Dario Franchitti (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, winner Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma):
“It was a good weekend for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. The Target cars were pretty good. On the red Firestone tires they were very good. Qualifying up front allowed us to control the pace of the race and go just as fast as we used to go and that really helped us.”
Ryan Briscoe (No. 6 Team Penske, finished second):
“I got into a pretty big deal with Dario’s (Franchitti) rear wing there today. That was pretty much the story of my race. I was pretty conservative on the fuel during that first stint and I actually thought I was going to be able to get him (Franchitti) by going a lap further and I was surprised to see that he went a lap further than me. That’s something we need to work on for this track, fuel mileage, but the Team Penske car was pretty good today. I think if I would have had clean air I would have been quicker than Dario (Franchitti). With dirty air there wasn’t much I could do. Unfortunately, it is a really tough track to pass on if the guy in front of you doesn’t make mistakes. I don’t think that Dario (Franchitti) made one today, but congratulations to him and his team. Team Penske did an awesome job and had great pit stops. We’re leading the championship so hopefully we can hang onto it.”
Mike Conway (No. 24 Tran Systems/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, finished third):
“Yeah, it was good. In the beginning, we got hit from behind and I got a puncture in my rear tire. I thought my race was finished. I just kept pushing all the way and just kept moving forward, and I kept setting quick times. Towards the end, I knew I might be able to get past the guys in front. The Tran Systems car was really good today. If we had a few more laps, it would have been interesting to see if I could get past those guys.”
Mario Moraes (No. 5 Azul Tequila/Votorantim/KVRT, finished fourth):
“The last two weeks have been really tough for me, but it felt good to get back into the car and have a good race. The KV Racing Technology team did a great job today, in fact, for the whole weekend. In qualifying, we had a little problem, but we went back to our original plan. In morning warmup, we thought the No. 5 Azul/Votorantim car was fast, and I think moving up 10 places in the race today proved it. I would like to thank the whole KVRT crew again for everything and also the fans for all the support over the last two weeks.”
Hideki Mutoh (#27 Formula Dream, finished fifth):
“If I was able to keep the third position, it would’ve been a great finish, but the Formula Dream car was fantastic. Our pit stop was great, as well, so we were able to pass Helio. I really would like to thank all the Andretti Green people for their great support and the fans here. I enjoyed the race today, and am looking forward to next week’s race at Chicagoland.”
Oriol Servia (No. 06 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, finished sixth):
“The weekend started as bad as it could, which was not running in the only practice session before qualifying. But the car was good and I started to feel more comfortable with the track in the morning warmup and we were fifth fastest. It was just a matter of getting some clear laps to prepare. I knew we had a car to go fast. We saved a lot of fuel at the beginning which gave us an extra two or three laps on others and when they pitted we pushed and made up track position. For some reason I had a feeling that the start was going to be messy and it was; I don’t even know what happened. I just saw (car) parts and more parts flying in the air. There was a moment where I could have been a little more aggressive but you never know where the cars are going to be coming from. I’m happy no one touched us and we gained a lot of spots. Its always exciting racing with Justin; we’ve been racing together many years and its always as hard and fair as it gets. The proof of that is that he made a couple of over-optimistic maneuvers but he still managed not to wreck me or himself. It’s what you expect from a real racer. I was on blacks (Firestone standard tires) and everyone was on reds so I was sliding all over the place, more than them. But the car was great and I was able to keep ahead of Justin. It’s always exciting to come from the back and finish sixth. When you are that close to the front you always want more and you get a little hungrier. Considering how the weekend started and our starting position I think we should be pretty happy. It should be a good morale boost for the next couple of races and hopefully we’re going to be at the front. I want to thank Carl (Haas), Berni (Bernadette Haas) and Mike (Lanigan) for the opportunity to race here. I enjoyed it.”
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