The entire 2016 Indy 500 field. Photo by Chris Jones

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): “It’s disappointing for Verizon and Chevy and everybody who has worked so hard. The car was just hard to drive and it was a little bit tighter there in that corner and it got away. It was a disappointing day. People in race cars do a lot of dumb things and we were being careful. So I started making up some ground again and the car was actually pretty good. It was really sloppy, but it felt ok. I went into (Turn) 2 with a big push and when I got on the gas, it just came around. The hit is no big deal and not that bad actually. When the clouds came over the track, my car came to life and that’s what we were hoping for. I don’t know. It’s just disappointing. Our Verizon Chevy was really good. Just a tough day.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet): “What a car. What a team. I’m very disappointed in the way we ended up. It’s just not reflective of the car that we had and the pit stops that we had. I’m just so proud of the entire Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet team. The car was so strong. We had a car that could have won, but it wasn’t meant to be and we’ll move on to next week.”  (On what happened with JR Hildebrand) “Go ask him. He was behind so I have no idea. I felt a bump and basically that put us in a situation that was almost impossible to come back. I’m really, really, really upset. Especially in a race that is so important and for someone who races once – I can understand it if it’s someone who’s fighting for the lead – but, come on, it’s ridiculous.”

BUDDY LAZIER (No. 4 Quiznos Lazier/Burns Racing Chevrolet): “We had a throttle that was stuck wide open on the first pace lap, so I smoked the tires several times trying to get it to free up. I was able to nurse it back into the pits, and the guys got to work on it. It was an electronic problem. There was something in the shock casing of the throttle linkage, which is quite unusual because it was fine when we warmed it up this morning. When we got out, the car was decent. We ran a bunch of laps. I’m 20 laps down and I didn’t want to affect the leaders’ day, but we have sponsor commitments and we tried very hard to get back out of the garage and run. On our last pit stop, I had just launched out of pit lane and the left-front tire fell off. I brought it into the Turn 3 fire safety area and that ended our day with about 50 laps to go. We will run better in the future.”

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda): “I have to give everybody on the Arrow crew a ton of credit for the effort the entire month. Coming in third at the GP of Indy, qualifying on the pole and the race here, it was a solid effort. We were super strong the first half and definitely had one of the cars to beat. It was really just track temperatures that caught us out there. We started losing grip as the temperatures came up late in the afternoon and the last two stints were a real struggle when we tried to make the tires last. Well, more than a stint because we came in for that splash of fuel at the end. A couple guys out there took a punt on fuel – congrats to Alex (Rossi) and great to see Honda back on top. Realistically, I think we had a third- or fourth-place effort today, which is nothing to turn your nose up at.”

JR HILDEBRAND (No. 6 Preferred Freezer Fuzzy Vodka Chevrolet): “It was a long day. We were close there at the end. We led a few laps, and we were legitimately running top three for a minute there. Then strategies got all mixed up at the end of the race. Obviously, we weren’t going to do what those two cars that wound up up front did. It was a good race. The car was good. We were able to race. We raced our way up the field a couple of times, which is really what we set out to do. In hindsight, if we had known we’d be running in the top five those last couple of stints, we might have prepared for that a little differently as we went through the race. It’s hard to know how that’s all going to shake out.” (On contact with Castroneves): “I’ve got to go apologize to him. It starts to get really dicey when you don’t know if you need to go to the outside, if you need to go to the inside, guys are running inside and outside. I thought I was going to need to go to the outside. He stayed put longer, so I changed direction and caught him and flipped him on the bumper pod. I feel really bad about it. I know it screwed up his race. He deserves another serious shot at this, but at the end of the day, it’s all so close out there.”

MIKHAIL ALESHIN (No. 7 SMP Racing Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda): “The DOOM and SMP Racing car was pretty good through all the stints. We were up front, but then something went wrong in Turn 1 and I’m not sure what it was. I just lost control of the rear of the car and I couldn’t do anything. The hit was not so hard, but hard enough to break the car and finish my race. It’s a shame because the team did a good job and we were up there all the race and hoping for the last 50 laps, you know, to fight.”

