INDY 500: Second Day Qualifying Notes and Quotes
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
May 14, 2001
NICOLAS MINASSIAN (#33T Target Chip Ganassi Racing G Force/Oldsmobile/Firestone): (About not getting to drive or qualify until today): "Target team and Chip (Ganassi) just want to win the race. I am with the best team, Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Tony Stewart and Jimmy Vasser did a hell of a job this week. I just jumped in the car this morning and ran a few laps. You just have to get in and do it. The only thing I think, I probably didn't push hard enough on my way out (of pit exit when qualifying)." (Do you think you can win this race?): "Why not, but you know I'm just going to take the experience. I think Jimmy and Tony are going to be fighting for the win. I never do a 500-mile race. I race in Nazareth and that's quite different than here. The Target team just put the car together for me, and I qualified it." (When did you find out you were going to qualify today): "I was on my way back home (in Indianapolis). They called me and said you have to come back out to the track. You're going to run Indianapolis. It just came as a surprise, but it's a good one. It's exciting. Everywhere you go is racing. I go to the super market and racing is everywhere."
DAVEY HAMILTON (#99T Sam Schmidt Motorsports Racing Special Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone): "We were trying so hard to get that team together (for the Indy 500) without sponsorship. This is what it is all about. All the others are warm-ups for the Indy 500, but thank God the streak is still alive (streak of starting in every Indy Racing event)." (About run): "Actually, I went faster the first lap out than my best of the month. If it wasn't for Kelley Racing, Treadway-Hubbard (Racing), Firestone and Sam Schmidt, who knows where we'd be. My goal was to make the Indy 500, but my next one is to win this race and then the championship. We finally got it. The car is as free as we've had it. The Ilmor (engine) gave us the power. Thank God we're in, and we're in with a decent speed. I feel better than I ever have as a race driver. I've got the confidence, but you've got to have the equipment and the funding. Today it's so calm that my car didn't really change at all in the four laps. I was able to run flat out. I've got guys who have won so many races (referring to Gary Bettenhausen, Billy Vukovich Jr., and his father, Kenny Hamilton), trying to help me get in this race. That is so special."
JERET SCHROEDER (#9T Purity Products Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone): "It's a major relief. PDM has built two cars this past week. Yesterday we took the new car out - it was built in 24 hours - and went 210 (mph). Last night, the crew worked real hard to get the car ready. We went out this morning, and the car went 222 (mph). I knew we were ready. Conditions today were the best I've seen all week. No wind, temperatures optimal. The car had good balance, so I knew I could attack the corners at speed. I had confidence PDM would give me a good car to do this. I looked down, and I saw 223 (mph). I didn't think it was right, but I knew it was right. The car had a little push in three corners. On the last lap, I went into (Turn) 3, if I had no problems, I knew we would be in the show. I was thinking about my mom. Today, this one's for her. Her name is Nadine."
CHIP GANASSI: "My hats off to Tony Stewart and Jimmy Vasser. They did the work to get the guys into the show. Without them it wouldn't have been possible."
SAM SCHMIDT: "It's fantastic. I told myself to not think about being in the show. Everyone has given 120%. I want to thank Tom Kelley and Jim Freudenburg for lending us a motor. The last time they did that, I finished second at Vegas. Maybe they are my lucky charm. I'm still a little concerned about the time, but I think I'll go out to dinner tonight."
