Race No. 7
Miller 200
The Milwaukee Mile — West Allis, Wisconsin
May 30-June 1, 1997
Saturday Quotes from drivers and managers at Milwaukee:| Index of Quotes available | ||
|---|---|---|
| MICHAEL ANDRETTI | MARK BLUNDELL | MAURICIO GUGELMIN |
| PARKER JOHNSTONE | AL UNSER JR | BARRY GREEN |
 | Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford Cosworth XD |
| MICHAEL ANDRETTI | |
| "The car isn't as good as it could be for the race. We're still trying to get the right set-up for tomorrow. We thought we would be good at all of the short ovals and I think we were good at Nazareth and Rio before the engine problem. We were a little off at St. Louis and here so far. Hopefully we'll get it right for tomorrow. If we find the right set-up we'll be good. If not, it's going to be long race. We're scratching our heads right now. We tested well here and came back with a different set-up based on some other testing. We're a little behind now. Paul (Tracy) is on a roll. I was expecting him to be tough here. Hopefully we'll have a race like we did in Nazareth, except I won't get a cut tire and I'll beat him. Don't count us out." | |
 | Marlboro Penske Mercedes |
| AL UNSER, Jr. | |
| "My car felt pretty good today during qualifying and I was pleased with our balance. In this morning's practice session, we were running older tires to find out which direction our car was going, so we could come up with a good, consistent race set-up. Everyone at Marlboro Team Penske was working together with both cars and Paul (Tracy) and I were trying different things. That's the benefit of a two-car team. It's a long race tomorrow and we're definitely in the ball bark. I'm just hoping the ball that's been in Paul's court will be passed on to me, so I can bring Roger (Penske) his 100th win tomorrow." | |
 | PacWest Motorola Reynard Mercedes |
| MARK BLUNDELL | |
| "We started off the weekend from a much stronger position than in recent weeks.I'm much happier with the setup that we have achieved over the last couple of days and theconsistency of the car is very encouraging. I'm pleased that I'm starting towards the front of thegrid and I'm confident that I'll be able to move further forward during the race. I still feelwe haven't maximized the performance of the car but I'm feeling quite optimistic about the race." | |
 | Team Kool Green Reynard Honda |
| PARKER JOHNSTONE | |
| "Milwaukee is a great track. It's wide, flat and smooth, which is perfect for some really tight, side-by-side racing. There's a lot of action on the track, which boosts the mental game. That's what makes racing great racing." "Racing on back-to-back ovals will definitely be a good thing for us. We learned a lot about the car in St. Louis, and we should be able to really capitalize on that in Milwaukee. We found the slow, and now we're taking the slow out of the car. We're still ramping up our car's performance in comparison to a lot of other teams out there, and that should absolutely make us more competitive." | |
 | Hollywood Reynard Mercedes |
| MAURICIO GUGELMIN | |
| "I did my usual thing by running a conservative first lap just to make sure we were in a decent position. I hung it out a little more on the second lap. It was a good one, but I don't think anyone could have caught Paul (Tracy) today. He did a very quick lap. I had a tiny bit of a push, but that's what keeps you comfortable. I wasn't as confident with my car in the morning session as I was yesterday, but we managed to get it back. This morning the wind was a lot worse, and it caught me out in Turn 4 a couple of times. That wasn't pretty. I'm much more confident on the short ovals. I've discovered the recipe, and now I just have to perfect the dosage." | |
 | Team Kool Green Team manager |
| BARRY GREEN | |
| "With its history, Milwaukee is the greatest one-mile oval in the country. It's one the drivers love, and it always puts up a great race. It's going to be a real dogfight out there this year, with everyone scrapping it out for badly-needed points against Paul Tracy's comfortable lead." "We had a very short test in Milwaukee due to bad weather, but we feel good about the information we compiled. We've come away from St. Louis with a good handle on our oval set-up - we had a pretty good set-up by the end of that weekend -- and that will help us in Milwaukee more than anything." | |