Race No. 12

Michigan 500
Brooklyn Michigan
July 28, 1996

	#12 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda
JIMMY VASSER
[qualified first]: "It feels great to be on the pole again! It's another point for the championship, and good for the team, for Honda and for Firestone. When you set a new track record and qualify on the pole, everything has to be going great, and all credit to my Target/Chip Ganassi Racing team. The guys have worked really hard all weekend long to make this possible. As for the race tomorrow, the main goal is to get to the finish and get more points towards the championship. That's our goal, and what we're all focusing on right now."

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	#99 Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes-Benz
GREG MOORE
[qualified third]: "I am very pleased with that third. We have improved the lot since the U.S. 500. It's the first time as an IndyCar driver that I have run on a track that I already know. "I learned a lot from the U.S. 500. During that race, I realize that I did not really need to charge at the beginning like an Indy Lights race. It's a long race, and you just need to stay on the lead lap. I am looking forward to tomorrow's race."

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	#6 Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Lola Ford Cosworth XD
MICHAEL ANDRETTI
[qualified 12th]: "It was wrung out as far as it would go. The car felt perfect. We did a 228.8 mph in practice this morning by ourselves [no draft] and that's pretty much what I thought we could do in qualifying. The car is one of the best handling race cars that I've ever had so I'm looking forward to the race. Handling is going to come into play tomorrow. We knew today would be a long, tough day because everyone is so fast. I think that the most important thing here is to be there in the end. Tomorrow is going to be a long race and I think we're going to be there. I think we have a good shot at the podium if we can make it to the finish."

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	#2 Marlboro Penske Mercedes
AL UNSER, Jr.
[qualified fourth]: "The car was real good. We didn't scrub any speed at all and we were pretty much wide open all the way around the track. I'm real happy with the Mercedes-Benz engine and the Goodyear tires. They're both definitely better than what we had here in May. The biggest improvement we've made since then was getting the Marlboro car through the corners. I think 233 miles per hour proves we're competitive. Now, we just need to concentrate on getting all 500 miles in on Sunday."

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	#21 PacWest Reynard Ford Cosworth
MARK BLUNDELL
[qualified 21st]: "Well, we're almost five miles per hour quicker than we qualified at the U.S. 500, so if that's anything to go by, we should be in good shape for the race. But, the car feels fine, I'm running flat and using every inch of the race track to get a little more speed. I don't know what more we can do; we're somewhat limited with the package we have. It's a good race car, though, and if it's anything like it was in May, we should have a good day tomorrow."

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	#9 Marlboro Hogan Penske Mercedes-Benz
EMERSON FITTIPALDI
[qualified fifth]: "Frankly, I'm very happy with the run. We never expected to run this quickly, due to the higher temperatures. We were expecting a 231 [mph] or so. The Penske chassis is very balanced, the Mercedes-Benz engine is very strong and the Goodyear tires are greatly improved. We're in a very good position for the race. We're getting much better horsepower from our engine, and I was flat-out all the way during my qualifying run. I must give credit to the crew; they made all the right adjustments to get me here and I think the Penske Hogan team is going in the right direction."

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	#11 Kmart/Budweiser Lola Ford Newman/Haas Racing
CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI
[qualified 19th]: "Sure I'm a little disappointed but it's part of the game. I just don't understand why there was such a big difference between Mike [Andretti] and myself. I had it flat-out. Michael and I were pretty much the same in practice. We're going to analyze the data and hopefully come up with something. Tomorrow is another day and I think we can hold our own and hopefully stay in the points."

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	#8 Pennzoil Special Reynard Honda Hall Racing
GIL de FERRAN
[qualified 16th]: "I'm very disappointed. I ran 232, 233 miles per hour this morning all by myself, no draft, but just now I couldn't even run flat out. I came around Turn Four on the run to take the green flag and the car almost hit the wall, the understeer was so bad. There was just too much push, and we didn't touch the car from this morning. Maybe the higher temperatures had an effect, but I don't know."

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	#28 Shell Reynard Mercedes-Benz Team Rahal
BRYAN HERTA
[qualified 11th]: "I had a [boost] valve problem on my qualifying run. I think the valve blew at least six times on the first lap. It's hard to get power when that happens. We've been suffering some boost trouble all weekend. However, in the race, that doesn't seem to be a factor. We have a very good package for the race, with the Mercedes engine, Reynard chassis and Goodyear tires. I'm pleased with our progress with the car."

