Eyes on the starter...
Tom Carnegie
I know a lot of people say that Iowa is in the middle of nowhere, but you know what, we get such a great crowd and they're so enthusiastic. As a driver you could put me in paradise, but if there's nobody in the grandstands then it's not good racing.
Dan Wheldon on Iowa Speedway, June 2009
I just kept focused, focused, focused, all day long, getting every corner perfect.
Helio Castroneves, St Pete's 2007
What a day. This place is magical. It is still the 'beginning of the season' for me but everything is starting to fall into place. This is the best month of May, ever.
Helio Castroneves after winning the Indy 500, May 2009
The only reason I'm wearin' it is so I didn't leave it in no hotel nowhere!
A.J. Foyt on his Indy 500 winner's ring, Detroit, June 3rd 2016
To finish first you must first finish.
Rick Mears
Do you think I give a flying f*** what Buddy Rice thinks?
Dan Wheldon
Milka, if you're gonna go that slow you gotta drive your mirrors, hon'!
Ryan Hunter-Reay to Milka Duno after Watkins Glen qualifying, July 2010
The worst thing about crashing A.J.'s car twice in two days is you still have to go to dinner with him. And he makes you buy, and then he eats your bowl of ice cream, too.
Billy Boat
Wild thought. This 18th Indy 500 means I've been in IndyCar for exactly half of my life. 👀😅
Marco Andretti on getting older, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, May 18th 2023, via Twitter
I've seen this place be absolutely great to me, and I've seen it wrench my heart from my body.
Dan Wheldon on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
I remember the first year I raced here, I took pictures of the entrance. I was taking pictures. I hoped one day to race here in May.
Fernando Alonso on Indianapolis Motor Speedway, May 3rd 2017
I don't know him at all. Is he in his own little world?
Kevin Lee on Jacques Villeneuve, Trackside, August 2012
I'm just so f***ing disappointed!
Kosuke Matsuura, St Pete's 2007
Back then there were 50-75 cars just trying to make the field. And they were the best drivers in the world. I remember thinking; I can’t believe this. I can't believe I got a spot.
A.J. Foyt on qualifying for his first Indianapolis 500 mile race
If we're racing on Superspeedways with catch fencing, I fear we're just playing the odds until we have something protecting our heads. It’s a scary thing to say.
Ryan Hunter-Reay on canopies, Racer Magazine, 15 September 2014
I am a connoisseur of information!
Conor Daly on silly season rumours, Trackside, September 13th 2016
F1 is for sissies, this is proper racing, you can quote me on that!
Dan Wheldon
We are unified.
Terry Angstadt, February 22nd 2008
Heeeeeee's on it!
Tom Carnegie
Brad Pitt got a super license before me. Tough.
Colton Herta on Brad Pitt joining the F1 grid to film a movie, Twitter, May 4th 2023
Why do you think there are so many skid marks? It's not because it's a lovely corner.
John Andretti, Indy 2010
Hope you're all snug in your beds, while Indycars dance in your head...
Simon Pagenaud on insomnia, Twitter, 4:31 AM, July 23rd 2019
Some people strap on their helmet and lose their brains.
Graham Rahal on the carnage at Toronto, July 2011
Everyone thinks that running in dirty air causes the front end to wash out, but actually it affects the whole car and you just can't follow someone close in fast or medium-speed corners since the aerokits came in.
Will Power on aerokits, Motorsport.com, May 4th 2016
A happy wife is a happy life!
Scott Dixon on marriage at the Carb Night Burger Bash, 2015
I didn't leave. I was terminated.
Sebastien Bourdais on the flip side of the Coyne, NBCSports.com, November 22nd 2019
At 220mph friendship, risk and victory become extremely volatile.
Dan Wheldon
There is nothing like winning the Indianapolis 500 and fortunately I was able to do so.
Eddie Cheever Jr.
This is just an excellent race and to be a part of the history, I'm really grateful for that.
Roger Yasukawa, Indy 2007
I can hardly believe it. Who would have thought it?!
Dario Franchitti on winning the 91st Indy 500
And here comes Max Crappis into the pits!
Paul Page, Michigan '99
The toughest people out there passing me are my teammates, and I don't get that. I think three of the four of us get what the camaraderie of Andretti Green Racing is.
Marco Andretti on an unidentified teammate after Milwaukee 2009
I can't believe it. I cannot believe it. What a year for this Target team. It was so much fun to be a part of.
Dario Franchitti, Homestead 2009
I wasn't thinking, 'That's Eddie [Cheever] and he's in an Infiniti and so I need to beat him.' I was thinking, 'That's Eddie, and I want to kick his ass!'
Robbie Buhl, after winning at WDW in 2000
It's a living, breathing, organism.
Eddie Cheever on Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Howard and me set the first and third fastest times of the day, and we both got beaten to grid slot 33 by a kid in Methodist Hospital with a smoking wreck of a car. The magic of Indy, huh?
Paul Tracy, Indy Bump Day 2010
It's just great, pure racing.
Sebastien Bourdais on IndyCar, June 2015
My mom hasn't played much of a role in my racing career. In fact, I think she still wants me to join the Coast Guard. But I still love her.
PJ Chesson on Mothers Day
It's just crazy. If I never won another pole, I wouldn't care. Almost.
James Hinchcliffe on winning the pole for the 100th Indy 500, May 22nd 2016
The Indianapolis 500 is about the fastest 33 Indy car drivers going for one prize. If they happen to come from America, that's great.
Tony Stewart, May 2007
Now they've got competition and they are not talking about winning. I feel like they want to sit around and hold hands and sing. I want to win.
Chip Ganassi on Honda, St Petersberg, March 23rd 2013
Some of the drivers who don't want to do the Indy 500, they just have small balls. I think that's the only explanation.
Mikhail Aleshin on drivers who are too scared to run the Indy 500, May 16th 2017
I'm a moving chicane out here!
Juan Pablo Montoya, lap 42 at St Pete's, March 30th 2014
I can tell you one thing, with 50 to go, I thought we were going to go home and close our tent.
Roger Penske, Indy 2006
Back at the big house next weekend, kids.
Alexander Rossi on the Harvest GP, Twitter.com, 24th September 2020
There's fathers out there. There's husbands. There's brothers, sisters. It's something that absolutely we think about. We hope for the best with it.
Ryan Hunter-Reay on the dangers of racing an IndyCar, Pocono, August 23rd 2015
The Indy 500 was the defining stage of my career.
Mario Andretti
I drove the best race of my whole career!
Rinus VeeKay on finishing 5th at the IMS Road Course, July 4th 2020
Speed on ovals is insane. Currently re-calibrating my eyes.
Jimmie Johnson on his first oval test at Texas Motor Speedway, via Twitter, August 30th 2020