS WHEN YOU ARRIVED TO INDYCAR? YOU RACED IN INDY LIGHTS —

“Yeah, in INDYCAR you have to get used to the amount of physical loading that the car is going to give you because it has so much downforce, it takes multiple races to get used to trusting how much load the car can make and actually using it. It’s one thing to feel the load, but then to keep going and driving through it is a totally different deal. A lot of people normally back off.

I think that’s what you feel when you first drive an INDYCAR, and to be able to get used to it so quickly is impressive.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR PARENTS, HOW THEY HANDLE YOU BEING A DRIVER, AND DO THEY SAY ANYTHING TO YOU BEFORE THE RACE THAT YOU CAN SHARE WITH US?

“I can only imagine that they feel nervous when I race. Not having a son, I would feel the same way if my son was racing. I think if anything they’re just happy that I’m doing what I love, and they encourage me to be happy and content doing my passion.

So yeah, they just try and — they’re just very supportive, very, very supportive parents. They don’t overstep. They’re not in my way at all. They’re here to enjoy and hope for the best. At the end of the day I think they always have concerns when I’m out there, but that’s racing. There’s always going to be a little risk there.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR TIRES? DID YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEM DURING PRACTICE, AND HOW IS THE RACE GOING TO BE?

“I didn’t have any big problems in practice, but Monday was tougher because the track temp was so high. I think the track temp is going to decide the complexity of the race. If it’s a cooler track temp, I think it’ll be a lot more congested, the field is going to be a lot tighter. If it’s as hot as it was on Monday at 125 degrees, you’re going to have more tire dropoff, and that’s not necessarily one axle or the other. I think it depends on the car. Some people are going to wear out rear tires, some are going to wear out fronts, but it will potentially string the field out a little bit more.

So we’ll have to see. I haven’t had any big problems. I was pretty happy with my tire degradation on Monday. I wasn’t happy with the balance of the car, but had I degradation was very good.

So if it’s a hot day or if it’s a cool day, I don’t mind, but it will change the race depending on what you get.”

THAT MAKES EVERYBODY COME INTO THE PITS EARLIER THAN —

“I don’t think so. I think everyone — if other people were telling you that, that’s a surprise. I didn’t realize it was that bad for some others. Man, maybe it should be hot then because we could go a whole stint no problem.”

IT LEADS TO UNDERCUTTING AND (INDISCERNIBLE) —

“It normally doesn’t. Typically the overcut is stronger here. I mean, never say never; we’re always ready to change on the fly if something is looking better, but typically the overcut is stronger here. If you can have good degradation on your tires and you can burn the fuel in the car and then run fast at the end — typically that’s what happens. If you have good degradation, once the fuel burns off, the car can run much quicker flat out catching the tow, so you typically want to go as far as you can and get the overcut advantage. That’s been historically better here. I think that’ll still be the same unless something peculiar happens.”

DO YOU THINK THAT PASSING WILL BE HARD IN THE RACE?

“It depends on the temperature. Yeah. Like if it’s 100 degrees track temp it’s going to be pretty easy to pass. But if it’s 125 like last Monday — it’s not that it’s hard to pass, but it will be tougher. It won’t be as easy as maybe people thought.”

I ONCE ASKED TONY KANAAN, AFTER HIS HEARTBREAKS, DOES THIS PLACE OWE YOU ONE, AND OF COURSE HE HAD A CLASSIC ANSWER: NO, INDY DON’T OWE ANYBODY ANYTHING. DO YOU HAVE THE SAME APPROACH?

“Oh, 100 percent. 100 percent. This place doesn’t owe anybody anything.”

WHAT HAVE YOU FIGURED OUT ABOUT THIS PLACE THAT HAS TO HAPPEN SUNDAY BESIDES FITNESS FIRST? WHAT IS IT THAT’S THE MAGIC?

“I’d like to think I understand the process of it. I know what needs to be done. We were on our way to doing that last year.

It’s sort of the same simple ingredients. You have to have a good consistent car. You’ve got to make good decisions, pit stops got to be excellent, can’t have any mistakes, and then it’s building to be in the conversation on that last stint. You put yourself in position, and then when it comes down to executing, you’ve got to execute if you’ve given yourself an opportunity. That’s sort of how it flows.

I’ve had that a couple times. I’ve been in that conversation I would say twice, and then there’s a couple other years where we probably could have been in the conversation, but for one reason or the other we just weren’t.

But it’s the same formula, and you’ve just got to keep trying. You’ve got to keep trying.”

IT FEELS LIKE YOU ARE GETTING SOMETHING ABOUT THE PROCESS OF BUILDING A RACE. DO YOU FEEL LIKE IT’S A THING OF PROCESS, THAT YOU HAVE TO DO THAT IN ORDER TO WIN A RACE, OR IT’S JUST FLOWING IN THE THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THE TRACK?

“No, I find it very much to be a process. There’s a way that you construct the race that can realize a victory. It’s not always the same thing. Also you can have a plan for what that construction is going to look like, and then maybe it’s got to change midway through the race because things are different than what you maybe proscribed them to be, but for me it’s very much a process, and I love that. I love that it takes putting it all together to realize victory, and that’s not just here at Indy but every race. Every race Sunday you’ve got to put everything together and construct it, and to me that’s the most fun challenge.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 CHEVROLET AT TEAM PENSKE, Indy 500 Media Availability Transcript:

HOW DO YOU FEEL AROUND YOUR RACECAR FOR SUNDAY AND WILL THERE BE PASSING?

“I think there will be a lot of passing. The aero bits that they’ve allowed teams to have on the floor have made a big difference. They are very efficient bits, so everyone is running them. Provides quite a chunk of downforce, so, for me, the last 20 laps will be just back and forth. That will be the case all race; at the beginning there will be people sitting back and saving fuel, but you can pass a lot easier. The tires do degrade, some do get vibrations so that will play into the fact that some cars will be good, some with be bad, some will come through and some will go back. I think it’s a good package.”

COMPARED TO THE LAST FEW YEARS, DO YOU THINK YOUR ODDS LOOK MORE FAVORABLE?

“The car is good. When I look through the field, there are so many good drivers and cars. You have to spend that first half trying not to make any mistakes, get in a good position with pit stops and see where you stack up. My car in particular, I feel really good about so far.”

DO YOU THINK ABOUT HOW THE RACE MAY GO, ANTICIPATE WHAT TO EXPECT?“

I do. It’s just natural to think about how the race will play out at the end. I just envision it’s going to be a back and forth, back and forth dogfight. It’s hard to envision how is it going to be, how are you going to pass someone coming to the white, how is that going to play out?”

WOULD YOU RATHER BE LEADING GOING INTO THE WHITE FLAG?

“The way I feel, if you’re leading at the white flag, the guy will get you on the backstraight. The question is would you get him back by the line. So where do you place yourself? What do you do? It’s a tough one.”

WILL WINNING HERE ON SUNDAY BE EVEN MORE GRATIFYING WITH THE CHALLENGES YOU’VE HAD PERSONALLY?“

I just think it’s the pressure of this event and the lead-up to it. My wife has certainly had a rough time. I feel like we’re lucky honestly. Some people have had it way worse. Luck that she’s recovered well and I feel fortunate in that respect. I try to switch all that stuff out when I’m in the car anyway. I think it will be emotional for all the reasons this race is. It’s so big and means so much.”

IS THERE ANY INTERNAL COMPETITION BETWEEN YOU THREE TO GIVE THE BOSS HIS FIRST INDY 500 WIN SINCE HE’S HAD THE KEYS TO THIS PLACE?

“You kidding me? We all want to beat each other badly; probably more than anyone else in the field. If the other two say otherwise, they’re lying. I would be happy for Roger (Penske) though to get a win if it wasn’t from me.”

WHY IS IT THAT DRIVERS ALWAYS WANT TO BEAT THEIR TEAMMATES? BRAGGING RIGHTS?

“The reason drivers want to beat their teammate is they have exactly the same equipment that you have and you are judged off that. But it’s probably a bit more than that. Obviously, it’s always hierarchy. Who’s on top in the team. It’s ingrained in us. That’s why we’re competing.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 CHEVROLET AT TEAM PENSKE, Indy 500 Media Availability Transcript:

WHAT ARE YOUR EMOTIONS LIKE ON RACE MORNING FOR THIS RACE WITH ALL THE FANS HERE?

“It’s exciting. It is the one race of the year where it’s like….its our Super Bowl and that is the analogy that everybody uses, but that is exactly what it feels like. When you walk out through Gasoline Alley it’s like a stadium and it’s such a cool feel. Driving the car, you can see people, you can’t really hear them. But Indy is one of those places where you can feel the energy of the crowd, you can hear them before you get in the car, and then you are in the car, and they sing ‘Back Home Again in Indiana’ and its pretty awesome. It’s definitely one of the most emotional pre-race grids. For me, I have said this a number of times, I am a guy that wants to be a U.S. citizen, and my wife a U.S. citizen, and I find it a very patriotic day. It’s quite emotional and I love that. I enjoy that. So, it’s an awesome thing.”

HOW MANY LAPS DOES IT TAKE HERE TO KIND OF SETTLE IN AND SAY TO YOURSELF, OKAY, IT’S JUST ANOTHER RACE?

“Yeah, the first stint takes some time to get used to and learn some stuff, but once you get going and go through the motions, it definitely takes some time for the nerves and anticipation to wear off. Basically, on the first lap you have got to really get a lot of that out of your system or you can find yourself in trouble.”

IS CHEVY A LITTLE CLOSER THIS YEAR THAN IN THE PAST?

“I don’t think we have been far away the last couple of years, I think it’s just been a couple of little things that the teams have done specifically. But I definitely think that Chevy has upped their game, for sure. Especially on the oval side, it has been noticeable for sure. That definitely makes you feel good to be in a Chevy for sure.”

IS IT TRUE THAT IT TAKES THREE TO FOUR MONTHS TO TRAIN YOUR BODY TO RACE IN INDYCAR?

“Yeah, it’s difficult. I feel like it’s only been this year that I felt like I am fit enough to race in INDYCAR. Your body takes some time to get used to it, your neck exercises, and your shoulders. I definitely feel better than I ever have in INDYCAR, but it does take time.”

WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH THE FANS IN NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRAILIA WHEN YOU RACE?

“A lot of Kiwis and New Zealanders are getting up and watching the race. In New Zealand, its early for them. It’s like 5 am and 7 am where they get up and watch on a Monday morning. They love it. Particularly not only with me, but with Scott Dixon and Marcus Armstrong. For a country that only has 5 to 10 million people, we definitely punch above our weight for sure.”

DO YOU THINK NOW AFTER A COUPLE OF INDY 500S THAT YOU NOW HAVE IT FIGURED OUT AS FAR AS THE MENTAL GAME?

“Yeah, for sure. I understand the cadence of the race a lot more and that is a big deal for me. That’s something that I have had to learn as it’s gone on. I am very grateful, and touch wood so it doesn’t happen again, but I am grateful that I have crashed. Because I think having to feel how the car talks to me before, I didn’t realize how close I was to the limit before I crashed last year. It sounds stupid, but it legitimately is a thing. So, I am in a good spot in that regard.”

YOUR LIVERY IS PROBABLY THE MOST EPIC AT THIS PLACE, RIGHT DOWN TO THE HELMET. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH RICK MEARS HAS INFLUENCED AND IMPACTED YOUR CAREER?

