BERTRAND BAGUETTE (No. 30 The RACB/Aspria RLL Special):
“We could have weather like this in qualifying or on Race Day, so you have to be able to run in it. The car was moving around out there with the wind, but it wasn’t that tough. I like what we are doing with the car and with our plan, and I think we are getting there. I think it was another good day for us. We keep improving the car with every change, so we are headed the right way.”
RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6 IZOD Team Penske):
“It felt great to be back on track today. We took out our primary No. 6 IZOD Team Penske car for practice, and it felt very comfortable out there. It’s nice to be in the 225 bracket. We’ll keep chipping away at it for the rest of the week and get ready for qualifying on Saturday.”
WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske):
“We did limited running again today in the Verizon Team Penske car. We’re just trying to use our miles wisely. We worked on some race setup today, and the car feels good. We still have plenty of time on track this week before we qualify on Saturday, and we plan to make the most of it.”
HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Shell V-Power/Pennzoil Ultra Team Penske):
“It was a good day today in the Shell V-Power Pennzoil Ultra car. We got a chance to run side-by-side with Will (Power), and we were pretty happy with the car. We stuck with our plan to run the primary car. Hopefully tomorrow the weather cooperates, and we’ll continue to work hard and get ready for qualifying.”
JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 06 Sprott Newman/Haas Racing):
“Today the focus was on trying to run more laps in traffic and the Sprott team managed to accomplish that. It was sort of tough to find guys out there so we had to do a little collaboration and planning with a few different guys and did find some guys out there. I definitely got some good running in with Oriol. We staged some laps in front of each other, and behind each other and it was good; that’s a big thing for me to learn. You only have to do four laps to qualify but you have to do 200 in the race with a lot of other cars around you. I think we got a lot accomplished and certainly, from just my perspective, I learned a lot and gained some valuable experience. I think we will carry on with this for the next couple of days and then closer to qualifying, look more into the qualifying setup. The car felt great in traffic. It was a lot more fun running out there with other guys than just pounding around by yourself. Again, it’s sort of similar to the Lights car. I think the experience in the Lights car was certainly very valuable but there is no doubt that the racing is a lot different once you’re going 35 mph faster. It will be an interesting race, there’s no doubt. I just look forward to getting more laps under my belt and over the week and running in more packs, and bigger packs.”
ORIOL SERVIA (No. 2 Telemundo Newman/Haas Racing):
“The day went well for the Telemundo team. It was very cold, colder than we think it will be for Race Day. We had a good run. We went through our test plan, and we ran well. I got my fast lap with a tow, so the time isn’t very representative. But I have to say, tow or no tow, downforce or no downforce, it’s the first time I am in the top five at the end of the day in Indy, so it feels good. I’m happy with the Telemundo car so far. We’re still not where we want to be, but it is really the first test day we have had to try new things. We are happy with where we are, progress-wise.”
TOMAS SCHECKTER (No. 07 Team REDLINE Xtreme - Circle K):
“Yesterday’s session was canceled because of rain, so it felt good to be back in the 07 Team REDLINE Xtreme car working through our program. However, we had a small mechanical issue, which is fixable, but that ended my day very early. I am looking forward to getting back on track tomorrow.”
VITOR MEIRA (No. 14 ABC Supply Co A.J. Foyt Racing):
“It was good. I think we evolved a little bit from where we were on Saturday when we last ran. I think the ABC Supply car is competitive, but it’s hard to tell exactly how competitive we are at this point. The car is good, but we’ll be able to tell how good later in the week when we really start dropping the hammer, as will everyone else. In preparation for that, today was a good day.”
BRUNO JUNQUEIRA (No. 41 A.J. Foyt Racing):
“It was an exciting day. The second lap, the engine cover fell off, but my team did a good job to replace it and get me out for some laps at the end of the day. It felt OK. I think the balance is good. We need to work a little more to get more straight-line speed.”
RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 Team DHL/Sun Drop Citrus Soda):
“We just didn’t get a lot of track time today. We were trying some big stuff with the DHL/Sun Drop car, so we’ll see. We’ll get our heads together on it - the whole team - and we’ll figure it out from there. Today is just the tip of the iceberg; there is a lot of week left.”
ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 77 Bowers &Wilkins/Sam Schmidt Motorsports):
“It was the not the best conditions that we have seen in Indy, but it was OK. We didn’t run on the first day and Sunday was raining, so today was the first opportunity for us to run. Thanks to the boys; they did a fantastic job preparing an amazing car. It is early in the week, but it is quite nice to show that the Bowers & Wilkins car is strong for an Indy run. When we came here last year, we didn’t know what to expect. We came in apprehensive because it’s a very tough place to get it right and very difficult to win. Obviously, we had some speed, and it worked out quite well last year. We build from it. We had a chance in 2010 to develop a good base and in the winter, the guys worked really hard on the car and cleaned it up a bit and always paid attention to details. That’s what this place wants, and it’s nice to start the week with a car that’s quite strong. Hopefully we can build on it. You can never take anything for granted at this place. We have to stay on our toes all week and roll the car out for qualifying and hope for the best.”
MIKE CONWAY (No. 27 Hire Heroes USA/7-Eleven/Dr Pepper):
“We were just trying to get the Hire Heroes car more comfortable through Turn 1. We tried a few things but didn’t really sort it out. We just need to look at all the data tonight and figure out how we can move forward. I think our teammates tried a few different things, so hopefully we can figure out some good things for tomorrow.”
MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Team Venom):
“We spent a lot of time today with the Venom car working on the race car, and we’re getting to where it feels pretty good. But right now I’m a little worried about our speed. I think that if we had qualified today, we might have ended up on the bubble. So we’ll put our heads together tonight, have a think on it and then hit it hard again tomorrow.”
SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA (No. 34 Conquest Racing):
“It was a very productive day. We did an amazing amount of changes on the development side of the car. We found exactly what we were looking for. We focused mainly on finding the right balance of the car first. Once we got there, we started taking a lot of downforce off, and that really paid off. I’m really happy how it turned out. It’s still very early in the week, so we are still very conservative. As the week progresses, we’ll start to push it a little bit harder. But today was exactly how we wanted the week of Indianapolis 500 practice to start.”
TONY KANAAN (No. 82 GEICO - KV Racing Technology - Lotus):
“Today was a normal Monday at the Speedway. We tried different things and worked on the setup to get comfortable with the car. We’re making what I like to call the ‘cookbook’ so by the end of the week, we’ll look which dish we want to cook, and hopefully it will be a good one.”
TAKUMA SATO (No. 5 KV Racing Technology - Lotus):
“It was a windy day, but the weather was clear and consistent, so it didn’t have an effect on our program. We made steady progress throughout the day, and I am getting more comfortable each time I go out on track. It was a very productive day.”
E.J. VISO (No. 59 PDVSA - KV Racing Technology - Lotus):
“Today was our second day on track, and we accomplished everything we had planned for the day. We did a lot of research into the dampers and we found some valuable data. Basically, with what I did and what the other drivers on the team are doing, we are going to come up with a good package. That is the good thing about having a four-car team and the right way of working. It is always difficult to make comparisons at a place like Indianapolis because teams are working on different things and some drivers are getting tows, but I ran today without a tow so the data we collected is realistic.”
JOHN ANDRETTI (No. 43 Team Window World):
“Windy - that’s one thing you can say about today. I think Team Window World stayed on plan and were cautious about how many sets of tires we’re using. Maybe we didn’t run as much as we wanted, but we learned a lot and made a lot of gains today. It seems like the things we’re trying are working really well. Usually 99 out of the 100 things you try don’t work, but it’s working in our favor right now. I’m looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow.”
PIPPA MANN (No. 36 Conquest Racing):
“Today was just a pretty tough day at the office. I’ve heard from all the veterans that this place can do that to you sometimes, and we definitely just have one of those days. We seemed to spend it chasing our tail a little bit - both literally and figuratively. We’ve still got a minor handling issue but we’re chasing after it, and until we sort that out we just can’t risk going after speed. We also didn’t run with any tows today when we were running fast, so I actually don’t think the lap time is that bad for the amount of aero we had on and the fact that we weren’t in the tow when we did our best lap. We still have the handling niggle, which we do need to fix, but we’re going to make some fairly big changes overnight, and hopefully we can come out stronger in the morning.”
DANICA PATRICK (No. 7 Team GoDaddy):
“I thought we were good on our own today and made a little bit of progress. We just need to stay consistent and find speed. It was a steady day.”
BUDDY RICE (No. 44 Panther Racing):
(On being back at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and his win in 2004): “It’s good. I see the Indiana weather hasn’t changed much. I think on that day (in 2004) with or without the weather, I thought the weather just made it more exciting. It made it a more exciting race. The 2004 race was an exciting day, for sure.” (About last start at Indianapolis, in 2008): “We were in contention for a top five. Obviously, it got a little hairy there on the final restart. We dropped back a ways, and I was able to work my way back up to seventh or eighth. Our car was in contention. It wasn’t too bad. We put ourselves into a hole on the very first pit stop and had to really dig ourselves out of that hole all day. It took all day to get back up there but, yeah, my last run here was good.” (On his day of practice for the 2011 Indianapolis 500 and Panther Racing): “For us at Panther, everything is going good. With myself and JR in the National Guard car, I think we’re progressing. We’re moving along like we should, and I just need to familiarize myself with the team, the car and get rolling. They have solid cars. I mean, their performance the last few years, I think speaks for itself. We know they have a strong, solid oval program, especially here at the Speedway. That’s what made my decision really easy when John (Barnes) called right around Long Beach and started putting everything into motion. So I’m excited to be here. I’m happy to be here. It’s good to be here and gives me an opportunity for a second win. Also, it’s the Centennial. This only comes around once. There are five of us that are previous winners that are running here, and it’s an exciting time to be here right now.” (On his approach to securing an entry in the Indianapolis 500): “I think everybody has their own way of going about it. I wasn’t going to stand around and also, the way the times were and the way things were going, some things had changed. I get paid to drive race cars. That’s my job. That’s what I do. So for me, it took a little bit. I wanted to make sure I came here and had an opportunity to have a good run. When I showed up, I didn’t just want to show up and run. There’s a lot of different things that I wanted to make sure were in place before I just jumped back in.”
DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing):
“It was a good day for the Target team.. We shook down the primary car, which seemed pretty fast. We should run more tomorrow, weather permitting.”
SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing):
“We had a pretty decent day for the Target team. We switched to the primary car today, and it ran smooth. Hope to run a little more tomorrow.”
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