Race No. 10 Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland Raceday Quotes from Cleveland: |
Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda Finished: 1st | |
ALEX ZANARDI | |
It certainly was easier than last year [when he won after falling as far back as 22nd]. The fact that it finally ended up being an economy run to the checkered flag definitely worked in our favor. We obviously had a great car and I have to thank everybody on the Target/Chip Ganassi Racing team. We certainly had top-notch equipment. I think the race would have ended differently if the yellow [caution] flag had come out maybe five laps from the end. Michael [Andretti] could have made it exciting, but I'm obviously glad it wasn't an exciting finish. The race is always unpredictable, you never know whether the faster car is going to end up winning or whether circumstances that occurred today are going to result in somebody else winning. My main concentration is going to be on winning some more races and possibly the championship. I think that the best way to advertise myself is to continue to win races. |
Marlboro Penske Mercedes Finished: 17th | |
AL UNSER, Jr. | |
The whole team did a really great job all weekend, and it was paying off for us there for a while. The guys got me out (of the pits) really quick, but we got down to the end (of the pit lane) there, and I guess it was (Paul) Tracy who pulled out into me. I guess he must not have seen me or something, because he drove right into me and turned me around. But I’m really proud of the team and Mercedes, they gave me great power today, and Goodyear--their tires were fantastic. We’re closing the gap. This is a beautiful race car, and we got to show a little bit of that today. |
Marlboro Penske Mercedes Finished: 22nd | |
ANDRE RIBEIRO | |
It’s very tough to end it this way, very disappointing. Finally, we had a problem with the gearbox; it locked in third gear. The guys have been working flat out to address this problem. |
Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Walker Racing Reynard Honda Finished: 6th | |
GIL de FERRAN | |
It was a clean race with good stops for us. We were running up front and a podium finish looked definitely in the cards. It was very unfortunate that we ran out of fuel coming into the pits, another half-gallon would’ve made a big difference. We had a good set of tires for the last stint and tried to make up some ground, but it was too much of a deficit to make up. |
Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford Finished: 2nd | |
MICHAEL ANDRETTI | |
We had a pretty good race. I think track position hurt a little bit. By the time we got to the front, Alex had that little bit of an advantage. The biggest thing we gave away was track position. Qualifying was the key. I thought we could have made it exciting at the end. I was hollering at the guys about saving fuel. For about the last 30 laps I had to run about a second off the pace and that was really frustrating. All I was really worried about was keeping Dario [Franchitt] behind me. It was nice to be able to show we had a good car on a road course. |
Miller Lite Team Rahal Reynard Ford Finished: 8th | |
BOBBY RAHAL | |
We were unlucky today. The car wasn't too bad for most of the race. It's disappointing because I wanted to do well at Cleveland since I won the first race here in 1982 and we have a lot of fans here. I want to thank the people of Cleveland for their support and hospitality over the years and we look forward to seeing the fans at Mid-Ohio next month. |
Shell Team Rahal Reynard Ford Finished: 13th | |
BRYAN HERTA | |
It wasn't the best car, and by the end it was pretty good. But even though we qualified high, the car wasn't as good as starting fourth might indicate. I've got to thank Ray Leto for the job he did in the race. We just never got a handle on the track the whole weekend. At the beginning of the race I got moved over by Alex (Zanardi), but I lost it out on the grass and lost some spots right away. "At the end of the race the car was feeling pretty racy, and I thought there was a chance to pass Scott and I took it. It didn't work, but I'll do it again. My guys would much rather see me try it and go off than sit around and follow Pruett home two weeks in a row. |
Hogan Truck Leasing Reynard Mercedes Finished: 28th | |
JJ LEHTO | |
When Greg (Moore) spun in front of me, I was going to go inside. I was in fourth gear and going very fast. Somebody got into Greg and hit him into my path. There was no where I could go. It was a pretty bad hit. The whole car is done. |
Kmart/Texaco Havoline Newman/Haas Racing Swift Ford Finished: 11th | |
CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI | |
We had a problem with our communications. The radio wasn't working and I didn't pit the third time when I should have, and then again when we did pit with 10 laps to go, the word came a lap later than it should. The engine cut out when I finally made it in, I guess we just ran out of fuel, and are lucky that we were in the pits when it happened. But that stop hurt any chance of getting back in the race toward the top. I'm glad to see the checkered at the end of the race, but the result could have been better. I think we could have been sixth. |
Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda Finished: 7th | |
JIMMY VASSER | |
We didn’t get too many breaks today. In the warm-up this morning the car jumped out of third gear and over-revved, so my guys had to do a quick engine change. The gearbox problems came back in the race, making it difficult to shift. Then the vent pipe in the (pitside) fuel tank broke during my second stop and that cost us a lot of time and track position. The last stint was just an economy run. I had to back off so much I felt like I was driving my old Formula Ford again. |
Bettenhausen Racing Alumax Aluminium Reynard Mercedes Finished: 27th | |
HELIO CASTRO-NEVES | |