“He has been a huge influence. Particularly on ovals. But it’s a very proud moment for me to run that livery and it would mean the most in my career if I could bring that scheme, that livery, and that helmet to victory lane. Again, not only for Rick, but for Roger (Penske) too. And for Rick, although he has been out of the saddle for a long time now, he is still someone that you can talk to about lines and the way the race develops and where I am going with the race car. It’s a lot of fun doing that, and I cherish it because he is a legend and he is a guy that is stuck in the garage because if he moves outside he is swamped because he is a celebrity basically. To have that guy just a text away or a phone call away is pretty awesome.”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 CHEVROLET AT ARROW MCLAREN INDYCAR, Indy 500 Media Availability Transcript:

CAN YOU GO THROUGH WHAT YOUR EXPECTATIONS ARE FOR THE RACE ON SUNDAY?

“I’m looking forward to a dogfight. I think the race is going to be tougher than ever. There’s a lot of very competitive race cars. We hope to be one of them and have a shot in it at the end.”

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT MAKES YOU GO SO WELL AT OVAL RACING IN GENERAL? IS THERE SOMETHING YOU DO DIFFERENTLY THAN OTHER GUYS?

“Comfort, I guess. You’ve got to be comfortable in ovals. You’ve just got to work really hard with the engineer and understand each other. They’ve got to know what you like and what you need from the race car to extract everything out of it.”

YOU’VE BEEN KNOCKING AT THE DOOR ALL SEASON TRYING TO GET THAT FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON, OBVIOUSLY FIGHTING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP. WHAT MAKES YOU DETERMINED OR HUNGRY KNOWING THAT YOU’VE COME CLOSE AND YOU HAVE A GOOD CHANCE AT WINNING THAT 500, THAT WOULD BE NOT JUST BIG FOR YOU BUT FOR THE WHOLE COUNTRY?

“Oh, it would be one of the proudest moments of my life to be able to give this very special team at Arrow McLaren their first 500 win. I’d love to be the one that gives them that.

We’ve been on this journey for four years now, and we just keep on building.

I READ A STORY WHERE YOU WANTED ZAK’S WATCH BUT THEN LOOKED UP THE PRICE —

“Well, why do you think it’s a bet, bro? Yeah, beautiful watch, and he’s just got it. He walked in the engineering office, showed that thing off, and I was like, dude, you shouldn’t have done that.”

I UNDERSTAND WHEN YOU GO TO TEXAS YOU’VE GOT A GROUP OF FANS, BUT EVEN ONE-ON-ONE YOU’RE VERY INTERACTIVE WITH PEOPLE TRYING TO BUILD THAT FAN BASE. WHY DO YOU WANT TO INVEST IN FANS ON THAT LEVEL?

“You know, I just — we’re humans, like everybody else. We’re not freaks of nature. We’re just another human being. When people are around and they might be your fan — like I’m a fan. I’m a fan of many people.

You definitely leave the situation a lot different if you had like just a couple of exchange of words with your favorite race car driver or rider or whatever it might be versus if you don’t. You might leave kind of like, oh, kinda bummed. You can make someone’s year by two minutes.

So I just try — I treat people like I’d like to be treated. I can have a bad day just like anybody else. It’s impossible to be on all the time.

But I try and do so as much as I can.”

EVERY MONTH OF MAY, EVEN THOUGH THE FIELD IS SO TIGHT, THERE’S ALWAYS ONE DRIVER THAT SEEMS TO SEPARATE A LITTLE BIT AND ALL YOU GUYS KIND OF RECOGNIZE HIM AS THAT’S THE GUY THAT’S IN A SWEET SPOT. ROSSI JUST SAID YOU’RE THAT GUY.

“Really?”

IF YOU ARE DON’T THINK YOU’RE THAT GUY, WHO DO YOU THINK IS?

“I don’t like to get too ahead of myself. I’m trying to make my race car the best it can be in traffic and be comfortable. Everybody saw what can happen when I’m comfortable in a race car in Texas. That’s the best thing I can do for myself.

On race day, we’ll see what we’ve got.”

WHO WOULD YOU PUT IN THAT SWEET SPOT?

“I’m focused on my stuff right now. I haven’t really paid attention too much on other people.”

IF YOU’RE IN CONTENTION FOR FIRST LIKE LAST YEAR, ARE YOU JUST GOING TO SEND IT?

“Yeah, we’ve got a sixth, a fourth and a second, so there’s really no other — there’s not another spot to get.”

WHAT IS IT ABOUT ARROW MCLAREN THAT’S MADE YOU GUYS SO CONSISTENT OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS? HAVE YOUR CARS JUST BEEN SO GOOD AT SPEEDWAYS?

“Ever since I joined the team, we have a very strong oval package, not just superspeedways but short ovals. Indy is a different beast in itself. The closest to Indy would probably be Texas, but it’s not. They’re two very different animals.

But we have had a lot of success. I’ve had very strong results at all the ovals.

I don’t know what it is. I just think the car is good. Like the car, the package that we have has been good ever since I’ve joined, and I just keep molding it a little bit to what I like, and we keep getting stronger and stronger.”

WHAT’S GOING TO BE THE PRISTINE CONDITION FOR YOU TO KNOW THE CAR IS GOING TO BE UP — SOME PEOPLE PREFER WARMER CONDITIONS AND WARMER GRIP ON THE TRACK?

“I want a good car in traffic. That’s what I want. I don’t care if it’s hot or cold.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL MENTALLY GOING INTO THE RACE? I KNOW THIS YEAR HAS BEEN QUITE — MAYBE DIFFICULT IS NOT THE RIGHT WORD, BUT IT’S BEEN A LONG YEAR, AND MAYBE YOU’VE HAD TO HAVE A THINK ABOUT THIS ONE, AND YOUR MENTAL APPROACH GOING IN?

“We’re flowing, man. I feel so much better now that you’re here. (Laughter).

But there’s so much stuff that leads up to the race, and it’s like, damn, the race is next. Well, Carb Day is next, then it’s the race. But we’re right there. We’re four days away.

We don’t have to change much of what we’ve done. We just have to run our own race, focus on our things, and have a shot at it in the end. That’s ultimately what we want. That’s the position that you want to put yourself in and have a fast enough race car to get it.”

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 6 CHEVROLET AT ARROW MCLAREN INDYCAR, Indy 500 Media Availability Transcript:

“Was really exceptional in that regard last year, but it’s also been closer this year, but I think we’re one of the better ones for sure in our team. But I don’t see any outliers out there.

I feel we all at Arrow McLaren look good, all Ganassis look good, I think the Penskes look really good. There’s some random selected ones on top of that. There’s a lot of good drivers, and getting it right on the day is also the biggest thing. Yeah, we’ll see.”

DOES THIS PUT MORE PRESSURE, MOTIVATION?

“I mean, I think we know that we have a good shot. We have an awesome starting position. We have a good car, good engine.”

So you know that those chances — if you look at Penske, for example, they’ve had a lot of years that they know pretty much that they can’t win the race. Things can always happen. But they haven’t had the perfect opportunity, and I feel like we have that. Obviously going to grab that opportunity with both hands, and you just have to be 110 percent on race day, and then if the luck and everything is with you, it is, and if it’s not, you have to try again next year.”

WHAT YOU LEARNED ABOUT THAT FINAL STINT LAST YEAR, WHAT WAS THE MAIN LESSON FOR YOU?

“I think it was good experience to be up front because you never really know what that’s like until you’re there, and we spent half the race last year in the top 3 and ultimately leading the final stint after the pit sequence.

I think the lesson there was if you want to win the race, you need a car that is quick in clean air, not only in traffic because as soon as you’re leading you just get passed again, and that’s kind of what happened to us. You learn also that the further up you go, man, the harder it is to stay — like it’s just more competitive. The drivers are better, the cars are better, and to hang on to that position gets multiplied very quickly like how difficult it is.

But it was an awesome experience for both me and Pato, and I feel like that really gained us more confidence going into this year.”

IS IT SAFE TO SAY THAT LAST YEAR IS WHEN YOU MADE THE MOST GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT ON WHAT IT’S GOING TO TAKE TO GET THE JOB DONE IN THE INDY 500 VERSUS YOUR OTHER STARTS HERE?

“For sure. I think every year you come here you learn so much, but last year was the first time I came here and we executed pretty much a perfect race, good pit stops, mega car. I felt confident. I was right in the window balance where you need to be to pass other cars and to be sporty.

That’s the most important thing to have in the pack, like how did that feel and how can you take it even further.

Yeah, that’s invaluable for sure, that experience.”

THIS IS THE THIRD YEAR WITH MCLAREN. FEELS LIKE YOU GUYS ARE REALLY ON A HIGH RIGHT NOW. IS THIS THE BEST IT’S FELT WITH MCLAREN SO FAR GOING INTO RACE DAY ON SUNDAY, ACROSS THE BOARD FOR THE WHOLE TEAM?

“Yes, I think for sure. I think honestly, we’ve always had a really good race car here. Even the first year I was with the team, we had I’d say probably a top-5 car.

But yeah, I feel like we just have the whole package in a different way. Obviously we’re starting higher, which makes it easier. We have our pit crews are better. I think Chevy has brought their A game this year, which is awesome. It’s just all the little details working a little bit more in our favor, so I think would be fair to have a bit more confidence going into this one.

But at the same time, everyone else is just better, as well, because the whole series is going like this. It’s not only our team. Maybe we’ve been growing quicker and we’ve become a bit better more rapidly than some other teams, but man, we’re still fighting against some giants, and they will not be easy to take on race day.”

WHEN YOU CAME HERE IN 2019, FAST FORWARD TO NOW, DID YOU EVER THINK, TELLING YOURSELF IN 2019 THAT YOU WOULD HAVE FELT BITTERSWEET, DISAPPOINTED THAT YOU’D BE ON THE FRONT ROW A FEW YEARS LATER, GOING 233 MILES PER HOUR AROUND THIS PLACE?

“Yes and no. I think we’re all the same. When you have the opportunity, you always feel a bit disappointed if you don’t get it. It doesn’t matter which team, what the circumstances are. If you have the chance to grab the pole or a win, you’re always going to be a bit bummed if you don’t get it.

But yeah, it’s a good problem to have. It’s awesome. That’s kind of where we’ve gone as a team now, as well, where a couple of years ago we were stoked when we had podiums and top 5, and now it’s like we’re pretty disappointed when we’re not winning or on pole between our teammates.

I feel also we are one of the teams that always seem to have at least one bullet at the front in every race, so yeah, hopefully will be one of us taking it home.”

WITH THE ARROW MCLAREN BEING ONE OF THE HOTTEST SEATS IN THE SERIES RIGHT NOW, THERE’S A LOT OF COMPETITION FOR IT. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO CONTINUE TO GET GOOD RESULTS EVERY WEEK JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU STAY IN THE SPOT THAT YOU’RE IN?

“I mean, you always have to deliver, no matter where you are. I don’t think anyone is sitting coasting and collecting in INDYCAR. You have to fight for it every weekend.

I don’t really — I feel like a lot of people ask me that, like do you feel like you need to prove yourself. Yes and no, I think. I think I need maybe some good results. We feel like they’re coming. We’ve been on the front row three times this year, on the GP, in Texas and here.

It’s really coming together well. But yeah, you need the results to back it up. I feel like the rest of the season is looking pretty bright for us. So I’m not really worried about it, I just try to jump in the car and do my thing, and everything else will work itself out.”