MAX CHILTON (No. 8 Gallagher Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet): “It was a long race. It feels like three races in one. I learned so much out there today. It’s the craziest start of a race I’ve ever done in my life. There are moments where you’re hanging on for your life. There are also moments where you are absolutely flying and I wish I’d had another 100 laps to go. The Gallagher team did a great job with all the pit stops. I don’t think we were ever in a position to fight for the lead, but I learned a lot and will come back stronger next time.”

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet): “It was tough all day. I think we started a little too light and over the course of the race we put in quite a bit of downforce overall. It became better but we didn’t have the overall speed as a result. I hit the wall pretty hard on the exit of Turn 4 and that definitely bent the suspension. The wheel was out of alignment and the race just never played out in our favor for Team Target.”

TONY KANAAN (No. 10 NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet): “The car was awesome. It was really good. We dialed in – we had downforce, we took downforce out. It just wasn’t our day.” (What to take away from today): “The good thing I take about today is this atmosphere. I had a chance to experience something I haven’t done here in 15 years. This crowd was awesome. I made sure I drove my heart out to give them a thrill so they will come back next year and support us. We’ll take it. It wasn’t our day. We’ll just hope I put on a good show for the fans. … The one thing we can’t do is hear the fans when we make a pass for the lead, but I was sure the crowd went wild when I made a couple of those passes.” (On racing with Newgarden and Hinchcliffe all day): “It was awesome. It’s always great to know who you’re racing with. You know guys you can race, and guys you cannot even think about it. We had a lot of fun. What a great day for racing, what a great race. I hope I made it exciting. If I had to make a list of my 15 starts here, I think I drove a better race than I did when I won here in 2013.”

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 11 Team Hydroxycut – KVSH Racing Chevrolet): “It was a very interesting day for the Hydroxycut – KVSH Racing team. A very strange race for us. We unfortunately could not run what we wanted to run during the last practice on Friday and that was detrimental because it was very powerful to adjust understeer in traffic and we ran out of it the last third of the race. The car was pretty decent compared to most in traffic toward the end, once I got it figured out, but I was maxed out on the adjustments. There was a lot more potential in the car and we could have adjusted a couple more things, but we had a bad second-to-last pit stop. We went from a possible top-five finish to a top 10, which is always disappointing. However, we still recovered from 20th to ninth, so we have to look at the bright side of the story, but for sure it is disappointing when you feel like you left something on the table.”

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): “Tough day for the Verizon Chevy.  It was pretty hectic as we went to the back and then the front again. We tried to save fuel at the end.  We were on the same strategy as Rossi but he was getting better fuel mileage and quicker lap time. It was really tough trying to save fuel those last 15 laps and keep our speed within the traffic. We made it as best we could.  Despite the penalty, we still made it back to the front, but it just didn’t go our way towards the end.”

TAKUMA SATO (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda): “Tough race. In the beginning we needed to work on the car quite a lot because it was getting very difficult in traffic. We added downforce and then tried to compensate on the balance but it didn’t work. So I just wanted to go to the opposite and it picked up some pace in the end finally, so that was good. The ABC Supply boys did a great job in the pits with very fast pit stops and we made up a couple places. At the one stage we looked really strong, but unfortunately the yellow caught us and then I got behind in the shuffling around. Then there was a big washout and I ran wide in Turn 4. Very tough one.  I’m very thankful to be given the opportunity to run the 100th Indy 500, it was a very special one. Just a shame we couldn’t produce a good result. I’m sorry.”

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 Steak ‘n Shake Honda): “It just wasn’t our day. We just never had the pace all day which is kind of weird. We broke a left rear wing in the pits. Someone was pushing the car and then we had to stop because Pippa (Mann) (in the next pit) was coming in. The winglet was broken in the process which really hurt us because we lost a lot of downforce there but it also then left a blunt end on the car so it had a lot of drag and the car was really slow on the straights. Then we fought our way back up to the front and that yellow killed us because we needed to pit and they didn’t open the pits. I don’t know why, but they waited an extra lap over what they normally do so we had to pit for a splash of fuel to make it until we could come in for a full stop. We kept our heads down and kept pushing. Our goal was to put the Steak ‘n Shake car in Victory Lane and we didn’t do it. We’re going to have to wait another year to think about this. We missed a golden opportunity here. We had a great race car but there were just too many little errors today, not necessarily any one thing. There were just too many little ones.  Hell, I’m just happy we finished. I think three or four guys crashed in front of me. Every time, it was everything I could do to get the car slowed down without hitting them.  We couldn’t get the fuel mileage to make it to the end so we just bailed on that strategy and tried to run hard but it was too little, too late. I hate gas mileage races and feel pretty bad for some guys.”

