CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
101ST RUNNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
MAY 28, 2017
HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 SHELL FUEL REWADS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 2ND: “The Shell Fuel Rewards Chevy team almost got it done today. It was so close. We’ve got to keep going. I take my hat off to Takuma (Sato) for having a strong car today. He really seemed to getting better as the race went along. I say, ‘great job’ to my guys. They worked their tails off. We saw it all today. We were in the back and we led some laps. We avoided disaster and we almost got number four.”
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 22 FITZGERALD GLIDER KITS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 22ND: “Our Fitzgerald Glider Kits Chevy was good. We had a problem there in the beginning when we ran out of gas in turn three. We should have had another half-gallon in the car. It put is in a tough position because we lost a lot of positions there. From there to come back to where we finished was great. WE ran 12th or 13th most of the day and then the car was really good at the end of the race. The balance just wasn’t there. Then I told the guys on the last stop, let’s take swing and we did and the car came to life. I would have liked to have had some more laps at the end.”
GABBY CHAVES, NO. 88 HARDING RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 9TH: “I think we did our job. We took the race one lap at a time. We let the track and the conditions come to us and we dialed in the No. 88 Harding Racing Chevrolet car every stop. We had a heck of a stint there. I think we were one of the only cars being able to make moves out there and got into a solid top ten for our first go as a team.”
CARLOS MUNOZ, NO. 14 ABC SUPPLY AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 10TH: “A really tough race, it was a really long race for me if I’m honest. I just hung in with the car. We had no sign of this because on Friday we did long runs and it was pretty good. Today we just lost the car completely. At the start of the race it was pretty good because I was heading to the front and on each restart it was good but it seemed that after 10 laps, we just dropped like a stone. We don’t know why. We still finished 10th–I think it is the best result for the team in the 500 in a long time even though we struggled a lot. We just have to figure out what was going on.”
ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY’S VODKA ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 11TH: “The start of the day, the race was going our way. We were running up front but then we started losing positions, had a couple bad pit stops and got shuffled back. We were running around people we shouldn’t even have been running with. On the restart, I got hung out because I didn’t see Pippa outside, while I was trying to go to the outside. When I saw her, I hit the brakes but tore up the front wing and knocked the toe out. It’s a bummer, the result didn’t show what type of car we had. We lost track position at the wrong times and made for a disappointing day, but congratulations to Takuma (Sato). He’s a great guy and driver who has been close here before. We will be back next year, but we’ve got some work to do. Our competitors are tough right now, so we have to make ourselves better.”
SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 1 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 14TH: “It wasn’t the finish we wanted today for the Menards Chevrolet team. But for the big picture it was a decent day. We’re still in that top group in points as we head to Detroit that’s a place that suit us pretty well. The (Indianapolis) 500 remains a goal and we’ll take another shot at it next year.”
SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA, NO. 17 AFS JUNCOS RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 15TH: “We accomplished the mission we started less than two months ago. To finish this first Indy 500 with both cars intact is a victory of its own. I’m very proud of the whole organization for putting in such a professional effort. It was rough out there. We were not as competitive as we wanted, but hey, that’s something that is expected your first time out. So, kudos to the whole team. I want to thank the AFS/Juncos Racing guys for all the amazing pit stops and David Cripps for a great strategy. Altogether, I’m just looking forward to what’s being built here because the future is very bright for this team. I wish them and the whole organization the best.”
JR HILDEBRAND, NO. 21 PERFERRED FREEZER SERVICES ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 16TH: ): “We were able to run up front when we were there, but I’m not positive we had anything for those guys at the end. We definitely had a 5th or 6th place car. We could keep station and pick guys off when they made mistakes when we were running closer to clean air. I’m just annoyed about the drive-through penalty. I understand the rules, but the entire field went and the car in front of me didn’t. I’m not sure what they expect all of us to do. It’s a lousy way to end a race where the team did a great job and the Preferred Freezer Car was good enough to hang on up there. We made some great strategy calls to help get us back to the front group of cars. For executing at a high level all day, for it to end like that, leaves you feeling empty inside. That’s how this place works and we will come back with another shot next year.”
SPENCER PIGOT, NO. 11 JUNCOS RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 18TH: “Very long, frustrating race. I think there’s still something I’m missing or something’s gone array with the car since the crash. It never really felt right and it was just very difficult to drive, but we fought through a tough day. We didn’t give up. The guys kept working hard and I can’t thank them enough for the recovery and for putting this all together.”
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HUM BY VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 19TH: “It was an ok day. We just got caught up in that wreck there at the end. That hurt us. When we were up front we were good. We seemed to keep racing ourselves toward the front of the field. Then we would just get dropped back by a couple of issues. If we would have been up front the whole time, I think we could have finished in the top-five. WE performed really well today, things just didn’t go out way.”
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 23RD: “I’m not sure what happened out there. All I know that I was sliding backwards. It was an up and down day for the Verizon Chevy. We were able to stick our nose in there a few times and we were stuck back in the back other times. Then, we got caught up in that deal at the end that ended our day. We’ll move on to Detroit. The thing about this race is that we get to turn the page pretty quickly.”
ZACH VEACH, NO. 40 INDY WOMEN IN TECH CHAMPIONSHIP AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 26TH: “Today was very up and down. We had a great first stint, picked up a few positions, running in 26th or so. Then I made a rookie mistake getting into my box, locking up my tires. Because of that we started after our first stint 3 laps down. I think we got a couple of those laps back. We were working our way through the field, trying to get back to where we needed to be. Then I had a battery die in the car, which I got lucky and coasted back to pit lane. They replaced the battery and sent me back out. Second battery died, but we got lucky to come back and fix it before we got stuck on track. Finally, our race ended 150 laps in or somewhere around there because the third battery died and we just couldn’t make it back to pit lane this time. Extremely heartbroken for my team, so much effort went into this. I’m just proud to showcase the Indy Women in Tech Championship presented by Guggenheim over the past couple of weeks and throughout the race. As far as the rookie learning experience, there’s nothing quite like this. We just gotta be happy about the positives and improve on the negatives and focus on when I can get back in an IndyCar.”
SAGE KARAM, NO. 24 DRR MECUM AUCTIONS CHEVROLET, FINISHED 28TH “We had an alternator let go and there was nothing we can do. It’s unfortunate, but that’s what happens here. I thought we ran a smart race. A lot of people were doing risky things out there. I just wanted to finish the whole race. We were on pace to do that. We had a top-ten car today. I was driving smart and I was as calm as I could be. It’s unfortunate when something out of your control happens and you can’t fix it, but there’s nothing you can do about it. I had no radio communication with my team for the start of the race. I could hear them. They couldn’t hear me so we had to work on a code to communicate with each other on the fly. Just keying up for yes or no and turning fuel mixtures for more wing, less wing, rear wing, front wing so it was kind of sketchy out there but we were doing okay. It’s a shame – the DRR boys, Mecum Auto Auctions put together a great car this month. It’s tough to see it go down like that. But that’s racing. The beauty of this place is it makes you want to come back more and more because you go through all these hard times. You just want to win.”
BUDDY LAZIER, NO. 44 LAZIER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 29TH: Sidelined by a crash on lap 122.
CONOR DALY, NO. 4 ABC SUPPLY AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 30TH: Turn 2 was a big stack and everyone was spread out all down the back straight and I was about four-wide and trying to get around the 83 car (Charlie Kimball), and everyone again jumped off the throttle entering 3 so I had to pop to the outside. Basically, you never really want to be that high in 3 and I just lost the rear on entry. Once, twice and it was gone, so it was a shame.”