OUTSIDE OF THE FRONT ROW GOING INTO TURN 1, GREEN FLAG WAVES, IT GETS TIGHT IN TURN 1, ARE YOU GOING TO TALK TO ALEX AND RINUS TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MANAGE THE START A LITTLE BIT?

“We’re going to have a meeting tomorrow with Kyle Novak, our race director, and he’ll kind of go through what he expects from us. Obviously, we’re racing, but I think we’ll maybe have a better idea at that point.

I haven’t really planned out yet what I’m trying to do, but it’s pretty nice to be on the outside because the first lap if it gets swept you can clearly use the outside. It’s almost better to be there than in the middle where you can get pinched between two cars, so I’m pretty happy where I’m at, and if I come out in P1 or P3 or P4, it’s all going to be pretty irrelevant, I think.”

YEARS PAST YOU KIND OF WANTED TO HIT A FUEL NUMBER, KIND OF RIDE IN, BUT IT’S ALSO EASIER TO PASS UP FRONT. DO YOU PLAY THE CAT-AND-MOUSE GAME OF SWAPPING? DO YOU SETTLE IN? WHAT’S YOUR PHILOSOPHY ON THAT?

“I think you get a feel for it. I think you have to try a little bit what it’s like to lead. You have to feel the car out because that’s a problem if you’re just leading. Eventually you’ll end up lapping cars or be in traffic after a pit sequence, and then you need the car to be sharp when you’re like five or ten cars back.

I think my plan will probably be to feel — if you can, feel the car out as much as possible, try to get an idea exactly where you want your tools to be, leading and not leading, and you just have to feel it out. You never really know what people have until race day, and for sure there will be some insanely strong cars out there. Yeah, just trying to get an idea how you can get around them.”

DOUG SAID THIS MORNING WE’RE PROBABLY ABOUT 5,000 TICKETS FROM THIS PLACE BEING SOLD OUT. EVERY DAY YOU CAN FEEL THE MOMENTUM BUILDING, MORE AND MORE BIGGER CROWDS. DO YOU FEEL THAT AS A DRIVER? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS GOING INTO ALMOST A SOLD-OUT RACE ON SUNDAY?

“Yeah, I feel like we’ve felt it everywhere this year, before the 500 even. The GP was really impressive to see. I think that was definitely the highest numbers I’ve seen since I came over here, and also during practice and qualifying, it’s been — yeah, there’s a lot of people around.

That’s fun to see. It’s on an upward trajectory, the whole series, the race. I think what they’re doing with the whole “100 Days to Indy” is awesome and everything is just pointing in the right direction for the series, so we’re glad to be part of it, and it makes these races way more special.

CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG, BUT AFTER THE PARADE ON SATURDAY, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’RE DOING PROMOTION-WISE OR IS THAT IT FOR YOU FOR THE WEEK?

“We have some little stuff like meets-and-greets, partner things, but we try to have a pretty chill race day because if you haven’t noticed, as a team we’re doing quite a lot of activation on the side. So yeah, race day is pretty sacred for us, and we just try to eat, sleep, hang out with the family maybe and just take it easy.”

LIKE SATURDAY NIGHT, DO YOU TRY AND SETTLE DOWN FROM EVERYTHING THAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN THE NEXT DAY, OR WHAT’S THE PROCEDURE OF JUST TRYING TO CHILL OUT A LITTLE BIT?

“Yeah, I mean, I stay here at the track. Normally I go home, but I just try to avoid the traffic, so I’ll stay here on race day, just kind of try to isolate yourself a bit from the race, not think too much about it, watch a movie, eat something good. Yeah, it’s simple really. There’s no magic to it, you just have to sleep, and that’s it.”

ALL DUE RESPECT TO THE PENSKE GUYS, A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK THIS IS A MCLAREN-VERSUS-GANASSI SHOWDOWN. IS IT IN YOUR EYES, AND IS THERE A RIVALRY THAT’S STARTING BETWEEN YOU TWO?

“I think it’s too early to say if there’s a Penske and McLaren battle right now. Penske is Penske, and they won the championship recently, and they’re always strong. We’re getting there. We’re getting closer. I think that’s been consistent. We’re crawling closer and closer to being up there every race, and I think that’s the right trajectory. There’s no magic to it. It’s just hard work, and yeah, step by step, I think we’ll be there.”

ALEXANDER ROSSI, NO. 7 CHEVROLET AT ARROW MCLAREN INDYCAR, Indy 500 Media Availability Transcript:

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR SUNDAY?

“The racecar is great and the team has had an amazing month so far. I’m excited about Sunday. I don’t know if you can predict anything at IMS and the Indy 500, but certainly I think we have an amazing shot with four very good racecars. We’ll just have to go through the process and see if Sunday is our day.”

ARE THERE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT AND ARROW MCLAREN IN APPROACH TO THE SEASON?

“There are probably more similarities than there are differences. I came from a very good team and joined a very good team. The one thing that Arrow McLaren kind of prides itself on is the atmosphere and the people that are there are excited every day to show up and for the opportunity to compete, to win races and fight for pole positions. It is an amazing team dynamic inside the garage, outside the garage and everyone is just pumped to wear papaya and represent the team the best way we can.”

YOU HAVE RECENT EXPERIENCE OF A CHEVY ENGINE VERSUS A HONDA AROUND IMS. ARE THERE DIFFERENCES?

“There are certainly differences and I think that’s been a positive thing that myself and Tony (Kanaan) have been able to bring to the table when talking to Chevy and the team. We can clearly point out strengths and weaknesses of the package and work to improve it to make it better. So, I think that’s been a good asset this month and certainly for the rest of the year.”

WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE THIS MONTH WORKING WITH TONY KANAAN?

“It’s been great. Tony is an amazing person, a fantastic racecar driver, a wonderful person and great ambassador for the sport. He’s a legend at this place. He and Helio (Castroneves) are the two that command the loudest ovations, so to share in his proverbial last 500 is pretty awesome and we’ve been enjoying it. He’s been ingrained with the team since St. Pete and he has really helped with everyone sort of merging together as a cohesive unit with three full-time cars. So he’s played a big role in that and now he’s on track with us for the past couple of weeks as well. It’s been an honor and he’ll be around for quite some time with the organization. To share his last 500 with him has been an honor.”

IN 2016, DID IT HIT YOU AS YOU WERE LEAVING THE TRACK THAT YOU WON THE INDY 500?

“For me, I think it came when I came back in 2017. When I came in in 2016, no one knew who I was – nor should they known who I was – and I was this invisible person who wound up somehow winning the race. And coming back in 2017 as the defending winner was a very different experience. That’s when it hit me the magnitude of winning this race and what it can do for a driver’s career. Hopefully we can add to that resume.”

WHAT ARE THREE WORDS YOU WOULD USE TO DESCRIBE THE INDIANAPOLIS 500?

“It’s not three words, but it’s the best race in the world and there’s nothing like it.”

TONY KANAAN, NO. 66 CHEVROLET AT ARROW MCLAREN INDYCAR, Indy 500 Media Availability Transcript:

A LOT OF GREAT MEMORIES FROM HIS INDY 500 WIN.

“It’s funny because it was the best experience of my life. The other day, for some reason, I watched the podium. Roger never actually told me but they changed the podium procedure after my win because it was a mess! You guys probably don’t know this, but we had to drink two milks because I spilled the milk before it was time because someone gave it to me! I was impressed with how many people I hugged that I have no idea who they were! And I still don’t! That’s what stands out the most.”

HOW TRICKY WILL IT BE MANAGING YOUR EMOTIONS SUNDAY?

“It’s going to be a mess. It will stop when I put my helmet on but up until then, I’m going to be a wreck, for sure. From the green room to the driver intros… It’s one of the times that I’ve enjoyed the most in the past. I just know… your nerves are up there. Every single driver that is in that green room, we’re ready to go. We’ve done all this, and the emotions are high. Then you’re going to add that this is the last one and everybody is trying to make it feel good. I’m going to have to drink a couple of extra bottles of water. That’s how much crying I’m going to do.”

IT’LL ALSO BE THE LAST TIME SHARING THE TRACK WITH HELIO (CASTRONEVES)…

“In INDYCAR. We have other plans (laughs). It will be the last time we are sharing the track with a lot of these guys. But that is not a sad thing. That was my decision. I’m not leaving because I couldn’t find a job. The most asked question I got… and if you ask (Scott) Dixon and some of those guys, they still say yes I’m coming back. I’m going out on my own terms.”

DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS OF STAYING IN INDYCAR IN SOME CAPACITY AS A DRIVER COACH OR BROADCASTER?

“I don’t think I’d be a good coach, to be honest. I think Dario (Franchitti) has a much better approach. But yes, I’ve been coming to all the races with Arrow McLaren this year. I have the intentions of continuing doing that. We haven’t talked. The deal with Zak and the team, Gavin (Ward, Racing Director) was like, ‘Let’s go try to win this thing. On Monday.’ I said not on Monday. Next Wednesday after we win the race and we do all the media, we’ll talk about the future. But I have no intentions of leaving INDYCAR in any way shape or form. This is where I belong.”

ON PAST COMPETITORS AND THE SUPPORT SYSTEM IN PLACE.

“You talk about every era. I think mine is an end of an era if you put names together of people who I’ve raced. I was part of Bobby Rahal’s last year. When Michael (Andretti) retired, I was the guy he chose to replace him. Look at the teams that I’ve raced for. I’ve raced for Andretti. I’ve raced for Foyt. I raced for Ganassi. Now for Arrow McLaren. Somebody told me that if I lead a lap this weekend, I’ll be the only driver who has led laps for seven different teams here. Back to the drivers, you look at the legacy of those guys. I feel very honored. It wasn’t a very easy era.”

A FAVORITE INDY 500 TRADITION?

“I think the parade is probably one of the things that I enjoy the most. I get yelled at all the time when I get out of the car and jump out of the car and hug people. Every year they tell me I can’t do that. So this year, who cares? What are they going to do? Fire me? (laughs)”

INAUDIBLE.

“I decided it was the final time three years ago. And we came back here and there was nobody in the stands. I’m like, ‘I can’t do that.’ So we worked really hard and Jimmie (Johnson) and I got together and Jimmie is like, ‘I cannot do only one year. Can we do two?’ I said, ‘Jimmie, we are going to do one year, we’re going to share a car, you’re going to come watch the Indy 500 and the next year you’re going to kick me out of the car.’ Sure enough… he didn’t kick me out of the car but we raced together. Chip (Ganassi) made an extra car and I was fine. Last year, I didn’t mention anything. I finished the race and I was convinced it was my last one. I was done. I was not going to announce because I’m tired of Dario, Dixon and all of them making fun of me saying, ‘Hey, do you think you’re Tom Brady?’ And then Zak called. Racing is about performance. A team like this, with the history that they have, they finished second and fourth (in 2022)… I know I still have it. I’m not giving up because I don’t think I have it. I just proved it again. I was like, ‘OK, I’m not going to say no.’ But this will be the last time. Honestly when I announced, I couldn’t celebrate with anyone. You what I think will be fun for me, fun for my kids, fun for my family, I have 70 friends coming from Brazil just to watch this.”

DID ANYONE TRY TO TALK YOU OUT OF IT?

“Everybody including my wife. But it was good enough that we announced Kyle Larson on the car next year. Unless Mr. (Rick) Hendrick tells him he can’t and I need to sub. Then it won’t be my fault!”

DID YOU HAVE ANY SECOND THOUGHTS?

