CHEVROLET INDYCAR V6 DRIVER QUOTES – FIRST SESSION QUALIFYING:
 
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: TAKE US THROUGH THE RUN. DID YOU GET THE MOST OUT OF IT?
“I think I got the most out of the run.  The car was a nice balance the whole time.  Very good speed, the right gear and all that type of thing.  Yeah, that is what we need later on is to repeat something like that.  I’m sure that these other guys that are trim will get pretty close to it, but good start.”
 
HOW MUCH TO YOU ANTICIPATE THE CONDITIONS TO CHANGE BETWEEN NOW AND WHEN YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO GO BACK OUT THERE?
“I think if that fast nine is starting at 6:00 pm, it’s only going to get cooler.  Which really drags the car down, so that is going to be the big change.”
 
YOU MAY HAVE FIGURED OUT THE INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
“Well, it’s just qualifying, but definitely had a very nice balance.  A lot of speed and well it’s a good way to start, but hopefully once everyone sees how trimmed you are, they’ll go back and have a look.  Real good balance and we have a shot at the pole.  That is what I’m happy about.”
 
RYAN HUNTER-REAY, NO. 1 DHL ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET: ON SESSION ONE QUALIFYING:  “I think we certainly can be better; we’re working on finding the balance now. We ran so much race trim, we didn’t work on qualifying. It is a good starting point. We’ll see what the times do; see how things progress, then we’ll have to go back out there. But man, even that first round, those last couple of laps, I was definitely holding my breath. The thing was getting a little free. It is difficult qualifying around here when you have a car that is pretty free on exit. The nerves (before qualifying) are actually similar to those before starting the race. Very similar. The nerves of sitting in that line, and the time going by. As Tom Petty said, the waiting is the hardest thing. That is how it is. This place, just kind of heat soaks on you. You have to sit there and think about everything. All the variables bouncing around. We had a good first lap. I’m thankful for that. The Fast Nine should be fun. Will (Power) put up a big number there, so we are all gunning for him.”
 
CARLOS MUÑOZ, NO. 26 UNISTRAW ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET: ON SESSION ONE QUALIFYING: “I am happy. To be in the Fast Nine was my main goal. Probably now we are safe in the nine quickest. I’m really happy with the car. I have a really good car.  I want to thank my team. There is still a ways to go, but I am really happy.”
 
HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 SHELL V-POWER PENNZOIL ULTRA TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: I SAW YOU SMILING. FIST WAS PUMPING WHEN YOU GOT OUT OF THE RACE CAR. WERE YOU PRETTY HAPPY WITH THAT RUN?
“Well it wasn’t fist-pumping. I was congratulating absolutely everyone from the team. The guys did a great job putting everything together. Unfortunately if you did it; but the first lap I went to shift the gears and unfortunately got stuck between gears. So I have to kind of like lift, right on the finish line here, and start all over again. It really hurt a lot of speed. But the Chevy engine power enabled us to recover. So far, so good. Will (Power) certainly is coming and we have three strong cars. Still the Andretti guys. I don’t know what they’re holding but it could be a big surprise out there.”
 
ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET: ON SESSION ONE QUALIFYING: “I think we can make it better. But I’m not sure we can make it a 229 (m.p.h.). That is the part that scares me, and I think Marco (Andretti) is going to be really fast yet. But I think we can get an average of over 228 (m.p.h.) if we can make it a little better. But I’ve known we’ve had speed. We’ve managed to stay out of the tows more than some of the other guys. We have been working on our plan. So, I was expecting to be quick. I am not positive we are locked in, but hopefully we get to go play in the shootout.”
 
A.J. ALLMENDINGER, NO. 2 IZOD TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: ON HIS QUALIFYING: “I have to thank everybody at Team Penske, Will (Power) and Helio (Castroneves) and just Rick Mears, everybody on this race team that bust their butt.  It’s such a fun team to be around.  It’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had when I let myself not be stressed about going out there and performing.  It’s a fun team just to be a part of.  I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to have this chance.  Chevy for all the support they have given me, just everything it’s amazing.”
 
