Michel Jourdain, Jr. press conference transcript

MODERATOR: Well, Michel, doggone. It's a tough day, obviously, and it looks like a lot of different things you were trying to find some speed and just couldn't get it.
MICHEL JOURDAIN JR.: Yeah. It was going to be very hard. All week we struggled. Right away, I didn't feel the car very well, you know, but when you're only driving once a year, it's just so hard to know. It's just a feel thing, and some days it feels really well and getting a little better every day and it was just a low point, and, you know, we just -- try this morning, James' setup. He was the fastest of the three cars, and coming out of Turn 4 first lap I almost spun, and I felt this car isn't drivable. And I felt -- we put Graham in the car with his exact same setup and everything, steering wheel is in, everything, you know. It was impossible for him to feel a difference. Just couldn't drive it. He couldn't go -- he came in, got the 204 and he said, "I'm not going any faster." He said -- you try to go flat out and come in Turn 4. It's impossible.
So we went back and we changed it, changed the whole -- the things we had time to change which was the floor -- front ring, we tried but as soon as I came in, the car was the same. I thought, well, we changed so many things, it was Graham's setup. The setup we had yesterday, we worked on it for a week and the car was really well. But for some reason we ended up there so the car was just, I mean couldn't go flat out -- with more force and -- it was, just, you know, the only thing, keep trying was do something stupid and put the car in the wall, you know. Not make the race anyway, so there's no point in that.
MODERATOR: The things you're talking about, you're making big changes, and you start making big changes all the time, then it gets very hard to sort it out. I think people understand if you change this, that's going to make it one way, you change another thing, that affects the car, and before you know it you're pretty much searching desperately.
JOURDAIN: We know, for sure, there's something's wrong with the car. Something's bent, broken, bending, loose; something's wrong from in the car that we haven't seen all week. We drove the car in Long Beach, and it was really fast, so we think the tub should be OK. We don't know. But there's something wrong. You know, I mean everything during the week, I thought I haven't drove these cars in a year, and the second day I was running in traffic. I mean, it was the first day I was having so much fun, car was so fun to drive and so easy to drive. Just impossible.
MODERATOR: Was there any suspicion that you said the tub, but was there concern that there was damage to the tub?
JOURDAIN: I'm sure the tub was OK. I mean, it was fine, it was good. They checked it the beginning of the season. Go from (inaudible), and it was really fast in Long Beach, I'm sure. And didn't crash or anything out there. The car hasn't been used since then and, so, I don't know. I mean, of course we have to go back. The only -- my only mistake should have been, was not pushing hard enough that there is/was something in the car. Said many times to try to check it, the other valve, and try to get James, the car was (inaudible) and what, you know, we were sometimes making some little progress but of course running off, but you know -
MODERATOR: Folks through here, any questions?
Q: Did you ever consider going to a different chassis? Was that even an option?
JOURDAIN: No. But the only option would have been -- we were ready to be driving the car Wednesday, Thursday, of course it was un -- like I said we were making a little progress sometimes, but the car started completely apart, you know. Ended up -- I mean Graham went out like that. After 2, 2:30, he went out and the backup car started completely apart. It was not an option. It was just -- because, it's you know, for I mean, I'm sure it would be very hard for everybody, but if I could go two weeks to Detroit and race the next eight weeks, it would be easier. But this is my only race of the year and, you know, everybody worked so hard and my sponsors and they trusted me with this and a very big project, lot of people coming from Mexico next week for this, so it's hard.
MODERATOR: Anything else?
We hope we see you back here in a happier moment.
JOURDAIN: Thank you very much.

Katherine Legge Press Conference Transcript

MODERATOR: Do you have more time this time? You're ready to go back there and work on the race car, and does that say it was a long day?

            KATHERINE LEGGE: Oh, yeah. I haven't slept in like three days, so I'm going sleep tonight, which is good. It's been a long day, but it's been a great day and a great opportunity. So just happy now, relieved to be in the field.

            MODERATOR: I would suspect when we come around to a final practice session on Carb Day you're going to try to take full advantage of that, I would guess. What, you've got 50 laps or so in today?

            LEGGE: Yeah, I had less than 20 when I went out to qualify. But apparently so the team tell me I was flat on Lap 4 of being in after not being in one of these cars for several months. So, whatever, I was aware there was a condensed schedule, so I had to get after it, and we have done a bit today. Our race car is really nice. I feel really comfortable, ran in traffic a bit. We didn't have to trim out, so I have no idea what the car is like trimmed out. We'll have to go and do that, and there would have been another couple of miles an hour in it, so I think we were confident we were in the field. But it's never nice to get there like that. I just feel bad for Michel because he had problems. It wasn't -- yeah.

            MODERATOR: But he did have those problems, and it was evident he was having problems the longer they continued, I would think that your comfort level continued to increase because it just didn't look like he was going to be able to find the speed.

            LEGGE: Yeah. I was kind of hoping for him that he would because it's always nicer when it's a fair fight, safe to say. Then I could see Buddy would be on the bubble and then it would be -- it would have been a hell of a Bump Day. As it is we created a ton of drama. But it's never nice to see somebody not get the opportunity to go out there and do that. So, I feel very bad for him, he must be devastated. Yeah.

            MODERATOR: Questions for Katherine?

Q: Katherine, I spoke to you this morning, and obviously you were just in the moment of the whirlwind of what was going on. How much confidence would you have had to go back out there if you had to trim your car out some more and start competing in the 225s for the first up?

            LEGGE: I think that's what we thought. When we came into today and we thought if we get 225, we're in the show for sure; it's comfortable. We trimmed out one stage, so we were nowhere near what these guys were running all week. To be honest with you, we would start there, ready to go out at full qualifying trim, and I was a little bit like, ‘It's going to be fine, it's going to be fine, the car's going to be fine.’ But because I hadn't done it, you know, these guys had 10, 12, 15 runs like that. And it would have been go out, keep it flat, and I would have got it done, and we would have been in the 225s, I think. But that's not like that's a really easy thing to just go do, so it's not that comfortable.

            MODERATOR: Engineers often tell you how much speed there is in the car, but interestingly enough, sometimes it's the driver that's holding the wheel. I suspect that conversation sometimes gets interesting.

            LEGGE: My engineers have been phenomenal. I think between the team and the engineers and the other drivers are interested. I mean they gave me a really good car so I haven't had to worry about any final setup issues. You know, I haven't gone more than a couple clicks with the weight-jacker, so that was a really nice part. I could just kind of get in. And the whole team have been amazing. They just worked so hard to get me out there, and they have been so supportive. I'm super-impressed. It's so nice to be driving in that team, to be honest. I'm one happy camper at the moment. I'm a happy girl.

Q: Katherine, you say you had been talking with Sam since 2011. How did this come together? How quickly and when did you start talking with him about doing this race?