BRUNO JUNQUEIRA (#44T Target Chip Ganassi Racing G Force/Oldsmobile/Firestone): "I was happy to get the opportunity. I knew I had one shot. I had no idea. I thought I was supposed to concentrate on the Japan race, then Chip (Ganassi) gave me this opportunity. It's a big race, the biggest race in the world. This morning was fast. I thought I could be faster. I knew I had to do laps of 222 (mph) to be safe, and when I saw three laps of 224 I slowed down on the fourth (lap) to be safe. I came here everyday (this week), tried to learn from Tony (Stewart) and Jimmy (Vasser) because they have much more experience than me. I have to thank Jimmy and Tony for giving me a great car. I went out on one outing this morning and did a 225. I said, 'This car is awesome. We can qualify on, like, the front row.' If I had the opportunity to win the pole, I would've tried harder. I look forward to the race now. I know it will be really tough. Now I have to practice and get my marks down. I know we have to have good pit stops, good restarts; I think we can be good. It's the biggest race ever in my life. All the drivers in the world dream of racing here. It was a big surprise yesterday afternoon when Chip (Ganassi) called me to race. A very funny thing happened. The guys said, 'Bruno and Nicolas can go home.' I just got to 16th Street and the phone rings. I thought maybe I had an appearance, but they said, 'No, you're going to race.' I only had one hour to practice. Even the Formula One drivers I know - I know a lot of Formula One drivers - say, 'When I retire from Formula One maybe I'll try Indy.'" (Asked if he wishes he had the opportunity to qualify on MBNA Pole Day): "I don't think so. The decision is done. You can't look back. Scott Dixon won the (CART) race (May 6) starting 20th." (Asked if he is comfortable at Indianapolis, given his limited track time): "On this track I'm never, ever comfortable. Any driver who says he is, is lying. If you do two laps well, then the wind will change. You can run really good then suddenly the wind or conditions change. The race will be more difficult. The important thing here is to get good experience and a good car. Tony and Jimmy gave me a good car." (Asked if he thinks he will be uncomfortable wearing the HANS device for 500 miles here): "No. I'm very comfortable with the HANS device. I thank Jimmy because I'm wearing his HANS device because mine is in Japan." (Asked if he thinks Ganassi intended to run him and Minassian all along): "I don't think so. He was very brave to do it. The wind and conditions could have changed considerably from yesterday, so things could have been very different for us."
BUZZ CALKINS (#12 Bradley Food Marts/Sav-O-Mat Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone): "Honestly, when I was sitting here (conference room) yesterday, I kinda had a pit in my stomach. Even if we didn't get bumped, I knew we would have to get the car back up to speed to be prepared to qualify. Feeling wise, this car isn't that different from the other car. I think this car is a little better. This is actually the car we were intending to qualify earlier in the week, until we took the T car out and decided to qualify it." (About withdrawing No. 12T to qualify the No. 12): "A little unexpected change of plans. It's amazing because we had a relatively easy week. We had been running well all week. But, sure enough on Saturday we lost a mile and a half per hour from what we had been running all month. I think that was the clue that our car was a little better suited for the heat. I think you have to be a little proactive. We knew we were going to get bumped. Looking back on the decision (to take the qualifying run) yesterday, it was probably pretty foolish, but we got lucky. There have been so many instances where you've seen teams wave off runs they should've taken in hopes to move up the grid when they shouldn't have been so greedy. I would guess that the field is going to be set today. I don't think this afternoon was as agonizing as last night." (About waiting until this afternoon to qualify): "That's the other risk that you have to consider. You could have something happen like what happened to Eliseo (Salazar) out there and blow an engine."
TYCE CARLSON (#60 Tri Star Motorsports Inc./Immke Racing Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone): "The car was flawless. We were able to go flat out all the way around, but I think we lost a gear. But we had to take a time. Do I think my speed is going to make it? If it's a nice day, no, but we've got our T car. It wasn't as tough as last year at this time when they were pulling me out of the car and taking me to the hospital."
