CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
HONDA INDY 200
MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE
LEXINGTON, OHIO
TEAM PENSKE DRIVER AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPT
FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: ON HIS STRATEGY FOR FINAL RACES OF SEASON IN HUNT FOR CHAMPIONSHIP: “Yes, win them all. Honestly, it is all about executing every qualifying session, every race is really the key. Just getting everything right. No mistakes. And having fun – I think that is key. We still want to have fun.”
ON TRACKS REMAINING ON THE SCHEDULE: “Actually I looked at all the tracks remaining on the schedule, and they are all good for me I feel. It is a very good finish to the season the tracks that are ahead of us.”

ON DOUBLE POINTS AT SEASON FINALE AT SONOMA RACEWAY: “It definitely could be a big advantage for me, yes. I’m very glad that the double points is there. It gives us a better shot. Even without, we have a good chance.”
ON SIMON PAGENAUD PERFORMANCE THIS YEAR: “Very strong. It was very strong at the beginning of the season. He is good every weekend. Every weekend he is right there. He is going to be tough to beat. He is always up there. He always qualifies well. At the beginning of the season he was definitely strong, although other people had misfortune, but I won’t take that away. He did a bloody good job.”
DOES THE TIMNING OF TEXAS RACE NOW THROUGH A CHINK IN YOUR CHAMPIONSHIP HOPES? “I am hoping it is better for me because we were struggling there that race. We definitely get a chance to change the car and have another start you could say. Hopefully we can make it better.”
IS TEXAS A TRACK YOU LIKE? “It has been good/bad, good/bad. I’ve had great runs there, and I’ve had horrible runs there. I just depends. We obviously have to get it right when we go back and really, really have a good race car.”
ON BEING HEALTHY AND FIT: “Yes, I’m right there. Detroit was a real turning point where I felt good energy in the race for the first time in a long time. I’m hoping it’s the same of this weekend.”
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE STRONG HERE AT MID-OHIO? “It’s a tough track the way it changes over a session. So much grip goes down so you just have to keep updating your laps in qualifying to get through each round. The race, just pray that the yellows fall your way. It can just totally ruin the race if you are doing a good job and are especially out front there. That’s the one thing the Series (Verizon IndyCar Series) has got to fix is the pits close under yellow, and it is such an easy fix.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 2 HAWK PERFORMANCE TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: ON PERFORMANCE THIS SEASON: “We’ve been strong. I’m able to pass again, more than before. I can pass people easier – inside, outside, anywhere. It is really good, I’m really excited. My speed is really good, so I am happy. You look at Toronto. I did one practice. In the second practice, I made a mistake. The next practice we had a mechanical problem, so by the time we got to qualifying, I had done 10 hot laps. I went out and turned the third fastest lap of all of qualifying.”
HOW WAS FIRST PRACTICE? “Good, it was really good. Quick. We were not as good in the test so we made some changes to the car and I feel like we gained on it a lot. The track is going to change a lot and I think we have to get a lot done today because I think it is going to rain tomorrow.”
DO YOU LIKE THE RAIN AND THINK IT MIGHT GIVE YOU AN ADVANTAGE OVER SOME OF THE OTHER DRIVERS? “Yes, when the car works good here. When the car doesn’t, no.”
HOW TOUGH IS MID-OHIO? “It is a tough race track because when we run, we rubber up the track so the balance changes a lot. Sometimes if you are fast early in the weekend, if you don’t make enough changes it is hard to stay of there. But I think we have learned, so I think we are pretty good.”
IS THAT THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE HERE? “Yes. We tested here for a day. I remember we practiced and I ran a 5.2 in the morning really easy, and as the day went on we got more and more understeer and we ran a 5.2 at the end of the day. It was really hard because there was so much understeer in the car. So we addressed a lot of that and it was good.”
IS THERE A FOVORITE TRACK IN THE REST OF THE SCHEDULE THAT YOU LIKE MORE? “No. I think here is good. I think Texas is really good. I think Pocono is really good. I have no idea about Watkins Glen, I haven’t run there. Sonoma – is good. The Glen should be good. It will be fast.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: ON WILL POWER STREAK: “Momentum. Definitely he’s go the momentum on his side just like what (Simon) Pagenaud. Finally we got a break last week and we have some momentum. With a yellow after the tire. It helped us change the strategy. If we didn’t have the tire situation, we would have been in front of him because that is where we were in the race. It is what it is. It is great for Team Penske. It shows that everyone is really pushing. Right now we are 1-2-3 in the championship. We just want to keep going.”
WHAT DOES THE DIFFERENT TIRE BRANDS IN THE VARIOUS SERIES RUNNNG THIS WEEKEND DO TO THIS TRACK THAT CHANGES ANYHOW? “You just try to minimize the car in terms of consistency. You know that every time you go out there the track is going to change a little bit. You want a little opportunity to predict what might happen especially when you put new tires on because when you put new tires on it changes again. So, you might see a lot of good cars doing fast times, then all of a sudden when you put on Firestone red tires it will change. With the reds, the only time for us to try is in qualifying. Normally for me, it works well and can’t wait to go qualifying to see if it works again.”
IS THERE A TRACK REMAINING ON THE SCHEDULE THAT MAKES YOU MORE EXCITED THAN THE OTHERS?: “When you are doing well, whatever is next, that is exciting. I love Mid-Ohio. I love Texas. Watkins Glen is something different. I’m not sure what we are going to see there. And Sonoma – we’ve won there before, so I feel that any from now on is a good track for us.”
YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE A TRUCK CONTENDER FOR THE TITLE: “I never had any doubts. We just have to get our break. Whether it is yellow. Have no circumstances like the tire situation at Toronto. We are getting some now, and when we get them…watch out.”