“No. My point is if I’m going to be back here, I wanted to be back here in a competitive car. No disrespect to a bunch of the teams, but some of the teams are not. To be back and just to be a number and suffer through it and go away like that, I didn’t want to. Chip gave me an opportunity. Zak came. If Roger (Penske) called next year, I don’t know what I’d do! But it’s not going to happen. I’ve been around long enough that I know the opportunities are coming less and less.”

YOUR LAST RACE…HOW ARE YOU GOING TO RACE?

“Like it’s the last race of my life! I’m going to leave it all out there. That’s the intention. The start, I don’t know. But if the opportunity is there, we will do a Tony Kanaan start, for sure. I’m going to race like I have no friends. I’ll apologize later.”

ON THE AERO CHANGES FOR THIS YEAR.

“We added more. I’m not sure if it’s going to be a better race. But what are we going to call a better race? It’s a matter of opinion. They call a lot of the races between 2013 and 2015 the best race because you had a lot of passes and this and that. I don’t think that’s going to happen this year. It will be more strategy. But it’s more difficult. It was a lot more unpredictable in the past. But I think those changes are the right changes. The cars are more where we can race closer, but by racing closer doesn’t mean you can pass all the time.”

THE NAME SENNA IS SYNONYMOUS WITH EXCELLENCE. AS A YOUNG MAN GROWING UP IN BRAZIL AND GOING INTO A RACING CAREER OF YOUR OWN…

“Nowadays, Formula One is more popular in America. I came here 25 years ago, and me, Rubens (Barrichello) and (Michael) Schumacher were walking in Orlando and someone stopped the two of them and gave them a camera to take a picture with me because they had no clue! It was the coolest thing that had ever happened to me!

“For me, it’s even more special. I had the history with Senna. When I was in Europe in my last year, I was out of job in Hockenheim and we were racing at the same weekend at Formula One. He went to my boss at the time and basically told my boss that I was better than him and that I should be able to finish the championship. That same guy gave me a job for two more years. It’s not just the history. It’s not just McLaren and Senna – me growing up and seeing him winning three championships in that Marlboro car. It is what he did for me. He was my hero. I had the pleasure to meet my hero, and my hero changed my life.”

About Chevrolet

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CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS 500
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
INDYCAR MEDIA DAY TRANSCRIPT – GROUP 1
May 25, 2023

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 CHEVROLET AT ED CARPENTER RACING, Indy 500 Media Availability Transcript:

CHANGES TO THE AERO MAP OF THE CAR. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE RACE FOR PASSING – IS IT GOING TO BE HARD?

“I read Pato’s (O’Ward) comments last week. He says things aggressively, which is good, I like that. And I think he was pretty accurate. It seemed like at first in the test, the passing and racing – you could run a little bit closer. But I don’t know if that’s actually what it’s going to be like. I think the first two cars can pass each other every straight if they wanted to. But if you’re the third car back, fourth car back, it is really, really hard.. it doesn’t matter how good you feel or how heroic you are. If you look in practice, you had two Ganassi cars and then all of a sudden, you’d have a Foyt car or whoever – it didn’t matter who it was, the line doesn’t change until something else happens. So I think the most interesting thing will be the end of the stint because cars seem to be burning off tires more than others and that will be the most interesting part. I think like lap 18 to 28 of the stint is going to be more telling than the beginning. It will be exciting for the first couple of laps, and then I think you’re going to see a lull. And then it could be like people have vibrations so bad they can’t see or they’re like burning off the tire. You always get vibrations here because the tires get old and you’re pushing them to the limit. It’s not a Firestone problem.. I think we’re pushing the cars faster than we’ve gone in the last literally 30 years – 1996 or whatever it is. So I think that’s the thing.”

IF YOU’RE COMING TO THE WHITE FLAG, WHERE DO YOU WANT TO BE SITTING?

“Yeah, you want to be second (laughs). But it depends on the raw speed. I would say that if you can follow really close in (turn) four, maybe you can make that move before the start-finish. It depends how well you toe-up. Some cars toe-up better than others. Like I’d see some cars that really have to pop late, but if you can stay really locked-in behind the car in front of you, you can probably make a move before the start-finish.

Yeah, it just depends on everything, but I would rather be second – well no, I’d rather be first heading into (turn) three on the last lap. But definitely make the move before you get there.

Hypothetically, I’d like to lead all of the time (laughs). I think the goal is just to lead whenever you can, especially on that last stint. Anything can happen, as you said. People are literally going to have to be on the verge of crashing to make a pass because you just have to trust that if you can get a little bit of air to that left-front corner of the wing, you’re going to get a little bit of grip and enough to launch yourself around the car in front of you.”

INAUDIBLE..

“That’s actually interesting.. I hadn’t really thought about that. I think no matter what, everybody’s going to be aggressive here. It doesn’t matter if this race is worth a million points or zero points – you’ll still be fighting for everything that you’ve got. I don’t think anybody is thinking championship here.”

DOES YOUR RACECAR FEEL MORE LIKE IT DID IN 2021 OR 2022?

“Oh man, 2021 is hard to beat. That car was a really, really good one. I would say I would feel more confident this year than I did last year, and last year I ended up being pretty good. I think we just have to end up using the last two weeks of experience and kind of just formulate the right situation. We have a few things we want to run through at Carb Day, too. There is more aero stuff that you can do.. I mean there’s a lot more aero stuff that you can do, so it’s just a matter of figuring out what is enough grip, but also not dragging. You really have to be able to create a run. One run could change your whole race – like if you happen to get by someone that is really struggling to hold everyone up. But yeah, we’ll see.”

WHAT’S YOUR CONFIDENCE LEVEL RIGHT NOW?

“Honestly, I would say we’re in a region of four to six cars that have been probably quite strong every day of practice, when it comes to running in race trim. Like if I’m going to list them, it’s Pato (O’Ward), Felix (Rosenqvist), (Scott) Dixon, (Alex) Palou and I would say me and Rinus (VeeKay) are probably in that arena, too. Ed (Carpenter) hasn’t been bad, as well. Other than that, I haven’t seen a ton of cars – like Josef (Newgarden) looked like he was having a difficult time. He was pitted right in front of me on Monday. But those guys always show up.. it’s not like they’re not going to be good.

But those are the cars I’ve seen, more often than not, look like they’re quite strong. We’ll see.. we’ll see. But I definitely don’t feel like we’re not in the game, like when it comes to cycling our way forward. We have good tire life. We have not struggling with burning tires off. I would say we’re in better shape than a lot of other people when it comes to tire life.”

THE NAMES YOU MENTIONED, A LOT OF CHEVY’S IN THERE. DO YOU FEEL LIKE CHEVY HAS BROUGHT AN IMPROVED PACKAGE FROM LAST YEAR?

“Yeah, Chevy has done a great job. Both manufacturers, when you look at it, I think this year is closer than ever. Yeah, there’s a Honda on the pole, but there’s two Chevy’s on the front row, as well. I would say this year, more than ever, you don’t really know. Last year, it was like – alright, it looked like one was stronger than the other. But Chevy has done a great job I would say at getting us right into the game. They want to win this race I think more than anyone, too. It’s going to be cool.”

ED CARPENTER, NO. 33 CHEVROLET AT ED CARPENTER RACING, Indy 500 Media Availability Transcript:

HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR MONTH HAS BEEN GOING?

“I think it’s been a pretty successful month, so far. I didn’t qualify ultimately as high as I had hoped, but at the same time I’ve been really happy with the racecar the whole time I’ve been here. I think the race runs have been strong. Looking forward to Sunday. Obviously, I have a bit of work to do from 13th to get up into the lead group, but I believe I have the car and team to do it.”

LOOKING BACK AT YOUR FIRST YEAR, WHAT WAS THAT ‘WELCOME TO THE INDY 500’ MOMENT?

“I think the first one is always the big one. You don’t know what to expect the whole way through – from the qualifying format, through the race. My first one was tough, too; we had a rain delay in the middle of it and I didn’t last too long after the rain delay. It’s great to get the first one out of the way. You learn things the whole way through. It’s a hard month, it’s a grind going through qualifying and even race week when we’re not in the car and on the track as much there are still so many things going on. When you’re young and haven’t experienced that you have to figure out how to manage your time and how to manage your energy and focus because things ramp up and ramp down and we’re pulled in a lot of different directions. I think the older you get you learn how to manage all that beyond just knowing what you need out of your racecar on the days you are in it.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT RINUS (VEEKAY) MANAGING TO PUT THE CAR ON THE FRONT ROW?

“He has always been comfortable here. I think his driving style suits the track really well. To be fast here, whether you have a fast car or now, you have to be willing to put it to the limit, and he certainly puts himself in the right head space and has the ability to do that. I’m really proud to have him as part of the team.”

HAVE YOU HAD ANY CONVERSATIONS WITH HIM ABOUT THE START OF THE RACE?

“Not necessarily about the start. He’s been up in that area, so he knows what it’s going to be like. All of our conversations, whether it’s between teammates or the whole engineering room, has been what we need out of the cars. We have two hours tomorrow to zero in on those last little adjustments.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR RACECAR FOR THIS SUNDAY?

“I feel strong. I feel we’ve made improvements from last year beyond just the improvements the series gave us with extra downforce. I think we were OK last year. I think we could have been better; we maybe didn’t make the best decisions going into the race. I think we’ve taken a pretty decent step forward this year. Our cars were pretty similar in ’21 and ’22, and I think we’ve found some things and all three of us a pretty confident. Looking forward to Sunday to see if that holds true and how we stack up with the competition.”

YOU’VE COME CLOSE TO WINNING; WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO TO WIN?

“We’ve led a lot of laps here; I’ve finished second and top five a couple of times. It’s just a very hard race to win. I think we have all the tools to do it with Chevrolet, we have a great partner in Bitnile.com that gives us everything we need, so it’s just going to come down to execution from myself and our other drivers and the pit crew. I think we’re stronger now than we’ve ever been, and we have a great opportunity in front of us.”

ANY CLUES YET ON FUEL MILEAGE FROM YOUR RACE RUNS AND WILL IT BE A FACTOR?

“It’s always a factor. We know where we are, but I don’t know if you truly know where everyone is at until race day and see what people are doing. I know we’re going to have what we need to get the job done. Chevrolet has brought a lot this month. I think they took a pretty good step forward in all aspects of the engine – from power to economy – so I’m looking forward to it.”

WHERE ARE YOU ON THE RACE CAR COMPARED TO 2021 AND 2022? IN 2021, YOU WERE HAPPY, LAST YEAR, LESS SO.

“I think we were okay last year. I think we probably could’ve been better. We could’ve just maybe didn’t make the best decisions going into the race. I think we’ve taken a pretty decent step forward this year. Our cars were pretty similar in 2021 and 2022, kind of year over year, and I think we kind of found some things. That’s probably the most different our race package has been in the past couple of years, and all three of us feel pretty confident that we’ve made improvements. Looking forward to Sunday to see if that holds true and how we stack up to the competition.”

AS A DRIVER, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE NEW AERO CHANGES?

“I mean, I think it’s good. It’s interesting. I don’t think there is total consensus across the field which is cool. That’s the nice thing about having options. From practice on Monday, I think there is still people trying to come to a final conclusion on how they want to run their car. I think we are pretty confident with the configuration that we will be in. It just now comes down to the exact amount of downforce that we’ll choose for the day given what the temperature and conditions, the track temp, etc. I think INDYCAR made the right choice in bringing us some more options. I think it’s going to be good for the show.”

ARE CHEVY AND HONDA CLOSE TO THE SAME HERE?

