Helio Castroneves (No.3 Team Penske, pole winner):
“Just to be here right now is awesome. I have to say that without this crowd here, without the support of the fans, there was no way I could have gotten through what I did.”
About pressure of qualifying:
“It’s not over yet. There’s still an hour and a half left. I hope they take it easy on the beer because I might want to drink one later on.”
About withdrawing qualified run and re-qualifying:
“Yes, it was a gamble, a big gamble. But we took a chance, and it paid off. But now that we’re (on the pole), that’s where the rest of them want to be, so it will be nerve-wracking for an hour and a half.”
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About the conditions:
“It was magic the way the sun came out. Now I hope it is magic for me.”
Ryan Briscoe (No.6 Team Penske, second):
“I thought I was going to have a shot at the pole then and just couldn’t get it done. We tried. You can’t say we didn’t try. We knew we had speed. I didn’t go as fast as I was expecting. I felt confident that I was going to be able to at least defend my position. And I really thought I had a shot at getting the pole, but it didn’t work out. I think the track got quicker. When we went into that qualifying run, I would have liked to have had a couple more practice runs. I knew I had a fast car, and I knew I was going to have a shot at it. So far, the Team Penske cars are looking pretty good. We’ve been solid all month. We tried to go out and get (the pole) back, but we couldn’t get it done at the end of the day. It was just an unbelievable qualifying run by Helio (Castroneves) and Team Penske. He must be on top of the world at the moment. But I tell you, for me, second place at the Indy 500, second front row in a row, it’s a great feeling, and I’m just so happy to be here. I know I’ve got a good car going into this race in a couple of weeks, and I just hope we can have a solid run, be at the front all day long and have a shot a winning this 500.”
Dario Franchitti (No.10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, third):
“I’m a little sorry we didn’t get the pole. We are still on the front row. We made the best of what we had in the Target car. Everybody here wants to beat Penske, but you’re fighting against AGR. And you have Newman/Haas/Lanigan. There are more and more teams coming out. The competition level is getting tougher and tougher. It’s great for the fans. We knew we didn’t have the pole speed. It was a pretty nerve-wracking. We were really concerned somebody would knock us off the front row. We went out and did seven practice runs. And on each of those runs, you are pushing it to the limit. It was a long day. It was fantastic being back and driving the car around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It puts a smile on my face every time.”
Graham Rahal (No.02 McDonald’s Racing Team, fourth):
“We knew that before (on first qualifying attempt) we weren’t quite trimmed out, and there is probably still a little room to go even now, but we needed to go out there and give it another shot. We were completely legal, but there were some things that we felt we needed to improve on. Basically we felt we needed to go back out, so we gave the McDonald’s car another shot, and it turned out even better than the first time and we ended up gaining two spots because right before we made our second run we were sixth. So we’re pretty happy with fourth. We had one practice run before our second attempt, and it was a little bit quicker, so we decided to trim a little more. But when we went out, we had a gearbox problem and it was 5 p. m., and people were starting to get in line, so it was a little tense. The McDonald’s guys changed the gearbox in pit lane, and we had to make our qualifying run without a practice lap because of the time. They did a great job fixing everything so quickly, and I was able to go out and put it on the second row. I would rather start from the inside of the second row than the outside of the front row, so I’m pretty happy with how the day ended for the McDonald’s team.”
Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, fifth):
“It was a bit of a frustrating day. It wasn’t terrible. The car was consistent; we just didn’t have the speed. The car has a little shine on speed now and then. Qualifying fifth is a further back than we thought we would be. We know that anything can happen here. At least the pole gives you bragging rights for a couple of weeks. We did it last year, but this was a tough day for us. They (Team Penske) are a bit ahead of us. They have been since day one. The race will be different; that’s the one that has a different pay check. Our first attempt was not very good. We gained a little bit later, but we got beat by Rahal. The conditions were fairly decent late. The wind had died down. It was one of those days when you try and chase the conditions and see what happens.”
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Tony Kanaan (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven, sixth):
After first qualifying run:
About his multi-colored car:
“It’s Hideki’s tub with parts off of my other car. Yesterday afternoon, we found out that the 11 car wasn’t fast enough, and we didn’t know why, so we just decided to change everything. We changed engines. We changed the gearbox. We changed chassis, and we did go 2 miles an hour quicker. What it is? We don’t know. We’ll find out this next week and try to see what really went wrong with that car. Definitely, we’re not winning a beauty contest today. I’ve got to thank all of my guys for their effort in putting this car together. Whatever it takes: We’re never going to give up, especially at this place. You really only need one good day here, and it’s not today. It’s Indianapolis all over again. All the drama and everything; it’s so unpredictable. Today is really just the beginning. There are so many things that can happen between now and May 24, so there is no reason to be happy or upset right now. There are some people in better shape than others, but this place hasn’t chosen a winner yet.”
After second qualifying run:
“We were down 8/10ths of a pound. Those are the rules. It’s our mistake - not even a mistake. How can you blame somebody? The guys worked so hard all night long. The car was a little light, so we had to do it again. I have to thank the IndyCar for doing me a favor because I don’t think I would have gone out again. I think I’m getting too old for this, so I am not going to go out there again. I came back out, and the track was better. The wind has died down. I was happy with my run before. Unfortunately, we were underweight a little bit. It’s Indy. Nothing came easy for me. I wasn’t expecting to have an easy day. We’re pretty pleased. I just kept my focus. I wasn’t angry. I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t unhappy. That’s what I get paid to do. That’s where I have the most amount of fun - inside the car. Qualifying the first day for us, at this point, it was almost a miracle for us. Last night I saw (my son) in the computer and when I opened the camera he said, “Daddy, go fast. ” I tried. I went faster than I went yesterday, for sure.”
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Mario Moraes (No. 5 KV Racing Technology/Votorantim, seventh):
“The team did a great job. They put the car together. Just did my part of the job, just driving, and I found some speed on the middle of the test, middle of the qualify. For my second time here, I think it was very good.”
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