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	#49 Motorola Reynard Honda Brix Comptech Racing
PARKER JOHNSTONE
[qualified 10th]: "The chassis was fine, absolutely perfect, so we're a little baffled as to where the speed went. We didn't blow the popoff valve, and I ran flat-out the whole time. We had the speed this morning, we ran 233 miles per hour all alone, without a draft, so we have to go back and look at the data and find out where it went."

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	#4 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda
ALEX ZANARDI
[qualified second]: "I'm obviously very happy. We came here with a very good car from the U.S. 500 and that was a big advantage for the team. I'd like to thank the guys on the team who've worked so hard. The car is very close to perfection. You can always go faster, but a 1-2 result for the team is good enough for me!"

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	#31 LCI International Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group
ANDRE RIBEIRO
[qualified eighth]: "We did not have the best setup for qualifying, but we were focusing on the race. We knew we had a perfect situation this morning on the fast lap [238.407 mph, 30.201 sec]. Of course, it would have been nice to have been on the pole, but this is a 500-mile race. We do have a fantastic car for the race."

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	#32 Tecate Beer/Quaker State Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ
[qualified sixth]: "This is a long race, and I think we are starting in a pretty good position. The car is consistent, and that is what is important. The conditions were hotter for qualifying. We did our best and the car is fine. We have a good car for the race, and I really think Honda will be a key in taking us to the finish tomorrow."

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	#5 Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Reynard Ford
ROBBY GORDON
[qualified 23rd]: "The car's handling pretty well. I was flat out from the time I left pit lane. By myself, we only did 224s [mph laps], but we've run over 231 in that same car. We have a good race car. Both cars are good race cars. We're just lacking speed."

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	#16 Bettenhaused Racing Alumax Aluminium Reynard Mercedes-Benz
STEFAN JOHANSSON
[qualified 14th]: "I was flat out all the way. You can't really do much more than that. We purposely ran low revs — we could have run 500 or 600 revs higher. But we didn't want to stretch the engine. Our goal was to run conservatively, because we wanted to run with a race setup, as it's obvious we weren't going to win the pole here anyway. However, it is a considerable improvement over our qualifying run here for the U.S. 500 [when he started 22nd]. It also equals our best qualifying effort of the season [14th at Nazareth], so at least it's a step in the right direction."

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	#10 Delco Electronics High Tech Team Galles Lola Mercedes
DAVY JONES
[qualified 17th]: "The car was stable during the run. I'm just a little surprised at the speed. I was looking at the dash and kept hoping that what I was reading was wrong. All I tried to do was free it up and scrub off as little speed as possible. I don't have any real complaints, like I said, I'm just a little surprised. I think we should have a good race car tomorrow."

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	#18 Miller Racing Reynard Mercedes-Benz Team Rahal
BOBBY RAHAL
[qualified ninth]: "It was flat on the throttle all the way around. We picked up five miles an hour from qualifying in May for the U.S. 500. So, I'm pleased with the gain, but it wasn't enough today. I think the Goodyears have improved since May and the Mercedes is better. Back in May, we had a good car earlier in the race, and that's important on Sunday. We have to work on the setup throughout the race to be near the front at the end, because the track changes so much. Every year we come here and say the same thing — You have to survive. You must finish before you can win. And there are still a lot of DNFs [did not finish]. It's not going to be easy on Sunday. This place is tough on cars and drivers."

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	#17 Hollywood Reynard Ford
photo Mike Levitt
MAURICIO GUGELMIN
[qualified 13th]: "I think these last two days have been the most boring that I've had in Indy cars. The handling is very good on the car and I've got my foot to the floor, so I'm just along for the ride. There's not much more we can do because it all comes down to the engine package. I do think we have a good car for the race, and hopefully, we can have another run like we did at the U.S. 500 [when Gugelmin finished second]. What will be most important tomorrow is how well the car handles in traffic."

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	#36 Eagle Mk-V Toyota
JUAN MANUEL FANGIO II
[qualified 24th]: "This weekend, we have had a completely different weekend than the U.S. 500. We've been able to run and almost immediately, we were able to run five or six miles per hour faster than the other race weekend. During qualifying, I was able to go flat out all the way around the track, except the very last turn. I had to lift a little bit because the Eagle Toyota picked up push. I think it had to do with the rising temperature of the race track. Anyway, I'm very pleased so far. We need to fight the race track all the time because it changes all the time, so we will keep working."

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