Andretti Green Racing drivers Danica Patrick, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Hideki Mutoh qualified today for the Bridgestone Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi.
Patrick, driver of the #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola car and defending race winner, will start in the sixth position. Andretti, driver of the #26 Team Venom Energy car, will start 14th. Mutoh, driver of the #27 Formula Dream entry, will start 22nd after making contact with the outside wall during his qualifying run. Kanaan, driver of the #11 Team 7-Eleven entry, will start from the 23rd position due to a post-qualifying technical penalty.
Danica Patrick, #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Dallara/Honda/Firestone:
“We’re here to win so I’m a little disappointed with where we qualified. On my third lap, instead of downshifting to fifth gear, the car went all the way down to fourth. I’m not sure if it did it by accident or if it was an electrical problem, but I’m sure that affected my last lap. The car has been pretty good. Eddie (Jones), my engineer, has done a great job and we were really strong in the last practice session before qualifying and made great progress. The entire #7 crew has been working hard and I think we’ll be okay for the race.”
Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone:
“I’m not pleased with our qualifying position, but we will make the most out of it. We will need to be smart on the track and during pit stops to make up as much track position as we can.”
Marco Andretti, #26 Team Venom Energy Dallara/Honda/Firestone:
“I’m happy with the race car we have but was expecting the Venom car to start a little higher on the grid. I almost hit the wall coming into turn four on my third lap and that hurt our last lap. Andretti Green normally rolls off the truck pretty strong here so I’m still confident.”
Hideki Mutoh, #27 Formula Dream Dallara/Honda/Firestone:
“I’m a bit sore but I’m okay. I have a great setup and we have a good strategy so I am looking forward to the race. I will do my best to move up to the front and finish the race with a smile.”
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