I saw Greg (Moore) get into the grass and then spin across as he got into the corner. I was trying to guess which way he would end up, then Michael Jourdain hit Greg, and I had nowhere to go. |
Hollywood Reynard Mercedes Finished: 20th | |
MAURICIO GUGELMIN | |
We had a loose car most of the day. We expect it was because of a ride-height problem. Then at the end the telemetry told us we had a hole in the radiator, so we had to park it early. |
PacWest Motorola Reynard Mercedes Finished: 10th | |
MARK BLUNDELL | |
It was a very, very frustrating day for us. We had a very good car, good chassis balance and good power. But we had a fuel pickup problem all day. It wouldn’t take the last three gallons in the tank. We dropped two positions on the very last lap. It’s really a shame. We drove hard all day, but we didn’t have any luck running with us. |
Herdez Competition Payton/Coyne Reynard Ford Finished: 26th | |
MICHEL JOURDAIN | |
I saw Greg put a couple of tires in the dirt and he spun in front of me. It looked like he was going to the outside, so I went to the inside of the turn. But then he seemed to hit the gas and moved right back into my line, and I had nowhere to go but over his car. The whole weekend has been frustrating, and being out of the race before five laps were complete really adds to that. |
Visteon Reynard Ford Finished: 4th | |
SCOTT PRUETT | |
The Visteon guys did a great job. We certainly weren't where we wanted to be on Friday. We had a very fast qualifying lap going on Saturday, and got caught out by traffic. And so we just kept our confidence, worked at it, and had something good happen today. We made the changes that winning teams make during the race today as the car got better and better. The engine ran great, the tires were good and this was a case of everyone doing their job |
LCI International Tasman Motorsports Group LCI Reynard Honda Finished: 14th | |
TONY KANAAN | |
The race was very busy. We had a spin at the first turn on the first lap. During the middle of the race the tires went away when I was trying to catch everybody and we lost time on our pit stops with traffic problems there. So it wasn’t a great day, but it could have been worse, I suppose. It does seem in racing when things go right they go very right, and when not so right, they multiply. But we have six races in the next two months, plenty of opportunity to go better. |
Team Kool Green Reynard Honda Finished: 3rd | |
DARIO FRANCHITTI | |
My start [from the third position] was abysmal. We got lost on the track. I came into Turn One and there were some cars on the inside of the track and I lost track of the markers. I braked early rather than late. After that, I just concentrated on picking up speed. We were in a fuel-saving mode for a few laps, and about 10 laps from the end, they told me I didn't have to worry about fuel anymore, so I tried to go after Michael [Andretti]. There were two places on the track where I could have passed him, but I wasn't quick enough through either of those areas. It's a good result for Team KOOL Green, another podium. Somebody needs to stop this guy [Zanardi]. Now we want to move up to the top step. |
Team Kool Green Reynard Honda Finished: 19th | |
PAUL TRACY | |
From what I saw Al (Unser) came through the grass and chopped in front of me on the pit lane. I was driving a straight line. I don't think it was my fault. It's disappointing because I think we showed the KOOL car was good and we had a shot at finishing on the podium. But the 10-second penalty cost us a lap. |
Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes Finished: 9th | |
PATRICK CARPENTIER | |
The Forsythe Blue Crew gave me a great car. We had a couple of mistakes, but it didn’t cause us too much time. This is a very hard race physically, harder than Portland. And there were a lot of marbles on the track that would cause us to go off line. Once I got two wheels in the marbles [resulting in a spin], but I was lucky to keep going. At the end, the track just got better and we got some fast times. |
Tecate Beer/Quaker State Patrick Racing Reynard Ford Finished: 5th | |
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ | |
At the beginning I was really pessimistic about the race, because really the car wasn't that good in the warm-up. I don't think the car was better. I just think the field came back to us. I had to drive the car slower to the pace in order to save the tires. We made two changes during our two final stops, and it improved our car. When I got Gil de Ferran and Vasser at the end, that was the hardest. I was quicker on the back part of the track, but in the chicane those guys were quicker than me. So really braking here was a handful. I'm lucky I held my front tires. I was a bit nervous about Fernandez cont. making the finish with the amount of fuel left in the car, but then the crew gave me the green light to hit the (overtake) button. So I knew I was good to get the guys ahead of me. |
Forsythe Player's-Indeck Reynard Mercedes Finished: 25th | |
GREG MOORE | |
This has been a disappointing weekend for sure. It’s too bad for the Forsythe team. I think we had a good car. We were fastest this morning in the warm-up and thought we definitely had a chance to run up at the front. The car bottomed out in turns 6 and 7, and the front of the car got off the track and sent the car into a lazy spin. I thought I could get turned around, but then I got hit. It’s too bad. |
Team Kool Green Team manager | |
BARRY GREEN | |
I'm disappointed with the officials' decision to impose a 10-second black flag penalty on Paul. It cost us the race and I don't agree with the decision. Everyone entering and exiting the pits must share equal responsibility on all pit stops. Al Unser Jr. should have backed off as well. There should have been two penalties, if any at all. But the team is running well. Both cars are extremely competitive. We just need that little bit more and we'll be hitting them out of the park. |