CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
102ND RUNNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVYDRIVER TRANSCRIPT – MEDIA DAY
THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2018
CARLIN – CHARLIE KIMBALL AND MAX CHILTON:
CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 23 FIASP CARLIN CHEVROLET:
TALK ABOUT BEING BACK AT INDY FOR THE 500.
“It’s so much fun around this place. I love the challenge of it and the mountain you climb when you show up for the week of practice and qualifying. It’s a very mental, rational, logical, physical and emotional challenge. One of my favorite quotes of all-time is from Billie Jean King – Pressure is a privilege. If you’re on a big enough stage where there is huge pressure, what a privilege to be an athlete to be in this position – to get on to these big stages.”
HOW’S YOUR CAR?
“I think we’re pretty good for the race. We worked really hard on it Monday and spent a lot of last week tuned toward qualifying and making sure we put both cars in the show pretty solidly with both Max and I getting in. Starting from Row Five, I’m pretty excited. I think the race itself is going to be different than we’ve seen in years past. As a team, that doesn’t matter because they haven’t seen any of this before at Indy! But if we execute and focus on our car and making it better throughout the race, we’ll be in a good position at the end of the day.”
AT WHAT POINT DO YOU START GETTING READY IN YOUR HEAD AND BODY FOR THIS RACE?
“That would have been Memorial Day last year! I think about this race all year long. Last year’s result with a mechanical failure while P2 with 34 laps to go… that keeps me up at night all winter. It gets me out of bed at 7 in the morning when it’s cold and snowing to get to the gym. This race is the fire that drives so many of us. Mentally and physically, you start focusing on what it’s going to take to get the job done when you’re in the race. After qualifying, your mind switches from four laps to 200 laps.”
ARE YOU WORRIED THAT SOME PEOPLE WILL LOSE PATIENCE DURING THE RACE AND TRY TO DO SOMETHING THAT THESE CARS AREN’T CAPABLE OF DOING?
“I think that always happens. That’s why you haven’t seen an Indy 500 go green from start to finish. There are entire team making sure these cars are running right, and all it takes is one little mistake to cause a caution. As a driver, you have to stay disciplined and patient for the first 250 or 375 miles, and only go racing those last 50 laps. Other times, the race is frantic from Lap One to Lap 200.”
MAX CHILTON, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET:
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON?
“Just basically there are 33 cars pushing a big bubble at 240 mph. Your car handles massively different whether you are two or three back in a chain of cars or you are behind 30 cars. From last year, I had way too little downforce. I started 15th and dropped to the back within two laps and within 30 laps I was behind (Fernando) Alonso who was leading it a lap down, so I was out of the race. Then we did the right strategy call. Everyone pitted, I stayed out and got myself to the front and my car was unstoppable. I led for 50 laps, more than double laps of anyone else and yet just lost the lead with six laps to go because I had two experienced drivers working behind to tow up to me. But, that is the thing it’s a 500-mile race and your car is going to be bad at time and great at times. You’ve just got to play your cards right and not get too aggressive or think ‘oh I’ve got to do it now’, just take your time and make sure you are in the right area with 10 or 15 to go and you can have a good day.”
HOW DO YOU SEE THE RACE GOING THIS YEAR?
“It will be close. This race is always close, but I can’t see anyone pulling out, pulling away from the field. I think it’s going to stay fairly compact. I think overtaking this year is slightly harder, but then when you are in a tow, you get a bigger tow. But it’s slightly harder to run closer with the reduced downforce. I think it’s going to be great for the fans. I can’t predict it. None of us really know what is going to happen, but we are just trying to keep our noses clean and be there at the finish.”
HOW MUCH SIMULATION HAVE YOU USED LEADING INTO THE MONTH?
“So, on ovals I have done none. I have never driven an oval simulator. I know Fernando (Alonso) did it just to get used to the turning points. I have only done half a day all year on a simulator. That was for Long Beach, but double-header in Detroit next week, which would be nice to get on the sim, we just couldn’t get space on the sim, so. I try to do it for all the street courses. But, in previous years I’ve done a lot. In F1 I did it every time before and after track. I just do slightly less of it over here.”
NEW TEAM, DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE MEETING EXPECTATIONS?
“Yeah, I try not and feel the pressure. I said something earlier I feel pressure when I put myself up front because you feel like well I don’t want to go backwards. When you are in the middle or qualify at the back you have a good time. Last year, I qualified 15th, which is a good place to start, I think. You are in the mix from there and I showed it. I lead it for 50 laps. I was dead last after the first 30 laps behind Alonso after Scott’s (Dixon) red flag incident, but then 40 laps later I was leading. I led for 50 laps. So, this race you might not have the right car, but a short while later you might have the best car on track. So, you’ve just got to play your cards right. When you have got the right car make the most of it. If your car suddenly feels not great, don’t panic, don’t worry about losing the position you will very quickly get it back when your car comes back to you. I think that is what I learned last year is 25 laps in, I thought my day was over, but I had probably the best day of my career last year so close to winning it. That is, it. You just have to keep calm and try and keep your nose clean. It’s a long way. I would love to do a good job for Carlin in the first year.”
ON HIS TEAM:
“When you’ve got a team as good as Carlin with the amount of wins they have had and how sort of dominant they are in other fields people are going to expect things. We qualified two in the top 20, which is the top half really and we have proven ourselves. We spent a lot of time last week focusing on qualifying because we knew if we didn’t focus on that we might not qualify, so we have done that. We have now got to work on our race prep. I got very little running in race prep the other day. I was sort of very much in the back. We’ve got an hour tomorrow, that is not a great deal of time, but enough to work on the balance and we will have to learn as much we can from the hour tomorrow. Carlin has always done a good job. They have always won championships and race wins in everything they have entered. I think in the coming months or years we will get some wins.”
ARE YOU SEEING PROGRESS WEEK IN AND WEEK OUT WITH THE TEAM?
“Yeah, every time we go out we usually get better. As long as we keep doing that we will have a good finish to the Indy 500.”
HOW BAD IS THE WASH IN TRAFFIC?
“You feel it quite a long way back six cars you can get it and you get it and it feels fine and then you get to the apex and it just takes off. But, you do get oversteer, so it’s not just pure understeer. Now, on entry it’s light, that is what happened to (Robert) Wickens, he went in and it was light he had to wobble and hit the wall. That all came before the understeer. So, the car is pretty neutral. I haven’t done hardly any running in race running, so I’m a little bit sort of blind. So, that is why I’m pushing tomorrow to just run, run, run and get as many laps in as I can and try and get rid of that wash because it will help.”
