The Auto Channel
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
Official Website of the New Car Buyer

IRL Las Vegas 500 k: Post Qualifying Quotes

10 October 1997

BILLY BOAT: "It's been a roller-coaster weekend. We rolled the car off the
trailer yesterday. We made a decision to run the Dallara. We got involved in
that incident yesterday and that really set us back. The guys worked all
night long. Iw asn't where I wanted to be but these guys got the car back
together. The car ran faster after they got it put back together. These guys
won the pole and I did my job. They got the pole. It's going to be a
fantastic race. I was kinda down yesterday. We couldn't take a chance. Tony
Stewart always pulls some tricks out of the bag. It's a little bittersweet
knocking Davey off the pole. he needed the points for the championship but
A.J. told me to go for it."

A.J. FOYT: "It's really great. It would've added two points. I thought Tony
Stewart was going to beat Davey, so I said, 'Billy, go for it.' The crew
worked all night long. The crew did a helluva job putting the car back
together." (about Davey vs. Billy): "Whoever is the fastest on the team,
don't fight, and when it comes down to the wire, the best man wins. One day
Davey would win, the next day Billy would win. I don't pull any punches.
That's A.J. racing. When you have Tony Stewart sitting behind you with two
good cars, you can't take any chances. I didn't know if we could go 205. We
had no choice but to go for it. I have two sponsors. Davey will tell you I'm
not going to play sides, not like they do in F-1. I can't gamble with my
sponsors. I play my cards on the table and there's no guarantee with
anything. These night races can be very long. This is going to come down to
the end. May the best man win. Tony and all of us run very close together
and Davey did a great job to run like he did. But I've got to be good to
Power team and good to Conseco. These two boys know I can't play favorites.
I have three great drivers when you consider Scott Sharp and Davey would be
the first one to tell you that he wouldn't have felt right if Billy would've
given him the pole. Davey wouldn't want to win the championship that way."

DAVEY HAMILTON: "The Power Team and Conseco teams work together and I want
to bring the championship home to A.J. I've raced with Billy a lot and
really trust him. Tony and I always run well together. I just hope I can
come out on top. We've had quite a couple of days here. We've really been up
and down. I don't know if I'm happy or unhappy at this point. We'll give it
all we've got. We all know we need the points. I'm just the driver. I'm not
in charge of strategy. It's my job to drive the car. I leave the strategy up
to A.J." (about practice): "We had a bad practice with a motor that was in
an accident with Billy. We ended up breaking stuff and I didn't know if it
was going to hold up. It all turned out for the best but I had no idea what
was going to happen in qualifying because we didn't have any laps. I just
went out there and hung it all out and we came up a little short. We sure
needed those points for the championship but I darn sure don't want anyhting
given to me."

TONY STEWART: "Not a bad place to start the race. This was our quickest run
of the week. It's a great car for the race...a very stable car. We've got
200 laps to go. This is the best the car has been all weekend. I'm more
worried about racing well than the pole."I've been in this situation before.
All you can do is keep your cool. We have a race to run, so now we need to
go do it." (about his relationship with Hamilton): "I've got a feeling we'll
be racing next to each other all day. We get along very well. Other than
Robbie Buhl, Davey is the guy I get along best with. We're friends and no
matter what happens with the championship, we'll remain friends. This is a
very good series. People may have said that I was wrong but now people are
getting twice as much Indy-car races as before. Everyone should be happy."
(about a busy '98 schedule): "If you look back at the record books, that's
the way I've kept my life." (about Boat's pole): "Yes, I was surprised they
let Boat win the pole and get the two championship points."

STAN WATTLES: "I went in not knowing what to expect. There were about four
different factors that were changed on the car. They weren't huge but they
were big enough. I'm real happy with the way the car handled. We went the
fastest we've gone here yet by half a mile an hour. We're definitely going
in the right direction. I'm real happy with it. Look out G Force and
Dallara, it's coming! (the Riley & Scott chassis). We're going to have a
good showing." (NOTE: Wattles became the second driver to qualify a Riley &
Scott chassis for a race. The first was Mark Dismore, who qualified at
Loudon but did not race the car.)

JIM GUTHRIE: "I was coming from the backstretch and I felt a huge vibration.
I felt I was going to lose the engine. We only have one. The car felt the
best today. We got the balance back in the car."

AFFONSO GIAFFONE: "Yes, the car did pretty good. It was a flat-out run. You
can't go any flatter. It's the kind of speed we were having all week. I had
a car that wasn't as good as this (last year) and we did pretty good."

TYCE CARLSON: "Actually we were very happy with our speed. The car keeps
getting faster. This car was put together in a two-week period. We keep
getting faster every time we go out there."

ELISEO SALAZAR: "We had a good run. We were happy with our run. I hope we
stay in the top five. We had a lot of laps at Loudon. I thinkw e have a good
chance."

JEFF WARD: "I'm a little disappointed. The car didn't free up like it did in
practice. I ran flat-out all the way around. I think we have a really good
chance."

