Quotes of the Week

UPDATE "I tell you what, I think some of those guys are going to be pretty strong in the race. They may not have the cars with that last little tenth or hundredth for qualifying, but in the race it's all about balance and consistency and good stops, good judgment and good strategy calling on the pits. Those guys are as good as anybody in that respect.

"Now, qualifying, they're going to be down and out for a while, especially this race. This is different than Kansas. You've got to have a setup. There's a lot of smart guys here. (But) you're a mile and a half off the best of Andretti Green? That's nothing. That's a tenth and a half or two tenths of a second, which I know sounds like something in qualifying, but in the race, that's nothing. It's not going to be that big of a separation come race day. These guys are catching up fast. KV Racing Technology is going to be strong. The good teams in Champ Car, I think they're damn close to already being there. Race day is a whole different animal." Bobby Rahal on how long it will take the former Champ Car World Series guys to be equals with the Indy Racing League regulars

05/18/08
Can you describe how you’re feeling now of getting bumped?: “No. It’s not possible. I feel terrible for me, for my sponsors, for the team. The only thing that makes me feel good is that we tried until the end. We tried as hard as we could. And that’s the only thing that makes me feel good. We gave it our best effort. At the end, we just trimmed the car out, and the car didn’t take that downforce, and I just lost it." (About team): “It’s a great team. I think it’s the best team out there. We’ve been together since we’ve started the year, and they’ve done a fantastic job. I feel terrible I could not qualify for this race." Mario Dominguez, Pacific Coast Motorsports, IndyCar driver

"One thing we're looking forward to is winning this [Indy 500] race. There are other races, and God knows eight championships is nothing to be sneezed at, but we'll be there one of these days. I may be someplace else watching from above, but we're going to win this son of a bitch one way or the other." Paul L. Newman, co-owner, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing IndyCar team. Newman/Haas drivers have led 791 laps at Indianapolis, but have never been to victory lane.

"The 'I am Indy' decals are being replaced with the new Gene Simmons slogan, 'I am Indecent'." Robin Miller, Open Wheel Racing Analyst commenting on IRL spokesman Gene Simmons' sex tape

“The key to the victory was the race strategy. They brought me in during the second yellow and put me out of sequence so I had a clear run to the end. I was pushing quite a lot. It was hard because I couldn’t see the other people from the P2 class so all I had was the split time on my dash and I knew I just had to keep pushing." Timo Bernhard, Penske Racing, winner, along with teammate Romain Dumas, Utah Grand Prix ALMS race

“I certainly feel like a rookie again. There are so many aspects to this type of racing that we have been trying to get acquainted with. Team ownership and everything else that goes along with this program has been a big challenge and something I am enjoying very much." Gil de Ferran, de Ferran Motorsports owner and driver, ALMS, comments on preparing to make his ALMS debut

“I’ll just be straight up – I don’t like it. I don’t like the qualifying format at all. I personally feel like us as drivers we hang our tail out there. Qualifying is meant to hang your (tail) out. I just did that Saturday and I felt great about it but missed the top 11 by 15-100ths of a second. Now, I have to go do it all over again. I don’t think the fans got any enjoyment out of having just 11 cars put in that field. I don’t think the fans got any enjoyment out of Ed Carpenter bumping Davey Hamilton out. There were no cheers. I do think it is exciting to get three opportunities for the pole. But I bet you if there was a rule where if you qualified and took your time for that race, there would have been 20-25 cars in the race right now. Now, the guys in that top 11 can do 100 percent race setups while we still have to do qualifying runs and change setups." Davey Hamilton, Vision Racing, IndyCar driver, commenting on the new qualifying format introduced in 2005, partly because of the low number of cars entered in the Indy 500 in the days before unification of the IndyCar and Champ Car Series.

“It’s nice to get in. I think I’ve gained a lot more respect for this circuit than I had before. You never really realize how hard it is here. Everyone always talks about how every single corner is different, and I tell you what, they really are." Graham Rahal, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, IndyCar driver

“The first three days were pretty wind-free, to be honest. But then yesterday just out on an out lap, bam, it catches you out, and you don’t know what you did wrong. You think ‘what did I do wrong?’ which makes it really bad for your confidence. You’re thinking: ‘OK, the guys just fixed the car. Well, I could go out tomorrow and do exactly the same thing’ because the conditions are changing from lap to lap and it’s so easy to end up in the wall." Will Power, KV Racing Technology, IndyCar driver