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
Gentlemen, start your engines.
Wilbur Shaw
Pounding down toward the yard of bricks...
Tom Carnegie
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 can't control what size I am and how I'm built. All I know is the NBA doesn't lower the hoop for short guys.
Danica Patrick, June 2005
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 think the IRL has been poised for a long time to be discovered by a lot of people.
Chip Ganassi
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 felt way better than I ever thought it was going to feel!
Ed Carpenter on finally winning his first race, Kansas, October 2011
Some of the drivers roll out this 'safety' word, and suddenly it ties everybody's hands. But those arguments make no sense anyway. Remove downforce and you actually improve safety
Rick Mears on downforce, Motorsport.com, October 28th 2015
Racing IndyCars at Richmond is like flying fighter jets in a gymnasium.
Eddie Cheever Jr.
She's just feeling the pressure of not winning races.
Dan Wheldon on Danica Patrick, Milwaukee 2007
I'm a moving chicane out here!
Juan Pablo Montoya, lap 42 at St Pete's, March 30th 2014
That was for the team.
Tony Kanaan, Fontana 2005
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 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
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Fernando Alonso on the difference between an IndyCar and an F1 car, May 3rd 2017
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
It's just great, pure racing.
Sebastien Bourdais on IndyCar, June 2015
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
The day started when I walked into Gasoline Alley and saw the grandstands. It was my first time here on race day and it was quite unbelievable.
Alex Tagliani on the 2009 Indianapolis 500
I don't know him at all. Is he in his own little world?
Kevin Lee on Jacques Villeneuve, Trackside, August 2012
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
I promise you this: it isn't the last you've seen of me at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. My last time there will not be a day when I'm walking out with my tail between my legs.
Paul Tracy, Indy Bump Day 2010
Rick Mears is a great race car driver. Hopefully I have plenty of years to try to earn his respect again.
Tony Kanaan, Detroit 2007
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
If you run around in the back with the squirrels, you're bound to get your nuts cracked.
PJ Chesson
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
Gentlemen... restart your engines!
Tom Carnegie, Indy 2004
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
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
I bet you'd love to drive one, you just wouldn't want to crash one!
Charlie Kimball to Dale Jr. via Twitter, Pocono, August 23rd 2015
...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
If he thinks I'm not going to remember that, HE'S CRAZY!
Danica Patrick on Dan Wheldon, Milwaukee 2007
Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug. And sometimes you have an air gun failure.
Simon Pagenaud on equipment issues, St Petersburg, March 11th 2018
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
I can't believe I'm here. It's so cool!
Mike Conway in victory lane, Long Beach 2014
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
This has been the best season of my career in motorsport and I've learned so much. We'll be coming back to win this thing next year.
Will Power on losing to Dario Franchitti, Homestead, 2010
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
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
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
Without the IRL, a lot of guys would never have been able to show what they can do.
Tony Stewart, May 2007
I keep getting asked by Europeans, drivers also, if racing around IMS was boring an' easy. I just want to shake my head and walk away.
Connor Daly, June 6th 2013, via Twitter
It was talent and skill, that's how I did it. A masterful display of driving ability!
James Hinchcliffe on getting through the gap that took him from 17th to 6th at Mid Ohio, August 2014
Whoever has got the big balls is going to go fast!
Helio Castroneves
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
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
I need a nap now.
Colton Herta on winning his first IndyCar race, COTA, 24th March 2019
Do you think I give a flying f*** what Buddy Rice thinks?
Dan Wheldon