“What They’re Saying” from Miller Lite Carb Day
CONOR DALY (No. 4 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): “Probably our best day on track so far. The car was really good, really stable in traffic. Had a lap going that probably would have put us P1, but we just caught the cars too fast in front of us in Turn 4, so I’m really happy with the car going into the race for sure.”
CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet):“I’m really happy with the car today, but it’s Indy, you know, so one day you feel really good and the next day may not be as good. Hopefully the car stays for us in the race. I’m really happy with my car. I think we made a lot of changes compared to Monday when I wasn’t happy with the car. The feeling of the car was great – my engineers Will (Phillips) and Daniele (Cucchiaron) worked really good. We made some good changes so hopefully we stay like this on Sunday. We just need a little bit more speed, but my sensation is good from Carb Day so we’ll see how we go for the race.”
GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 Steak ‘n Shake Honda): “I’ve got to say, I’m super happy with the race car. The Steak ‘n Shake Honda felt really comfortable. We got through our check list of the couple of things we wanted to do in the session and the car seemed very solid. I am definitely very pleased. I feel pretty good now. Running well on Carb Day definitely gives you confidence for the race. Hopefully the Steak ‘n Shake boys can get this thing in Victory Lane. I feel pretty confident that if we can have good pits stops and work our way forward, we can definitely run with those guys at the front.”ORIOL SERVIA (No. 16 Manitowoc Honda): “We didn’t want to do too much running, and thought we had plenty of spare time. We had a problem in the fuel tank with the lines, but nothing big. I’m glad we found it today and not on race day. That is what Carb Day is for. That’s what happens in these sessions — time flies but we got it in and the Manitowoc car felt great, same as Monday. We got just enough laps to try what we wanted to try and are pretty happy.”
JAMES DAVISON (No. 18 GEICO Honda): “We had a very encouraging run for the No. 18 GEICO Dale Coyne Racing car. We improved the car to a good degree, from our first runs on Monday. I was able to follow and pass some of the Andretti cars, which we know are very strong. We still have a little ways to go to keep our balance intact during the second half of the race stint, but very encouraging. We’re in the window, so bring on Sunday, and let’s hope for a nice, clean, safe race.”
ED JONES (No. 19 Boy Scouts of America Honda): “It was just a really messy session. There were so many yellows it was hard to get going and do longer runs, but when we did get on track the car felt really good so that’s the main thing.”
ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet): “It was a typical Carb Day for us. It’s a one hour session so it’s hard to get much done. It’s easier to mess things up then anything, but I still feel good about the car – there are always things here or there that could be better. Last Monday’s practice, I felt like we were race ready and I still feel that way. We just need things to fall our way and be the type of race we need it to be to have a successful day come Sunday.”
JR HILDEBRAND (No. 21 Preferred Freezer Service Chevrolet): “Today, we are trying to make some little improvements on what you already have. With a whole week of practice and then a few days off, there are always going to be things that linger and you think about the things that could be a little different. Carb Day is the final chance to feel out how you feel about where you stack up with the cars you think will be around. It was hectic and crazy how it usually is, but we feel pretty good and we are looking forward to race day, where we know anything can happen then.”
ZACH VEACH (No. 40 Indy Women in Tech Championship Chevrolet): “Wow that was our last practice session before race day. These last couple weeks have gone by insanely fast. I think that was our best session yet – just focusing on our race car. We finally got everything pretty much covered from our incident last Friday. We just made a lot of progress and I think we have a really good starting point moving forward for the race. That will continue to change as we getting later into the race. We will continue making adjustments every stop. I think we have a great starting point and a great race car. We’ll just have to make a few minor tweaks from here on out.”
JACK HARVEY (No. 50 Michael Shank Racing with Andretti Autosport Honda): “It was good. There was a few numbers that we had to check which limited our traffic running just a little bit. The car felt good so I’m happy with that – I’m definitely going to move forward in the race. I think we have a car that is very good at the front so if we can get there, we’re going to be just fine. Congrats to my chief mechanic Adam (Rovazzini) who won the Clint Brawner Award today – that was pretty awesome.” (About his first Indy 500 start) “It’s 15 years’ hard work. My parents and sister and cousin are here. I have a lot of friend and family coming. There are a lot of people who have made this happen – especially my parents and my sister because they have lived this journey with me, so I’m just happy to share this moment with them. It’s been a great month – I hope we have a great race. It’s the best experience I’ve ever had in my life.”
PIPPA MANN (No. 63 Susan G. Komen Honda): “We have had a bit of an up and down month this May, so it’s been really nice to come out here on Carb Day and have a pretty good final practice. We managed to work through pretty much our entire checklist and test plan of items that we wanted to try today. I think we are reasonably confident going into race day, and hopefully we are going to have a pretty good race car. It’s the right time of the week to start feeling like you have the race car underneath you.”
Sources: Curt Cavin/Verizon IndyCar Series PR