CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
HONDA INDY OF ALABAMA
BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK (ALABAMA)
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST PRACTICE QUOTES
APRIL 22, 2016
BIRMINGHAM – A total of 10 Team Chevy drivers worked through two rounds of practice in preparation for Saturday’s Firestone Fast Six qualifying to set the field for the Grand Prix of Alabama on Sunday,
There will be an additional practice session Saturday morning at 11:00 CDT a.m. prior to the Firestone Fast Six qualifying set to start at 3:00 p.m. CDT and will be telecast live by NBC Sports Network.
The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama is set to start on Sunday, April 24, at 2 p.m. CDT (3 p.m. EDT) with live television coverage on NBCSN. Live radio coverage will be on XM Radio Channel 209, the INDYCAR Radio Network, and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 212. In addition, Verizon IndyCar Series live timing and scoring with the radio broadcast can be found at indycar.com, indycarradio.com and INDYCAR App on your mobile device.
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES:
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 11 TEAM EUROPA KVSH RACING CHEVROLET: “We came out of the test at Barber in March feeling pretty happy with the EUROPA – KVSH Racing machine. The car was good in the morning session and we made it a little better. In the afternoon, we made some changes and learned some things. The whole field is very close, so you have to stay on top of the changing conditions. We have to keep digging, working hard and hopefully, we can enjoy a good race weekend.”
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: “We changed a few things on the Verizon Chevy for the second practice. So, we got ourselves in the right window and we feel confident for tomorrow. We’re pretty happy with the car and I believe we’re around about where we need to be.”
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 21 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET: “We were better in the second session than in the first! Really, we were too bad in the first session, it was just kind of a strange progression for track temp, tires, and when people were using what. Everyone was kind of jumbled all over the place with some fast guys midfield to the back. I wasn’t too worried about that, I wanted to see where we’d be at in Session 2 and we were a lot better here. We have been good at Barber in the past and we’re back with a great group with the Fuzzy’s crew. I’m pretty happy with where we’re at and feel confident for tomorrow.”
SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 PPG AUTOMOTIVE REFINISH TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 2 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: “We had a good day today. Struggling a bit with understeer in the Verizon Chevy. We definitely made gains on it. I’m usually in the top 10 here and we are right there again. If we can continue to dial the understeer out we will be better. Qualifying is going to be key for us tomorrow so we will go to work on that.”
SCOTT DIXON, NO. 9 TARGET COCA COLA CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET: “It was kind of a slow start today for us. The field is really, really tight. We were working on the balance of the Coke car here at Barber in the morning session. It rained a lot this afternoon and we let the others go out while the track was drying. Overall I think our car is improving but we still have a little way to go to get it where it needs to be for Sunday. I think the frontrunners took tires at the end of the day so we should be up in the mix when it matters.”
TONY KANAAN, NO. 10 NTT DATA CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET: “We had some electrical issues this morning in the first practice so we weren’t able to run near as much as we wanted to. I think we ended up running five or six laps and we had to spend the last 20 minutes trying to fix the issue. The team was able to get everything fixed during the break and we were good to go for the second practice. Thankfully the track dried up after the rain this afternoon and we were able to log some laps and get some solid qualifying runs in. We aren’t completely happy with the qualifying setup but we know what we need to change to run in tomorrow’s morning session and prepare for qualifying tomorrow afternoon.”
HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 AAA INSURANCE TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: “The AAA Insurance Chevrolet wasn’t as consistent as we hoped. Fortunately, we have another practice tomorrow and teammates to get information from. I’m confident we’ll have a good qualifying session tomorrow.”
MAX CHILTON, NO. 8 GALLAGHER CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET: “We spent the morning session working on the Gallagher car and really just tried to get it to my liking. Its kind of floating around there underneath me so we have some work to do. This is one of the few tracks I was able to test at in the pre-season and I know my teammates have gotten some good results here, especially Scott. I hope we can learn from today and move forward to get the car going in the right direction for tomorrow.”
CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 83 NOVO NORDISK CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET: Honestly, today was probably one of the more frustrating days I’ve ever had in an Indy car. We couldn’t find the balance and we really struggled to find grip. We tried a few different things and just went in circles. We need to really look hard tonight and figure out what direction we need to go in for tomorrow’s practice session to prepare for qualifying. I’m very confident in the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing guys and I know we’ll get it figured out, but it just kind of feels like we’re chasing our tails at the moment.”