AJ Foyt Racing’s David Malukas in the No.4 Clarience Chevrolet did a phenomenal job on day one of qualifying for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge as he made it into the Firestone Fast 12 for today and has an opportunity to go for the pole for the Greatest Spectacle In Racing.
Speaking following the action, the Chicago native said:
The guys did an incredible job getting the car where it needed to be. “I think a lot of drivers were struggling out there. Like I said earlier, these are the best of the best drivers in the world, and a lot of it comes down to [car] set-up at these speeds and comes down to the team. And they did an incredible job finding the car where it needs to be. We survived those first four laps, and I think we were already secured for a fast twelve through there. Later in the afternoon, track conditions got a little bit better (cooler), but a little bit more gusty. Had some scarier moments on lap three but we survived through it. The car’s on rails so we did a completely different strategy when it came to the hybrid. Now we have two good four-lap runs where we’re able to get a lot of information heading into Fast 12 tomorrow.”
Santino Ferrucci in the No.14 TurnsForTroops Chevrolet starts the race from 17th and speaking about qualifying he said:
“Obviously we’ve been very behind all month. “Catching up on the car today, honestly, we’re finding such a great balance on being able to enter in super strong, get the car to the apex, find confidence in my lines. And just to be honest with you, our luck has been so bad, I don’t even know how to explain it. And I get it all the way down to the apex in two on lap one, and sticks. Get it down to the apex in lap two, and it takes off. I caught a gust of wind, and it just pushed the car off the line. There’s literally nothing I can do. The car was good. It’s just bad luck.”