Post Q2 Selected Quotes - Long Beach

Paul Tracy - 1st: "This is great. We used our Bridgestone Optional tires yesterday and went faster, so we knew we had an opportunity to better the time today with those tires on. I knew if I could get the right lap and time that lap, that we could get the pole. I went around posting a fast time but it was not good enough to grab the pole. I had one more lap to go, was able to have the last lap clear and clean, then as I headed into the pit, I really wasn't sure where I was going to end up because I knew Sebastien (Bourdais) and Bruno (Junqueira) were on their final lap, so it was a bit of a nail bitter. But we were able to hold on to the top spot to earn the pole position. I am very, very happy for the Forsythe Championship Racing team today.

Mario Dominguez - 3rd: "I am really very, very happy considering that I didn't know anybody on the team until Thursday and this is our second day working together. It has been a real crash course, to say the least. This just shows how professional Forsythe Championship Racing is, and if you're with a good team, you can be fast. I am happy for Paul Tracy to have gotten the pole and happy to be here in the top three."

Newman-Haas

Bruno Junqueira - 2nd: "I think the qualifying session went really well. The PacifiCare car was strong again today. I think (Paul) Tracy just got a really good lap and just had us. The car was really good, but we just didn't have what it took to out run Tracy. But tomorrow is the race, and that is really what counts. I hope we can have a great race car, good pit stops, a good start and a great strategy to finish on top tomorrow."

Sebastien Bourdais - 4th: "The McDonald's car was pretty good but I was just trying very hard and made a couple of mistakes. We could have improved a couple of tenths but we were not really in a position to fight for pole today. Unfortunately we broke the record for top-three starts 15 - I guess it had to happen sometime. We just weren't fast enough today to keep it (the record) going. We'll just try to have a good race tomorrow. If P4 (position four) is a bad day, I'll take it.

RuSport

Justin Wilson - 5th: "Well I'm very happy overall with the first outing with the SanDisk/RuSPORT team. We qualified 5th, we've been quick all weekend, and we're always right there at the right end of the grid. We've got the speed and consistency to deliver a great result, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow's race."

A.J. Allmendinger - 10th: "To say we're frustrated is probably an obvious understatement. I was struggling with some front-end grip yesterday, and today it was more of the same. The car is just not handling well. I know we can get there, because we've been really quick in testing and Justin (Wilson) has been quick all weekend. We're definitely going to be working hard tonight so that we can deliver the results we all know RuSPORT is capable of."

Rocketsports

Timo Glock - 6th: "Qualifying wasn't too bad for us today. The car was difficult to drive yesterday but this morning we did a long run in practice and I was able to develop a rhythm. We also found a good setup during the practice and during my first run we were really good. On my last lap on that run I hit the wall which changed the toe (tire alignment) on the left rear of the car. The team did a good job and we made some good changes on the car. This will be my first rolling start so I don't know really what to expect. It will be difficult in the first corner and should be really interesting."

Ryan Hunter-Reay - 12th: "We've faced some major issues this weekend and have had to sort out some problems. It has been an uphill battle for us at Rocketsports this weekend. We are going to regroup right now and work towards a good race setup for tomorrow. Starting in the pack means I going to have to take advantage of any opportunities we can including Turn 1 at the start."

Team Australia

Alex Tagliani - 7th: "Qualifying seventh is a fantastic start for Team Australia. We obviously would have liked to be a little faster, but this program is very new and I am extremely enthusiastic about how everything has come together. I am confident we can improve our position in the race tomorrow because this team has a history of good strategies and the guys have been working hard on their pit stop practice. I had a little bit of understeer on the option tire which hurt my lap time a little, but the biggest problem was trying to find a clear lap. Every time I was on a hot lap, I kept finding traffic. At one stage I got held up badly by Junquiera as he was coming out of the pits on sticker tires - that certainly didn't help. But overall the car is good and we have a long race tomorrow so I am sure if we are there at the finish we will be in great shape."

Marcus Marshall - 17th: "It was great to be closer to everybody today and I was able to have a real go on the faster "option" Bridgestone Potenzas. On my first set of tires, my out lap was really strong and the second lap was going really well until I hit traffic right at the end of the lap. I was about 6 to 7/10ths up on my fastest before that happened. My second set of tires didn't feel quite as strong, I think the track temperature rose a little, but I didn't have the same level of grip. I am very happy so far because I keep getting faster with every lap. Tomorrow will be a big day for me and I am really looking forward to it. I don't think I am going sleep at all tonight. I have been used to running at the front in my career, but I am in the big leagues now so it is time to start the learning experience."

PKV

Cristiano da Matta - 8th: "The PKV Racing team made some gains today, especially when we ran the Bridgestone alternative tire. I still have some concerns when we run the primary tire, but I have much higher grip and less problems when I am on the alternative tire. But, I have to say we still have a lot of work to do before the race. I am pretty disappointed with our qualifying effort because we were so much better in testing during the off-season. I think part of the problem is that the Long Beach circuit is bumpy and we don't have a lot of data in that area. However, I am looking forward to tomorrow's race. The first corner of the first race of a Championship is always a concern, but we have some very talented drivers in this series, so I am not really worried."

Jimmy Vasser - 11th: "The PKV Racing team made a little improvement in final qualifying...not as much as we wanted, but the car was a little better. I really liked the Bridgestone alternative tire. It has more grip and that was one of the biggest factors in our improvement. Overall, as an owner and a driver, I am obviously disappointed with where both cars ended up on the grid. I expect to qualify higher. We still have a lot of work to do before tomorrow's race, but we have the warm-up session tomorrow to see how the changes we come up with tonight will work."

HVM

Ronnie Bremer - 9th: "We had a little problem with the differential this morning and unfortunately it was a bit of a problem toward the end of the session this afternoon as well. I made a small mistake on the exit of turn ten on my last lap, that combined with the differential problem kept us from improving at the end. I am happy though, ninth isn't too bad for my first weekend in a Champ Car, I think I've surprised some people. My Bridgestone Alternate tires were great, I picked up a lot of time with them when I used them in qualifying, I am looking forward to them in the race tomorrow. The speed is unbelievable compared to the Atlantic car. Having so much speed I am learning I must be careful with no traction control, my foot is the traction control."

Bjorn Wirdheim - 13th: "For sure 13th is not where I wanted to end be. With the field as tight as it is, you must get everything out of the car, especially the tires. Today there was more for me to find in the tires and I did not maximize them. We made a change between the qualifying warm up and the qualifying session that did not suit the softer tires. So we made a little mistake, but that is the way it is sometimes. I have learned a lot the last two days and it is incredible how tight the field is. I am looking forward to my first Champ Car race tomorrow. It will be important for me to keep it clean and have good pitstops."

Dale Coyne

No quotes available

Conquest

No quotes available

Jensen

No quotes available