“It seems pretty close. I think Chevrolet has done a fantastic job this year. We won’t truly know, well we’ll maybe get a sense tomorrow, but on race day, qualifying specs and race specs are a little different, and everyone’s just now putting their race engines in. To be determined exactly who’s got an edge come Sunday.”

RYAN HUNTER-REAY, NO. 23 CHEVROLET AT DREYER & REINBOLD RACING, Indy 500 Media Availability Transcript:

WHAT HAS GRAHAM (RAHAL) BROUGHT TO THE TABLE ON SUCH SHORT NOTICE?

“He’s a pro, right. He knows what he’s doing. He’s one of the best INDYCAR drivers out there, and he’s current. He’s got a great relationship with the Wilson family; good relationship with Dennis Reinbold and the team. He’s one of my good friends. I think when you put all the factors together, it was the perfect fit to fill in for Stefan (Wilson).”

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE BACK AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY?

“It’s great to be back – it’s awesome, love it. Loving every day on track. It’s been a lot of fun with the team and I really enjoy it. It’s a smaller program than I’m used to; a smaller effort than I’m used to. It’s really interesting to see the difference with a team that focuses just on Indy, as opposed to the other programs that are really in the midst of a grind – a full season grind. It’s a quite a bit different atmosphere. Everybody has big smiles on their faces when they show up to work in the morning and that’s important.”

CAN YOU RELAY A LITTLE BIT OF THE EMOTIONS THAT GRAHAM (RAHAL) WENT THROUGH BECAUSE YOU WENT THROUGH THAT YOURSELF BACK IN 2010 OR 2011, WHEN YOU DIDN’T GET IN?

“Yeah, its tough because you’re basically going to another garage, right. In that scenario in ’11, I was on my way home. The team called up and basically the partners said – why are we in INDYCAR if we’re not going to be in the biggest race. So I certainly understood that. But it wasn’t straightforward. You have to go into another team’s garage – get in there and meet all new people. Everything is new – a different car, different steering wheel. It’s a lot to get done within a short amount of time. It’s anything but straightforward.”

FROM GRAHAM’S (RAHAL) POSITION, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE PROCESS OF CHANGING MANUFACTURERS AND CHANGING TEAMS?

“I just made kind of a similar switch, right. I was with Honda for many years and now I’m back with Chevy. I won the championship with Chevy, so I’ve got a great relationship with them. Really happy to be back with them.

I can give him some tips on the nuances of the drivability of the Chevy versus a Honda. Some of the details of pit lane – launching out of the pit box is a little bit different. So just helping him get up to speed on that stuff so it’s not a surprise. But Graham (Rahal) is a pro, he knows what to do. It’s an INDYCAR and he knows his way around this place, around IMS. Like I said earlier, I spent some time with him, discussing what I thought would be the major points that would help him get acclimated quicker. I’m an open book to anything that he needs. I think he’s going to like the car.”

WHAT’S THE FEELING FROM THE TIME THAT YOU WERE OUT OF THE SERIES TO NOW. ARE YOU FEELING BACK HOME?

“Yeah, I was here last year in a consulting role and I really enjoyed it. After being in INDYCAR, generally let’s call it, for 20 years, it was nice to take a step back for a moment and try some new things. I raced in IMSA and I did SRX, as well. To be at this event last year, from the outside looking in so to speak, I think it was good for me in a lot of ways. Like I’ve said before, it allowed me to come back a bit reenergized and focused. Getting some perspective is sometimes important on that. We’re so deep in the trenches at times when you go from year-to-year-to-year, especially for me in the same program for 12 years and more than half of my career. But yeah, it was good to take a step back for a second and just kind of look at everything. I got to do a lot of things with my kids that I would have never had the opportunity to do, like coaching their sports teams and things like that. Being there for them – they’re at such an impressionable age, so that’s very important. I wouldn’t have done anything different.”

YOU SAID THE TEAM WILL TELL HIM TO GO TO ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR?

“Correct. He’s not getting a lot of information.

Basically, it one is a different map based on fuel, maybe drivability, all this other stuff. The extent of the information that he’s being given is – we are going to tell you which map to go into and that’s all the information you’re getting.

And I get it. I mean he’s coming over for one weekend and next weekend, he’s going to be back with the competition again, which is Honda. I get it – it’s a sensitive situation and big props to both manufacturers for making it happen because quite honestly, that seems like that might have been the biggest hurdle.”

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.

NBA All-Star To Lead NTT INDYCAR SERIES Field to Green

INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, May 24, 2023) – Tyrese Haliburton, who had a breakout season with the Indiana Pacers in 2022-23, has been named honorary Pace Car driver for the 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 28.

Haliburton will drive the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 hardtop convertible and lead the field of 33 drivers to the start of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

“It’s a tremendous honor to be given the opportunity to drive the Pace Car and lead the field to start the Indy 500,” Haliburton said. “Basketball and racing are big in Indiana, and it’s such a cool experience to represent the Pacers at the biggest race in the world.”

During the 2022-23 NBA season, Haliburton, a first-time NBA All-Star, became the first player in NBA history to average 20 or more points and 10 or more assists and to shoot 40 percent or better from three-point range. In his second season with the Indiana Pacers, Haliburton averaged 20.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 10.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game over 56 starts.

Haliburton ranked fourth among all guards in the NBA during the season for number of double-doubles posted (32). He became the first player to record 40+ assists and no turnovers over any three-game span in NBA history.

Originally selected as the 12th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft by Sacramento, Haliburton has averaged 16.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.6 steals over 191 games (153 starts) during three seasons with the Kings and Pacers. He has posted 62 double-doubles in his career, including 43 with the Pacers.

“Tyrese had a breakout season for the Indiana Pacers this year, and he’s the perfect fit to lead the field at the Racing Capital of the World,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “Tyrese has power and speed on the court, so driving the Corvette Z06 Pace Car should be a natural fit.”

Corvette has paced “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” more times than any car. The 2023 race marks the 34th time for Chevrolet to pace dating back to 1948 and the 20th time overall and since 1978 for America’s favorite sports car.

The 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is scheduled for Sunday, May 28, 2023. Visit IMS.com for tickets and more information on all Month of May events and activities at IMS.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS 500
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

DREYER & REINBOLD RACING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
May 23, 2023

DENNIS REINBOLD, DON CUSICK, AND GRAHAM RAHAL MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY – Press Conference Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: We’ll get started here this morning. Joining us today, Dennis Reinbold, owner of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing; on the far side Don Cusick, Cusick Motorsports team owner, and a special guest there in the middle. Dennis, we’ll turn it over to you to make the announcement.

DENNIS REINBOLD: Okay, I guess this is not a shocker right here, but Graham is going to replace Stefan in the car for us the rest of the week and coming Sunday. That is our announcement. I guess we’re all done.

No, it’s been a whirlwind. I don’t have a script, so that’s kind of consistent with how the last day has gone. We’re excited to put Graham in the car. It was a tough deal, we had the month going really well with Stefan. He is getting further evaluation today, I know, going in for X-rays here soon to sort of determine the path of what’s best for him.

You saw the release yesterday that he was ruled out and what happened with all that.

We had to do a lot of work yesterday afterwards to get things put together with Graham, and there were a lot of hurdles involved, and Graham can speak to some of those.

A lot of things what I want to touch on is just how much the INDYCAR community really, in a situation like this, rallies around each other and all the help that we got from everyone in the paddock and elsewhere. We even had Mike and Sandy Fink, longtime friends, showed up with dinner for us last night as we were working to get our backup car prepared for Graham.

It just goes all the way through the paddock, and it’s really a touching feeling that so many competitors can come together and work together. A lot of credit to the Chevy guys who we talked with.

There’s just so many conflicts and things that we had to work through to put this together that — it’s the Indy 500, and people come together to make this event special and make it great like it is.

I don’t know, I’m rambling on, but that’s kind of how I feel. It’s really been a moving experience, a lot of emotions through the last 24 hours, and just really touched by all the support that we’ve had.

THE MODERATOR: Don, just your thoughts about the last 24 hours?

DON CUSICK: Yeah, first I’d like to let everybody know I did speak with Stef this morning. Obviously he’s fairly crushed emotionally but supportive of what we’re doing here, and we can’t wait to get him better and get him back out here.

He really appreciates all the outpouring and concern, and yeah, hopefully get him back here on Sunday and walk down the track with him.

As far as all of this craziness goes, definitely a first for us. Definitely a first for me. Didn’t really expect to be sitting here having this conversation. But here we are.

Very, very thankful to Dreyer & Reinbold, Dennis and Brett for putting this together, and super thankful that Graham was able to do this, as well.

We’re excited for Sunday. It’s going to be a little bittersweet, obviously, but glad we can go forward and do it, and super appreciative of INDYCAR, the racing family and the individual sitting over here to my right.

THE MODERATOR: Finally, Graham, to you. Now you’ll be hopping in the No. 24 DRR/Cusick Motorsports Care Keepers Chevrolet. Your thoughts.

GRAHAM RAHAL: First off, I think as everybody said, I certainly feel for Stef. I know how much he puts into this, year in and year out, to get the opportunity to be here and to see what happened to him is never good.

I know emotionally the roller coaster he’s on right now, unfortunately. I’ve just lived it, as well, and I know that he’ll be back really strong and better than ever.

That said, too, the Wilson family certainly in my life has had a very strong impact. As I said yesterday, I told AC, everything in life happens for a reason. Sometimes it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but when I got the call from Dennis yesterday afternoon, right away I felt compelled that this was, for some reason, my calling was to be here, to be able to help as best I could and to fill in.

Clearly this is Stef’s ride. It’s his seat. He’s done a great job to get it to the point that it is. It was an honor for me to receive the call.

To Dennis, to Brett, to Don, everybody that made that happen, I certainly am very grateful.

I must say, Dennis mentioned Chevy, and equally so Honda, for allowing me to do this. I think I told Dennis when he called me, I said, I’m not really sure I want to waste your time. I’ve spent my entire career in a Honda. I’ve never driven anything other than that. I’m not really sure that we’ll be able to get the releases in place to be able to make this happen.

They really came together, two manufacturers, to allow this to take place, to allow us to go race on Sunday, and hopefully get this car moving towards the front and have a really, really strong run.

It’s also kind of special for me in a way to come back. I drove for Dennis 13 years ago at Iowa. We had a really strong run there. Always admired what he’s been able to do with his team, and Chase, I think the entire organization does a great job, as proven this month. They came out with Ryan — I texted Ryan last Wednesday night, and I was like, damn, dude, you’re going to win this thing. It was the best car I thought I saw all day.

Trust me, I’m excited at the opportunities ahead, as well. Make no mistake, I’ve made it clear, this is certainly Stef’s ride, and I’m fortunate to be able to be in the position to be able to help and fill in, and like I said, hopefully we can have a really, really great Sunday.

Again, it’s kind of a weird thing, as well. Care Keepers, which is the primary, Gary and Dina Tennyson, who own Care Keepers, have been very, very close friends of ours and supporters of our foundation for six, seven, eight years. Again, how this world works sometimes, it doesn’t make sense at the time, but I remember when Gary called me about seven, eight months ago saying he was going to do this, I was thrilled for him. This is kind of a lifelong dream for him to work with Don, to get the opportunity to have his logo on a car here at Indy, and look where we are today. Who would have known.

Sometimes weird things happen in this world, and as I said, you don’t have the answers for them up front, but we’re fortunate to be here.

