Race No. 10
Medic Drug Grand Prix
Cleveland, OH
June 29, 1996
Saturday Quotes from drivers and managers at Burke Lakefront:
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#12 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda |
JIMMY VASSER | |
| "This is the second
time this year our team has gotten the front row, and you can't be
disappointed with the pole and front row for the team. I may not have been
as ultimately quick as yesterday, but I could run more consistent good laps
today, and I think we've got as good a race car as anybody out there. We ran
almost an identical time to yesterday; I think the track may have been a bit
better but not much. "It's great to get an extra point for the championship. Now, the goal is to run smart and clean all day tomorrow and bag some more points." | |
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#6 Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Lola Ford Cosworth XD |
MICHAEL ANDRETTI | |
| "We were ready to go with our new tires on. The engine just let go with no warning. We didn't defeat ourselves, the engine defeated us. I think we could have been fifth fastest. That's the best we could have hoped for us here. It's always better if the engine blows during qualifying rather than the race, but it's never a good situation. We've had to work hard this year for the results we've gotten. Cleveland won't be any different." | |
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#20 Firestone Lola Ford Patrick Racing |
SCOTT PRUETT | |
| "The car was slipping out from under me throughout the qualifying session. The Firestone tires were perfect and the Ford engine ran strong today. I just think we tried to do too much to the car after the morning practice session. We just couldn't get all the beads on the string. I'll sit down with the engineers and we'll get it figured out for tomorrow." | |
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#21 PacWest Reynard Ford Cosworth |
MARK BLUNDELL | |
| "It's definitely a driveable package, and I'm happy that the team's given me a good race car, but it took about all my strength to put a good lap together. When you're drained physically, then usually you're drained mentally, and it's tough to maintain your concentration level. That's how it is for me right now, but the car is very much improved and we should have a good car for tomorrow." | |
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#9 Marlboro Hogan Penske Mercedes-Benz |
EMERSON FITTIPALDI | |
| "The Hogan Penske team made improvements to the chassis and suspension settings between last night and this morning, and I was confident I could improve my position from yesterday. "The team sent me out with my second set of tires, but I never got a clear lap. I got caught behind two Toyota cars and by the time I could get through, the checkered flag was flying. The improvements will serve us well tomorrow, however." | |
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#11 Kmart/Budweiser Lola Ford Newman/Haas Racing |
CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI | |
| "We found a little more grip today to improve the handling. The car jumped more this afternoon and that basically kept us from going faster. The car feels pretty good, though. We started the last race in 11th place and finished on the podium. Hopefully, we can do as well here in Cleveland. We're disappointed with 10th place. We wanted to be a little more up there, but we'll make do." | |
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#1 Delco Electronics High Tech Team Galles Lola Mercedes |
EDDIE LAWSON | |
| "Well, we made some pretty big gains yesterday, and a little bit more today, but so did everyone else. The car is consistent, but we're just a day behind. I think I'll have a good race car tomorrow. We ran a number of laps in the 60s [seconds] and the car felt good. The guys have been working really hard to get me comfortable, and we're almost there." | |
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#8 Pennzoil Special Reynard Honda Hall Racing |
GIL de FERRAN | |
| "I was hoping for a good result here. [Last year, when de Ferran earned his first career IndyCar pole] made us feel very confident. We're not prone to run so well in the heat, I don't know why, but we hope to solve the problem. The Honda engine is fine, it's just a little problem in balancing the chassis." | |
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#28 Shell Reynard Mercedes-Benz Team Rahal |
BRYAN HERTA | |
| "No question the gamble [changing tires] was worth it. We ran the Goodyear option tires yesterday [Friday] and I think we were just one of three teams to qualify on it yesterday. But this is a unique natural course and the option tire was not as good. We backed-to-backed the two tires this morning [in practice] and made the decision to go with the primary tire. You could run a similar lap time on both tires, but it came a little easier on the primary tire." | |
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#49 Motorola Reynard Honda Brix Comptech Racing |
PARKER JOHNSTONE | |
| "The car slowly came loose. It was not a happy car, and we had no time to repair it. I knew I could go fast on the second set of tires. Oh, well! The left front [suspension] camber plate failed. We started in the back in Portland, and had a pretty good race, and we'll try to do the same here" | |
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#4 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda |
ALEX ZANARDI | |
| "I couldn't beat Jimmy's time today. I was right on the limit and almost equalized it, but I couldn't beat him. ... I have a lot of confidence for tomorrow's race. We were quick again today and we have a good race car. The car should be quick and consistent. I'm looking forward to the race. I think we'll have a good race." | |
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#31 LCI International Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group |
ANDRE RIBEIRO | |
| "We have improved each session, and we definitely have a good car for the race. Traffic was a factor once again during qualifying on my fast lap and I ran out of fuel at the end. The car is as good as it was yesterday, and we are ready for the race. "This is a good track for passing. The key to winning here is to keep the equipment for the end of the race, and I think we probably have the best equipment package right now." | |
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#32 Tecate Beer/Quaker State Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group |
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ | |
| "We managed to get a good balance. Yesterday, we had too much grip on the front and back. We combined what we learned with what Andre learned. I knew we could do it. It was just a matter of finding the right balance on the car. The circuit is very bumpy, but this is a characteristic of this track. Our car is very good over the bumps and we have a strong car for the race." | |
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#5 Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Reynard Ford |
ROBBY GORDON | |
| "We made some gains. We have the loose entry almost sorted. We still have a little bit of a problem, but we're working on it. Once you drive the car and have some confidence that it's not going to step out, you can go quicker. I feel pretty confident about where we're at as far as in comparison to the rest of the Fords." | |
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#16 Bettenhaused Racing Alumax Aluminium Reynard Mercedes-Benz |
STEFAN JOHANSSON | |
| "Well, we did make some progress today - we were about six tenths of a second quicker than we were yesterday in provisional qualifying. Unfortunately, it didn't make a lot of difference. We have been battling to get more grip overall in the car. Regardless of what changes we have tried to make, the car has not responded." | |
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#25 Arciero-Wells Racing Reynard Toyota |
JEFF KROSNOFF | |
| "It has been an eventful weekend. Every session, we've had some wrench thrown into the machine. We keep coming back and doing our best. I guess this is our bad luck weekend. We still have the race to go and that's what we have to concentrate on. Overall, I'd have to say it's pretty good for as much time as we've had, which is probably less than anybody else." | |
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#17 Hollywood Reynard Ford |
| photo Mike Levitt | |
MAURICIO GUGELMIN | |
| "The weather didn't affect qualifying as much as many people thought. Although it is warmer and we're running in the middle of the day, we made considerable improvement to the chassis, which made the weather less of a factor. We've gotten about all we can out of the car right now, we're just a little bit down on horsepower." | |