“What They’re Saying” from Indianapolis 500 Carb Day
BUDDY LAZIER (No. 4 Lazier/Burns Racing Chevrolet): “We’re glad that this was Carb Day, because we certainly wouldn’t want this to have happened on race day. After rebuilding the car, running here today we had a front wing issue. An adjuster on the front wings failed. Whatever angle was set in the pits, out on the racetrack the wing wouldn’t hold. So, we have zero data from this run. It’s frustrating, but I have a lot of faith in my guys, and we’ll have this problem solved by race day. We’re going to race them hard on Sunday, and I’m confident that we’re going to be very competitive.”
JR HILDEBRAND (No. 6 Preferred Freezer Fuzzy Vodka Chevrolet): “It’s tough, it’s going to be hard on race day I think. We accomplished what we wanted to as far as figuring out what we have and understanding a little more about how we can adjust it. I think that between the three of us we got through a bunch of different (setups). Now it’s just about making the right call for the conditions on race day. That’s really the biggest factor at this point.”
TONY KANAAN (No. 10 NTT Data Chevrolet): “I’m happy. I’m happy with my car. Obviously, I have to pass 17 people before I get really happy with my car. But, you know, after the struggle in qualifying, we really focused, me and Dixon, on the race and I think you can see both of us up there. You know, anybody count us out, it’s a big mistake. But it will be more exciting for the fans. I’m amazed how many people are here today. It’s really – I thought all of my 15 years I had seen it all here, and clearly I didn’t. So I can’t wait until Sunday.”
WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): “Final practice went well today and the Verizon Chevy did really well in traffic. We made a couple changes and I think we felt good in the end. Hopefully, the weather conditions will work in our favor on Sunday, but I’m really excited about the race.”
TAKUMA SATO (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda): “The conditions were a bit different, the wind direction was different and it was a warmer temperature which is good because we expect to have a warmer Sunday race. We need to work on the car a little bit-it washes out and was a bit unstable in traffic – I’m a little nervous about that. We need to understand where that came from but I’m confident we can go back to where we were. I think that’s the way to go. We got some good data to confirm a few things but still we need to check with the other two cars.”
GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 Steak ‘n Shake Honda): “I’m extremely happy with the Steak ‘n Shake race car, that’s why we didn’t run that much. We ran through some of our race sets of tires to try to check for vibration which is something we struggled with this week. We were building vibrations over the run. This is the best race car I have ever had going into the Indy 500. I’m really pleased. We ran pretty old tires the whole session and I know a lot of guys ran stickers and put up good times but for our tire life, I’m pretty pleased. This Steak ‘n Shake team has a pretty good chance of winning this thing.”
SPENCER PIGOT (No. 16 RLL/Mi-Jack/Manitowoc Honda): “The car was good. I think we definitely made a lot of progress today. I was able to run a lot closer in traffic than I was before. I think the car has gotten better and I have gotten more used to it and improved as well. A big thanks to all the guys for getting us to this point, to all the team and all the sponsors. I’m looking forward to going racing. It was pretty wild out there in practice. Sometimes you’ve got to use the brake, you’ve got to downshift all the way to third gear even. You’ve always got to be on your toes and looking a few cars ahead to see if they’re stacking up because if you’re not, you’re going to be in trouble.”
CONOR DALY (No. 18 Shirts For America Honda): “It felt really good out there today. I think we need to work on our gear ratios a bit, it didn’t help us when trying to set an overall lap time, but that’s not what’s it’s about today. It really felt good racing through the pack. I got to fight with (James Hinchcliffe) Hinch and (Ryan) Hunter-Reay, and they’re on the front row so I felt really good about that. I think we’re in good shape for the race.”
GABBY CHAVES (No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda): “It’s the happiest I’ve been with the car in traffic so that’s definitely a step in the right direction. It’s hard to get a lap time together because we’re mainly focused on trying to set up our car around traffic and not really worried about getting a nice lap there. Although it would have been nice to end up near the top of the charts, it doesn’t mean anything at this point. It was a solid run, I’m happy with where we ended and I think we’ll have a good race.”
ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet): “Today was OK. I got in some good groups and some bad groups. I was a little frustrated by that and some of the driving and some of the last group I was in. The car is OK. It seems like everyone is still struggling a little bit when it warms up. It is really hard to know where you stack up this year depending on the group of cars you get in and where they are on tires.”
JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 21 Preferred Freezer Chevrolet): “I am excited to go on Sunday. I think we are as prepared as we can be. We just have to execute and hopefully have a good day. We have a lot of faith in what we are doing. I think we are going to have three great shots with JR, Ed and myself. Hopefully, one of us can be at the top of the step for our team.”
SAGE KARAM (No. 24 DRR-Kingdom Racing Chevrolet): “We picked up right where we left off from Monday’s practice. The car felt great in traffic just like on Monday. I feel confident. We only ran about 75 percent of the session and parked the car. We didn’t feel any need to run any more laps. I’m very happy with the car for Sunday. Now, it’s the countdown to the 100th Indy 500. I think we have a very good race car. I’m excited for the green flag on Sunday.”
CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 26 United Fiber & Data Honda): “For me practice was over Monday. After Monday, the car is what it is. Today was just a practice to check the car was good. You know, was running good – the engine, everything just took a little bit to dial stuff. But the conditions are going to be totally different again for the race.”
ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 35 Alfe Heat Treating Special Honda): “I’m super happy and super thankful for all of the guys, and their hard work. They kept pounding at it and we had a mission. We wanted to be in the top 10, we felt we had a car to be there. No one threw in the towel and they built a really good, solid car for the race. The timing is perfect. Everybody is pumped; everybody saw how competitive we were. We were aggressive out there [in final practice], so it’s going to be good to sleep, but at the same time, I’m really excited for the race. The car was solid, predictable, and on the safe side. For the way we ran, it’s really positive.”
JACK HAWKSWORTH (No. 41 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda): “It was an interesting session. The car was not as strong as it was on Monday. I was very happy with it on Monday in terms of balance. I think we need to take a step back to look at why it changed and go back to that happy place. I wasn’t able to follow closely to cars as I was able to on Monday. We’ll need to go back and look at that and go onto Sunday.”
MATT BRABHAM (No. 61 PIRTEK Team Murray Chevrolet): “Carb Day final practice was great, I was just getting comfortable in the car and trying a few things and avoiding crashes basically. It was a tight one out there with Pippa, she was right in front of me when she went off, so that was a bit interesting. I was comfortable out there and getting used to everything. Everyone was checking up, I was getting used to how it was – speeding up and working on race craft ahead of Sunday. It was enjoyable. The weather should be similar come race day. We got a really good read on everything. So I will go back with the PIRTEK Team Murray crew, work through the data and everything else and have it sorted out for the race.”
PIPPA MANN: (No. 63 Susan G. Komen Honda): “I’m absolutely fine. I just really feel sorry for the crew. I was trying to find some clean air in pack running there. Got a little too low on the inside. Dropped the ball and gave them some work to do overnight. The good news is the damage wasn’t too bad. Hopefully, it’s the right rear corner, rear attenuator, rear wing and that’s all we have to fix.”
BRYAN CLAUSON (No. 88 Cancer Treatment Centers of America Honda): “I was happy overall with our car today. It felt good. We were trying to figure out what the best trim level is going to be for the race. Compared to our teammates, I think we have a little work to do there to figure out what will be best for passing and such. Overall I’m really happy with our day and can’t wait for Sunday.”
Sources: Mike Kitchel/Verizon IndyCar Series PR