Q. You were very close to Stefan’s brother, he was your teammate when you came into the Champ Car series in 2007. I imagine you’re pretty good friends with Stef, also. When you think of that familial bond that you have with the Wilson family, you talked about a calling. Is that really something you reflected on?

GRAHAM RAHAL: Oh, for sure. I think about Justin a lot. When the call came, right away it was an immediate connection. Frankly, I think in many ways, Justin helped — in more ways than one kind of shape my career, not only as a man and who you should be, how you should act, all that stuff, but also I remember in 2006 I was in Formula Atlantic. Of course I don’t know why, but we had a joint autograph session with the Champ Car guys. We were in Portland. I was still dreaming that hey, maybe someday Formula 1, and Justin Wilson was the guy who told me that it was way too political and I didn’t have the right filter to enter Formula 1.

If it were not for him, I probably would have kept chasing a different dream. In many ways, he did help me, but I do know as a teammate, too, when I was with him at Newman/Haas and then again with Dennis at Iowa, he’s just a tremendous, tremendous guy, and Stef is right there with him.

As I said, their entire family I have the utmost respect for, and in a scenario like this, I felt very — had it been something different, I don’t know how compelled I would have been, particularly with the storylines of the last couple days.

Trust me, for me it was a little bit of a bittersweet moment, do I do it, do I not, is it appropriate, is it not, but in this circumstance with Dennis, with Don, with Gary, with Stef, it just felt right.

As I said, I can’t thank Honda and Chevy and all the sponsors. It’s been a tough week for our sponsors, as well, and for everybody who’s been able to make this possible to release me to come over here. I’m super grateful.

Q. Also from the depths of despair that you felt Sunday, hugging your daughter and crying into her face, knowing how you’re back in the race, how do you describe the lowest low and now a very high?

GRAHAM RAHAL: Well, the positive, she’s two years old so she doesn’t really know what it was all about. All she told me when I hugged her was ooh, daddy, you’re wet. I was like, of course, I’ve been sweating for an hour.

No, I felt every emotion over the last couple of days. But as I’ve always said, and Dennis knows this well, that’s Indy. It can put you through a vicious cycle, and you never know what’s going to happen, how it’s going to take place. We don’t know how it’s going to end up in five, six days’ time.

But at the end of the day, when an opportunity like this comes, you certainly are honored to get the call. For me, I won’t lie, I really did feel excited to have the sense that another team had the respect at least for me to call. It was a great opportunity to come out here and try to perform and be able to race this Sunday.

You go through it all, the highs, the lows, and I still, as I said, don’t want to step in and take over here. It is Stef’s role. He’s put this all together, he and Don and Dennis and everybody have put this entire program together.

It’s a very unfortunate situation. I feel for him.

When I saw the accident, I was very concerned for his back right away, when I saw the angle of the accident, and unfortunately I’m aware of those things because of being a taller driver. It is an issue we I feel like have a little more frequently.

I feel terrible he’s in the role he’s at. But as Don said, I’m sure he’ll be back stronger than ever and come back here next year and put on a great challenge.

Q. Graham, you mentioned you’ve been tied to Honda for as long as anybody can remember. Can you take us through what those conversations were like, and also conversations with your sponsorship over on that side?

GRAHAM RAHAL: Well, Dennis will tell you, too, when he called, I had said to him, I don’t really want to waste your time; it’s probably best that you just speak to Dad. Because again, while I was very appreciative, I knew the hurdles were going to be massive. This wasn’t just as easy as saying yes.

You know, I think we both, last night we were sitting there at about 10:30 and going, I can’t believe this actually happened, that both Honda and Chevy allowed this to happen. So we’re very, very appreciative of that.

Frankly, that would be a better question for Dennis and Dad to answer than me because I knew that the challenges were far greater than me, and I needed to step aside because contractually I don’t know what all is said between RLL and Honda, RLL and our partners. But I know that this guy here to my right is a high-class individual, and I know he and dad spoke and worked things out right away.

I’m surprised, but it was certainly exciting for me to hear late last night that we were going to be able to make this happen.

Q. Any idea what it’s going to feel like going against your team on Sunday?

GRAHAM RAHAL: Well, I think we start at the back, right? Isn’t that the rule?

DENNIS REINBOLD: I think we do.

GRAHAM RAHAL: I’ll still be starting. Jack hasn’t gotten rid of me yet. But look, it’s going to be very unique for me. This situation is super unique. I will go from here to sit in the car. You’ve got to think, everything is different. I’ve been in the same place for 12 years now.

For me, steering wheel — literally I haven’t changed my steering wheel in 12 years. I still run the same base wheel that I’ve run since the Newman/Haas days, took it from Newman/Haas to Ganassi to RLL.

The whole thing is going to be a very unique situation, obviously to drive with the Chevy power plan for the first time. I do know that Hunter-Reay already texted me and said hey, make sure later we need to talk about the yellow map and we need to talk about — because it’s different. It just is. The way that people operate. I’ve been so programmed and tuned into the Honda side for so long that this is going to be a unique scenario.

But to compete against them, look, I wouldn’t come here if I didn’t think we had a chance to win and go forward. I think these guys will tell you, they’ve had a very strong car all week, and Ryan is going to be a great partner. He’s probably been my closest friend in the sport since I came into the sport. My first year here he was driving for my dad, and so Ryan and I have always been very close, so I’m excited by the opportunity. We’ve talked for years about eventually working together, and the situation is certainly unique, but I’m still excited to get to be with Ryan and see what we can do on Carb Day and make this thing go forward.

I wish my team at RLL the best for sure. I certainly want to see them succeed. But I also wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t want to go win with Don and Dennis and Gary and this entire organization. That’s my job. So that’s what we’re going to try to go do.

Q. Graham, you kind of touched on it, but what are the next couple of days leading into Carb Day going to look like for you?

GRAHAM RAHAL: I thought they were filled with golf and kids. But you know, it’s right back to work. There’s a lot. There’s a lot to learn.

But I feel we’re in good position as far as the individuals — obviously Jeff, who’s the engineer, I’m familiar with. Todd, Ryan’s engineer, was with our team at RLL for a long time, so I know Todd. Chase I’ve known forever, obviously the Selmans everybody knows, so I’ve known the whole family for quite a long time. There’s a lot of familiar faces there.

Going to jump in, be a little bit of a quick learning experience, but it’s nothing that we haven’t done before. Just got to settle in here over the next couple of days and really make sure that we’re comfortable with all the switches and all the mapping and all of the things that are going to be of high importance.

Clearly when it comes to feeling the car out for the first time, that’s going to be Carb Day, and there’s not a lot of time to do that. But luckily on Sunday, there’s 500 miles for us to — if the car is not in the window, get the car closer. But as I said, I feel like they’ve been — everybody has been very, very — Stef and Ryan have been very, very strong all week, so I don’t anticipate any major challenges there.

Q. Do you need to not have debriefs with RLL drivers for the first time in a long time, I imagine. With this being a unique partnership, and I don’t know who’s best served to answer this, but from a sponsor’s standpoint, how is that going to work? Are any of your sponsors going to be on the car, coming over, crossing into the car?

DENNIS REINBOLD: I tried to pass the buck there. From the start of this yesterday afternoon, Bobby immediately came over and spoke to me, and we put our heads down to try to figure out how we could make this happen, if we could. A lot of the concerns he had were with Graham’s sponsors, and we have some flexibility, and he stepped in, Bobby stepped in and really made it work out to where we could do different things and shift things around, and I worked with Don in that regard, as well.

It’s just been a group effort to try to figure out what we can do, so yeah, our car will look a little bit different to accommodate some of those things in order for us all to work together and just get to the end goal.

This was a dire situation for us. Graham had his situation Sunday. We’re trying to turn it into a win-win situation, hopefully win-win-win, being Sunday with the final win. That’s what we did. We just rolled up our sleeves and went to work.

Yeah, we’re going to do some different things sponsorship-wise and accommodate what we can do. We’ve got some other announcements coming with Ryan’s car, as well. Both cars will look slightly different and tweaked and things like that. Working on it still.

Q. Was Graham the first choice, and did you have a backup?

DENNIS REINBOLD: Yeah, Graham was the first choice. A lot of it was we — well, it just was so sudden that there wasn’t a lot of time to think. For Don and I, sat down pretty much immediately and started thinking — once we found out Stefan couldn’t be cleared to run.

There’s a short list because not a lot of guys are approved. And to be able to come out and just run without refreshers and things like that. Graham obviously doesn’t need a refresher. But my whole goal is to win this race, and Don and I talked about it, and we both agreed immediately that if we could somehow pull it off — I don’t know that we were optimistic we could, but we thought we would go down the path and explore the possibility of putting Graham in the car, so that’s how that evolved.

DON CUSICK: I’d just like to say that for us, we replace one really class act with another one. That makes a difference, too.

Q. Is the plan still to use the backup, the two-year-old chassis as the backup, and if so, I know Graham’s car wasn’t exactly fast on Sunday, but was there any consideration of using an RLL chassis instead of trying to get a backup prepared?

DENNIS REINBOLD: No, it has to come from our stable. We’ve prepared our cars equally across the board, and so yeah, to go to the backup car is something that it was pretty much ready to go.

The guys are in there working on it now, and as soon as we’re done here, we’ll go get Graham fitted and things like that.

We’re really not going to miss too much of a beat in that sense.

Q. Graham, when you first got the call, did any thought go through your mind, like wait a minute, our driver hit your driver, why are you calling us? I’m not trying to be macabre there, but it was an interesting irony, right?

GRAHAM RAHAL: Leave it to the Columbus, Ohio, guy to ask the question.

To be honest, it’s an interesting situation across the board. I certainly don’t — as I’ve made clear all along, I don’t feel good about filling in for an injured driver. I feel for Stefan. I’ve said that numerous times here. I feel for him tremendously because I do know how much this means to him and how much work he puts in year in and year out to be here.

Unfortunately in racing, things happen. Look at the last 48 hours in my life even; it’s been all over the board.

As I said, and this is the truth, in some other situations, I don’t think that it would have excited me as much, but being that it was Stef and being that it was a Wilson, and in the situation that it was in, I just felt like it was my calling to jump in and help.

I was very fortunate that Dennis and Don and everybody at DRR and Cusick Motorsports called me. It’s that simple.

I was honored because on a personal level, too, as I said already, I felt it gave me a boost personally to get the call because I have driven for my dad for so long, you always wonder what everybody else thinks of you, so to speak. So it was a blessing.

I want to make sure, like I’ve said all along, that for me, my job is to go out there and make everybody here proud, and that includes Stef. I can’t imagine what’s going through his mind, as Don said. I’m sure emotionally this is a very, very, very tough time for him. We just want to be there to support him as best we can and perform as best we can no matter what the scenario was or how it all took shape yesterday.

Q. You were talking a while ago about getting up to snuff with the car itself. Will you just sit in the car and run through the buttons on the steering wheel, for example, things like that? Is there any kind of simulator you can jump in at this point?

GRAHAM RAHAL: No, really just sit in there and speak with Ryan mainly to try to get his input because he’s been through a few different teams and stuff, so to get his input on how things work because everything is a little bit different team to team, the way the weight jackers work or the fuel mixers or trim switches and all these other things, where the radio button is, do they use a drink bottle or do they use a pump. There’s a variety of different scenarios there.

But as Dennis also said, I do think that Dad and Dennis have been tremendous in working together, and I know a lot of my stuff, seat-wise, belts even potentially, all that stuff from RLL will be able to carry over, the chassis are all pretty much built the same by Dallara, so should be able to jump in and get going.