            LEGGE: I was talking to him since 2011. I put my name on his radar and bugged him for a while, and I think for this particular race I was working really hard since things blew up at the beginning of the year for me. I was working really hard to find a ride for the ‘500’ at the very least, and possibly with other races and the sports car thing.
            So I was trying to create opportunities for myself. I was very fortunate that I got to be the DeltaWing; that was very cool. I will do more races with them, as well.
            But, I was racing at Laguna in the DeltaWing, and I said I have to come back on the red-eye to Indy. It was Sunday, Opening Day. And I was traipsing around the paddock talking to all the team owners and sponsor and everybody and, you know, trying to get myself an opportunity to get in the field. And I'm so grateful to Sam and Ric Peterson for giving me the opportunity. And now we have Angie's List on the car, which is like super-cool, which is Indiana-based.
            Yeah, it's just -- it's awesome. Reminds me of Sarah. Sarah had Angie's List on the car before. She gave me away today. She's like, ‘You got that.’ I thought that was really nice.
            It's -- it's one big happy family at the moment, and I'm really enjoying that.

            MODERATOR: I would imagine with both the sheer physical exhaustion and the lack of sleep and the adrenaline that has to go with today, I suspect that this will be a rather substantial crash that's just around the corner for you, and it will take a while to recover?

            LEGGE: Yeah. I will sleep well tonight, that's for sure. But I'm going to enjoy a glass of wine; I'm not going to lie (Laughter).

            MODERATOR: How many?

            LEGGE: You know, one, two -- bottles. No, I'm kidding (Laughter).

            MODERATOR: Well, now that you're safely in, we obviously move our attention to the race. And your thoughts, in your mind, for you, leading, what would be just -- winning is one thing, but beyond that, what's just a great outcome in your mind?

            LEGGE: You know, stranger things have happened. I'm not under any illusions that we're likely to win, but stranger things have happened, and I have a really good race car. It's going to be about being smart; it's going to be about getting through the field. We ran in traffic today for 10, 15 laps. The car feels pretty very good. If we have a decent Carb Day, I think top 10 has to be our goal. I really think the car is capable of that, so then it's just down to me.

            MODERATOR: Hot day. Did that make the racetrack a little slippery?

            LEGGE: It did. And it made me a little smelly. (Laughter)

            MODERATOR: It happens to all of us.

            LEGGE: I sat in that car for like an hour, in all black, waiting to see. Nervous, sat in the sunshine and wearing black. I must have lost about 10 pounds.

            MODERATOR: I think I'm getting the picture. That doesn't sound very comfortable.

            LEGGE: It's fine. Like I said. I'm just happy to be here. So everything's just amazing at the moment.

            MODERATOR: Open it up to any more questions for you. Let her have her one, two, three bottles of wine.

            LEGGE: That's a joke, by the way.

            MODERATOR: We understand. Even Americans can understand that.

LEGGE: You got that. That wasn't sarcasm.

            MODERATOR: We'll see you. Thank you very much.

Quotes from Bump Day

MICHEL JOURDAIN JR.: “It's so hard because the guys tried so hard, but we struggled a lot. And some days it was feeling a little better, but it was just never really there. You know, this morning we tried James Jakes’ setup, and it was impossible to drive. And then we tried Graham’s setup, but it felt exactly the same and we couldn't drive it. It felt exactly the same. We changed whatever we had time to, but it just felt the same, and we couldn't drive it.”

KATHERINE LEGGE: “Relief. Obviously, it’s not nice to do it in that manner; I feel bad for Michel. It’s not nice for him to not have the opportunity. However, I am happy I am in the field. I’m not going to lie about that. I’m going to sleep tonight for the first time in a few days. I feel really bad for Michel. I can’t even think what’s going through his head. I’m gutted for him.”

BUDDY LAZIER: “It’s really about the team. They did a great job. Very small amount of time. A lot of hard work, a lot of heart. We were sweating today. Temperature was going up, everybody was struggling.” (About driving in this generation of IZOD IndyCar Series car for first time this week): “It’s a great car, but it’s a huge learning cuve. I just really enjoy being here. Big learning curve, but a lot of fun, too. We never were trying to qualify on the pole, so we’ve been doing a lot of three-quarter tank runs. We think we have a pretty good race car.”

Bump Day Quick Wrapup

INDIANAPOLIS-- The field is set for the 96th Indianapolis 500 after Bump Day. After putting together a deal less than two days ago, Katherine Legge got her #81 Angie's List Honda in the show and the odd man out is Michel Jourdain, Jr.

Michel Jourdain, Jr.'s day was a case of if at first you don't succeed, try try again. He struggled to get his #17 Office Depot Honda up to speed and even with help from Rahal Letterman Lanigan teammate Graham Rahal , he never managed to find the speed required to get in the big show.

After suffering an engine failure on his qualifying run yesterday, Conor Daly got his #41 ABC Supply Company Honda in the show and will start 31st.

In his first time driving the Dallara DW-12 chassis, 1996 Indianapolis 500 winner got his car safely in the show and landed sponsorship from Advance Auto Parts in the process. He will start 32nd.

The fastest qualifier of the day was Fisher-Hartman Racing's Josef Newgarden with a lap at 226.731 MPH, he will start 25th. Also qualifying today were Graham Rahal (26th), Sebastian Saavedra, Tristian Vautier and Ana Beatriz.

Click here for the 2013 Indianapolis 500 Starting Lineup

Indianapolis 500 Fast Nine Press Conference Transcript

THE MODERATOR: I think this is a pretty good indication that there's a lot of pressure that goes with this shootout, and I would imagine it's pretty darned difficult to hang it out for a second time, but what these gentlemen do know is that they are in prime position, they're the top three rows for the 97th running of the “500” so they're in good position. They might not be as happy as they might be, but it's still a good run. Let's open it right up to any questions that you might have for any of them. We bring second and third in next and then we'll bring the polesitter in next.

Q: Are any of you completely thrilled with your second run or completely disappointed?

UNIDENTIFIED DRIVER: I'm completely disappointed.

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE: Thrilled. I deal with this all day, too. For the record, I was being facetious. I am very disappointed with my run, also.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: I'm surprised you even know what that means.

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE: Let's put it this way. I was like thrilled to get into the Fast Nine. I had a really stressful day sitting there on the bubble. I didn't like the bubble. The bubble is not fun.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: You've never been on the bubble‑bubble. I was happy to be there, but then when we did there I wasn't particularly proud of that. We can do better. We're going to do better. There's a race coming up next week, you know that? We're going to try and do better there.

Q: AJ, tell me, how did it go?

AJ ALLMENDINGER: I was pretty thrilled with it. I was OK. I thought the first lap I was pretty happy with, and then I progressively got slower each lap and kind of lost ‑‑ I lost more than I thought I would, actually.

Q: What were you thinking when you were losing speed?

AJ ALLMENDINGER: I've got to beat E.J. I've got Hinch covered. I was like, ‘I've got him covered, no problem.’ I just got the car too much understeer. But overall with the day I was pretty pleased.

Q: We did some have some situations where some second and third laps were way different, not just a little bit. Is that just the result of knowing that you're going to have to try something different, a different line or just the car going away? Why the dramatic difference in some laps as we went along?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: I had a big moment.

Q: We need to hear about the big moment.