MARCO ANDRETTI, NO. 25 RC COLA ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET: ON SESSION ONE QUALIFYING: “I think there is more in the car. We definitely have to pick up some consistency. I wasn’t pleased with our drop off.  There is going to be more drop-off as temps go up because there is less grip out there.”
 
E.J. VISO, NO. 5 TEAM VENEZUELA PDVSA CITGO ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT HVM CHEVROLET:  DID  THE CAR CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE RUN?
“Yeah we definitely had more understeer than what we predicted.  The wind and the conditions are a little bit tricky as well, it’s pretty humid.  This humidity is affecting the car in a different way than what we expected.  We do have a fast car and we believe if we go for a second shot we know what we need.”
 
JAMES HINCHCLIFFE, NO. 27 GODADDY ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET: QUICK RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE ON THAT FIRST LAP, SLOWED DOWN QUITE A BIT AT THE END OF THAT RUN WHAT HAPPENED?
“Sorry of my Indianapolis isn’t it? You know I’m not sure it’s funny the guys did a great job finding some speed in the car.  That is a good chunk quicker than we ran in practice.  we didn’t think we were the quickest car, but one of the strengths we had in our qualifying sims (simulations) was that we were really consistent.  We had really low drop off.  I’m not sure where that came from.  It’s a bit unfortunate.  Obviously, already lost us a little bit of time and some spots, but maybe something we can look at if we get into the Fast Nine, if there is a Fast Nine. Either way proud of the guys like I said it was a good chunk of speed and hopefully just gets us in the right end of the field and it’s all about Sunday so we’ve got to get ready for that.”
 
JR HILDEBRAND, NO. 4 NATIONAL GUARD PANTHER RACING CHEVROLET: ON SESSION ONE QUALIFYING: “Not exactly what we wanted today. Next weekend is what matters. I think we’ve got a great race car. Being 10th versus ending up seventh or eighth doesn’t make that much difference I don’t think. It’s a bummer because I think we have the speed. I don’t know how close mine and (James) Hinches’ average is, but I’m sure it is pretty close. That is tough because basically until our last lap, I think we were right there, and fell off a little bit too much on the last lap. I think I probably went a little too hard on my first lap, it’s all just little bits and pieces. I’m really happy for the Panther guys, and the National Guard car to be where we are at. Certainly if we can start in the top-12 here, that will do just fine here.”
 
TONY KANAAN, NO. 11 HYDROXYCUT KV RACING TECHNOLOGY SH RACING CHEVROLET:
YOU ARE WELL LIKED HERE IN INDIANAPOLIS:
“It’s unbelievable I mean every time it makes me want to cry.  I mean I wish I could hear them.  It’s like obviously I hear them when I’m out of the car.  It’s unbelievable.  It’s an experience.  If I never win this thing, ever, that is what I will take home.  They make me feel like a winner.”
 
YOU SEEM RESOLVED WITH THE FACT THAT OPPORTUNITY MAY NEVER HAPPEN.  THIS YEAR IT LOOKS LIKE THIS CAR IS SOLID AND THIS TEAM IS POISED FOR VICTORY.  DO YOU EVER LOOK PAST A DAY WHERE YOU MIGHT NOT COME OUT OF HERE WITH A WIN?
“Every year it’s an opportunity. 
So every time I come back here I’m going to try as hard as I can.  So, it might come, it might not.  I can leave with both.  I can leave with my face on the trophy and I can leave with my face not on the trophy.”
 
I BET IT WOULD LOOK A LOT BETTER ON THE TROPHY I’M SURE:
“Some people would disagree with that, but I agree with.”
 
