Andretti Autosport’s Romain Grosjean in the No.28 DHL Honda says he has been taking everything day by day as he prepares to make his debut in the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday.
The French-Swiss driver received the fastest rookie of the year award which was presented to him by the American Dairy Association of Indiana on Tuesday and will start the Greatest Spectacle In Racing from ninth on the grid and speaking following Monday’s practice, Grosjean said:
“I’ve taken everything day by day. I think we had a pretty tough rookie start because of the temperatures, the rain and the wind. So for a rookie, it wasn’t that easy because we didn’t get as much running as we wanted. There was still a lot learned leading up to Monday’s practice. I feel that we have a few things left to improve ahead of the race and just one more chance on track before Sunday. I’m looking forward to Carb Day, the parade and then the big show.”
Fellow rookie, Canadian-Italian Devlin DeFrancesco who starts the race in the No.29 PowerTap Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda from 24th place set a four-lap average of 230.326MPH and looking ahead to the race he said:
“I’m really excited for the big day. It’s my first 500 with the Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport team. It’s a big day for myself and all my sponsors, all the guys that made this happen. After today I feel like the No. 29 PowerTap Honda is ready to go. We have a few things left to work on but we’re in a good position to make something happen. I really want to thank everyone who has helped me get here – all the sponsors on the 29 team and my entire crew.”
Marco Andretti who is making his 250th start in the NTT IndyCar Series starts the race from 23rd place following a speed of 230.345MPH and speaking ahead of Sunday’s race he said:
“I think we’re pretty happy. We just need track position to materialize during the race whether it be from strategy, a caution or just hanging in there. I think in traffic we’re really good it’s just when you get to the back of a huge string of cars everybody is just at the mercy of lifting. If you get a run and you pop, then the guy ahead of you gets the tow to keep him there. I have to be patient but right now I have the car to hawk everybody and wait for them to make mistakes and take advantage.”
Alexander Rossi in the No.27 NAPA Auto Parts AutoNation Honda starts the race, which he won as a rookie in 2016 from 20th, and speaking ahead of the race this weekend he said:
“We are past qualifying now and have just one practice session left, so our only focus is on race running and making sure we have the car as ready as we can for Sunday. We know what type of car we have and know it is possible to move through traffic when it comes to race day. We’re starting further back than we had desired, but a lot can happen in 500 miles — we’ll look for a clean race and every opportunity to move to the front.”
“Monday’s practice was a good warm-up for what’s to come. It seemed like the car was fairly balanced. I was really happy with it. We have a few things to tune up but the Gainbridge Honda is really fast and a joy to drive right now. Obviously, we have the final practice Friday to finish everything but Monday’s session was great to get ahead of it. Our focus now is all on race running and being ready to move through the field come Sunday.”