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE: Come on, Bert.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Yeah, James likes to call me Bert now.

Q: What was your moment?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: I got really loose into (Turn) 3. I had to catch it and there was a lift accompanied with it, which killed the lap.

MODERATOR: That's all it takes.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: We were kind of rolling the dice. I was telling these guys, the sweat ‑‑ on an oval especially, the sweat on a race suit, there's a direct correlation ‑‑

AJ ALLMENDINGER: I have no idea what you're talking about.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: The looser you are, the more you sweat.

MODERATOR: Association is not causation. That's the problem we have here.

Q: I can't think of four guys who have been kicked in the butt more than you guys have in the last couple, three, four years. I mean, I remember when you were the odd men out, E. J., I remember you at California not looking real happy, and ‑‑

UNIDENTIFIED DRIVER: What are you talking about? I've always been solid. No problems there.

Q: But here you are.

UNIDENTIFIED DRIVER: Here we are.

Q: You want to wax philosophical so I have something to write, please?

UNIDENTIFIED DRIVER: Sure. What was the question? Was it a question or just the fact that we've been kicked in the gonads a couple times?

AJ ALLMENDINGER: For me, I'm thrilled to be here. I'm thrilled to be here, I'm thrilled to be next to these guys. No, it's ‑‑ I really enjoyed this week and this press conference is just the cherry on top, so I'm happy that Roger has given me a chance.

Q: What can you guys bring to the party? I know this qualification is session is hard, there's a lot of pressure in it. Tell us about your experience.

HELIO CASTRONEVES: My experience? It wasn't a ‑‑ this is the Indianapolis 500. We just took a chance. We want to go for it, and we went for it. Obviously a lot of people did the same, and you've got to hold on for four laps. It was very hard. We just wanted to make sure that at the least ‑‑ sometimes it pays off. In the past it paid off, today it did not. It was very hard to keep four laps together, but hey, it's not where you start, it's where you finish.

Q: How about you, Will?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, I was going to go with more downforce level than I did this morning, but Castroneves decided to go all the way. I was flat the whole time you weren't. Why did you do that? (Laughter.)

But yeah, it was good. We took everything off and went for it, definitely starting the last lap I really did not want to do it, it was so bloody ‑‑ yeah. Even the last two corners, you're like, ‘Man, I don't know whether this thing is going to stick.’ But good fun, and it's good to be starting on the second row, and we'll see what we can do.

Q: Seriously, this is a lot of pressure on you guys, no question about it. It's hard to qualify and then you turn around and try to do it again to get the pole position, which is a big prize, and I would imagine it is a really an intense moment for you to go out again.

E.J. VISO: Yeah, it is. The first time we went a little bit conservative, at least on my side. I was pushing my engineer, ‘Come on, let's go a bit more, a bit more.’ Anyway, I think it happens the way it should have happened. The second round was fun. Definitely the car was extremely lively to be driving it. The rear was always wanting to go, but save for those laps.

AJ ALLMENDINGER: For me the first round was more nerve-racking than the second. I had never done that before, gone out there in four laps and made it count, especially after the rain and being one of the early cars out for me was more nerve-racking, and once I got in the top nine, yeah, I had hoped maybe some miracle would happen and we'd find that speed to get the pole, but for me I was just playing with house money at that point. I was just happy to be in the top nine, and whatever we got from there. I was going to start no worse than I was already starting in the third row. The second round for me was ‑‑ the car was a little bit harder to drive, but emotions were a little bit easier.

THE MODERATOR: Welcome back to the Economaki Press Conference Center. Two gentlemen that will be a part of the front row, that always makes for a good qualifying effort, that's still a great starting spot, particularly when you're a rookie like Carlos and Marco who's been strong all year long. Marco, given the week there was a chance that you would be making a legitimate run for the pole, came up short but you're definitely on the pole.

MARCO ANDRETTI: Yeah, definitely pleased. Extremely proud of my team. Five out of the top nine is just an incredible achievement. That has to be some kind of a record. I don't think there's been five cars on one team let alone in the top nine. Chevrolet, what a statement. I'm definitely proud of them.

But as for the RC car, after my first run this afternoon, I wouldn't say my pole hopes were totally dashed but they diminished a little bit, and I knew if we just went the conservative route that we'd be on the first two rows anyway.

For once, it bit Penske getting a little greedy. Normally it works out for them, so we'll take that.

THE MODERATOR: So I would assume that your main adversary going in was Ed Carpenter.

MARCO ANDRETTI: Definitely, we knew he was faster, but those laps were really stout. We didn't see that kind of pace out of him earlier, but I think he went for a trim and he balanced the car, so it rewarded him, where the other guys ‑‑ the Penskes had more of a dropoff. We were lucky that happened, and it bumped me back to the front row. If we're not going to be on pole, it's an incredible honor to be on the front row at Indianapolis, especially for a rookie.

THE MODERATOR: You did pretty good here your rookie year here by the way, but a great week for you capped by a front row starting position. Congratulations, Carlos.

CARLOS MUÑOZ: Yeah, right now I don't have too many words to describe how happy I am, just a rookie to be in the front row, just a dream. I was like crossing my fingers that it rained that we can stay in the front row. I was happy with the car in the first qualifying, but we did a couple of changes and it worked out. We were really fast as Marco said. We didn't expect Carpenter to go so fast. He just did really good laps out there. I can't say anything – just front row is perfect for the race. I have my teammate just on the side of me, I have great people around me with a lot of experience. It's a 500-mile race, and I'm in the middle of the field with some little problems down there.

Q: Marco, I know how much you appreciate this place, this race, but how much do you think Ed appreciates winning the pole for the Indy 500?

MARCO ANDRETTI: Yeah, I was genuinely happy for him as a friend. If it wasn't going to be us or Carlos at that point. So obviously his history and his family, it's an awesome achievement for him, so congratulations to him.

Q: Carlos, this is for you. Does starting on the front row do anything for your confidence level not only for the race but for the Freedom 100 since I think you're the only driver here competing in both?

CARLOS MUÑOZ: Yeah, for sure. I have a lot of confidence. Last year my first race, I did second place. We were really quick also in Indy Lights. I have a great car and fought for the win. It's going to be tough doing 600 miles in one weekend, but I think we have perfect cars in both Indy Lights and IndyCar, so I'm going to be hopefully in the front row in both categories.

Q: Do you think it'll feel like you're sort of walking in the Indy Lights or having this kind of speed?

CARLOS MUÑOZ: Yeah, for sure, it's going to be different. I'm going to go back to my old lady who I like a lot. As I said, you have to adapt pretty quickly to each car you go. I know how Indy Lights feels. For sure it's going to be different to shift here and the steering wheel and the horsepower and everything. But as I said, my main goal before coming here was to win the Indy Lights championship, and also I have to be focused now this week on Thursday and Wednesday on the Indy Lights program.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, guys. 97th pole for the Indianapolis 500, Ed, I can't believe it.

