Here’s what the drivers had to say after Sunday’s race at Indy:
Michael McDowell – WINNER: “I was really trying to pace myself. I thought there was going to be a late-race caution, and I didn’t want to burn my stuff. I was just trying to keep that gap. Then when I got into traffic it started closing, I had to push it, but I can’t believe it.” So grateful to Bob Jenkins, and all our partners, Bell Racing Helmets, Sparco. There’s a lot of people helping us. So grateful to everyone who stuck behind us. It’s been a grinding process, and I’m very proud of that. You know, I thought we could make our way, But after the car we had yesterday in practice, I thought, man, we have a good chance of winning if we can just get the position and keep it. Just can’t believe it, so grateful. Also Wiley X; I don’t know where they are now. Must To be on my head. But they’ve been with me for over 10 years, and it’s great to have partners like that.”
Chase Elliott – Finished 2nd: “Just to be a little better through the back half there and coming out of (turn) 14 a little better just to be in a better place to get to 1. Just really appreciate the effort, man. Our Napa Chevy was really good and really good. Just needed a little bit more And I was out a little bit. But congrats to Michael, man. He did a good job. You ran a great race and stayed spotless, and that’s what you have to do to win.”
Elliott is second to the error-free McDowell
Chase Elliott congratulates Michael McDowell on having a great race and appreciates the No. 9 team’s effort after the runner-up result.
Daniel Suarez – Finished in 3rd place: “We win and lose as a team, and that’s all I can say. The guys brought in a very fast race car. I felt like maybe we were one adjustment behind in the first run with the rear of the car, but then we made it a little better. But I felt like I was always one step behind ( Chase Elliott and Michael McDowell), and then eventually, I felt like when my car came to life again, we had this problem. Just a little sad, but it’s part of the sport. All we can do is keep pushing, keep building race cars like this, And I will continue to win races.”
Suarez was frustrated with a hose problem on pit road
After finishing third, Daniel Suarez says he felt like he was an adjustment 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 didn’t have the best start and we weren’t quite as fast in the first half and we got past that. We shorted them, but we stopped slowly, we weren’t in a position to push them off the pit road, and that was kind of From the story. We didn’t have a chance to get around Daniel (Suarez). We could go down about 10 car lengths and get right back into his bumper. The SiriusXM Toyota Camry TRD was better, but not good enough to complete the pass. I think the AJ Allmendinger with more modern tires He had to push really hard to get around Daniel, so that’s the story – unfortunately, it’s hard to get past.”
Riddick: “We weren’t really ourselves”
A disappointing Tyler Reddick “had the pace” but was “ultimately late at the start” which resulted in a fourth-place finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Alex Bowman – finished in 5th place: “Finishing in the top five is good after the last couple of months. Just proud of the whole No. 48 Ally Chevy team. We fell a little bit there at the end of the race before that, but last round we were really fast. We had a little mechanical problem there at the end, but we managed From holding onto fifth place. We always want more, but it was a good, strong day for us.”
Kyle Larson – Finished 8th: “I just made that mistake going into turn 12. I spotted flat in front of my left, which I felt could affect my right hand but luckily, it didn’t. There were more right-handers than lefties, but not all left-handers I had her grip. So I was really tight. Just had to get through that run. I gave up a few stops right before the green flag stop. We rode 20’s and 91’s before. It was a tough race. I hope I didn’t make that mistake, I probably would have been in 3rd or 4th place. Glad we were able to salvage the top 10 from it. Worried I made a mistake like that, and we didn’t have any warnings to make up for it. It is what it is, you just have to clean it up a bit.”
Christopher Bell – ninth place: “Yeah, that’s kind of what happened. I don’t know—after the last two weeks, I’m really glad we put a full race together for the Rim Camry team. Hopefully we can build on that, do a little bit better at Watkins Glen and take that into qualifying.”
Shane van Gisbergen – Finished 10th: “It’s just a battle of the good drivers. Was there with Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell. Unfortunately, they came out ahead of me on that last pit. It’s great to get another top 10 for Chevy and Project 91 boost. We had fun all weekend. Hopefully We go back and do it all over again…. It’s aggressive, but it’s fair. I put a block on[Alex Bowman]and on the next corner he just moved me. I think I deserved it. The racing was fun. I really enjoyed it. All the fights when you go through a move on someone Ma, they give you space. They expect him to come back. Really cool.”
Austin Dillon – 16th place: “We had a Fast Cowboy/Carolina Cowboys Chevrolet channel this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 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 ten First in a lot of races. I thought we had a top 10 on our way but we got really tight at the end of the race. We were jumping on more and more wheels. It’s okay, because we got stuck there. I wish we could have freed our Chevy, but it’s hard to do So when you’re doing well.”
Kamui Kobayashi – Finished in 33rd place: “First of all, I was waiting for a caution. It never happened. I definitely enjoyed it. Thank you. 77 laps, no caution is too long—I think I learned a lot. We had some good speed too. Someone bumped me, but that’s NASCAR.” But the racing in the field was amazing. It’s a really great championship – I had a great experience here. Thanks for all the support from Toyota, Toyota Gazoo Racing North America. This is a dream come true.”