CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
GOPRO GRAND PRIX OF SONOMA
SONOMA RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016

POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:

ROGER PENSKE, TEAM OWNER, TEAM PENSKE:
“That was a great run. I just take my hat off to the whole team and what they’ve done all season long and to cap it off here with another win, 10 wins for these guys. Certainly, (Simon) Pagenaud dug deep all year and came up with a win for the team. I think you can see how good we are. I can’t take my hat off to these guys enough and thank our sponsors and Chevy, what great power we had, we made a lot of mileage there at the end.”

LAST YEAR THE CHAMPIONSHIP SLIPPED AWAY WHAT CHANGED THIS YEAR?
“Well I think we focused and we had the benefit of such a strong finish here at the end. To have that race under our belt didn’t have to go for it, so you never know.”
SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, RACE WINNER, 2016 VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES CHAMPION:
CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR EMOTIONS RIGHT NOW?
“It’s unbelievable. I think I will realize more tomorrow. What a race! So much emotion right now to be honest its’ hard to find the words. My whole career has been about this, about today and getting to this point, getting to this level and running up front like that when you need it, for an athlete, I think when you can perform 100 percent under pressure like this is amazing. It’s such a great feeling. Obviously, it’s me winning, but my whole team, the old champs the No. 22 team at Team Penske without all the guys the 424 people working at the shop and their wives and their kids being patient. Thanks to them for putting in such hard work for us and being able to shine on a race track like this. Thanks to Chevrolet what an amazing race car engine, drivability was phenomenal all day and the aero kit for me has been perfect all year. I can’t thank enough Verizon for bringing the fans to the race track with the super-fast Verizon LTE advanced network and Pennzoil. Pennzoil a big part of this team they provide us the best oil to perform at this level. We need five hundredths of a second they can give it to us with better oil, thanks Pennzoil and all the partners that we have. HP, obviously, it’s our first win with this car, finally, won with the Menards car, won with the PPG car and HP was all year and I’m so proud we could do this. I’ve been with them since 2012. I don’t know what to say anymore, thank you.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 2 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 3RD
IN POSSIBLY YOUR LAST RACE WITH TEAM PENSKE YOU GET A PODIUM:
“I don’t know. I will tell you the truth, first of all I want to thank Verizon and the LTE advanced network it is unbelievable. We have as good of a car as their network is pretty awesome. Our HUM car today was pretty good. We struggled a little bit in race pace, qualifying was really good, but it was good we got a podium and a good finish. We will see. Next year, I don’t know, there is still a possibility to be here. Just everywhere. I really want to be in IndyCar and see what happens.”

HOW WOULD YOU RANK YOUR SEASON OVERALL?
“I mean the first part of the season was really good and then just couldn’t get a break. Every time we ran good, oh we can go longer, the caution would come out. Oh we are running great, the engine would break or I would make a mistake or we would fumble in the pits. But, we win together, we lose together and I want to thank everybody that supported the program, all the sponsors they did an amazing job with us this year.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 21 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 6TH
“We needed on more car in front of us (to finish 3rd in the championship), but we were a little too far back – 6th just didn’t get it done! I did everything I could to keep Helio (Castroneves) behind me to see if it would shake out our way but it just didn’t. There’s nothing for us to hang our heads about, we had a phenomenal year in our own right. We have a great team, great sponsors, great crew, so we’re not going to go into the offseason hanging our heads about anything!”

BEST CAREER CHAMPIONSHIP FINISH THAT HAS TO FEEL GOOD:
“Well I think we feel great about it. It would have been nice to get Helio (Castroneves) there. I was doing everything I could; the team was working as hard as they could to make those points possible. We missed it by just a bit. We were right there. I was trying to hold him back in case someone maybe would have broken down in front of us. I think that would have changed the point’s structure a little bit and swayed it our way to be third in the championship. Either way I still think we had a great season. Fuzzy’s Vodka, ECR, I can’t say enough about the group. We really had an amazing team effort here. All year long with all the trials and tribulations we had to go through I think everyone pulled through when we needed to mid-summer and we got back on the horse, got a win. I kept fighting and pounding on the front door and I think we nearly got there in the end. There is nothing for us to hang our heads about this year.”