ED CARPENTER: Yeah, I told you in here after the first round I wasn't sure we'd be able to do a 229 and we did two of them, and that was the key in the shootout. A lot of fun. I knew we had a shot at it, but the field is so tight and Chevy brought such a great engine, and I wouldn't have been surprised if we were outside the top 10, too.

It's an honor to win this pole because it is a really competitive field.

This is a good start. I want to make sure we keep the team focused. I hope this is part one of a really magical month, and we're here for race day. This is awesome, and it's bigger than our wins and it's huge for the team, huge for Fuzzy's Vodka. It's definitely a landmark day, but I don't want to get overly focused on this because we have a lot of work to do yet.

Q: Was there a different strategy for the second run than the first run? Did you worry about the first two laps more or something like that?

ED CARPENTER: Well, in the first one I definitely took too hard of a warm‑up lap and started to use up the tires a little bit. It really came down to strategy on how much downforce we ran in the shootout. We don't run this time of day on the track. Normally we're off the track by 6, and when we finished the first round of qualifying we felt like we were too light on downforce and we were planning on putting some more on for the shootout, and then we were sitting there and started thinking about what the track is like at 6 every day when we finish, and doing the math on what time I would be going out around 6:45, so that's 45 minutes after we normally get done, and the track temp is going to be coming down. We chose to stay where we were in the first round. We really hardly changed the car at all.

And then the Penske cars appeared to get even more aggressive and take more downforce off, and I think that was a mistake. That's what we were hoping for going into it, that someone was going to overstep it. We didn't want to be too conservative, but we were hoping that someone was going to go too far. Luckily we had the speed in the Fuzzy's Vodka machine to be quicker than the Andretti cars, but it was an awesome shootout. It was fun. Chevy Shootout I think it's called this year, right?

Q: You're carrying the banner for the open-wheel nation. I want to know from your standpoint what does the series have to do to attract more guys like yourself to have more open-wheel drivers in the series?

ED CARPENTER: I wish there was an easy answer to that. This was always where I wanted to be, and I think a lot of guys still dream of coming here, but a lot of guys dream to go to NASCAR, too. There's easier avenues from USAC to NASCAR right now, and I hoped that was something that would change. Bryan Clauson got a chance here last year and did a good job, and he was out there for this year and a lot of people wanted us to put him in the second car. It just wasn't the right car, but I would certainly like to see more guys from USAC and where I came from doing it here because it's good preparation and it's great racing and great drivers. But I don't know what that answer is. I think I would have to start with more of them actually really wanting to do it and chasing it.

Q: What goes through your mind on that fourth lap when you can see Will losing speed?

ED CARPENTER: I kind of knew in the first lap to be honest after seeing what Helio and AJ had done I figured he would fall off too much to maintain the average that we had. But you never know, Penske has pulled out so many poles at this place that you can't count him out. After I saw Helio do his run and fall off the way he fell off, I felt like we were going to be in pretty good shape. I'm just really proud of the guys on the team for making the right call.

Q: How far back does your memory of this place go? What do you first remember about it and did you ever allow yourself to dream of a moment like this?

ED CARPENTER: You know, I've been in positions to qualify in the top 10, but this was my first year where we had a chance at pole and I thought and really believed we had a chance at pole. We were aggressive all day long and a little too aggressive in the first round, but to answer the first part of your question, I remember watching Rick Mears qualify here in '91 from the Turn 2 suites, and that's my first memory of qualifications here.

But I told the guys before our first segment today and before the shootout that I'd be much more mad if we went conservative and didn't take a shot at it than if we took a big shot at it and missed. They made the right calls. I'm really proud of them.

Q: The fact that this place means so much to you might not mean anything when you're running that repeat run, but now that it's over and you've got it, do you let it sink in tonight maybe?

ED CARPENTER: A little bit, but I love the race a whole lot more than qualifying, and I really want to send a message and make sure I lead by example to the team and make sure we don't forget why we're really here. This is fun and it's huge for our team. I don't want to think that it's not. But the pole won't mean much if we don't go out and perform on race day.

I love it here. I love racing here. I love going fast here. It's cool to see the speeds climbing again. But this track and race means a lot to the other 32 guys that are going to start the race, too. I don't think it's just special to me.

Q: Talking about just how special it is, how much do you enjoy that the fans really embrace you as the local guy?

ED CARPENTER: It's really fun. I've lived here since I was 8 years old, went to school at Butler University and probably will never leave. It gives me confidence knowing people are behind you, and I'm blessed to have a great family. A lot of them are here. Unfortunately my parents and sister are up in South Bend because Lauren graduates from Notre Dame tomorrow, which is awesome, so it's a big weekend for our whole family.

Indianapolis 500 Pole Day Wrapup

INDIANAPOLIS--It may have took Ed Carpenter since Kentucky in 2010 to win his second career pole, but the 2nd one is the biggest one of his life--the pole for the 96th Indianapolis 500. This is the first pole for Ed Carpenter Racing since it's formation in 2012 and is the first time an owner/driver won the pole since AJ Foyt in 1975.

"I's an honor to win this pole because it is a really competitive field, says Carpenter. "This is a good start. I want to make sure we keep the team focused. I hope this is part one of a really magical month, and we're here for race day."

After showing some muscle earlier in the week, Columbian rookie Carlos Munoz leads the Andretti Autosport charge qualified 2nd.

"Right now I don't have too many words to describe how happy I am, just a rookie to be in the front row, just a dream," said Munoz. "I was like crossing my fingers that it rained that we can stay in the front row."

Marco Andretti fills out the front row with a 3rd place qualifying effort.

"Yeah, definitely pleased," says Andretti. Extremely proud of my team. Five out of the top nine is just an incredible achievement. That has to be some kind of a record. I don't think there's been five cars on one team let alone in the top nine. Chevrolet, what a statement. I'm definitely proud of them."

Chevrolet dominated qualifying, taking all of the Fast Nine positions. The fastest Honda powered car was Alex Tagliani in 11th position.

Qualifying began a 1:28 p.m., about an hour and a half after it was scheduled to start after a rain delay. The procedure was altered to compensate: drivers could make up to 3 qualifying runs up until 6 p.m., then the Fast Nine would go out 1 run each.

Every driver minus Katherine Legge went out and made their qualifying runs and the only incident was rookie Conor Daly's engine failure on his run.

The lone lap disqualification was Rahal Letterman Lanigan's James Jakes lap due to the car being underweight. Jakes would later requalify and bump himself back in the field to start 20th. His RLL Racing teammate Graham Rahal was not as lucky, he would be bumped out of the top 24 and will have to requalify tomorrow.

Current IZOD IndyCar Series points leader Takuma Sato qualified in the 18th position.

One-two in last years race, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti did not make much noise and qualified in 16th and 17th.

Hoping to put the memories of the 2012 Lotus fiasco behind her, Simona de Silvestro originally posted the 22nd fastest time, but withdrew her run to try and make a better one. Her 2nd attempt wound up being a bit slower and she will start from the 24th position.

Click here to view the starting lineup for positions 1-24.

