Some people strap on their helmet and lose their brains.

Graham Rahal on the carnage at Toronto, July 2011

Everyone remembers the pole winner for two weeks. Everyone remembers the race winner for life.

Dan Wheldon on the Indy 500

I lifted a little, but I didn't touch the brake.

Will Power on the art of restarting, St Pete's, March 30th 2014

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

Last season, we lost the championship in the last corner of the last lap of the last race to some other guy.

Chip Ganassi, Daytona 2008

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

Tom Carnegie

3-horse chase. Power, Dixie and GR

Curt Cavin with a new twist on an old saying, GP of Baltimore 2013

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

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

Obviously we always see the good days, but Gil de Ferran told me if you can have a bad day and nobody notices, that's how you do a really good job - and that's how you win a championship.

Simon Pagenaud on the 2016 season, ESPN.com, September 18th 2016

All up it was one of the toughest weekends of my career in ANY form of motorsport, and you can sometimes learn more from your roughest days out there.

Scott McLaughlin on his Detroit weekend, June15th 2021, Speedcafe.com

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 think Danica's pretty aggressive in our cars. I mean, you know especially if you catch her at the right time of the month, she might be trading plenty of paint out there!

Ed Carpenter, July 2006

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

Kevin Lee on Jacques Villeneuve, Trackside, August 2012

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

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

If he thinks I'm not going to remember that, HE'S CRAZY!

Danica Patrick on Dan Wheldon, Milwaukee 2007

With photos, sometimes people get old. Not me, but some people do.

Helio Castroneves, June 2009

NASCAR has nothing on us. Look at the crowd at Indy – that's three Daytona 500s all in one place.

Graham Rahal on the Indianapolis 500, Racer.com, June 4th 2016

What makes IndyCar racing so good is there's not much you can do on your car to differentiate it from the others. It's only dampers, third springs. There's the aero with the aero kits – and hopefully those are going away.

Bobby Rahal on the benefits of a spec series, Racer.com, May 18th 2016

Gentlemen, start your engines.

Wilbur Shaw

I can hardly believe it. Who would have thought it?!

Dario Franchitti on winning the 91st Indy 500

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

...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'm a moving chicane out here!

Juan Pablo Montoya, lap 42 at St Pete's, March 30th 2014

Broke a glass at a restaurant. Apologize to the waiter, he looks at me, says "Accidents happen. YOU know what I mean!"

James Hinchcliffe via Twitter, December 17th 2015

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

I didn't leave. I was terminated.

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

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'm 38. I'm a legit 38. I don't know how old you are, but I'm legit 38. March 3 1981.

Ed Carpenter to Tony Kanaan on the suggestion that he was over 40, Gateway, August 24th 2019

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

It's a Top-10 but after finishing here fifth last year nothing less than that would really be satisfying because you always want more.

Ed Carpenter after the 2009 Indianapolis 500

I love this championship and everything it represents. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to be here. I wouldn't want to have it any other way.

Alexander Rossi on IndyCar, The Indy Star, September 14th 2018

I'm 19 years old, I drive Indy cars... I'm happy.

Marco Andretti, July 2006

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

When you go home and you're slow, there's nothing you can do. But when you go home under these conditions it's kind of tough.

Alex Tagliani, Indy 500 Bump Day 2009

We're all back to square zero!

James Hinchcliffe on the start of a new season, Trackside, March 18th 2014

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

You don't gotta win by five seconds - you just gotta win.

Tony Kanaan, Motegi 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

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

Eric Bachelart, Indy 500 Bump Day 2009

Good news is we've won every race we've finished!

James Hinchcliffe on crashing out at Long Beach, April 22nd 2013

I have learned more in one week here than I did in my entire Formula One career.

Jean Alesi, Bump Day, Indy 2012

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

Tom Sneva

Time to go to the back row party!

Ryan Hunter Reay, Indy 500 Bump Day 2009

Going into Texas with four wheels on the car is pretty exciting!

Sarah Fisher after the 2009 Indianapolis 500

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

Again, I was scared to death. I had zero grip, and I was lifting at the start/finish line going into one. It's embarrassing.

Marco Andretti, Kansas 2007

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

Dan Wheldon

I think Briscoe and I had a pretty good race going on, but we got what we got.

Scott Dixon on losing the race and the championship, Homestead 2009