WILL YOU BE BACK WITH ECR NEXT YEAR?
“All I can say is I’m so happy to finally be to the final race. It’s been a crazy year. I’m going to actually enjoy some off season time. It’s always weird to say that because you want to be at the race track, it’s the best place to be, but I’m so excited to get a couple of weeks off. I think this crew deserves it. Everyone is going to have a good break. I’m excited to see where everyone lands in a little bit from now, but I love this team. I can’t say anything but great things about it. I love working here. I’ve got everything that I could ask for from a boss and from a team. It’s been a pleasure to be a part of this group all year.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 7TH
“Congratulations, Simon. Well deserved, no question. Throughout the entire season, he was not only an amazing driver but a champion. Really honored to be working with a guy like that. The whole team was a dream to work with and today was the proof of that.”

CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 83 TRESIBA CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 9TH
“Yesterday we qualified 12th, but we knew we had a fast race car for today so we really just wanted to stay in clean air. Man, some of our lap times when we were in clean air were really quick. We thought we might be able to make something work with those times. I think we hamstrung ourselves by starting on scuffed reds – they didn’t hang on nearly as long as we thought they might. I think we had a really fast car and the guys did an awesome job in the pits. I can’t thank the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing crew enough for the job they’ve done all year – they’ve really stepped up to challenge. Every year we keep moving up in the points, so we just need to figure out what we need to do in the offseason to make sure we come back even stronger next year.”

HOW DO YOU GAUGE YOUR 100TH START?
“Well, my first start I finished in the wall, so you would think after 100 starts I would know how to get out of pit lane. To come away with a top 10 it has kind of been the story of our year this year. We have been really consistent and getting a top nine to finish the year it is good. It’s good for the No. 83 car, it is good for the Novo Nordisk team, but the fact that Chip Ganassi Racing was not in the championship conversation coming into this weekend it’s not good enough for us as a team. I think as we go into the off season and head into the winter we’ve got a lot of work ahead. I think all four crews are going to work together. We will be back stronger next year. I don’t know if that is a good thing for everyone else, but I know it’s going to be a good thing for us.”

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 11 PLANTRONICS – KVSH RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 10TH
“It was a tough day for the Plantronics – KVSH Racing Team. Not the way we wanted to finish the season. It’s a top-10, but boy that was hard work. A lot of fuel saving, just a boring race. It’s too bad it finishes like that, but definitely we didn’t have the tools to fight this weekend. We tried our best and seemed to be able to make an illusion on one lap during qualifying on the red (alternate tire), but everything else seemed to be pretty average. We tried to stay clean and make it to the end. We had quite a few issue during the race with fuel consumption, burning more fuel than we thought we were and things like that, which really threw us a bit behind the eight ball. After that I really didn’t trust the numbers, so I was saving more fuel and we still almost came up short. I am glad I did, but definitely not the kind of race where you feel like you are a factor or try to fight for it. You’re just very passive, which is never a great feeling. We’ll move on.”

TONY KANAAN, NO. 10 NTT DATA CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 13TH
“Today was just completely out of our control and it’s unfortunate that we had to end the season this way. The No. 10 NTT DATA Chevrolet was much better today than it had been the rest of the weekend and we felt good about moving up through the field quickly, but that contact on the first lap put us down quite a bit and it was really difficult moving back up through the field. We’ve had a lot of unlucky breaks this season, but I’m proud of the guys and all of NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing for sticking with it and huge congratulations to Simon and Team Penske.”

MAX CHILTON, NO. 8 GALLAGHER CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 16TH
“It was a really up and down race for the Gallagher team today. It started with an overboost problem which left us a sitting duck out there unfortunately. I was trying to hang on and then we pitted to fix the problem and tried to get back in the fight. Then for a stint and a half we were doing the same pace as the leader and was actually catching him so I thought we were in good shape. I thought the last stint was going to be great for us with all the overtakes we had left but the last set of tires didn’t feel right for some reason on the car. We were still quick compared to the others and just did our best at the end.”