Qualifying Report As They Run

INDIANAPOLIS-- Thirty-three of the 34 drivers competing have made their qualifying runs and the track is silent at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Team Penske's AJ Allmendinger set a quick 4 lap average of 227.761 MPH early, but teammate Will Power went out and set a blistering 4 lap average of 228.844 MPH.

Several drivers came close to knocking Power off the top spot, but no avail.

The Andretti Autosport charge is led by Ryan Hunter-Reay, who sits in second place with a 4 lap average of 228.282 and is followed in 3rd place by rookie teammate Carlos Munoz (228.171).

Chevrolet owns all the positions in the top 10. The fastest Honda is Alex Tagliani in 11th place.

Rookie Conor Daly suffered engine problems on his qualifying attempt and waived off his run. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's James Jakes lap was disallowed for being underweight and will have to re qualify.

Check back tonight for a full day's report

Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Procedure

• On Pole day, positions 1-24 are open for qualifying. At 4:30 the top nine drivers return to the track for a 90-minute "shootout" competition to re-qualify for the top nine spots - including the pole position.
• On Bump day, positions 25-33 are filled. Once the field is filled to 33 cars, bumping commences. The slowest car in the field, regardless of the day it qualified, is "on the bubble.

Pole Day

INDIANAPOLIS-- Qualifying is in a holding pattern right now due to rain delay, but INDYCAR officials are currently drying the track and there are windows of opportunity to get qualifying in today. The weather for bump day tomorrow, so if qualifying was pushed back tomorrow could work.

In this mornings practice, Team Penske's Will Power set the fastest lap at 229.808 MPH. His fellow Penske wingman AJ Allmendinger was 2nd fastest 229.066 MPH.

None of the Andretti Autosport teams took any practice laps this morning.

Katherine Legge has not been officially confirmed, but she is rumored to run a second Schmidt-Peterson Motorsports car. She will make a run tomorrow to get in the field.

UPDATE:

The cars are taking their places in the qualifying line and qualifying should be starting soon. There is a chance the Fast 9 will not be used due to time constraints.

UPDATE: 12:24 P.M

Scott Dixon is strapping into his car and qualifying is set to begin.
INDYCAR Race Director Beaux Barfield announced that the qualifying procedure will be changed due to the rain delay. The change is as follows: teams can make qualifying runs until 6 p.m., then the Fast Nine session will begin at 6:30 p.m., but instead of being allowed 3 runs, only 1 will be allowed.

More changes are possible if rain returns.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Fast Friday Press Conference Transcript

MODERATOR: Good morning, folks. We'll have a quick conference with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for those of you that will come forward with questions. Including 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal. Jay O'Connell, the technical director of Rahal Letterman Racing.
            As always, it's a difficult month. Jay, talk about the preparation and how it's gone this far.

            JAY O'CONNELL: We're having a lot of fun here at Indy. Especially today with the increased turbo boost, we're looking for another 2 to 4 miles an hour on our cars, and hopefully not competition, but I'm sure we're all going to go faster, and we're looking forward to going faster because that's what it's all about here.

            MODERATOR: Yes. It's going to be an interesting thing.
            Bobby, you know, you came pretty close again last year. You've been in Victory Lane not only as an owner but as a driver, and last year almost the second time. That's got to feel good, too.

            BOBBY RAHAL: Yeah, we won the Indy 499 and a quarter (Laughter).
            You know, we've had pretty competitive efforts here over the years, three years, in particular. And tell you this group has done a very good job over the years. I think our month, this year, has gone reasonably well. I think it picked up pace yesterday. We were pretty pleased where we ended up yesterday. You know, I think that we should have a good race car; we have some more running to do on that front. But all in all, I think there's a lot of experience in the team, particularly in the “500” here. So I certainly hope that, you know, we can make the most of that. Of course, we sure miss not having Scott Roembke with us. He was such an important part of this team. But I think we're feeling his vibe.
            So, as I say, we expect to have a little competitive effort with our drivers on Memorial Day.

            MODERATOR: Scott was not just a loss to your team; he was a loss to the sport.

            BOBBY RAHAL: I definitely think often times it was everything I could do to keep from recommending him to INDYCAR racing higher-ups, and I'd lose him. Because I felt Scott had a tremendous sense of what the sport should be, where it should be. He was selfless. He was never looking at how it was going to be good for him; it was all about what was going to be good for the sport. I know he and Brian Barnhart had a very close relationship. I think Scott, when you asked him his opinion on something, what you got was the unvarnished truth. And that could be critical at times.

            MODERATOR: That's right.

            BOBBY RAHAL: If you don't want to hear the answer, don't ask the question. Yes, not having Scott is certainly a loss for our team, but as you said, it's a bigger loss for the sport.

            MODERATOR: Mike Lanigan and Graham Rahal are also joining us.
            Folks, we have only a little time here, so we'll turn it over to you all for questions. Taylor is going to be running the mike so we get it all recorded. Any questions?

Q: Hey, Bobby. Could you and Graham talk about, was it, as you look back on it now, was it better that you went off and did your own thing for a while, and now does that sort of make it, you know, all that nicer to be together now?

            BOBBY RAHAL: Will, I think it was important for Graham as a person, you know, to go out and see what the rest of the world, how they go about it. He was very fortunate to be with great teams. Newman/Haas/Lanigan -- Mike was with Carl and Paul at the time, and then, of course, then Chip. He also had a year where things were looking good and then fell apart in 2010 when McDonald's pulled out in January. He went from having a deal to not. And he had to scramble drove for Sarah, drove for Dreyer & Reinbold, drove for us, drove for Newman/Haas again. Didn't do a whole series. It's not pleasant, but it does nothing but show the driver -- we've all been through that. It's not all a given, you know. You have to work hard for it. I think he did.

            GRAHAM RAHAL: I think it's important for anybody to go out on their own a little bit and gain respect of their peers and the others that are around them. For me, it's certainly -- you know, driving for your dad is a different atmosphere than driving for most other teams that you don't have that blood connection to.
            It was right to go out and be with the other operations that I drove for, but at the same time it's best that we're here. I think for Dad, myself, Mike, Dave, everybody within this team, you have to look at what's best for each and every one of us. As I talk to a lot of different teams last fall, it just became clearly apparent to me that this is where I wanted to be and this is where I needed to be to further my career, to have the success that I want to have, and the dedication to our program.
            And I think vice-versa. I think that works on so many levels for the team, as well.
            We've enjoyed it. Dad and I, I think, have a really special relationship. I think a lot of father-son combos have a lot of relationship. But my mom would tell you that Dad and I are too similar. We are very much the same person in the way that we sound, the way that we act, and all that sort of thing.
            And Mike, you know, I've been driving with Mike since 2006? '06 was my first year in Formula Atlantic, and then we went on to Champ Car together, and now he's here with us.
            So it's been a lot of fun, but it's important for any young driver, doesn't matter where you come from, that you need to go and experience other things other than just driving for the family. Even in Formula BMW, was the only year growing up that Dad put together a team. Other than that, it was always someone else.