JOHN PAUL JR.: "I'm not happy. I'm slow as molasses. We're still learning
what makes it happy. It's a very nice car. It's got great balance. It's
faster than I am right now. It's the only car we have so we were playing it
a little conservatively. We'll save it for when it counts. Once we get
racing, we'll be able to start following people and hopefully move up
through the field. It'll be a good race car." (NOTE: The team is running a G
Force chassis, making PDM Racing the first team to field all three IRL cars
this season. It ran Dallaras throughout the season and qualified a Riley &
Soctt chassis with Mark Dismore at Loudon, N.H. Also, the team debuted its
"flame shorts" today. For the 1996 calendar year and the first two races of
1997, its cars sported a popular flame paint job on the front of its cars.
At the team's test here recently, the team found some "flame shorts" in a
Harley shop. The team last sported the flame paint job in March at Phoenix
and led 22 laps here last year with it.)

ARIE LUYENDYK: "We've got a great team and the car handles great. We were a
little disappointed because we thought we should've gotten the pole. The car
was bound up a little too much and we had a little too much speed in the
turns and it ended up costing us at the end."

PAUL DURANT: "The car felt good, especially today. We made a few tweaks and
it's really good. It's a great race track. It keeps your attention. You'll
see a lot of passing on Saturday."

STEPHAN GREGOIRE: "Quite happy, but yet not very happy. We tried very, very
hard but had the same times as yesterday. We will keep trying. We would like
to be quicker. We changed the tires."

VINCENZO SOSPIRI: "It's okay...a little understeer in the four turns. We
have a good race-day setup. The car ran pretty fast. We always have a good
car for the race. The track is exactly the same as we ran before (yesterday)."

ROBBIE GROFF: "I'm a little disappointed with a 195. We've been in the top
10 in every race since Indy. The weather is going to be good for us. Top
three is in the realm. We've done it in other races."

JIMMY KITE: "We've had a really good car. As long as we qualified better
than 31st, we were happy. We put the car in the field and let's go racing
Saturday. They put a little bit more push in it. We're going to finish the
race."

SAM SCHMIDT: "It's a little tight in the end. We had a real push. It's going
to be a good race. Speeds are going to be close. There're going to be two
lanes of racing Saturday night."

ROBERTO GUERRERO: "We're a little disappointed. It seems like we never get a
break. We went out to qualify and we were 6 RPMs down. Obviously we'll find
out what's wrong with the car. The chassis worked very well. I'll have to
work a lot harder on Race Day."

MARCO GRECO: "The car was very good on the first lap. The second lap would
have been much quicker. The car just started to slow down. I just hoped it
would last."

BUZZ CALKINS: "The car is a little stiff. Lots of stuff has changed since
testing. Haven't had enough time to work out the changes. We have
experienced electrical problems throughout practice and again tonight. We're
confident, however, that we will not only solve this problem but have a very
competitive car Saturday night."

DR. JACK MILLER: "Real happy with the run. Flat-out all the way around. Went
for broke and the car stuck. Nissan has made great advancements in the last
month."

BILLY ROE: "Wasn't what we wanted but it was okay, anyway. We just wanted to
get it in the show."

MIKE SHANK: "It felt the best the car has felt all week. I'm learning a ton
each day developing the Riley & Scott chassis. You'll see this car getting
better and better." (about helmet buffeting): "I'm getting zero helmet
buffeting, unlike some of the other drivers."

KENNY BRACK: "Pretty happy with the run...flat-out all the way. I think the
temperature or conditions changed. The car was more bound-up."

BUDDY LAZIER: "We went flat-out. We're a little let down, actually. It was
the same thing as Charlotte, going as hard as we can and only going 202 or
so. We're a little let down because we thought we had a shot at the pole.
The crew worked very hard. We're looking good for the race. We think we have
a better shot than most and as good a shot as any."

MARK DISMORE: "Everything went really well. We had an engine problem
yesterday. We only ran 15 minutes all day, then ran less than 10 laps today.
I'm in the top 10, so I'm happy. It says a lot for the team. I hope we can
have some good luck in the race. That would be nice, especially in Las Vegas."

SCOTT GOODYEAR: "Disappointed after being quickest yesterday. We blew a
motor this morning. The crew did a great hour and 10-minute motor change to
get us back out. We're in the show. It's a long race on a fast track. We do
great pit stops. We'll be there at the end."

ROBBIE BUHL: "We've got a great race car. We're up at the front so we'll
miss anything that goes on at the beginning of the race. It's going to be a
long race. There's going to be a lot of attrition and it's going to be hard
on motors. It's so fast around this place ... hopefully, with a little luck
with pit stops and yellows, and we'll see when we come in. I'm not worried
at all. When you've got the type of deal where I've got two cars so much
alike, it gives the driver a lot of confidence. What's nice about this is
all I do is show up and drive the race car. In times before, I didn't have
that luxury. All I do now is drive the race car."

***