CHEVROLET RACING
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO
MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
AUGUST 3, 2014
POST RACE TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES:
SCOTT DIXON, NO. 9 TARGET CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, RACE WINNER: WE KNEW THE CAR WAS FAST, BUT STARTING LAST, WAS THERE ANY CHANCE YOU WOULD END UP HERE IN VICTORY LANE? “You can’t underestimate anything and our race was going so poor from the start that we tried to switch strategies a couple times but the guys kept going. Yes, we got a little lucky with that caution but I kept asking the team, Mike and Eric and all the guys that had to call those shots. The fuel number was extremely close, but we still had the speed. I am very happy for the Target team but bummed out because of TK on that first lap incident there. But a huge weekend here in Mid-Ohio and a big thanks to all the fans for coming out even in a bit of bad weather. But man it feels good to be back here in victory lane for sure.”
DID YOU RUN OUT OF FUEL HERE IN TURN ONE? “Actually Mike (Hull) said you might want to stop because it will be a long walk if you try to get around. So we didn’t run out of fuel right there, but we did come a little closer to running out than we thought. I was trying to be conservative even with the lap times to make sure we were good with the competition but the fuel light came on a little earlier than we expected. Luckily we had saved a little more than we needed to.”
ON HIS WEEKEND: “Not the best start to the weekend for the Target team after being so good here the last several years, but we’ll take the end result. When you start in the back of the pack and have to hope for the right strategy and the luck to go your way on yellow flags, it can make for a long day. We went off sequence early and led for a while around the halfway point, then got the lead again on the last stint. I had to save some fuel and manage the gap on the last stint, but the No. 9 Target Chevrolet held on and we were able to increase the lead by quite a bit. It feels good to finally get a win this season and I couldn’t be more proud of the Team Target guys. We’ll carry this momentum into Milwaukee and hopefully come away with similar results.”
CHIP GANASSI, WINNING TEAM OWNER: WHAT A GREAT JOB BY THIS TEAM: “The entire team did a great job. My hats off to them. Eric Pressman, Julian Robertson, Mike Hull, crew chiefs, car chiefs, they all did a great job. We had a couple close ones there in Iowa and Pocono and finally came through there. I want to thank Chevrolet for some great engines and I am very happy for everyone here today.”
MIKE HULL, MANAGING DIRECTION, CHIP GANASSI RACING: YOU HAD ONE CHANCE TO MAKE IT WORK AND YOU GUYS DID IT: “The door opens once for us and it opened wide open for us where there was a lot of landscape we could use on red tires. So I figured we had to do it and we had a guy that can run fast laps at the end as you saw, and still make fuel. We ran out right there at the Verizon bridge in the Target Chevy. How is that for getting all that in there? Very happy about today, thank you.”
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 11 TEAM MISTIC KVSH RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 2ND: CAUTION FLAG, BLACK TIRES, YOU GOT A LITTLE OUT OF SYNC THERE AT THE END OF THE RACE: “Yes, we got a little unlucky on that one obviously. The team wanted to go straight to blacks on the first pit stop, and I thought maybe it was a bit early. A lot of guys did go on reds as well on the first pit stop. It was the right choice until the yellow came out, and then we had to do the restart on a green track with black tires. That was tough. Hats off to Dixie (Scott Dixon) and the (Chip) Ganassi guys. We didn’t have anything for them. They were clearly the class of the field and deserve it. It is a one-two for Chevy so I couldn’t be any happier with the Mistic boys. We will keep rolling!”
YOU CAME IN SECOND AFTER DIXON’S MIRACULOUS FUEL STRATEGY, IS THERE ANYTHING MORE YOU COULD HAVE DONE? “There is no miracle there. They (Scott Dixon, No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet)were just the class of the field today. He made an incredible fuel mileage run, holding the same pace that we were and maybe even a little quicker. So hats off to the Target Chip Ganassi team. We had nothing for these guys and we probably had nothing for Hinch (James Hinchcliffe) either, but we made it stick. What a solid run, we just didn’t have it today but really happy for the Mistic crew. We keep digging and we keep learning and we’ll get it right.”
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 6TH: “Proud of the Verizon Chevy boys today. We didn’t quite have the pace on the red tires that we wanted, but it was as good as we could do. As far as the standings go, we have a small lead but the key from here on out is to finish ahead of the other guys week in and week out. If we can do that, we will be in good shape to challenge for the Verizon IndyCar Championship.”
CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 83 NOVOLOG FLEXPEN CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 7TH: “Not the best start to the weekend for the Target team after being so good here the last several years, but we’ll take the end result. When you start in the back of the pack and have to hope for the right strategy and the luck to go your way on yellow flags, it can make for a long day. We went off sequence early and led for a while around the halfway point, then got the lead again on the last stint. I had to save some fuel and manage the gap on the last stint, but the No. 9 Target Chevrolet held on and we were able to increase the lead by quite a bit. It feels good to finally get a win this season and I couldn’t be more proud of the Team Target guys. We’ll carry this momentum into Milwaukee and hopefully come away with similar results.”
RYAN BRISCOE, NO. 8 NTT DATA CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 8TH: “It feels good to get back up there with a top-10 result after a few disappointing finishes and I couldn’t be happier for Dixie and the Team Target guys. We had some issues early in the race with the front wing after the incident with Tony and Marco on the first lap and we decided to stay out on the damaged wing for a while longer. We finally came in and changed it and then worked really hard to move through the field from the back. The No. 8 NTT DATA Chevrolet made some awesome passes to get up there and the team did a great job getting me back out there after the wing change. I still think NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing is knocking on the door of a win, so we’ll keep our heads down and get ready for Milwaukee.”
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 2 HAWK TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 11TH: “The No. 2 Hawk Performance Chevy had really good pace. Unfortunately we got into that incident on the first lap and broke the front wing. We lost a few spots coming down pit road for repairs, but I wasn’t too concerned about that. We were ahead of (Scott) Dixon (race winner) and driving away from him, so we had a really good car. I don’t think we were an 11th-place car at all, so it’s disappointing when you don’t finish where you should. We just had to alter our strategy too much after pitting so early for a new front wing. It turned into more of a fuel mileage race for us and that meant we couldn’t really push the car on the red tires. It’s unfortunate but we will regroup and go to Milwaukee.”
MIKE CONWAY, NO. 20 FUZZY’S PREMIUM ULTRA VODKA ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 13TH: “I got a good start but I was forced to the outside with the crash there. I had to avoid it and went on the grass and when I came back on the track I think I tagged the back of Ryan Briscoe. That bent the front wing. So we struggled with that most of the race. We kept adding front wing to see if it would help. It was hard to tell how the strategies were playing out and I was just pushing hard to the end. It was a tough day as it can be at Mid-Ohio. It was hard to move forward throughout the day. The first stint the track just didn’t have much grip at all and that made it hard. We tried the black (Firestone harder) tires to see if things would improve. But it was much better. Now we just have to gear up for the Sonoma track later this month. It’s a track I really like.”
HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 19TH: ““Man I hate it for all the guys on the No. 3 Hitachi Chevy team. At first, I thought the throttle issue was a quick fix because as soon as they started the car for ‘gentlemen, start your engines’ I knew there was something wrong. Then, during the parade laps, I noticed that it was stuck. That could be a big problem and cause a big crash. When we came back down pit road we figured out it was a bigger problem. There was just a bit of a mistake in our fuel mapping. It was a tough race, knowing that I was on a lap by myself the entire time. We will just to rebound from this. We might have been knocked down but we will get back up. On to Milwaukee!”
SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA, NO. 17 AUTOMATIC FIRE SPRINKLERS KV AFS RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 20TH: “What an unfortunate situation. The entire No. 17 KV AFS Racing crew has put a huge amount of effort in this weekend and it’s just unbelievable that this situation has happened. Somehow we need to get out of this run of bad luck we have been having. We have the car, we have the mentality and we just need to find a way to show it. We will move on and look forward to a good weekend in Milwaukee in a couple of weeks.”
TONY KANAAN, NO. 10 GLAD TARGET CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 21ST: ““I went on the inside of Newgarden and it was really tight for both of us and I don’t know if he saw me or not. I was all the way alongside him and then toward the middle of the corner he was actually a little bit ahead, so there was contact there and he touched my front wheel and I spun. I was in a tough position there. Marco didn’t see me unfortunately and I feel bad for Marco, and I feel bad for the Target Chip Ganassi Racing boys. We had such a great streak of podiums and this was going to be a great race but it’s just one of those things.”