WE WILL SEE ABOUT THE FAST NINE YOU ARE IN THE SHOW WE KNOW THAT. THERE WAS A ROAR THAT WENT OUT AS YOU EXITED PIT ROAD TO GO OUT AND QUALIFY.  GREAT SHOW SO FAR HERE:
“Definitely, I can’t thank you guys enough.  The only reason I come back to this place is for all of you.  You make me proud and unfortunately I cannot hear that inside the car, but I want to make sure we have that because it’s awesome.  I don’t know if we are going to make it to the fast nine, but we beat first, we beat last.  We can win this race for many times.  I want to thank the fans again.  I have a great time and I hope I can put on a good show for you guys, love you.”
TELL US ABOUT THE QUALIFYING EFFORT.  HOW ON EDGE WERE YOU OUT THERE?
“It was close, but we could have been a little bit more on the edge, but fortunately I think we missed a little bit, but we are in the show.  I think we will probably end up in the top 12 I hope.  We can make a good start for the fans on the outside and can enjoy that.  We can pass a few cars and we will lead the right lap this time hopefully.”
 
ORIOL SERVIA, NO. 22 MECUM AUCTIONS PANTHER DREYER AND REINBOLD RACING CHEVROLET: ON SESSION ONE QUALIFYING: “It’s a solid place to start this race. I know we had a faster car than that. We ended up a little conservative on downforce but that’s a gamble you always take here. If it was a normal day without the rain in the morning I would bet we would go out and try to go faster. Being this late in the day, it would be risky if something would go wrong.  We’ll take 13th, we’ll keep working tomorrow on what was already a great racecar yesterday. We’re very, very confident about the race.”
 
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 7 MCAFEE DRAGON RACING CHEVROLET: TELL US ABOUT YOUR QUALIFYING EFFORT HERE: “Overall we have to be happy with the result of the McAfee Variety Chevrolet #7.  It’s never fast enough but it’s well in the field.  We’re P15 and it’s in the show so we won’t have to worry about it tomorrow.  We can practice run and get some more traffic action to get the race car a little closer.  It was a good day overall but it can always be better.  It’s in the show.”
 
TOWNSEND BELL, NO. 60 SUNOCO “TURBO” PANTHER RACING CHEVROLET: HOW WAS THE CAR?
“You know it was great.  The car handles awesome.  We were pretty conservative on downforce just knowing that we wanted to put a solid run in and make sure we were comfortably in the top half hopefully.  The car was awesome; the guys have done a great job.  Of course we would like to be faster, but we will take it and start thinking about race day.”
 
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO, NO. 78 NUCLEAR ENTERGY AREVA KV RACING TECHNOLOGY CHEVROLET:
TALK ABOUT YOUR RUN: “I think we kind of shot ourselves in the foot a little bit by withdrawing our first time. I’m pretty sure we had the speed to be a little bit faster, be even higher up there, but then we picked the wrong gear and that made us a little bit slower, which made everything a little bit more exciting. The race car was really good, but I think there was some more speed in it. I’m just happy to be in the race. Hopefully we can work on the race car for the race from now on so that we have a great race.”
 
SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA, NO. 6 TRUECAR DRAGON RACING CHEVROLET: HOW WAS YOUR QUALIFYING? “It was a very tough day for the #6 guys.  We put so much effort in putting a quick car together and it was just definitely not what we expected.  We went out there with a very balanced car and the speed never came in.  In that way, it’s just being a passenger inside a car that doesn’t pull those two miles that you need.  It’s hard to digest but we need to stay positive and work towards a good race car.  We need to look forward and bring the car home on a good position.”
 
BUDDY LAZIER, NO. 91 LAZIER PARTNERS CHEVROLET:  WHERE DID THIS IDEA COME FROM?  WHO WAS THE FIRST PERSON, WAS IT YOU, WAS IT YOUR FATHER THAT SAID ‘LET’S RUN IN THE 2013 INDY 500’?
“We are here to support the Indy 500.  We love this place as a family.  We just saw an opportunity.  We went after it with some really good friends.  A whole bunch of business men from Colorado, really from all over the country that are good friends.  They are all skiers at our hotel.  It all happened probably in the beginning of April.  It was a last minute operation, the fact that we are running as well as we are I think is really a testament to these guys that have been working day and night.  These are some really big teams here you are competing against and to be able to come out and in really just one day get up to speed.