CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES
103RD RUNNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, INDIANAPOLIS
INDIANAPOLIS 500 MEDIA DAY
SELECTED QUOTES FROM DRIVERS
MAY 23, 2019
CARLIN CHEVROLET DRIVER CHARLIE KIMBALL PARTICIPATED IN INDY 500 MEDIA DAY. SELECTED QUOTES FROM EACH DRIVER:
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED IN THE YEARS YOU’VE BEEN COMPETING IN THE 500?
“Back then, I don’t think I understood the magnitude of this place. I know how big it was racing the Freedom 100 in the Indy Lights championship at that time and seeing how big Carb Day was and then coming on race and realizing how many people came. But my rookie year, all the tradition, all the pomp, all the circumstance, the pieces that go into the whole month, the stress of qualifying, the chaos of Carb Day, the traditions of the parade on Saturday and then race day itself – starting early with the cannon going off. Now it just means more than ever. I think it was Tony Kanaan in his victory celebration banquet speech a few years ago, he said a lot of times you do something, and you check that box. He at the Indy 500 you do it and it just gets further and further into your soul and you just want to do it again and again and again. It’s so true. Each and every time I come to this place it means more than the year before.”
TELL US ABOUT YOUR RACE CAR AND THE OUTLOOK FOR SUNDAY
“I think I’m quietly confident. We have a little more work to do on Carb Day to get the balance on the car a little better, see what the conditions are going to do. Monday’s race practice with the race conditions that they were made every car look pretty good. There were some cars that were struggling on balance, there were other cars that looked really strong. The front row has the benefit of qualifying up front. The 23 car for Carlin feels pretty good. Chevy power has been there all month. I feel good about the support of the Carlin team and Novo Nordisk as well. Our 11th season with the program. I only have to pass 19 cars and I have 500 miles to do it.”
CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT BALANCE FEELS LIKE?
“You’re always looking for balance and progress during the race. Because if you’re not continuing to make the car better during the race, then you’re getting left behind. What you’re looking for is the balance of grip between the front and the rear. You adjust, if it’s understeer where the front doesn’t want to turn, you put a little front grip in whether it’s a little front wing, tire pressure or the tools we have in the cockpit. If it’s oversteering or loose, the rear is wanting to step out all the time. That’s a really scary situation in the car. Finding that balance where you can lean on it through the corner in traffic and then in clear air smooth the line and try to get away, that’s what you’re trying to develop over the course of the race.”
WHAT IS YOUR ABILITY TO GO THROUGH TRAFFIC AT THIS TRACK?
“One of the challenges about how the racing has developed last year and this year, and I think this year is going to be skewed toward last year – but I think this year will be somewhere between 2017 and ’18 – for me it’s about being able to take advantage of those opportunities as they arise. It’s almost a defensive offensive move. You protect yourself as you’re running in that line of traffic just waiting for those opportunities.”