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

My Father said if you are going to win one race, make sure it is the Indianapolis 500

Eddie Cheever after winning the Indy 500

When you tug at a guy in the pit lane, I think that is taking advantage of your gender, because it puts me in an awkward position.

Dan Wheldon on Danica Patrick, June 2007

...if everyone agrees on a spec kit, IndyCar needs to really use the chance to get something that looks good, doesn't have all this winglet crap stuck all over it, and doesn't create all this dirty air.

Will Power on aerokits, motorsport.com, May 4th 2016

Not bad for a part timer ;o)

Graham Rahal on finishing 5th at Toronto, via Twitter, July 2010

I was just hanging back there waiting for someone to make a mistake and it turned out to be me!

Colton Herta on the final restart, Road America, June 12th 2022

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

Without the IRL, a lot of guys would never have been able to show what they can do.

Tony Stewart, May 2007

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

...one of the things that has always been wrong with that theory that NASCAR is the enemy... and they are... is because the people at NASCAR need to protect NASCAR.

Curt Cavin on Trackside, May 13th 2010

I was frustrated since Motegi and wanted to prove a point. When you're in a competitive package, you can't let points slip. I can eat breakfast tomorrow morning now instead of stabbing my fork into the table.

Dan Wheldon, Kansas 2007

The Indy 500 was the defining stage of my career.

Mario Andretti

We are unified.

Terry Angstadt, February 22nd 2008

Well, the elephant in the room is the aero kits.

Marco Andretti on why the Honda teams were struggling, Barber, April 27th 2015

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 think it's is a long putt, so I think we're safe for a while.

Roger Penske on the possibility of F1 returning to Long Beach, April 2014

We won a 500-mile race - not the right one, but we won a 500-miler...

Will Power on the 2016 season, ESPN.com, September 18th 2016

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

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

You know, if you're going to have an example of how not to go about things, this is 100 percent how you would do it.

Scott Dixon on Alex Palou's contract dispute, Toronto, July 15th 2022

I don't know him at all. Is he in his own little world?

Kevin Lee on Jacques Villeneuve, Trackside, August 2012

Time to go to the back row party!

Ryan Hunter Reay, Indy 500 Bump Day 2009

That was for the team.

Tony Kanaan, Fontana 2005

I get one more opportunity to head into the defining racing venue of my career with a single, achievable goal: Win.

Danica Patrick on her final Indy 500, The Players' Tribune, May 15th 2018

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

I'm the happiest guy on earth right now!

Rinus VeeKay on finishing 5th at the IMS Road Course, July 4th 2020

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.

The Indy 500 is the biggest race in the world. I don't think it's even debatable. It is.

Dan Wheldon

She was acting like a spoiled brat. I don't respect that. I tried to step away. She kept grabbing on me like a dog that wanted to bite my ankles.

Dan Wheldon on Danica Patrick, June 2007

That's a good way to lose a championship.

Tony Kanaan, Kansas 2007

It was so scary for me. I don't know what else to say. I don't know what happened but it felt like my front and rear wings were upside down.

Marco Andretti, Kansas 2007

We'll see how it unfolds, and we're going to have to give each other respect and the space on the track.

Danica Patrick on Dan Wheldon, June 2007

Someone asked me if I win the Indy 500 if I'd still retire? I'd still retire. What better way to go out?

Danica Patrick on her final race, racing.ap.org, March 7th 2018

It's just great, pure racing.

Sebastien Bourdais on IndyCar, June 2015

If someone said choose one race to win, just one, and that was the only race you ever got to win, it would be the Indy 500.

Jack Harvey on the Indianapolis 500, indianapolismotorspeedway.com, February 21st 2019

Second place is nothing.

Marco Andretti, Indy 2006

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

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

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

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

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

This is just an excellent race and to be a part of the history, I'm really grateful for that.

Roger Yasukawa, Indy 2007

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

The wall came too close and too quickly.

Fernando Alonso after crashing in practice, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, May 15th 2019

This is a great decision by IndyCar. Plus it gives me another month to get ready.

Jimmie Johnson on the 2021 season opener being delayed, via Twitter, January 6th 2021

I kind of have half an idea of what it means to win this race now. I couldn't be happier.

Dario Franchitti on winning the 91st Indy 500

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

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