Here’s what drivers said after Sunday’s race at Indy:
Michael McDowell — Winner: “I was really trying to pace myself. I thought there would be a warning at the end of the race and I didn’t want to burn my stuff. I was just trying to hold that gap. When I got into traffic, started to close, I had to push, but I just can’t believe it. So grateful to Bob Jenkins, all our partners, Bell Racing Helmets, Sparco. There are so many people helping us. So grateful to everyone who stood by us. It’s been a drag, and I’m so proud. You know, I thought we could point our way in, but after the car we had in practice yesterday, I thought, man, we have a good chance of winning if we can hold and maintain position on the track . I just can’t believe it, so grateful. Also Wiley X; I don’t know where they are now. They should be on my head. But they have been with me for more than 10 years and it is great to have such partners.”
Chase Elliott — Finished 2nd: “Just to be a little better through the back half there and get off (Turn) 14 a little better, just to have myself in a better place to get into 1. I just appreciate the effort, man. Our Napa Chevy was really good, really good. Just needed a little bit more and came up a little short. But congratulations Michael, man. He did a good job. I drove a great race and stayed clear, and that’s what you have to do to win.”
Elliott second to clear McDowell
Chase Elliott congratulates Michael McDowell for running a great race and is thankful for the efforts of the No. 9 team after finishing second.
Daniel Suarez — Finished 3rd: “We win and lose as a team, and that’s all I can say. The boys brought a very fast racing car. I felt like maybe we were behind on the first run with the rear of the car, but then we made it a little bit better. But I felt like I was always one step behind (Chase Elliott and Michael McDowell), and at the end I felt like when my car came back to life, we had that problem. Kind of heartbreaking, but that’s part of the sport. All we can do is keep pushing, keep building race cars like this, and I’ll keep winning races.”
Suarez thwarted by hose problem on pit lane
After a third-place finish, Daniel Suarez says he felt like he was a line and a step behind Michael McDowell and Chase Elliott.
Tyler Reddick — Finished 4th: “We definitely had a really good pace in the second half of the race. We just didn’t have the best start and weren’t that fast in the first half and figured it out. We pitted them for a short time, but we had a slow stop and weren’t in a position to take them off the pit lane, and that was kind of the story. We had no chance to get around Daniel (Suarez). We can drop off about 10 car lengths and go right back to his bumper. Our SiriusXM Toyota Camry TRD was better, but not good enough to complete the pass. I think with much fresher tires AJ Allmendinger had to push really hard to get around Daniel so that’s the story – just hard to pass unfortunately.
Reddick: ‘We weren’t really ourselves’
A disappointed Tyler Reddick “had the pace”, but “eventually fell behind early on”, resulting in a fourth-place finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
Alex Bowman — Finished 5th: “A top-five finish is good after the last few months. Just proud of the whole No. 48 Ally Chevy team. We fell off a bit too hard at the end of the run there, but we were really fast that last run. We had a little mechanical problem there at the end, but we were able to keep fifth. Always wanting more, but it was a good, solid day for us.
Kyle Larson — Finished 8th: “I just made that mistake in turn 12. I got a flat spot on my front left which I felt like it could have affected my right hand, but luckily it didn’t. There were more right-handers than left-handers, but I had no grip on all left-handers. So I was really tight. I just had to get through that run. I gave up a few positions just before the green flag stops. We were ahead of the 20 and the 91. It was a tough race. I wish I hadn’t made that mistake, maybe I would have gotten third or fourth. Glad we managed to get a top 10 out of it. Shame I made such a mistake, and we had no warnings to make amends. It is what it is, I just need to clean it up a bit.
Christopher Bell — Finished 9th: “Yes, that’s how it went. I don’t know – after the last few weeks I’m really happy that we put in a complete race for this Rheem Camry team. Hopefully we can build on that, do a little better at Watkins Glen and take that into the playoffs.”
Shane van Gisbergen — Finished 10th: “It’s just a battle between good drivers. It was with Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell there. Unfortunately they got ahead of me at that last pit stop. Great to get another Top-10 for the Enhance Chevy and Project 91. We had fun all weekend. Hopefully can come back and do it all again. … It’s aggressive, but it’s fair. I put up a block (Alex Bowman), and the next turn he just moved me. I think I deserved that. The racing was fun. I have really enjoyed it. All the fighting when you turn someone on, they give you space. They expect it back. Really cool.”
Austin Dillon — Finished 16th: “We had a fast Cowboy Channel/Carolina Cowboys Chevrolet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course this weekend. We didn’t qualify where we needed to, but we weren’t too worried because we knew we had a fast car and a good strategy. It was great to run in the top-10 for much of the race. I thought we were going to have a top-10 finish on our way, but we just came up short at the end of the race. We were wheel hopping more and more. It’s okay because we hung in there. I wish we could have freed up our Chevy, but it’s hard when you drive so well.”
Kamui Kobayashi — Finished 33rd: “First of all, I was waiting for a warning. It never happened. I certainly enjoyed it. Thank you. 77 laps, no warning is pretty long – I think I learned a lot. We also had good speed. I got hit by someone, but this is NASCAR. But the racing in the field was great. It’s a really cool championship – I’ve had a great experience here. Thanks to all the support from Toyota, Toyota Gazoo Racing North America. This is a dream come true.”
