Quotes of the Week

"I swear on my children and my wife that I was not speeding!" he shouted over his radio. "There is no way! Thank you NASCAR for screwing my day. If they do this to me, I'm going to kill them," Montoya said on his radio. We ha it in the bag and they screwed us because I was not speeding. I swear on my children and my wife" Crew chief Brian Pattie begged his driver to calm down and focus on salvaging a solid points day, to no avail. "Don't tell me to relax, dude! We had this in the bag." Juan Montoya after NASCAR penalized him for speeding on pit lane while dominating the AllState 400

Now, I don’t think it is a secret that most IndyCar and Champ Car teams have relied heavily on financial support from series owners to fund or subsidize their operations over the last 5 years. In fact, I know that in the case of the IRL, every team that has ever competed in the series, since inception, has received support to some degree. Given those facts, it is a testament to the commitment of the teams and sponsors in the series today that they have persevered this season without any subsidy from the League. Tony George, ex-IndyCar and IMS CEO

"I honestly don't believe in coincidences in life. Things happen for a reason and I think this is the second message. Imola, where Ayrton Senna died in 1994, was a message and the cars were improved. Unfortunately, we lost Surtees, which is tremendously sad. It is not a coincidence something happened right now. In the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers' Association) we talked quite a lot about it yesterday – and something needs to be done. Absolutely." Rubens Barrichello, Formula 1 driver, Brawn GP, commenting about a spring coming off his car during qualifying for the Hungarian GP and severely injuring Felipe Massa

"What happened today was a shock. We've got to make sure we do everything we can to make Formula 1 as safe as it can be. But a spring coming off and being in a collision four seconds later is an incredible circumstance and coincidence. You have to remember that motor racing is dangerous and that racing drivers are incredibly brave. It's all too easy to become blasé about that." Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal, McLaren, commenting on Felipe Massa's freak accident while qualifying for the Hungarian GP

"It is perhaps ironic that John Surtees competed for many years at the highest levels of motorsport on both four wheels and two at a time when safety was given little consideration, but his son Henry should lose his life at a time when driver safety has never been greater." Jonathan Palmer, Chief Executive of MotorSport Vision

"I'm into all kinds of sports, a bit like Michael Schumacher. I'd love to try a MotoGP bike but not particularly race one. I would love to try one of Malcolm Wilson's rally cars – and one day I might try a NASCAR. But if Mercedes-Benz want to go to Le Mans one day and take me, I'll do that. To do the Indy 500 you have to be going at it. It would be unreasonable for me to expect to get in the car and go and win it. You have to have a good season in that kind of thing so I don't have any particular desire to do that." Lewis Hamilton, reigning Formula 1 World Champion, McLaren

"I've always driven like this. It's tough for a tiger to take its stripes off. It's not about what you can do on and off the track. It's really just about money. It's tough economic times. The wheels don't turn unless the money is there and not always the best guys get rides anymore. A bunch of 'em are rich kids." Paul Tracy, IndyCar driver, KV Racing Technology

“The sharpest memory I have is how emotional, how draining it was. We pushed the car out onto the track and when I turned away from the car, it hit me all at once where we were and what we were getting ready to do. We had been so focused on the car with practice and qualifying and all of a sudden we were getting ready to start the race. I got all choked up. When we won the thing (in 1994 with Jeff Gordon), I have pictures in Victory Lane and I just have this blank look on my face. The biggest memory is how much emotion caught up with me when I realized where we were. For me, it's a place I've always loved. I started out wanting to go Indy car racing. I wanted to race in the Indy 500. A. J. Foyt, Mario Andretti and those guys were my heroes." Ray Evernham, on the subject of winning the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994 as crew chief for Jeff Gordon

“I have mixed emotions about the race today. It was obviously a good race for the Edmonton Honda Dealers – Wounded Warriors.ca – KV Racing Technology car, but I have a bit of a heavy heart with Mario and myself touching on the first lap, which sent him spinning and I didn’t realize it had put him out of the race. I feel terrible for that and it has kind of put a damper on the rest of the weekend." Paul Tracy after bumping his teammate Mario Moraes on lap one and ending his day

"First, I want to be here racing. Last year I had a great year with KV. Unfortunately, a lot of teams lost their sponsorship and I didn't have any with me and was without a ride. I still want to be here. I still think I can do a good job. The day I lose the fire for it or I don't do a good job then I'll think of other things. But I'm still not there. My priorities are I want to win this championship, I want to win Indy. At this point, I have to do whatever I can that keeps me involved. (Andretti Green Racing is) a great team with great resources, great people but it happens in all sports that teams have bad years. Sometimes it takes a little bit of fresh air. I'm close friends with Tony, so if there are things I can tell him it's not a problem. Sometimes as a driver it's hard to hear from other people. And from the team perspective, we don't really know what I can or cannot do but I'm just trying to do as much as I can." Oriol Servia after IndyCar Series veteran Tony Kanaan contacted longtime friend Servia during the Toronto race weekend to gauge his availability and interest in providing some feedback/input/opinion to improve the on-track performance. Servia was happy to oblige, though he was unsure of the input he could offer. Oriol Servia on getting hired by AGR as driver coach and whose lone start this season was the Indianapolis 500 with Rahal Letterman Racing

"It's an incredible feeling to be back on the top spot after what feels like such a long time and such a struggle. This was one of my best races – I never gave up and, more importantly, neither did anyone in this team. I'm so proud of all the guys. We didn't expect to win today – we didn't think we quite had the overall pace – but the car was just perfect to drive, it felt fantastic for the entire race. We need to take as much as we can from this weekend. We'll continue to push because that's the only way this team knows. Now we want to be winners on a regular basis. Finally, my thoughts are with Felipe today. Despite our celebrations, it's important to remember that there's a guy lying in a hospital bed tonight, and I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say that we all had Felipe in our hearts and minds today and we wish him a speedy recovery." Lewis Hamilton after winning the Grand Prix of Hungary

"I continue to be perplexed by the board’s recent decision to relieve me from my responsibility as CEO of the enterprise. To date, I have not received a reasonable explanation as to why; the statement they released to the press not withstanding, I feel as though after 20 years I am entitled to one. I understand that maybe they don’t feel that they owe me an explanation. One thing I can tell you is that I stood resolute in my conviction on the direction we needed to go and that the measures we have taken since January are only a beginning. A complete review of how we are structured and operate is necessary. Beyond my being dismissed, I am unaware of any changes that are being contemplated that will have a meaningful impact on the organization. I have been replaced in my role as manager by two individuals who have been with the company for many years. In that time they have also been members of the executive management team and have participated in all of the strategic decisions that have been made over the last 15 years, so they are well aware of the challenges ahead. My question for the board has been not one of who is going to manage the company, but rather, who is going to lead it?" Tony George, ex-IndyCar and IMS CEO

"Right now it could be my last race. I don't take anything as a guarantee anymore. We're hoping we can pull together some sponsorship to run a couple more races before the end of the year but as of right now I don't have anything for the rest of the season or for next year. The frustrating part is now I'm finally feeling at one with the car and driving it where I feel I can compete at a high level and my season is over after (today). I've been up at the top of the time sheets all weekend, to have it come to an end now is a shame." Paul Tracy, IndyCar driver after running what could be his final race of 2009