Raphael Matos (No. 2 US Air Force Luczo Dragon Racing, qualified 12th):
That was a fast run:
“Yeah, I was a little bit surprised, but we did a qualifying simulation during the five minutes before qualifying started, and we made a few adjustments in the car for the qualifying run and found almost half a mile an hour. So I’m extremely happy for the Air Force Luczo Dragon team. The whole crew did an amazing job. Let’s go racing.”
This is a big boost for this team:
“The team has spent a lot of time working the car over in the winter. Unfortunately, we didn’t qualify yesterday, but we did put in a great effort today. We were impressed with our speed, and hopefully we’ll have a fast car for the race.”
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Question: Can you play the “what if” game - if you posted this speed yesterday you’d be in Row 3?
Matos: “Yeah, but it’s hard to compare like that because the conditions were definitely worse. It doesn’t matter because we made a change in the car overnight and the change worked, and that’s what counts.”
Paul Tracy (No. 15 GEICO/KV Racing Technology, 13th):
“I’m not really happy with the laps we qualified on, so I’m disappointed. But we’re just out of miles and need to get some full-tank running in. We wanted to be in the 223s today. We achieved that on the first lap, then started sliding the front tire with a tail wind in Turn 1, and then it kind of fell off. The last couple of laps I just couldn’t get the speed out of it. The race is a long race, and we’ve got an OK starting position. We’re starting in mid-pack, and we’ll go from there. A lot of things can happen in a 500-mile race. It’s three times longer than any other race in the series, and a lap can change over the course of the race. You work on that car until the end of the race to get it competitive.”
Vitor Miera (No. 14 ABC Supply Co. AJ Foyt Racing, 14th):
“The main thing was getting in the show today. That’s more important than the position you qualified for today. If we are in the race, we don’t have to worry about that anymore. We can start working on the balance of the car. The weather was better today and that helped, but so did a lot of changes that we made. We came back to basics a little bit, and it worked. We got the speed we were looking for on a day like this, but yesterday is where we really wanted to be. Our starting position was secondary to the priority of getting qualified today. Now we have a whole week to think about the race.”
Justin Wilson (No. 18 Z-Line Designs, 15th):
“I really enjoyed being out there. The car was working well, and Dale Coyne Racing had the car to where it was comfortable and fun to drive. Each time we went out this weekend, we were quicker. Things really worked out. It was fun to drive today. The run was fairly straightforward. I noticed straightaway that I had more push than I was expecting. I kept playing with the roll bars and weight jacker to cancel out the understeer. It usually gets worse lap after lap, and I was canceling that out with my adjustments. The more laps in the car, the more I enjoy this place and you appreciate what it’s about. Every time I came out of the corners, I had a big grin on may face. Now is the time to begin getting ready for the race, to get everything as perfect as we can and go do some race setups with full (fuel) tanks and long runs.”
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Hideki Mutoh (No. 27 Formula Dream, 16th):
“I’m glad to be done qualifying and to get the chance to work on race setup. The track today was much calmer than yesterday and we were able to run some practice laps later in the day. The car felt good, and I’m looking forward to the chance to work on making chances and finding an even better car for the race.”
Ed Carpenter (No. 20 Menards/Vision Racing, 17th):
“I’m happy to be qualified finally. It’s such a stressful process, and my stomach gets all knotted up. I’m just happy to be in the race for Menards, Johns Manville, Lilly and William Rast, who support our efforts every day. Of course I would have liked to be sitting 11th or 12th, but at the end of the day just getting in the show really is enough. I was more upset yesterday than I am today, and I’m starting a little further back, so it’s all relative and amazing what a difference a day can make. I think today was much better conditions for qualifying, not as windy, nice cool temperature, sunny and the humidity is down, motors are running better, conditions that favor quicker times for us. Out of Turn 2, the car was kind of taking off, and I ran a little higher than I’d like, but it was a combination of being light on downforce, not having much grip left on the table, just a little wind blowing the car out of Turn 2.”
Dan Wheldon (No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing, 18th):
“It’s been difficult, so far. We have an imbalance in the car, and certainly, the No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing team did a good job to get the car back together after yesterday. But we’re just missing a little bit. By the same token, I think if we work hard, we can hopefully fix it. The team is certainly good enough to do that. It’s just made for a very challenging opening few days. Obviously, with the problem that we have, having less downforce for a qualifying trim kind of accentuates that. But if you’re going to win this race, you have to feel like you have a very good balance and you feel 100 percent comfortable in the car.”
Question: Do you feel you have a car capable of winning the race?
Wheldon: “Not right now, but that’s what this month is all about. It’s a very challenging month, and there’s a lot of highs and lows. That’s what Indianapolis is all about. It’s a tough month, and it can be very hard. But it can also be very rewarding.”
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Question: Adversity only makes you stronger, right?
Wheldon: “I feel like I’m getting very strong this year. I prefer to be weaker and not worry about these points. But, you know, it’s just part of it. We’re going to continue to work harder. This team is certainly good enough to figure it out. It just hasn’t gone our way so far. That’s not to say that it’s not going to go our way, by any stretch.”
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