ON HIS ROOKIE SEASON:
“I have definitely learned a lot more. Good driver, drivers that have been doing this for 15-20 years that are as professional as it gets, they will tell you that they never stop learning. I’ve learned a great deal switching from Formula 1 to coming out here, mainly on the ovals. It’s hard racing over here. It’s very equal and you have to be on the top of your game to be fast. Today we had a problem at the start with an engine problem for like; until we stopped and then we were I think the fastest car out there with (Simon) Pagenaud. We kept sort of mixing positions and then something happened after the safety car, we just didn’t have the pace. It was an up and down day, but hugely thankful for having my first year out here with Chip Ganassi and Gallagher and hopefully be back next year to see a bit more of you.”

ON MENTOR DARIO FRANCHITTI:
“A huge deal. Having Dario on my pit stand all year is a huge help. Even though there are times when he just comes on the radio in the race and gives you a bit of support or advice it tends to work. That is invaluable. Hopefully, I will have him next year and yeah, he is a friend for life, big help.”

SCOTT DIXON, NO. 9 TARGET CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 17TH
“Obviously not the day we wanted here at Sonoma in the Target car, but my congratulations to Simon and Team Penske on a job well done. I wish we could have finished on a higher note for the season finale here this weekend but it wasn’t meant to be. Thanks for all the support from Target over the last 27 years and all of the vendor partners as well and all they’ve done for this team. We’ll be back fighting hard next season with the 9 team and can’t wait to get started again.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 20th
“I mean obviously it was pretty realistic considering the point situation, double points, but it’s just how it flows, when it’s your year it’s your year. Simon (Pagenaud) has done a phenomenal job and he is a very deserving champion. To lead a 1-2-3 in the championship for the team is a great result; it really is, unfortunate for us that we didn’t really have a shot today. I have to thank Verizon all the access they give the fans. I’m so proud to have them on my car. To have this new LTE advanced network is super-fast. They are a fantastic partner for our team.”

ON BEING SECOND IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP:
“Yeah that is right. If I hadn’t won a championship I guess it would be another bad day, but honestly, second, missing the first race and all that and how I felt at the beginning of the year, getting four wins, still very happy with the year.”

HOW ARE YOU DOING PHYSICALLY?
“Yeah, I mean the problem was I didn’t workout in the off season because of the sickness that I had. Then I wasn’t fit when I started to feel better, so I kind of struggled in that way. But, it all was fine at the end of the year, honestly, those last few races I felt great. It’s still a great year and Simon (Pagenaud) did a phenomenal job and I think he’s really come into his own. I’ve raced him for 10 years and I am happy to see him win a championship even though I finished second to him.”

SPENCER PIGOT, NO. 20 SAMSUNG/FUZZY’S VODKA ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 22ND
“We struggled a little bit on red tires at the beginning, but once we got onto blacks the car was pretty good. We were catching up to the guys in front when we unfortunately had an issue with the driveshaft failing coming out of Turn 11. The guys did an awesome job not only this weekend but also all season. I can’t thank Ed Carpenter Racing, Samsung, Fuzzy’s Vodka and Rising Star Racing enough for the opportunity this year and now I’m looking forward to the offseason!”

POST RACE PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT:

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET SS – CHAMPIONSHIP RUNNER-UP

THE MODERATOR: We’ll begin our Verizon IndyCar Series post-race press conference. Joined now by Will Power, our championship runner-up.

Will, I know it’s probably not exactly how you wanted this race to end, but you’re smiling, you seem pretty relaxed. Your perspective on how things shook out today.

WILL POWER: Yeah, it was obviously disappointing to have that gearbox problem. I think Simon was going to be tough to beat as far as the championship goes. Maybe we could have beaten him for the win, but I doubt it if everything just played out as it was.

Yeah, I mean, that was that. But honestly it was still a very strong year. Four race wins. I won a 500-mile race. Not the right one, but still a 500-miler.

Yeah, it’s a 1-2-3 for the team, which is really good, considering how it finished last year. I think the team is really strong now. Yeah, another second place (laughter).

THE MODERATOR: A lot your comments right now and really this whole weekend from your teammates have been team-oriented celebrating Penske’s 50th anniversary. Unless things went really crazy, it was likely going to be a 1-2-3 finish in the championship. How does it feel to know you’ve played a very strong role in that?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I just think after last year, only winning three races as a team, we were so determined to come back. We all contributed. To win 10 out of 16 races is pretty strong as a team. Also 11 of the poles.

