The Indy 500 is one of the greatest events in the sport. Drivers all over the world know this. I belong there. Because I'm a racer.
Fernando Alonso on The Indy 500, The Players Tribune, May 18th 2017
The last I looked, I earned the label of Indy 500 champion; those lobbing unfounded accusations at me have not.
Eddie Cheever Jr. after Watkins Glen 06
I am stupid.
Zach Veach on Zach Veach after an off track excursion, IMS, July 4th 2020
You don't pay me to run second.
Dan Wheldon to Chip Ganassi, Nashville 2006
They're creating a much bigger problem than the one they're trying to solve. And it's mind-boggling, absolutely mind-boggling, that they don't see it and that these discussions have even made it this far.
James Hinchcliffe on INDYCAR mandating domed skids, Motorsport.com, April 5th 2016
I wish I could get my deadbeat family to participate.
Kurt St. Angelo on the IndyCarFanZone fantasy league, Twitter, September 14th 2022
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
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
Some people strap on their helmet and lose their brains.
Graham Rahal on the carnage at Toronto, July 2011
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
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
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
We'd love to see Buddy Rice in a car and in the Indy 500, but as best we can tell, no driver has ever qualified for the Indy 500 from their couch.
TrackSideOnline, May 2009
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 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
I think the IRL has been poised for a long time to be discovered by a lot of people.
Chip Ganassi
When you've driven it for a day, you're going to feel naked without it.
Will Power on testing the Aeroscreen, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, October 2nd 2019
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
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
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
Helio lives for this. This is his passion. He loves Indy.
Simon Pagenaud, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, May 15th 2018
Second place is nothing.
Marco Andretti, Indy 2006
I don't want to take a defeatist attitude here but it's going to be ugly. If IndyCar goes the domed skid route, we're going to be taking a knife to a gunfight.
Sam Schmidt on Chevy's advantage with domed skids, Racer.com, April 7th 2016
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 was going through there as hard as I could. It was for everything. It was for all the marbles.
Sam Hornish Jr, Indy 2006
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
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
He's grounded.
Bryan Herta to Marco Andretti on Colton Herta knocking Marco out of P1 in final practice, Long Beach, April 14th 2019
The walls are white, the track is grey, the grass is green, and the sky is blue... your job is to keep them all where they belong.
Johnny Rutherford's advice to Indy 500 rookies
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
I came in not knowing what to expect. I basically fell in love with IndyCar.
Romain Grosjean on his rookie season, Laguna Seca, September 19th 2021
Maybe he should start thinking about driving and stop thinking about dancing because that was a stupid move.
Tomas Scheckter on Helio Castroneves, Detroit 2007
It's the biggest race in the world. It's not supposed to be easy.
Marcus Ericsson on The Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, May 2023
Who is the buff guy in blue with the big #Schnozolla?
Chip Ganassi on Tony Kanaan's Family Feud appearance, via Twitter, July 26th 2016
If you run around in the back with the squirrels, you're bound to get your nuts cracked.
PJ Chesson
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
You've only seen me smile here.
Romain Grosjean on being in IndyCar, after the GMR Grand Prix, IMS, May 15th 2021
The Indy 500 was the defining stage of my career.
Mario Andretti
I'm a moving chicane out here!
Juan Pablo Montoya, lap 42 at St Pete's, March 30th 2014
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
The race that made the IRL famous!
Eddie Gossage on the Bombardier Lear Jet 500, May 2009
I need a nap now.
Colton Herta on winning his first IndyCar race, COTA, 24th March 2019
I wish Beaux Barfield was officiating when I was driving - I'd have gotten a lot less penalties!
Paul Tracy on lax penalties for avoidable contact, Long Beach 2014
Will he get through? Where is he? Where is he? There he is!
Tom Carnegie on A.J. Foyt, 1967
Now it's obvious we were too conservative, we should have just gone for it
Eric Bachelart, Indy 500 Bump Day 2009
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
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 minute he got in front of me, he slowed down half-a-second a lap because he knows I'm fighting him for the championship and he was out of the race. It's probably the most unsportsmanlike thing I've ever seen on the racetrack, apart from shunting someone into a wall.
Wade Cunningham on Sebastien Saavedra, Iowa 2009
I was a craft beer and a wallet chain away from being a hipster!
James Hinchcliffe on beard growth, Tim and Sid's Plays of the Week, September 14th 2015
Well, the elephant in the room is the aero kits.
Marco Andretti on why the Honda teams were struggling, Barber, April 27th 2015
| Driver | Value | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Ryan Hunter-Reay | $325000 | 53 |
| Marco Andretti | $320000 | 41 |
| Scott Dixon | $335000 | 36 |
| Simon Pagenaud | $305000 | 32 |
| Sebastien Bourdais | $295000 | 15 |
| Total | $1580000 | 177 |