Dixon paces opening day at Grand Prix of Indianapolis

TONY KANAAN (No. 10 GE Reveal Chevrolet): “We had a good day today overall. Not where we wanted to be speed-wise but we are improving the Lexar car. We had to make some changes between sessions today to stop the brakes from locking. I think we have everything until control now and are headed in the right direction for qualifying tomorrow.”

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): “The No. 12 Verizon Chevy team did a great job today and at the end there the car was definitely getting close to where we need it to be. Overall, we had a good day. We definitely made some gains and have a little bit more to go. Tomorrow, I think the weather will be a lot different than today, but we’ll do our best.”

MIKHAIL ALESHIN (No. 7 SMP Racing Honda): (On being a Russian IndyCar Driver living in Indianapolis) “Well, about Indy, I mean, it’s hard to compare because it’s a different country, first of all. Yeah, different traditions. Many different things. But I think I really like the people here, that’s for sure. Everybody is very nice, very friendly. I think that’s very important when you change the place where you live like I did this year. IndyCar was never showed on Russian TV so much. We had a couple Indy 500 races a long time ago. But from this year it is on TV already, so people start to follow. Actually, they start to open this category also, and they comparing it to Formula One. Actually, a lot of people say to me it’s a little bit more interesting in case of fighting, activity on the track, which I can actually completely agree. Yeah, for example, for the 500 race, there is a lot of media coming here from Russia, as well.”

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Racing Honda): “It’s a nice racetrack. It’s flowing. There’s a nice rhythm to it. It’s in Indy, it’s at home. It feels good. The cars are nice to drive here, the IndyCars. It’s the smoothest track we go to. I have to thank IMS for doing a good job for us.”

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 27 United Fiber & Data Honda): “Solid first day, I guess. This is a tricky track to set up for. It’s kind of the trim wars right now out there on figuring out what the right downforce level is. The weather’s changing a lot, the track’s still changing a lot, so at the end of the day, we’re pretty pleased to have the United Fiber and Data car in the Top-5. It’s hard to get that lap time, so we need to work on a race car that’s good and consistent. We’re not sure what the weather’s going to do tomorrow-could very well be rain, and that throws a whole wrench in for qualifying, but race day is what pays the points, and that’s what we’re trying to work on today. I think we’re going in the right direction.”

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 25 Snapple Honda): “I think we definitely have a clearer picture after practice two, than practice one. I think our potential is definitely better. I hit the tub in Turn 8. I got too much curb, so we lost two and a half tenths on a quick lap which if you give me that that is right where we need to be.”

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): “It was a good day for all the Andretti Autosport cars. I think we are all very competitive. It’s going to be a mix of getting down the straights, versus getting through the corners, downforce versus low drag. I think we have a good car right now, so we’ll see how tomorrow goes with this weather they are expecting.”

CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 34 Cinsay AndrettiTV.com HVM Honda): “I think we are looking pretty good for tomorrow. It seems that the weather is going to be different from today, so everything’s going to change, but I think we’re pretty solid. In IndyCar you have to time it really well, putting everything together. Tomorrow we’ll see how it is. If it’s raining, obviously it will be a lot different tomorrow.”

FRANCK MONTAGNY (No. 26 Suretone Honda): “It’s not too bad after two years off-just seven-tenths off-but we’re still not there, not where we would like to be. We are P20. It’s not where an Andretti car should be. I’m giving my best, and I hope tomorrow’s going to be better after one night off. It’s always good when you get in the car after a long while to have a break to think about things. So I hope tomorrow will be better, but today I’m a little disappointed. I’m happy with the car; I like the job that we’ve done, but I don’t like to see P20 on the monitor.”

SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA (No. 17 AFS KV AFS Racing Chevrolet): “I absolutely love it. It’s a very dynamic track and I love to drive it. It’s very different from what we have in Indy Car, which makes it even better. It introduces something new to the series and I’m very excited to be here. It’s a different way around and I completely approve it. (The standing start) is something I grew up with in Europe, so I do enjoy them. It’s also a little bit more fun for the fans to watch. We had a good practice, and we were right there in the top 12. We’re shooting for the top five and that’s important because it’s going to rain (Friday. I’m hoping that conditions (Saturday) will be similar to today.”