I thought when Simon joined the team it was going to be really hard for anyone to beat us in the championship for a while, especially with how strong Chevy is, how great their body kit and engine are, and obviously the team itself.

Yeah, so it’s a great position to be in as a driver.

THE MODERATOR: With that Chevy also wrapped up the manufacturer’s championship today. Your thoughts on their relationship with Team Penske?

WILL POWER: Yeah, we’re so blessed to have ended up at Chevy as a manufacturer because they’re first class. I just think those guys do everything the right way. They don’t miss anything. If they ever fall behind, they catch up real quick, get themselves back to the front.

Yeah, a great organization. To partner that with Team Penske, it’s a pretty fierce team.

THE MODERATOR: Are you ready for the off-season, a little break?

WILL POWER: Yeah, ready to meet my son. Well, that’s not going to be a break. It’s going to be interesting to see how the whole sleep pattern thing works. He’s going to be on our sleep pattern (laughter).

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Will.

Q. During the post race interviews, Alexander was talking about how he’d like to come race for Penske. Looking ahead, you talked about how with Simon on the team, you guys have such a strong core to continue Penske’s tradition of winning. Does any of that get mixed up, the chemistry get disarrayed with somebody new coming in, having three cars instead of four?
WILL POWER: I think when Simon came in, I thought it would be pretty good for the team just because I knew he would be very competitive. I’ve been teammates with him before. Just added to the fierce driver lineup that it was.

But, yeah, someone else coming, I don’t know. I’m not sure of any of that. I think everything is just staying the same. Honestly, I don’t know.

Q. You have a baby at home. Things are going bad. Does it enter into your mind, it was a longshot anyway, does that enter your mind on the racetrack?
WILL POWER: No. I was just focused on the job at hand, trying to get the most out of the day. I think we kind of executed that in the first pit stop, jumping Helio. Then it was a matter of saving enough fuel to do it in two more stops. Unfortunately we have the miss-shift thing. Obviously at that point I knew I was not going to win the championship, so then it was just a matter of salvaging second.

As soon as I get out of the car, see my wife pregnant, start thinking of that.

Q. You had a frustrating day. Would this be on the top of your list?
WILL POWER: No. Just considering the year that it was for me, that I won four races, I’ve had much more frustrating ends to seasons than this, I can promise you that. Leading the points, something happening, that’s happened to me.

It was still a great year.

Q. Talk about how has this championship battle been different fighting with Simon as opposed to somebody who is not with Team Penske.
WILL POWER: It hasn’t really been different. I was just clawing back for so long, I was never in command. It was just a matter of constantly trying to get more points. Yeah, so it was a different type of championship in that respect because you had to come back from a pretty big points deficit. I’m not sure I’ve done that before.

It was very calm for me this year, very calm, with the way I raced, clean. Yeah, it was a different style of racing for me, for sure, in comparison to what I had done over the previous two years where I was quite aggressive.

Q. Is this a new, mature Will Power?
WILL POWER: Yeah, well, it just comes with experience, I think. Dario was so good at that. I was so quick, won a lot of races, but he won the championship. He was just very experienced and good at that. Yeah, I was just talking to him about it before.

Q. More fun?
WILL POWER: It’s definitely fun attacking. It is just a game of chess almost as you go along through every race, and you work out the move that’s worth doing and what’s not. Once you start hitting the marks every time, it feels good.

Q. The clutch control unit, can you tell me what you were trying to do to get it restarted.
WILL POWER: I don’t know what they did or if they changed the box or the computer box, the control unit. Basically I shifted, we call it a daub to daub, the gears don’t engage properly, then it got stuck in gear, then it wouldn’t shift, and then it went into anti-stall mode at the hairpin because it got down to a certain rev. It just wouldn’t get out of anti-stall mode. Stayed in neutral. It’s dangerous, that’s a fast section. I was really worried. There was nothing else I could really do.

Yeah, it’s tough, frustrating at that point. You just want it to click into gear and go. It wouldn’t. You just watch people roll by. That’s it, championship’s over, yeah.

Q. It seemed like you were doing fine pace-wise. Did this just give you no warning when you were going up or down the hill? Normally can you reset something?
WILL POWER: Yeah, sometimes you can put it into like a manual mode they call it on the dash where – what do they call that – emergency mode. Tried that. Did nothing. Even switched it off, then switched it back on. Actually the clutch reengaged, then it went right back into anti-stall mode.