MICHAEL ANDRETTI (#39T Motorola/Archipelago Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone): "I didn't miss this stuff. I've never experienced this (qualifying late). I feel sorry for guys that go through this. It's a high-pressure situation. I didn't sleep well last night. It's very stressful. It was a team decision (to withdraw the qualified car). We discussed it this morning. We put Sam's (Hornish) setup on the car, exactly. It was a team effort between Panther (Racing) and Archipelago. We ran a 220 (mph) in the heat, which was good for me. We would have done well yesterday if I'd have had this setup. I didn't get many laps late because of the problem (Eliseo) Salazar had and him coming down right in the groove, which I thought was unsportsmanlike, by the way. I'm going to be able to sleep now. I didn't need to go to Motegi (Japan) sitting on 220.7 (mph). We wouldn't have been in this situation, but yesterday we had a miscommunication and put too much tape on the radiator and overheated the engine on the last two laps. It was just a weird week. We never seem to mesh. None of us could seem to get it right. We had a lot of other plans. If we weren't quick enough, we were going to wave off the run and put someone else in the car to get it up to speed next week. We had plans B, C and D. I didn't think I'd do a 223 (mph). I was hoping for a 221 (mph). It's been tough. It's been draining. It did catch me out, and it surprised me. I was thinking: 'What have I done wrong to this place? Geez, what's going on?' I know Sam is going to do a lot this week. We trust what he is doing. We'll probably just be here on Carburetion Day."
CORY WITHERILL (#16 WSA/MOTORS/Indy Regency Racing G Force/Oldsmobile/Firestone): (About getting the black flag after team member didn't throw the green flag): "I assumed I just wasn't up to the proper speed. The car felt pretty good on the warm-up lap. I think I would have had a really good speed." (What was your plan?): "We really didn't talk about what we were going to do. We were just really focused on having four quality laps. We continue to improve, especially today. We seem to gain 1 mph every time we go out. Some teams are struggling. We continue to improve, so the extra day should help." (About support from Native American community): "The support the native community has given me is 110 percent. I have thousands of family and friends that are following me daily with their spiritual prayers and thoughts."
STEPHAN GREGOIRE (#7T Yellow/Jack K. Elrod Co./NADA Guides/Hoosier Park G Force/Oldsmobile Firestone): "I feel much better. I've gained my confidence back. I was in a confusing situation in my mind. Roberto (Guerrero) really made a difference. He did a great job for us. He was helping me today knowing he could get bumped by me. He is incredible. I have a lot of respect for him. He deserves to be in this race. When you lose confidence at this racetrack it eventually is going to hurt you." (Why did you wave off your attempt with one spot left?): "We didn't accept this speed, because if we would have accepted it and got bumped we would have missed the show. We were hoping for a speed of at least 220(mph), and we would have been around 218 (mph), which is not good enough to make the show. Accepting 218 (mph), our only hope would have been rain all day next Sunday."
EDDIE CHEEVER JR. (#51 Excite@Home Indy Race Car Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "As much as I like Scott (Goodyear), I didn't want to work in his pit on Race Day. It was a nightmare, a horrible week. It's Indy. It has knocked out people like Penske. I was afraid. It was good until Thursday, then we started having an electrical problem. We thought we had found something this morning, but I think it crept its way back in. We have not done the Infiniti engine justice. I'm glad Robbie (Buhl) had a good qualifying run. Qualifying at Indy is a very pressure-filled situation, even if things go well. I'm going back to Orlando tonight, I can't wait." (Asked if he thought Michael Andretti found out how competitive the Indy Racing Northern Light Series is): "The IRL is competitive. The cars by nature are really close. Michael Andretti is a very talented driver, as are many here. This is the meanest, nastiest race course, and qualifying is very difficult. It was very touch and go whether we were going to qualify, and when Michael ran 223 (mph), we had no choice. I can't think of anything more humiliating than not qualifying at Indy. You put humility and reason aside. I am amazed at the speed Ilmor found in qualifying trim. In the race, if you don't have a good pit stop you can make up for mistakes. In qualifying you've got four laps and there's no room for error. I'm just elated. I actually do feel like I qualified on the pole. I'm just glad I just qualified for the last row, or whatever. The last row parties are fun. I had a lot more fun when I qualified on the last row than up front. Missing the Indy 500 is unthinkable. The track conditions changed a lot here."(Where do you go from here?): "Forward."
Text provided by Paul Kelly
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