Q: Because everybody spent the first six days pretty much focusing on race setup, which is good for next weekend, do we have a gauge what to expect for tomorrow, who to expect, who is going to be fast? Jay, if you want to chime in a little bit.

BOBBY RAHAL: I think there was some qual sims being run. Didn't know what the weather was going to be. On Monday, Tuesday, it looked like it was rain on Thursday, Friday. Could still rain today. Yesterday we managed to avoid it. There's been a lot of race running, too. I don't know.

            It's going to be faster than last year. How much faster? I can't really honestly -- I don't think anybody has a good feel for that yet.

Q: Will it be the same usual suspects?

            BOBBY RAHAL: I'm sure.

            GRAHAM RAHAL: I'm sure the cars you've seen are fast and in race trim are going to be fast in qualifying. Yesterday, you know, we worked a little bit on race setup -- or sorry -- qualifying setup to get the car a bit more comfortable. We felt pretty good about where we were with the no-tow. I think our fastest lap of the day yesterday was by ourselves, which I'm not sure anybody else on the time sheets could claim that.
            But you know we -- it's pretty hard to say at this point. I think that the Andretti cars clearly seem to have an advantage, whether it's race trim or qualifying. They just seem to be fast.
            You know, Penske cars -- it's hard to tell at this point what to say. But I think here soon we're going to find out. I'm sure when the boost level goes up, the speeds are going to go up pretty considerably. That might magnify some handling issues that we haven't seen just yet, but we'll see.

            O'CONNELL: Bruce, for today, we're definitely gearing for at least 4 miles an hour faster at the end of the straightaways, so the average lap speed will be 2 to 3 miles an hour quicker. But as they said earlier, the whole field will be going quicker. The challenge will be as the driver approaches these corners 4 miles an hour faster, does he have enough grip to get through the corner and whether the car's handling it. I think some cars will rise to the occasion, and others will struggle with the increased power because they don't have enough mechanical grip on the car.

            MODERATOR: Questions?

Q: Mike, where's been your observation about the Bobby-Graham matchup here? Do you like what you've seen? Talk about what you've seen from it.

            MIKE LANIGAN: Well, as Graham mentioned, we've been together on and off since 1996. He was still in high school, I think.

            GRAHAM RAHAL: 2006.

            LANIGAN: With the Mi-Jack Racing, I've seen a lot of relationship from '06 and up until today.
            But Bobby could not be a better teacher, in essence, to complete the master's degree for Graham in racing. Graham learned everything pretty much on his own through the years because he drove for other teams. But this is kind of like the icing on the cake. As Graham and Bobby says, the relationship is really good. Who else would you want to teach you? I guess teaching may not be the right word, but round out the edges of where Graham wants to be. I haven't seen them argue one bit yet.

            GRAHAM RAHAL: I can tell you that's -- our radio's gotten interesting a couple times but never that bad, never that bad. Marco and I ran out of fuel with two corners to go; he wasn't very happy. But it's all right.

            MODERATOR: Question up here. This will be the our last question.

Q: Just for Mike and Bobby, you've got two famous names. You've got two teams that in the past have been very strong and very innovative. It seems to me that a team runs as much on chemistry as they do on ethanol. What's the status on the unified team? How is it going? What are your observations? Where do you go from here?

            LANIGAN: It's a big question. Well, I mean, Bobby, pretty much, is the rainmaker as far as the team ownership. I couldn't be more pleased with the team that he's developed over the last two years. Are we pleased with the results we're getting so far? Of course, Long Beach was wonderful.
            I know one thing: We got a lot of smart people here. We have a lot of great individuals that know what they are doing, and I know we will get it to where we need to be on the 26th of May.
            You've got a Graham Rahal and a James Jakes and a Michel Jourdain, that's a pretty good team. We've not shown it yet, but don't, don't, count us out yet.

            BOBBY RAHAL: I think people tend to forget, or many people feel like this team's been around for quite a long time. If you really look at it, a number of people have, but for the most part it's a new team. A lot of new people on our team, all having come from good teams. So I think we're still building that chemistry internally. I'm very close with Jay and, of course, Jerry Hughes, we spent a great year last year. Now we've got Eddie Jones, all on engineering side. These guys are smart people who bring a lot of value to our team. The mechanics that we attracted to the team as we've grown, I think are all, you know, very, very good, great talent.
            It's all coming together. I think we've seen -- there's been a lot of work done by this team internally to build the camaraderie, to build that chemistry that's so important that guys like Penske have or Ganassi or Andretti for that matter. Great teams have to have that, as you mentioned, and we're getting there. It's a lot of effort, but we're getting there.
            One thing is both Mike and David and I are committed to, I think, reclaiming a spot that Team Rahal once held and has shown over the years and holds in sports car racing today, in IndyCar racing, to be one of the leading teams. We're getting there slowly. Graham's going to be one of our horses to do that. James, as well, on a regular basis.
            But we're committed to being at the front of the pack over the long haul. And we've shown little bits of that so far this year, Long Beach, in particular, but as Mike was saying, we certainly expect to be in the thick of it come Memorial Day.

            MODERATOR: Thank you very much.

Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Order

QP Car Driver 

1 40 TBA
2 9 Scott Dixon (W)
3 14 Takuma Sato
4 15 Graham Rahal
5 14T Takuma Sato
6 2 AJ Allmendinger (R)
7 6T Sebastian Saavedra
8 91 Buddy Lazier (W)
9 8T Ryan Briscoe
10 78 Simona de Silvestro
11 83T Charlie Kimball
12 40T TBA
12A 60T Townsend Bell
14 27 James Hinchcliffe
15 27T James Hinchcliffe
16 9T Scott Dixon (W)
17 41 Conor Daly (R)
18 3T Helio Castroneves (W)
19 16T James Jakes
20 12T Will Power
21 7 Sebastien Bourdais
22 19 Justin Wilson
23 3 Helio Castroneves (W)
24 11T Tony Kanaan
25 1T Ryan Hunter-Reay
26 78T Simona de Silvestro
27 16 James Jakes
28 99T TBA
29 5T E.J. Viso
30 22T Oriol Servia
31 18T Ana Beatriz
32 6 Sebastian Saavedra
33 63 Pippa Mann
34 60 Townsend Bell
35 20T Ed Carpenter
36 5 E.J. Viso
37 98 Alex Tagliani
38 12 Will Power
39 77T Simon Pagenaud
40 25T Marco Andretti
41 8 Ryan Briscoe
42 11 Tony Kanaan
43 21 Josef Newgarden
44 55 Tristan Vautier (R)
45 10 Dario Franchitti (W)
46 18 Ana Beatriz
47 4T JR Hildebrand
48 19T Justin Wilson
49 10T Dario Franchitti (W)
50 55T Tristan Vautier (R)
51 83 Charlie Kimball
52 20 Ed Carpenter
53 1 Ryan Hunter-Reay
54 17 Michel Jourdain Jr.
55 26T Carlos Munoz (R)
56 26 Carlos Munoz (R)
57 2T AJ Allmendinger (R)
58 4 JR Hildebrand
59 25 Marco Andretti
60 21T Josef Newgarden
61 98T Alex Tagliani
62 99 TBA
63 7T Sebastien Bourdais
64 41T Conor Daly (R)
65 77 Simon Pagenaud
66 15T Graham Rahal
67 63T Pippa Mann
68 22 Oriol Servia

Indianapolis 500 day 7 practice wrapup

INDIANAPOLIS--The quest to break 230MPH was cut short today as rain ended today's practice session a few hours early.