Yeah, there was nothing I could do. Just a strange occurrence. That was that.

Q. (No microphone.)
WILL POWER: I’d be surprised if that one’s happened before. These things come up. I had things like this even with the old car where it got stuck in gear, suddenly it corrected itself. But, yeah, try to understand why so it won’t happen again.

Q. I know the season just ended, but when you get a chance to look back on it and reflect, what are some of the highlights you’ll be looking to? Individually, do you look at this season in a positive way?
WILL POWER: I definitely look at it as a real positive. The team finished 1-2-3. Chevy won the manufacturer title. I won four races. I won a 500-mile race. I won on an oval, on a street course. Did I win on a road course? Yes, Road America. Two tracks I hadn’t won on.

It was a great season for me, it really was. Obviously coming into this race, it was somewhat of a longshot. What happened to me could have happened to Simon. It’s a different story. But that’s racing.

Q. You talked about Chevy. I noticed this morning after the warmup, it might have been Helio was talking with his engineer after the session ended. It seemed to me he was talking to the Chevy person. He was describing some things. Do you actually have a chance to talk to them and then they go back and make some kind of adjustment before the race?
WILL POWER: Yeah, we have an engine guy dedicated to each car that has a Chevy engine. They work with you every single practice, every race. You’re constantly working on that stuff, like shifting. Obviously there’s a lot of stuff to do there.

Yeah, that’s just normal. That’s what we do. Yeah, I mean, they do a fantastic job, they really do, from the standpoint of the body kit, the engine. It’s just been first class. Been really fortunate to be involved because you’ve got the best equipment. Full credit to those guys.

Q. Pretty phenomenal you were in the hunt at all this weekend given that you basically gave the rest of the field a one-race head start. How much satisfaction do you get out of how well you were able to dig yourself out of that hole?
WILL POWER: Yeah, that’s why I feel it was a very good year. It started off pretty badly. Then I have to say, the first few races I didn’t feel very good either. Definitely not race-fit. Kind of just hanging on.

So, yeah, it was just such a great middle part of the season there, really good results. Yeah, put me in a position to be a contender again. It was a great year. It really was.

When it’s your year to win a championship, it’s your year. It was just Simon’s year through and through. Everything fell well for him. He just did the things he needed to do, which is this weekend he got pole, led the laps, made it as difficult as possible for me. He just did a great job.

Q. (Question regarding changing diapers.)
WILL POWER: See if I can get it down to five seconds. Everything is about speed for me (laughter). See how quickly can get that done. Liz is real happy about that, that I’m excited.

Q. (Question regarding the off season.)
WILL POWER: Actually, going to go to Hawaii and then on to Australia from there for about a month. Go back and see my family back home.

Q. Past championships, you’ve lost to a driver on another team. This one is to a driver on your team. Does that temper it a little bit?
WILL POWER: Yeah, to get the 1-2-3, I was really happy that we got that. When I had that problem, there was a chance I was going to fall down the order. But, yeah, it was just a good year because of obviously the way it started for me. The fact I won four races, I’m satisfied with it. I’m not going to feel bad about this one at all.

It’s always good, because you can come back the next year and work on the things you were weak at. That’s what’s great about this sport.

Q. Concerning the gearbox problems, it’s a spec gearbox. Are you consulting when you’re preparing the cars also with the engineers of the gearbox? With all these frustrating things going on today, from a driver point of view, do you have any ideas concerning improvements for future gearbox designs?
WILL POWER: No. It was just a freak, strange thing that happened. I don’t think it has anything to do with the manufacturer of the gearbox. I forget the name of the computer that controls it. It got confused, put anti-stall on. It was just a strange other occurrence. I’m not sure it’s happened before. It’s not a manufacturer problem. It had nothing to do with the team building the gearbox. Every now and then you get a daub to daub, we call it, where a gauge doesn’t engage properly, and that confused the computer where it wouldn’t shift, then it ended up in anti-stall mode. No one did anything wrong.

THE MODERATOR: Will, congratulations on a great season.

WILL POWER: Thank you very much.