The steering wheel is not one you can switch easy because the programming and the wiring and everything is pretty specific to the team. So we’ll sit in there and study as best we can, probably take a photo so that I can go home and look at the wheel and get the buttons memorized. All those things are going to be critical.

But in this situation as a veteran, you’ve got to be a professional, and that’s what you’ve trained to do for years and years and you’ve got to be able to jump in and do it.

Q. I’m not trying to put words in your mouth, but I think you feel like you’re stepping into a quality race car, too, right, based on their performance?

GRAHAM RAHAL: Oh, yeah. There’s no doubt that it’s a great opportunity. These cars have been very, very strong. For me, I feel good about that, about our chances this weekend, and to move forward and put on a heck of a show.

We’ve got 500 miles to do so, try to play it as we always do, put ourselves in a good position come the last couple stints of the race, and be able to move forward and hopefully make these two proud and Stef and everybody associated with the program.

Q. Not trying to sound melodramatic or anything, but do you feel resurrected?

GRAHAM RAHAL: I don’t know. This is a weird situation for me. I mean, it just is. My wife was just asking me, and I told her, I’m very excited at the opportunity, but I feel terribly for Stef, too. It’s a very unique situation to be in, but ultimately, as I said inside, it was exciting and it was an honor for me to get the call.

I know the list of guys isn’t super long of drivers that could jump in and do it, but I also know some of the other names that are probably on that list are guys that are very, very, very qualified to go out there, who have a lot of experience and can do a great job. So for me to get the call, to get the opportunity, yes, it’s very exciting.

Q. To follow up on that a little bit, I know when you were interviewed yesterday afternoon during the practice, you spoke about how you planned on going throughout this week and helping Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing get everything best positioned for Sunday with the knowledge that you have of being in the car and the experience with the team, experience of this race, et cetera. Did any of that play through your mind when you were deciding whether to take this opportunity? Did you feel at all compelled to turn it down and stay back with the team, given everything you guys have gone through?

GRAHAM RAHAL: Well, you know, I certainly won’t lie that — yeah, I mean, things change in a hurry, don’t they?

But for me, yes, there was a part of me that thought, when you look at RLL and where we were as a team, can I have more of an impact to try to help Jack and Christian and Kat perform better on the weekend, and of course even in their debrief session after. I always try to give them information and experience, but I felt compelled to give them a lot more right after the session and try to help them from what I could see studying their film and all that stuff.

Of course now it’s a little bit of a different situation. Our focus and attention is completely dedicated to Dreyer & Reinbold and Cusick Motorsports to do the best that we can in the 24 car, and at the end of the day we’re competing now. That’s the reality of this situation.

Things in motorsports — I tell people all the time, motorsports is one of the few sports where there just are no guarantees ever. Things can change immediately. That’s the situation that we’re in, and we’re going to go out there and do the absolute best we can to get in Victory Lane. It’s been a dream of mine my entire life. I think we’ve got a great opportunity to do so with Dreyer & Reinbold and with Don, and I’m excited by that.

Q. Dennis, I know you’ve touched on it a little bit, generally speaking, but can you tell us a little bit more about how you and maybe more specifically the folks at Chevy and Honda were able to make this work, given Graham’s long ties at Honda?

DENNIS REINBOLD: Well, it probably started with Don and I discussing it, and then we brought Bobby into the circle, and I had discussions with the Chevy guys to get their feel for it, and Bobby took over the Honda discussions, as well.

We just kind of went off on our separate paths with this goal in mind to explore and to see if it was possible. They came back, and a couple hurdles later that we crossed, it started looking good. We kept crossing off things on our checklist that had to happen for this to be a possibility.

There were a lot of things involved, and we spent a lot of time yesterday and into the night last night going through those things. I don’t know if that answers that, but it was a bit of a whirlwind, so I can’t keep it all straight in my head at this point.

About Chevrolet
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INDIANAPOLIS (Monday, May 22, 2023) – Reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Will Power led practice Monday for the 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge that started Race Week.

2018 “500” winner Power topped the two-hour, 10-minute session with a top lap of 39.2633 seconds, 229.222 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske as the starting field of 33 drivers continued to hone setups for Race Day. Two-time series champion Power will start 12th in the race.

“We’ve been having vibration problems,” Power said. “I think we got somewhat on top of that. Ran at the front, ran at the middle, ran at the back, and I think the car’s pretty good. I think we’re in a good spot. We have good horsepower. I think we’re in good shape.”

Six-time series champion and 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon was second at 229.184 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Two-time “500” winner Takuma Sato ended up third at 228.382 in the No. 11 Deloitte Honda fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing.

NTT P1 Award winner Alex Palou, who led the fastest Indy 500 field with the fastest “500” pole speed in history Sunday, was fourth today at 227.392 in the No. 10 The American Legion Honda, putting three Chip Ganassi Racing cars in the top four.

2013 “500” winner Tony Kanaan, making his final NTT INDYCAR SERIES start in this race, rounded out the top five at 227.094 in the No. 66 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

Teams wasted little time getting busy during the short day on the 2.5-mile oval, as all 33 drivers combined to turn 2,005 laps (5,012.5 miles). Action was halted 71 minutes into the session due to the first accident of the event, a two-car crash involving Katherine Legge and Stefan Wilson.

The No. 44 Hendrickson Honda driven by Legge made contact with the No. 24 DRR Cusick CareKeepers Chevrolet of fellow British driver Wilson in Turn 1, with both cars making contact with the SAFER Barrier in Turn 1. Legge’s car continued down the track and made secondary contact with the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2.

Legge climbed from the car without assistance and was evaluated and released from the IU Health Emergency Medical Center. Wilson was conscious and alert when removed from the car by the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team and was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.

The next on-track session will be the final practice from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. ET Friday on Miller Lite Carb Day. The 107th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 28 (11 a.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, Universo, INDYCAR Radio Network).

INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, May 21, 2023) – Alex Palou won the NTT P1 Award for the 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday with the fastest pole speed in the history of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou earned his first career “500” pole, becoming the first Spaniard to take the top spot, with a four-lap average speed of 234.217 mph (2 minutes, 33.7037 seconds) in the No. 10 The American Legion Honda during the dramatic Firestone Fast Six session. He delivered Chip Ganassi Racing its third consecutive Indy 500 pole. CGR is the first team to win three straight Indy poles since Team Penske won four in a row from 1988-91.

“It means the world to me now,” Palou said. “It was really tight, but the 10 car crew did an amazing job. Super proud of the work they did all month, all year to get to this point. We knew we had to go aggressive, to trim the car a lot to get a good first lap and try to be consistent. The fourth lap was really tough to keep it flat, but we did it. I knew it was one chance only.”

This is the fastest field in Indianapolis 500 history. The average speed for the 33-car field is 232.184, shattering the record of 231.023 set last year.

Rinus VeeKay will start second in the No. 21 Bitnile.com Chevrolet fielded by Ed Carpenter Racing after his four-lap average of 234.211. That’s the second-closest margin in terms of speed between the top two qualifiers in Indy 500 history, as the .006 of a mph margin was bested only by the .003 gap between pole sitter Ryan Briscoe and James Hinchcliffe in 2012. The .0040 of a second gap between Palou and VeeKay broke the record for the closest time margin between the top qualifiers, .01 between pole sitter Al Unser and Johnny Rutherford in 1970.

Felix Rosenqvist earned the outside front-row starting spot after qualifying third at 234.114 in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

All three front-row starters were faster than the previous pole record of 234.046 set last year by Scott Dixon. Only Arie Luyendyk’s mighty run of 236.986, set on the second day of qualifying in 1996 and not eligible for pole, is faster.

This also was the closest front row in Indianapolis 500 history by speed, as .103 of a mph separated the top three. The previous record was .112 between pole sitter James Hinchcliffe, No. 2 qualifier Josef Newgarden and No. 3 qualifier Ryan Hunter-Reay in the 100th Indianapolis 500 in 2016.

Santino Ferrucci continued a magical month for AJ Foyt Racing by qualifying fourth at 233.661 in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet. Pato O’Ward was fifth at 233.158 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, and six-time series champion Scott Dixon rounded out the Firestone Fast Six and second row at 233.151 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Palou was the third driver on track in the gripping Firestone Fast Six, which put the six fastest drivers from the Top 12 Qualifying session earlier in the day in competition for the pole on the 2.5-mile oval. VeeKay, Ferrucci and Rosenqvist followed but couldn’t topple him.

“It was not ideal, honestly,” Palou said of watching the last three qualifying attempts. “It was tougher than doing the four laps.”

Christian Lundgaard, Sting Ray Robb and Jack Harvey earned the final three spots in the 33-car field in an incredibly dramatic Last Chance Qualifying. Harvey bumped his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing teammate and 15-time Indianapolis 500 starter Graham Rahal by 44 10-thousandths of a second over the 10-mile qualifying run on the last attempt of the session.

Practice for the 33-car field takes place from 1-3 p.m. ET Monday (live, Peacock and INDYCAR Radio Network). Public gates open at 11 a.m. It’s the last on-track session before the final practice from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Miller Lite Carb Day, Friday, May 26.

The 107th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 28 (11 a.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, Universo, INDYCAR Radio Network).

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS 500
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
TEAM CHEVY FIRESTONE FAST SIX QUALIFYING REPORT
MAY 21, 2023

CHEVROLET QUALIFIES TWO ON THE FRONT ROW FOR THE 107TH RUNNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500

• Rinus VeeKay, of Ed Carpenter Racing, has been the best qualifying Chevrolet for the Indianapolis 500 for four years in a row.
• This is also the ninth front row start in 11 years for an Ed Carpenter Racing entrant, all with Chevrolet.
• This is Felix Rosenqvist’s, driver at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR, first front row start at the Indianapolis 500.
• This is the best starting position for an entry from AJ Foyt Racing since Robby Gordon in 2001.
• Legendary driver and now-team owner AJ Foyt won two of his four Indianapolis 500 victories from the fourth starting position, the same starting position as AJ Foyt Racing driver Santino Ferrucci will start the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 from.
• Pato O’Ward, of Arrow McLaren INDYCAR, will start in the middle second row of the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500, qualifying fifth in the Firestone Fast Six.

TEAM CHEVY TOP-SIX QUALIFYING RESULT:
Pos. Driver
2nd Rinus VeeKay
3rd Felix Rosenqvist
4th Santino Ferrucci
5th Pato O’Ward

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES)

Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:

“I got everything out of it but I wish I had just a little bit more. I got tight and I should have let it run a little bit, but I mean, it’s it’s so close. You know, the whole group really had a shot for pole position. I am a bit spoiled to say that so starting second, and still very happy. We don’t win anything with this you know, this is only the start to the race. We’ll get them held next week.”

Felix Rosenqvist, No. 6 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:

“I didn’t really feel like we had the same speed as far as the previous one. I’m not sure why, we’ll have to look at the data and see what it was. But anyways, it’s phenomenal to be on the front row and keep us where we are–super quick. I think anyone can grab this pole and it’s so tight that the front and that last one just seemed like some guys find a bit more than we did. I’m just super proud of the team. It has all been awesome and everyone’s just been helping everyone and like this one team was behind us and I tried to get everything out of this beautiful number six car and it’s great a great car.”

Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:

“I’m really proud of this. I mean, we’re the underdog here to be fighting for top six and the biggest race of the year, and the biggest race in the world is pretty awesome. And like I said before the race matters. So we’ll just have to pass some people…that’s about it.