The despite practice being cut short, the Andretti Autosport dominance continued with the 4th member of the team pacing the field this time-E.J. Viso. Viso's lap of 229.537 stands as the fastest lap of the month and the fastest lap turned at the Speedway since 2003. He was followed by teammates Marco Andretti and rookie Carlos Munoz.

Munoz is looking to become the first rookie pole sitter at the 500 since Teo Fabi in 1983. Tony Stewart did start 1st as  rookie in 1996, but he inherited the pole position when polestitter Scott Brayton was killed during a practice accident prior to race day.

Thirty-two cars were on track today, the only exception being Conor Daly who crashed yesterday.

1996 500 winner Buddy Lazier completed his refresher test today and is set to qualify for his 16th Indianapolis 500.

Click here for practice speeds

Indianapolis 500 Day 7 Quotes

BUDDY LAZIER: “The guys (crew) did a great job. The car feels incredibly good. It’s always nice in the morning when it’s cool. We would have gone a lot faster, but we were just flat out of gear. We were on the rev limiter more than two-thirds of the racetrack.” (What will you work on the rest of the day?): “We’ve already spotted all of the other guys (drivers) six days. So we are going to go back to what we would be doing on the first day and start going through different steps and start trying to find some speed and race setup.” (You were asked to actually slow down after your third lap. How did that feel?): “I was actually happy because to slow down is always easier than to have to go a little faster. But the car feels good. I like this new package. Obviously, I have some ‘fit’ issues. I’m still trying to get fit in the car just right. And these things you can’t tell until you get up to speed. You get up to speed, and you do some adjustments. We can’t really skip a whole lot of steps. We’ll skip the few that we can, but other than that, we just have to go step by step. But it feels really good. So far, so good.”

DENNIS REINBOLD (Co-owner, No. 22 Panther DRR Chevrolet): “This week has gone very well. We have done a lot of component testing and made only race runs. We’ve been in full race trim for the full week. We did a little bit of a (qualifying) trim Thursday. We had a couple of issues that we have sorted out. We have been efficient and effective so far this week in getting an understanding of the race car that we need for Race Day. We feel very confident. Last year we had a fourth-place finish, and we want to improve upon that. I’m looking forward to not only the race but the pit stop competition. We had the fast time in qualifications for that. Hopefully we can do better than our second place last year and win the competition. This (Indianapolis 500) is a journey of love. I am very passionate about the sport of racing and the Indianapolis 500.” (About future plans for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing): “We have Mecum Auctions back with us next year, so we are pretty certain of the Indianapolis 500 next year. They want to grow with us, and they have been a great supporter and sponsor. The Mecum auctions are going on in Indianapolis this week in Indy, and that’s great timing. It is also a cornerstone and gives us a cornerstone and gives us a jump start on everything else for 2014. We are building for the future again.”

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 Midas/Big O Tires Honda): “Our plan for Fast Friday was to get as many new-tire runs in that we could to see how the balance is and to see how much speed we could get out of the car, and I think we found some good stuff. We made some changes today to the Midas/Big O Tires car that will not only improve the car for qualifying but also in the race. It’s always good when you find things like that. We’ll just keep moving forward. I feel good about where we are. I think we’re certainly among the best of the Honda’s. There is a little bit more room to go, but we’re close.” (About getting nervous for qualifying): “I think everybody gets nervous; it’s just part of the deal. It’s one of the biggest days of your life every year to come here and qualify at Indy. We’ll be giving it our all, I know that.”
JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 21 Sarah Fisher Hartman/Century 21 Honda): “It was a short day for us, but we got through what we needed to for what today was. It was a half day with the rain, but we got through all of our qual setups, and I think we're prepared for what we need to do tomorrow. We'll make the most of it, but obviously the race next weekend is what's most important, so that's what we're keeping our focus on. I think it’s open still. We have a little better idea of where everyone is at, but I think anything could still change tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how quickly everyone actually runs. We'll see where we'll stack up. I'm not 100 percent sure where we're at, but I think we're looking good relatively to most people, and I think we've got a great race car. I think the adrenaline of having to go out and do four laps at a very tough setup to gain maximum speed in front of a great crowd in Turn 1 is the coolest part. It's a fun experience getting to do that in front of the crowds in the inside and outside of Turn 1 when all the pressure is on you and you have to complete the four laps. It's something that isn't super-easy to do.”
JAMES JAKES (No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts Honda): “We did a lot of good work today. We were obviously hindered by the weather, but I think we are in good shape. If we put everything together, we should have a strong package for qualifying tomorrow. Obviously now it gives us a chance to look over some data, some extra time. We’ll see what happens. All guns blazing tomorrow. All three cars have worked well together all week. I’m excited to get out there tomorrow.” (About preference for qualifying draw): “It would be great to be the late teens. I don’t want to be the first out, and I don’t want to be the last out. To be honest, I don’t care: It doesn’t really bother me. You have to go out at some point, right? Here qualifying is so different to everywhere else. It’s not too dissimilar to a test session apart from the fact that you are the only car on track. Let’s see if we can get all three Rahal Letterman Lanigan cars inside the top10.”
MICHEL JOURDAIN JR. (No. 17 Office Depot Honda): “We didn’t get as much done before the rain came as we wanted to. We wanted to run five new sets of tires. We had a little problem with the weight jacker that they had to fix this morning, so we were delayed a couple of hours. So we were only able to run one set of tires and do our first trim, so we are a little behind schedule but better than last year. It’s tough because it’s so competitive. It going to be really tough for me to be in the top 24, but we will see where are tomorrow. In the pre-qualifying practice, we have to do two steps of trimming (the aerodynamic settings of the car), and we’ll see if we can get them done in the morning and see what we have for qualifying.”
ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka/Ed Carpenter Chevrolet Racing): “It’s hard to have a good idea where everyone is at for speed right now. I saw some people get in some legitimate ‘no-tow’ laps. There are some good cars that I don’t think got a ‘no tow’ lap, too. It’s very difficult to predict anything right now. I think the pole will be in the high 227 or low 228 for four laps. I have a good idea of what I think we can run on Saturday, but I’m not sure what everyone else can do. Of course, weather will be a big component on how qualifying plays out. Until everyone goes out in qualifying, you really don’t know how good you are with your car. It’s really fun for the next two days. It’s a lot of pressure, too. There is more pressure to qualifying for me than the race. I love running fast around here. Having the turbo boost turned up for the Chevy is awesome.”
MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 25 RC Cola Chevrolet): “I reckon we would have been over 230 (mph) if we would have had a full day. But, obviously, those were tow laps. I think as a team we’re quite comfortable with our speeds. Obviously, tomorrow is going to be another day, and it’s just going to come down to having a good balance.” (Do you learn much in the morning practice before qualifying due to so many cars being on the track?): “I’ll be in my bed tomorrow morning. You don’t learn a lot. In fact, you can fool yourself. So I think we are close enough from our last couple of runs that we can just run it and qualify.” (There is another chance of rain tomorrow. How does that affect your qualifying mentality?) “You don’t want to be as conservative on your first run because that could be the pole run if there isn’t a top-nine shootout. So you have to go for it on the first run.” (Would you say one of the five Andretti cars is the favorite to win the pole?) “I don’t know. (Will) Power put up some good laps. It’s just going to take a good balance. I think there is five of us in the running for the pole but as far as favorite – there is going to be a lot of factors tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll be on the good end of that. They are drawing numbers today, so that will be a factor, as well.”
ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 98 Barracuda Racing Honda): “I’m a lot happier today. We did some really nice changes to the Barracuda Racing car, and it made it a lot nicer to drive. It behaves more like our race car from last year, and it was nice. We needed a bit more speed, but with the changes we made, I feel that we're about 95 percent of where we need to be to get the car ready for qualifying. From this point, I'm really looking forward to the race because I think the car is going to be even better than it was when we did some race running. It's a big positive, and I'm very proud of the Barracuda Racing team.”
E.J. VISO (No. 5 Team Venezuela PDVSA Citgo Chevrolet): “We went little by little, step by step, trimming the car one step at a time. Until that point, I believe our realistic time was in the high 227s or low 228s. There are so many factors in play when we were running that we really won’t know until all of the factors are the same for everyone. I think that we have evolved as a team and heading into the right direction. Every day we’ve been on the track and testing a number of pieces on the car. And, as of today, we have a stronger car than what we started the week with. It’s all about finding as much mechanical grip as possible, and when it comes time to trim it, you should be in a good position if you did your homework.” (Is Andretti Autosport the favorite for winning the pole?) “I think we have a strong team, and we will definitely have a good shot for it. But the Penske guys have showed that they are strong. I think Helio (Castroneves) didn’t put everything he had in his run before it rained. Will (Power) was fast. AJ (Allmendinger) was the first car to go out on the track, and he was not totally trimmed and he was competitive. Those guys are also doing their homework, and that is what we are here for. It is fun. It is a great month, and the more competitive it is makes it better for the series, better for the team. It’s better for everyone, and it’s really what we like.”
CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen Honda): “Overall, it was a pretty good day for the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team. We rolled out and had a decent baseline. The HPD/Honda group made the adjustments to the boost levels overnight, which we needed a little bit for calibration stuff. We’re focused on qualifying but making sure to do it intelligently. We’re making progressive steps with downforce and trying to get the speed out of the car. We’ll see what the weather does tomorrow. I think we ended up with a pretty good car, so we’re pretty happy with that. We have another round of practice tomorrow, so we’ll see what we can tweak on it. But other than that, I think we’re pretty happy.”
RYAN BRISCOE (No. 8 NTT DATA Honda): “Today was all about qualifying runs and trimming the car out. We felt pretty confident with it. The setup felt pretty strong, and we were able to do a few runs, clear of traffic. As far as car balance goes, we felt good, but the speed was a little bit down so we need to see what we can do to squeeze a little more speed out of it for tomorrow. Overall, I felt we got the most out of the day before the rain came.”

