Sao Paulo Indy 300 Post-Race Quotes - March 14, 2010

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske, winner Sao Paulo Indy 300): "It was probably the most mixed up race that I have ever been in, but it created an opportunity for me to come back through the field and end up winning the race. The improvements that they did to the track last night, were like night and day. Not a problem at all going down the frontstraight. I think it is just a really good day for racing. If you were fast you could pass, because there is such a good track layout here. I'm pretty sure it was an exciting race for the fans.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 37 Team IZOD, finished second): "It is great to have a race in Brazil. This has been a long time coming. The country and the fans are so passionate about racing. It's great to do it here. And that was a great show we put on. That's what we need on these street circuit and road courses is a lot of passing like that. We definitely have the tools to do it. We have two straightaways that were pretty long and provided pretty good passing zones. The only shame about the whole race is that it went red for some puddles because there were a lot of big dips out there and our cars hydroplane pretty easily. It would have been great to get some good rain racing in. Maybe next year we will fill in those things and see where it goes. It was just great to get the IZOD car up on the podium in second place to start of the season.

VITOR MEIRA (No. 14 ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt Racing, finished third): "It couldn't be much better than that. I think Will (Power) can relate to it with a back injury and all that, it gets pretty uncertain at some times and having a team behind you making sure that the seat is availble, makes a big difference during the recovery. This is the start of the big thank you I have to give to A.J. (Foyt) and ABC Supply. I hope we get better. We overcame a lot here. Like Will said before, it was a mixed up race. I think whether you were able to keep your nose clean and were fast enough to make up position in all conditions, you could come out with a good result and that's what we did.

RAPHAEL MATOS (No. 2 HP Luczo Dragon Racing, finished fourth): "It was a long and very physical day, but I'm very proud of the HP team, especially with our pit stops. They did a great job. We all feel good about the fourth place finish. We wanted the podium, but we started 12th and made a lot of progress. This week was like a dream come true racing in my home country and in front of my friends and family. There was a lot of tension and pressure but we kept everything together and brought the car home. It was extremely important to finish this race and to get my best finish in Brazil was very rewarding.

DAN WHELDON (No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing, finished fifth): "It's really great for all of us at Panther Racing to start the season with a top-five, but first I have to apologize for taking Tag (Alex Tagliani) and TK (Tony Kanaan) out of the race. Tag had a bit of a bobble coming onto the straight and I got a really good run; he defended a little bit and I was going to look to the inside, but decided to pull in just a touch, and when I braked I hit a really big bump and it just lifted my front wheels off the ground. When that happens you can't stop. That was a really good effort from the National Guard boys, and I think it goes to show that we work really hard as a group, and the continuity around here has been really strong, and I'm sure it will continue. If we keep coming in the Top Five we're going to break into Victory Lane. We were really strong today - the car was really nice to drive and I was able to dive down inside people. It was an exciting race, and it's going to be an exciting IZOD IndyCar Series season."

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, finished sixth): "It was a very tough race. I'm proud of the Target Team for rebounding after the accident at the start. I'll take this any day especially after the start we had last year in St. Petersburg."

DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, finished seventh): "If I had my crystal ball it would have been easier. We get it right quite often here at Team Target but we had a lot of unknowns with the weather. We played it as best we could, so I can't be too disappointed."

MARIO ROMANCINI ( No. 34 Conquest Racing): "I learned a lot this weekend. Everything was new to me and we experienced some difficulties, preventing us from running as much as we would have liked each session. Things improved during the race after the first pit stop and we were doing great lap times. We were running competitively until the rain came. After the restart that we were a lap down and I was working to improve my position when I caught some water on the curb and lost the car. Unfortunately the race was over for us there. Now we have to turn the page and look forward to the St. Petersburg race, using the things that we learned here this weekend."

SIMONA DE SILVESTRO (No. 78 Team Stargate Worlds/HVM): "Despite the rear braking problems and the different things that happened during the race, it was a real good experience. I think we can be pretty competitive during the year, and now we just have to continue to work real hard. I'm sure we'll go in the right direction. A big thank you to my Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing crew for working so hard and to everyone who had a part in getting me to this point. I am very grateful to them all"

TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven): "The weekend could have been better; but on the positive side the whole 7-Eleven team did a great job on stops and we had a fast car. Unfortunately, we had to pay for the mistakes of others. It happens. I don't think it was on purpose and I believe I've made mistakes like that before. It's a shame it had to happen here in Brazil, in my hometown. I enjoyed the weekend, I enjoyed the crowd and I enjoyed the racing. My car was really good. I had the fastest lap of the race and I passed cars right up until the last corner. That's the positive. The negative is that I'd love to be on the podium right now with the Brazilian flag."

DANICA PATRICK (No. 7 Team GoDaddy.com): "I think the weekend started really tough for the No. 7 car and then we made a lot of progress at the end of the first practice day and that was really good. I'm proud of everyone for staying together and forging ahead instead of getting down. We missed the setup a bit in qualifying, but for the race I think my engineer (Eddie Jones) got the downforce right and my car was really good. We made it up to eighth and were making passes happen. Then when the rain started not everyone came in right away and we gambled on staying out. I mean, you've got to try and win the race. The front half of the track was wet and I locked up going into Turns 1 and 2, but worst off the car stalled. At the end of the day I think the GoDaddy.com car is going to be strong this year and the team overall is a lot stronger than we've been. It was a good first out for us.

E.J. VISO (No. 8 PDVSA-Jet Aviation-KVRT): "It was definitely a tough race for the PDVSA - KVRT team. The circumstances were very weird, we had a lot of rain, no rain, problems with the track and a lot of accidents but in the end we did what we set out to do and finish the race and get some points. I am looking forward to St. Petersburg and believe this is just the start of a good championship.

TAKUMA SATO (No. 5 KV Racing Technology): "After yesterday's practice session, we knew a lot of work had to be done. The KV Racing Technology team did a great job in coming together this morning and I was able to improve my lap time by quite a lot. I felt a lot more comfortable than yesterday and very happy that we recovered well during qualifying however I was very disappointed with the start of the race. It was very packed and there was a lot of dust. Unfortunately I got caught up in an accident in Turn One, it was not a good memory for my first IZOD IndyCar race, but seeing E.J. (Viso) finish solid and the KVRT team working well together makes me feel overall that we have learned a lot and I look forward to my next race in St. Petersburg, Florida.

MARIO MORAES (No. 32 KV Racing Technology): "It was a disappointing day for me and the Panamericano-KV Racing Technology team. The start was very dusty and drivers in front of me were braking early into Turn One. By the time I realized it was about 500 metres into the corner and when I applied the brakes I lost the rear and hit another car ending my race on the first lap."

HIDEKI MUTOH (No. 06 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing): "It was a disappointing race for the Formula Dream / Panasonic team. We had moved up as high as sixth, and when I was in seventh I went into the marbles in Turn 3 and couldn't turn the car and many cars passed me while I was sliding everywhere. Then I almost hit Vitor (Meira), who was fighting with another car. Vitor slowed so I had to brake harder and lost the back end and had nowhere to go. They were my mistakes. We have to move on and focus on having a good weekend in St. Pete."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Team Venom Energy): "It's obviously dusty. I think if you have any common sense, you're not going to stay flat out if you can't see the car ahead of you. I don't know, I got hit from behind."