Race No. 6
U.S. 500 - Michigan International Speedway
Brooklyn, MI
May 26, 1996
Practice Quotes from drivers and managers at Michigan:
 | #12 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda |
JIMMY VASSER | |
| "[Starting onthe pole] is a great accomplishment for me and Target/Chip Ganassi Racing.And there's $1 million in cash to get to the checkered flag first, and Ihope I can get it." | |
 | #3 Marlboro Penske Mercedes |
PAUL TRACY | |
| [about his accident Friday]"We were running in our backupcar because we were saving the primary car for race day. We were setting upto pass the #2 car [Al Unser, Jr.] on the outside, and we just gottoo tight for two cars; so I had to get out of it and the rear end camearound. Unfortunately, the front end took a heavy shot and the left frontcorner is damaged, so the chassis needs to go back to Penske Cars forrepair." | |
 | #2 Marlboro Penske Mercedes |
AL UNSER, Jr. | |
| "Basically, Paul was trying to pass me on the outside and showed up late. There were no apologies on my side. He wason a hot lap and tried to do something ... he ran out of room. "We were all lucky. [about his car for the race]: "My Marlboro car is reallygood. The handling is super. Right now the biggest thing on our minds is toget to the front of the race. If we can do that, we'll be in great shape atthe end." | |
 | #19 Panasonic/DUSKIN Lola Ford Cosworth |
HIRO MATSUSHITA | |
| "I was just getting started, going out for the warm up. Isaw [Unser] go by and then I saw another car flash in my mirror. Then I feltthe whack as I was hit in the rear. Considering this is Michigan, we werelucky to sustain only suspension damage." | |
 | #20 Firestone Lola Ford Patrick Racing |
SCOTT PRUETT | |
| "This week has gonewithout a hitch. We've run at the top of the track and the bottom and we'vebeen able to run in traffic. The car and the tires have been terrific. Ican't believe it. The speed has been easy. I'm not doing anything special.Knock on wood that it will continue tomorrow." | |
 | #49 Motorola Reynard Honda Brix Comptech Racing |
PARKER JOHNSTONE | |
| "We're approaching lastyear's car. We found a good part of the problem and we'reconcentrating on getting the car in as good a shape for tomorrow." | |
 | #99 Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes-Benz |
GREG MOORE | |
| "We had a very good day. Thecar we'll use for the race is ready, and we are now working on the backupto improve the setups. Both cars are set up identically. Duringtoday's three sessions, I started rather slowly. I dislike going fast at thebeginning of a session. It's important to be comfortable with the car beforereaching speeds in excess of 230 miles per hour. Tomorrow, we will work onbetter balancing the car, even though our Players' Team has alreadydelivered a very good and dependable car. I think our chances for Sunday areexcellent. Winning here at such a major event is great and the first prizeof $1 million really adds to the package." | |
 | #6 Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Lola Ford Cosworth XD |
MICHAEL ANDRETTI | |
| [While in backupcar] "My leg got real hot and I started to panic because I thought I mightbe on fire. We thought maybe the engine blew but actually a hose clamp brokeand spilled hot water on my leg. I started the session in my race car. I'mreally happy with it. It's really good in traffic and alone. I think we willput on a quality show tomorrow. The fans will see the best race cars and thebest drivers. It could turn out to be a really exciting race. It was reallyclose last year and the competition is even better this year." | |
 | #11 Kmart/Budweiser Lola Ford Newman/Haas Racing |
CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI | |
| "We ran very littlein the race car. We just wanted to check everything out one last time beforethe race. We ran in the 227-228 mph range comfortably with a good fuel load.I think our car will handle very well in the race. We just need to make surewe make the checkered flag. It would be great to win the U.S. 500. This timelast year, I scored my highest Indy car finish [second place in the Indy500]. I'd like to do just as good here, if not better." | |
 | #21 PacWest Reynard Ford Cosworth |
MARK BLUNDELL | |
| "I'm reasonably happy withour progress today. We ran a high fuel load in each session and the car wasgenerally comfortable and useable in traffic. We're slightly down on speed,but that's stabilized and now we just need to make the car as user-friendlyas possible by Sunday. "We did 21 laps on the racecar and a few more in the backup to play with the bars and see if we couldfind out anything else. I could draft up to the Reynards quite well, but itwas a little more difficult to do the Lolas." | |