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 27 GoDaddy Chevrolet): "I think the weird thing about Indy is we have 10 times more practice time than anywhere else, yet you always wish you had a little bit more to make it that little bit better. I think it’s just a function of a bunch of drivers and a bunch of engineers who are perfectionists and are always striving to make it a little better. But I think we can be pretty pleased with how things have gone. Obviously, having team cars up there all but one day bodes well. Qualifying is definitely going to be tough. There’s a lot of quick cars. Finding that right level of downforce that takes enough drag off but doesn’t leave you sliding all over the place and scrubbing speed is going to be key, and it would have been nice to have a run or two more to really nail that down. As a team, I think we’re confident and it’s going be tough because, like I said, there’s a lot of fast cars that are going to be going for that Fast Nine. Hopefully we can get there and get the GoDaddy car in a good position for the start of the race.” (About importance of starting position versus the quality of the race car): "It’s Sunday that everybody cares about. Dario (Franchitti) proved last year that qualifying is not the be-and all-end – he qualified 17^th. He even got hit in pit lane and fell right to the back, but he had a good race car and got his way back up to the front. So it’s definitely important to focus on the race car. What’s so tricky about (IMS) is it’s so sensitive to different weather conditions. So if you’re working on your race car throughout the entire week and you actually see a variety of different conditions, that’s good. Whatever comes around on Race Day, you’ll at least have a little bit of an understanding of what the car and track might do."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 1 DHL Chevrolet): "We feel pretty good overall. Still have some work to do, but hopefully the rain will hold off tomorrow and we’ll get a shot at showing what we have. Andretti Autosport, as a whole, is competing for the front row again. But the race is really what counts. We need to be in the right position for the last 50 laps and leading on (Lap) 200.” (Pole speed prediction): “It’s tough to say. Potentially 228.”
CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 26 Unistraw Chevrolet): "Today was a short day due to weather, but we wanted to get through our qualifying simulations during our afternoon run. We had to get through our runs pretty fast, but I'm really happy with how they went. I think we have a strong car going into qualifying tomorrow. The No. 26 Unistraw Chevy has been running well all week, so I'm looking forward to doing well. I'm really excited going into my first qualifying run for the Indy 500; it's a dream come true. Ever since I was small, I wanted to be in this race. I remember watching Montoya win the Indianapolis 500 in 2000. This is a special race for me; I'm going to give everything I have tomorrow."
SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): “We really didn’t have the chance to do much today with the Target car due to weather. We still got to trim out the car a little bit, though, and we got some more performance out of the engines. We didn’t really get to achieve much today, though. We came out for our second qualifying simulation, and then the rain came. We’ll just have to see how it goes tomorrow.”

MIKE HULL (Managing director, Target Chip Ganassi Racing): “It was a pretty short day today because of the rain and storms in the area. Dario had a really good run while the track was still dry, and we made really good progress. The definition of having a team is so you can compare notes. And we’ll continue to do that and progress forward. We’ll come back strong tomorrow.”

TAKUMA SATO (No. 14 ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt Racing Honda): “Today was quite straightforward. On Fast Friday, we have higher boost and only look for the qualifying setup. After the first run, we made some good progress, and the second run was quite satisfying. We were not able to explore more due to the rain, but I think we're in quite good shape. We'll review the details tonight and fine-tune the ABC Supply car tomorrow morning to prepare for qualifying. It was short but quite a good day.”

CONOR DALY (No. 41 ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt Racing Honda): "It's obviously not ideal that it's raining. I just got my suit on to go back out and unfortunately we can't. We'll see what happens, but at least we have a bit of practice tomorrow morning to get more comfortable with the ABC Supply car and be back to normal. So it should be good. I'm confident, and we'll just see what happens.”