Firestone Indy Light: Post-Race Notes And Quotes
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Sep 08, 2008
Ron McQueeney/IMS
Arie Luyendyk Jr (No. 26 Targus/Automatic Fire Sprinklers, first): “It was perfect. This is a dream scenario – me winning the race and Rafa (Matos) winning the championship. It’s more than words can describe. Green, white, checkered is always nerve-wracking. We got a good restart, thank God, and Rafa and I worked beautifully today. Ana (Beatriz) was definitely a tough competitor. She was the one I was worried about. My Firestone tires held up beautifully, it was amazing. The car was so consistent from Lap 1 to the end. I made a lot of adjustments in the car. AGR/AFS, Targus, my sponsor, everyone helped out. It was just a beautiful weekend.”
Ana Beatriz (No. 20 Healthy Choice/Sam Schmidt Motorsports, second): ”It was really hard to pass the AFS guys, they were really, really fast. They were working together, which was really tough. I tried to stay behind them. When Arie (Luyendyk Jr. ) made his move, I was able to stay with him and get that second position. It was very good, finishing on the podium in second place. I am very grateful to Healthy Choice and all of the people who have helped me throughout the season. I believe we’re going to stay in the Firestone Indy Lights for one more year and fight for the championship from the beginning of the season. I am stronger and have more experience right now, and I’m hopeful that we can do well.”
Bobby Wilson (No. 15 National Guard Delphi, fourth): ”I have to give it to the guys; they’re a well-oiled machine at Panther Racing. Their attention to detail is impeccable, and they gave me a good car to run up front. I started 12th and kept working forward and working forward.”
James Davison (No. 11 Lifelock/Sam Schmidt Motorsports, fifth): ”We got as high as fourth on two occasions, and P5 is the car we had today. It was an unusual race up front with the single-file drafting, and if you ever tried to make it two-wide and stay there, you’d lose momentum on the outside and then you’d get passed.”
Raphael Matos (No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers, third & series champion): “It was the best third-place finish of my life. We had a plan today for me to win the championship and Arie (Luyendyk Jr. ) to win the race. He really deserved to win a race this year, and it worked perfectly for us. I’m very happy for him, and I’m really happy for the AFS Racing/Andretti Green Racing team. They deserve this championship as much as I do. “ (Did they tell you that Antinucci had trouble): “Yes, they did. I told them not to drink the champagne before we finished the race.”
Richard Antinucci (No. 7 Lucas Oil/Sam Schmidt Motorsports, championship runner-up): ”I need to see the video but the No. 4 car did not hold a consistent line throughout the corner. We were actually banging wheels up the straight. I think he and his teammate were going through the world final championships on Lap 12. I was just trying to hold on to the philosphy of being cool and hanging back. If you look at where (Logan) Gomez is right now and we were working together, I don’t know if the other car had dipped or something. I think I had moved up to sixth on that pass, that double pass. I was on the outside, I had the momentum and I had the tow to pass him. We banged wheels on the straight, which shocked me. I think he wiggled, washed out and washed up and clipped my rear tire. “ (About the championship) “It’s a bitter pill to swallow, losing it at the last round. But, ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ don’t take you anywhere. So there’s no point. I believe we could have potentially been 120 points down the road, but that’s not important today. We managed to finish second. I had a great year overall. I have to thank my Lucas Oil LifeLock Sam Schmidt Motorsports group tremendously because they helped me. We had a chance. We led most of the year, but not when it counted unfortunately.”