“Yeah, I feel great about it. I mean gratulations Alex (Palou). I can’t thank my team enough. I mean, these guys worked so hard last couple of weeks and months to prepare this car and to start up front like we are knowing that we got a great race car and shot to win this thing. I’m so proud of the guys.”

Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:

“This is awesome. My first Fast Six. And it’s just it’s awesome for the team. I mean, I’d love to just to get on the front row. I love how these current loops that we came out with. Really, really cool, but we also have to share the front row which is okay.

But, I don’t know man and Palou has been really strong. VeeKay has as well. I think the No. 6 car has a lot of speed is good enough for front row and that’s what I’m hoping I’d be… But I think yeah, man, I mean, this is good,”

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, and FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 6 ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET – End of Day Press Conference:

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, wrapping up qualifying at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2023 setting the field for the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500. Felix Rosenqvist will also join us here in just a bit.

But joined now by the young man that will start second in the race a week from today, Rinus VeeKay, 234.211. That’s the second closest gap one-two in 500 history. It goes back to 6 thousandths of a mile an hour versus what Ryan Briscoe did with James Hinchcliffe in 2012, and that was three thousandths of a mile an hour. That’s how close it was between one and two.

Rinus, driving the No. 21 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, the third straight front row start for Rinus. He was the fastest Chevy driver four years in a row how, and ECR, Ed Carpenter Racing, now with their ninth front row start in 11 years. Rinus, it was that close.

RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, it was very close. Wow, very happy, but also a bit bummed. We had that shot, and I wish we could have done it. It would have been so great for the team. But also I’m bummed to be starting the Indy 500 second.

Not bad, definitely, but yeah, I think it just has to sink in a little bit. What is in my head now is I lost, but no, I will enjoy this one, and it’s my best starting position so far in the 500, which fourth, third, third and second, we all know what comes in my car number after second, and that’s a 1.

Just very proud of the team, also. We had a tough morning, kind of went downhill for a bit, and we still — the team still made it happen. The only thing I had to do was stay flat for four laps, and the ECR Bitnile crew gave me the best possible car for this moment.

Q. Do you think back lap by lap where maybe you could have picked up a tenth or a thousandth here or there, or was that a perfect four-lap run for you?

RINUS VEEKAY: I’m not sure how much better it could have gone. The car felt the best it’s felt in qualifying trim, and yeah, should have had a bit less lunch. I think that’s it.

Q. You mentioned the emotions that go into today, knowing you’ve got to make two attempts, throw in what happened in that practice this morning. Talk about not getting too high or too low throughout the day and the emotions that were brought out of your today.

RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, it’s a long day, actually longer than last year because there was a big break between the two, the Fast Twelve and the Fast Six. But I think I was the least nervous for the Fast Six because I already made it that far — I’m sorry, worst-case scenario I’m starting sixth. So emotions were pretty good, and also within the team was very chill.

Just very happy to have it done now and focus towards the race.

Q. You probably know the F1 race was canceled due to bad weather. Do you think you can now beat your countryman Max Verstappen for popularity in Holland?

RINUS VEEKAY: It’s definitely nice that — not nice; it’s terrible what happened there. But it’s good that all eyes are on INDYCAR this weekend.

I wish they’d move Monaco next weekend a bit, but at least, yeah, there’s a lot of people tuning in. That’s very nice. I hope the popularity for INDYCAR grows very fast in the Netherlands and all over the world.

Q. Rinus, of course there’s tomorrow’s practice, Carb Day. You’re sandwiched with McLaren and Ganassi in the front row. What’s going to be instrumental to get that car and in order to get Ed that big win over the next few days?

RINUS VEEKAY: I think definitely the most important thing is staying out of trouble, having a clean race, and making sure we’re there when we tune it up at the end of the race.

I know looking at the practice rounds we’ve done that the car is maybe even better in race trim than qualifying trim.

I was very happy on Thursday in our last traffic run, so yeah, just very excited to show that in the race.

Q. Was there any impact to not having a teammate this year in the Fast Six compared to having Ed the last couple years to maybe do some setup changes between?

RINUS VEEKAY: I think it definitely helped out like to have a teammate in there. It’s always nice to have someone with the same setup, same exact car, do a run before and making some little tweaks.

But yeah, I wish Ed was in there and I could have battled with Ed or Conor. But I think for the underdog car in there, it was nice to have a good shot at it and almost hitting the bull’s eye.

Q. The other morning we talked and I asked how you’d grade your season so far, and you said 4 out of 10. Does a day like today help morale?

RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, definitely. This is the best qualifying result for the team since I’ve joined, so definitely not bad, and yeah, just very, very happy for the team that we got this, and I think it definitely helps morale, not only for me but for all the three car crews.

We’re going to work as hard as we can. We’ve just got to find the grit and the determination to make it happen. But it’s a great group, and I’m excited that we’re going to be in the race, albeit last. We’ll do our best now.

THE MODERATOR: Also joined by Felix Rosenqvist who will start on the outside of row 1, driver of the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet with his first front-row start. By the way, once again, for the second straight year, this is the fastest front row in Indy 500 history, making up, once again, the fastest field in Indy 500 history.

Again, Felix, congratulations. Your thoughts about starting on the front row.

FELIX ROSENQVIST: It’s mixed feelings right now. I think overall it’s a very good day for us. I think these two found something in the Fast Six that we didn’t find. We felt like we were kind of on top of it going into it. We were not confident, but we felt like we put the best possible scenario on the car, and big thanks to all the group for Arrow McLaren and Team Chevy, as well. I think the whole team came together for this final run where we threw everything we had at it, and we missed out, and it’s the second time in not so long I’m sitting here and missing pole with I think one or two thousandths. It’s what it is, but overall we have to be proud to have all the cars in the top 12. It’s just been a phenomenal month for us so far.

But yeah, big congrats to Alex and also to Rinus. That was a hell of a run. We couldn’t match that today.

THE MODERATOR: Fastest field in history, 232.184 miles an hour, breaking the record last year we set, 231.023.

THE MODERATOR: For Felix, fast guy yesterday, fast guy in the Fast 12. Were you a little bit surprised that you didn’t have the speed there at the end when it looked like the track conditions were probably the best they’d been all weekend?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, I don’t know. It didn’t feel like it. I could feel on the run pretty much on my warmup lap that it didn’t feel as sporty as it did earlier today, so kind of had to look what went wrong. Obviously we didn’t change a bunch on the car. We were pretty sure what we put on was the best we’d done all month.

But man, it’s tight, and if you don’t get it 10 out of 10, there’s going to be two other boys sitting next to you with better lap times.

I think anyway, it’s just been incredible, and just to have the privilege to drive a car that looks that good and is that fast I think is — yeah, it makes it pretty cool.

Q. Felix, back in Europe the 500 feels a bit further away and the focus is on more circuit racing type stuff. Can you kind of talk from the background that you grew up in what the kind of qualifying what you did today means and how big an occasion the 500 qualifying is just based on everything that’s happened today?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, it’s huge, man. I remember when Kenny Brack, who was the first driver I grew up watching actually before F1 or anything, and he had a big shunt, he came back, and I think he set a really good lap time after his injury, and that was a big deal in Sweden, and that was kind of my first memories of racing. So it’s a big deal, and in Sweden it’s huge because he won the race, and now obviously Marcus won it last year.

So Sweden is pumped in this race right now. There’s a lot of Swedish flags out there already, and everyone is sitting back home and watching late at night.

It’s incredible to see the interest has grown, and I think people in general get a better understanding of the ovals. When I came over here, it was like, what’s the difference, like how do you go quicker on an oval. You hear that question a lot. And now people are already looking at ambient temperatures and humidity and wind, and everyone is becoming like experts at analyzing the drivers and lines and stuff.

It’s cool to see. It’s definitely on the upward trend.

Q. Rinus, I believe you started on the front row already, but what’s it like outside front row going into Turn 1? You ought to be a master at it by now, and the fact that you start so far up has to give you a really good strategic edge or tactical edge in the race.

RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, definitely helps. I feel like even if race running when we did that in the beginning of the week, you definitely feel there’s a bunch of cars in front of you, more than three, it gets very hard to pass. This way if you are in the top 3 you can basically save fuel and focus on that kind of stuff to move your way forward. That helps, that definitely helps, and we’ve got to make sure we stay in there for the last part of the race, and then I think everyone tears it up.

Q. Felix, this is a pretty big accomplishment for you starting on the front row of the Indianapolis 500. You’re having a great, great weekend so far, great week, a lot of speed. I know you’re probably living in the moment a little bit, but your future is a little bit uncertain right now. You’re sitting next to the guy. How much confidence does that give you even about your career, about how you’re doing this week, and even maybe going into next year, do you think this is a time where you can really build that resume up and show everybody, not just Arrow McLaren, that hey, I belong here, this is what I’m meant to do?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I mean, it doesn’t hurt. We always try to be quick, and I feel like most of the time we are. INDYCAR racing is not easy, and it doesn’t always go the way you want, but no, I feel like it’s been a good year so far, even with two DNFs to start the year. It’s obviously super difficult to crawl out of that.

But on top of that, it’s been great. Everywhere we’ve gone, we’ve been quick. We’ve been qualifying up front. We’ve been good in the races, good strategy.

The whole team has just come together so well that I just feel like there’s quite a lot in store for us for the rest of the season, and obviously now we’re here again on the front row in the second race in a row.

It’s awesome. We just have to ride the wave, and I feel like that way is going to get bigger as the year goes on, and what happens for me in the future, I don’t know, and I don’t really think about it right now. I just try to be in the now, extract everything I can every race, and I always tell myself things work themselves out if you just focus on what you do in the car.

Q. What is it like, most people will never, ever get a chance to drive a car like this, hanging it out. What is it like out there? Do you feel raw emotion, or is there a little bit of scared going on when you’re hanging the car out? What is going on, Felix, when you’re out there in a run like that with everything on the line?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: For me it’s like the most focused you can be. You’re just very — it’s like a very high level of discipline, and knowing yourself, knowing the car, trusting the car, trusting your engineers, trusting your mechanics, but at the same time you kind of just have to shut everything off.

But it feels cool, man. Yeah, it feels quick. I don’t know how else to explain it.

You’re so focused — Not scary, but you know it’s big consequences, and when you feel the car start sliding, you kind of have to just bury it and do some changes to your tools, and then you’re just hoping it’s not going to be the same in the next corner, and it’s kind of a funny thing, but like one press wrong on that button can be the difference of being P1 or being in the wall.

It’s a fun dance, I guess, and it’s fun when you’re out there, but when you’re done, you’re also quite happy.

Q. You’re touching so many buttons, making all these adjustments through a run like that, does it take away from the fun part?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, it’s so tight now, man. It seems every time I’m here for qualifying, it’s a record of some sort. It’s the tightest field or the tightest for pole or we have the tightest Fast Six on the GP here a couple of weeks ago.

I think we just have to exploit everything we can get our hands on. If there’s a button to press and you go a bit quicker, we’ll press it.

I feel like it’s getting busier and busier as the years go on. Like you see a couple of runs from the past where maybe you could analyze as well with simulation and computers and stuff, but you just kind of hang on, and now it’s more like being on the very, very fine limit which you can do when you have all the resources that both our teams have, and then when you’re there, you just have to extract every little thousandth out of it. I think it’s pretty cool. It’s sporty, and I think it makes it harder.

About Chevrolet

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