 | #28 Shell Reynard Mercedes-Benz Team Rahal |
BRYAN HERTA | |
| "We're very pleased with thecar. Both Bobby and I were able to scrub all of our tires for the race andwe feel confident and we're ready. You won't be able to cruise on Sunday. Itwill be an all-out fight, especially with the Hondas. They still have plentyof power. Bur our Mercedes should be right in there." | |
 | #4 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda |
ALEX ZANARDI | |
| "Two weeks ago, I wasgoing fast, and it was not incredibly difficult to adapt to a new circuit.But in those two weeks, I've had time to think about it. When I went outthis morning, I was much more comfortable and had much better sensitivity. Ihave the best combination with the Honda engine, Firestone engine andReynard chassis." | |
 | #31 LCI International Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group |
ANDRE RIBEIRO | |
| "Like everyone else, wewere working on preparing the car for the race, running all possiblesituations and conditions, and exploring the various racing lines. I thinkwe have a very good car, but I was amazed to see how close everyone is rightnow. "It's a very similar track to [qualifying weekend]. It's good for the teamto have both cars competitive, and we definitely help each other." | |
 | #32 Tecate Beer/Quaker State Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group |
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ | |
| "The car is very good intraffic. We tried a few different adjustments this session, and everybody'shappy. We're very pleased with the car. "We wereconsistent all practice and I think we were the most consistent in all thepractice sessions. We've been either second or first. The car has been good.We are just massaging the settings to make it work a little better." | |
 | #5 Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Reynard Ford |
ROBBY GORDON | |
| [On hisgoal in the primary car]: "Be nice to it. It's got to run 500 [miles], andwe probably did about 20 miles on the engine. We want to keep as many milesas we can off of it. I never did a burnout leaving pit lane in my primarycar. That was all in the "X" car. I was just making sure I don't stall it." | |
 | #18 Miller Racing Reynard Mercedes-Benz Team Rahal |
BOBBY RAHAL | |
| "It looks like theweather will be similar to today [Friday], and that's good. Cooltemperatures should make for an excellent race. It also means that we'll beflat out all day on Sunday. Last year, I tried to pace it a little and I gotbehind. To stay up front, you have to race at a tremendous pace. That means228, 229, 230 per lap, especially with the draft." | |
 | #17 Hollywood Reynard Ford |
| photo Mike Levitt | |
MAURICIO GUGELMIN | |
| "We made a lot ofchanges on the springs this last session, going from stiffer to softer, butnone of the changes made the car much better. We also tried three differentpop-off valves to try and get some boost. Basically, the car was better thismorning than it was in the last session. "We're still havingproblems with the pop-off valves. The boost just isn't there. I'm not evenrunning 40 inches of boost. Mark's valves are like a rocket, butboth of ours are terrible." | |
 | #25 Arciero-Wells Racing Reynard Toyota |
JEFF KROSNOFF | |
| "We were able to seehigher speeds today with the updated engine than we have all month, andwe've improved the chassis today as well. It's nice to believe that you canrace with guys now. That extra edge, the extra bit of performance that theyfound is going to make a huge difference in our race strategy. We are goingto actually be able to challenge people rather than waiting for people tocome back to us." | |
 | #15 Valvoline DuraBlend Special Reynard Ford |
| photo Mike Levitt | |
FREDRIK EKBLOM | |
| "The balancein the car is pretty good. We had a lot to do in a short amount of timetoday scrubbing tires, checking the set-up, practicing our pit stops. "I don't know how much sleep I'll get tonight. But, it's not really becauseI'm nervous. It's because I'm excited. It's definitely going to be a busyday at the race track" | |
 | #1 Brahma Sports Team Reynard Ford Cosworth |
RAUL BOESEL | |
| "We ran well today, wescrubbed tires, ran mostly full tanks and prepared for the race. We have awhole range of tires and staggers we can choose from. We need to make a fewadjustments on the car, so it's more comfortable for me. In terms of therace, we just need to concentrate on ourselves, not worry about what theothers are doing, and look to the finish." | |