To finish first you must first finish.

Rick Mears

If he wins this race with what he has to work with, they ought to name this place after him.

John Barnes on Sam Hornish Jr, indy 2003

Now it's obvious we were too conservative, we should have just gone for it

Eric Bachelart, Indy 500 Bump Day 2009

Some people strap on their helmet and lose their brains.

Graham Rahal on the carnage at Toronto, July 2011

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

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

If I ever pit with her again, I'm not racing for this team anymore - ever!

Tony Kanaan, Kansas 2007

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

She probably does not know what that is, so I can say I'm going to Las Vegas to play poker and she'll think it's something like that!

Fernando Alonso on what his mother would think about the Indy 500, motor.as.com, April 20th 2016

I've got the Grandfathers Club with Helio and Juan, right?!

Roger Penske on his older two drivers, motorsport.com, March 22nd 2016

Then again my favorite films of all time are Fast and the Furious 1 through 8 or however many of them there are.

Conor Daly on underglow. Via Twitter, July 16th 2020

I didn't leave. I was terminated.

Sebastien Bourdais on the flip side of the Coyne, NBCSports.com, November 22nd 2019

Having a pulse should make you want to attend the 500.

James Hinchcliffe on what should make you want to attend the 500, via Twitter, April 2012

Any time I get to come to Indianapolis, any time I get to participate in the greatest spectacle in motor racing, it's a great day.

Paul Diatlovitch, Indy Bump Day 2007

When Will was going off on Versus, I was cracking up. I was like, man, I didn't know you could talk like that! And I never knew you could say 'wanker' on TV, but that's my new word for now on... so I guess something good did come out of Toronto!

Tony Kanaan on Will Power, Toronto, July 2011

I've never been so happy to be in last place.

Ryan Hunter Reay, Indy 500 Bump Day 2009

There comes a time in a race where money doesn't matter, living doesn't matter. Winning is the only thing that matters, and so when you go into those corners, it's winning that tells all.

Al Unser Jr.

Antony! Yer losin' 3 seconds a lap! Now get yer foot into it, I'm not gonna tell ya again!!

AJ Foyt, Chicagoland 2004

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

It's a new... track... record!

Tom Carnegie

He said its the best team out there. If its the best team, he shouldn't have a problem.

Chip Ganassi on whether he'd allow Jaun Pablo Montoya to test for Penske, Houston, October 2013

Whether you're a fan in turn 1 or turn 4, it doesn't matter what position you have. We all make the Indianapolis 500 what it is.

Josef Newgarden on The Indy 500, June 2023, via Twitter

You won't believe it!

Tom Carnegie

That's the kind of incident that leaves skidmarks *inside* the cockpit!

Tom Sneva

Heeeeeee's on it!

Tom Carnegie

You don't get too many times like that at the Indy 500 where you're out there and you have a chance to win the race right in front of everybody on the last lap.

Sam Hornish Jr, Indy 2006

When I saw he was slowing down, I have to say it was a relief. I thought, 'Now we can finally unleash the beast inside and go for the win.'

Simon Pagenaud on Will Power's misfortune at Sonoma, ESPN.com, September 18th 2016

I'm tired of being nice about it. The fact is, grip created by aerodynamic downforce is our enemy... At the moment, the downforce is so great that it masks the handling and hurts the racing

Rick Mears on what's wrong with IndyCar, Motorsport.com, October 28th 2015

Pounding down toward the yard of bricks...

Tom Carnegie

It takes a lot of guts to expose yourself in front of millions of people, in front of all the media, in front of all your peers. If somebody came to me and said, "Hey, you want to run Texas in an IRL car," I'd say, "Hell, no. I don't want to get embarrassed." She's doing that. I have a lot of respect for that.

Jeff Burton on Danica Patrick, June 2010

There is nothing like winning the Indianapolis 500 and fortunately I was able to do so.

Eddie Cheever Jr.

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

It's like a reunion to come back here every May. I've never retired. I always say, "I'm not done yet."

Parnelli Jones, Indy 2007

From now on, Scheckter, when used as a verb, means, "To steal one's wireless internet access."

Tony Kanaan's blog, May 2007

This place isn't easy. It's not supposed to be easy. This place starts the 33 fastest, best-prepared cars. Obviously, I missed.

Paul Diatlovitch, Indy Bump Day 2007

I prefer to be here, even 34th, then being at home like last year.

Fernando Alonso on the Indy 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, May 19th 2019

That was for the team.

Tony Kanaan, Fontana 2005

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

"Many people always ask me why I sign off 'Until we meet again.' Because goodbye is so final. Goodbye, Dan Wheldon."

Marty Reid, Las Vegas, October 16th 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

This is and always will be the greatest spectacle in racing. This is the Indianapolis 500.

Leigh Diffey, as the green flag waved at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, May 29th 2022

It's a great feeling. I wouldn't trade it for anything else.

Sam Hornish Jr. on winning the 90th Indy 500

Andy Granatelli for as much as he put into the sport, especially at Indianapolis. I had to deal with that big kiss. I can still smell the garlic.

Mario Andretti on Andy Granatelli after the 1969 Indianapolis 500

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 always sad to be out of a race but I'm happy that I walked away; it was a nasty, nasty crash.

Tony Kanaan at the 2009 Indianapolis 500

Whatever you heard, somebody made it up. For the first two days, he talked nonsense because he had a concussion. It doesn't matter what he was saying. He doesn't even remember it.

Tony Kanaan on the rumours of Dario Franchitti's retirement after Houston, 2013

Most importantly, for the Indy 500 we'll probably be all okay, and that's cause to be happy.

Mikhail Aleshin on Honda's prospects for the 2017 season, Motorsport.com, February 2nd 2017

Heeeeere's something that's amazing... i-dent-ical laps.

Tom Carnegie

I sometimes think that Graham doesn't have the right filter for this Sport!

Curt Cavin on Graham Rahal speaking his mind, Traxkaide, May 23rd 2023