SPENCER PIGOT (No. 16 RLL/Mi-Jack/Manitowoc Honda): “The race was pretty eventful; it was pretty crazy out there. We continued to make the car better. We were struggling on the first stint but got it better throughout the race. We made some changes on the wings and we could definitely pass a bit better and run closer as the stints went on so I was pleased with that. But unfortunately we ran out of fuel on the back straight on a yellow that came out and closed the pits just as we were running out. I got stuck there and had to get pulled in and lost a few laps. Overall it was a great experience and I am glad we were able to finish the race. I think we had the potential to finish somewhere around 15th.  I want to give a big thanks to all of the guys for their great stops and hard work for the Indy 500 and to Manitowoc, Mi-Jack, Grove and everyone for their support.”

CONOR DALY (No. 18 Shirts For America/Lilly Diabetes Honda): “There was so much smoke, (Mikhail Aleshin) spun right in front of us and our car was fully loaded and as soon as you jump off the throttle the rear comes around. I thought I was going to run straight into him. We were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. The red, white and blue ShirtsForAmerica.com/Lilly Diabetes machine was just unlucky. It’s disappointing for our race to end like that.”

GABBY CHAVES (No. 19 Boy Scouts of America Honda): “We had a car to put us in the top six or seven and unfortunately one of the yellows came out and we were committed to pitting and we just missed the pit commit line by probably a few feet and that just set forward a sequence of events with a drive through followed by another drive through and that just killed our day.”

ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet): “I’m really, really, really proud of the team. It’s unfortunate what happened with the 20 car, or I think we would’ve had three of them up there. I’m really proud of the team, showing everyone what we’re made of – the top finishing Chevrolet, two of the top three finishing Chevrolets. Josef did an outstanding job. He really showed what he could do. It’s hard when you’ve got a car that runs up front all day and you’ve got to run hard, it’s hard to defend against a guy like Rossi who kind of comes out of nowhere and saves fuel to win. Hats off to those guys – they won the Indy 500. They did what it took, but at the same time, it does stink a little bit because Josef was one of the best cars. That’s the way it goes. This is the Indy 500. It’s tough. I’m more disappointed for Josef than I am myself, because when you’re that close, it’s hard. We had a problem early and weren’t really in it all day. I’m really proud of the group. I’m proud of all of our partners.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 21 Preferred Freezer Chevrolet): “It was a crazy race. Not the way I wanted to finish it. I think we had a shot at outracing these guys today and that’s all I wanted was a shot to race him at the end. I didn’t feel like I got that but that’s no fault of my team. I think we had an amazing car. It’s not the way the cards fell today with the fuel that everyone was using and the way the fuel started to break down towards the end and everyone started to see what they had to do. It wasn’t a straight shootout. People were doing different strategies and we went for it. We were trimming out. We were doing a normal running and we went flat out, trying to win the thing and when you have a strong a car as we did you have to do that. I mean, it’s Indianapolis. We had a shot of winning this thing and the cards didn’t fall our way. I’m just happy to be here. Happy to have a shot. Disappointed we weren’t able to race for it at the end. Today is gut-wrenching just because I think I had a winning car. And when you know you have a winning car and you know you can win the thing and you go for it and it doesn’t happen, you know, because of a strategy call, it’s kind of tough. I don’t think that’s on our guys. We’ve done exactly what we needed to do. We went flat out, trimmed the thing out, tried to win the thing. I think we could have outraced anyone today at the end if we needed to. That’s all I was really asking for. We didn’t get that. It’s the Indy 500. This is the 100th running. This is a staple, man. This is the greatest race in the world and just to be a part of it has been amazing for me. I just hope I get another shot to try and win this thing again.”

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet): “It was a tough day. I really think we had a contending car again this year. Thanks to Team Penske for giving me such a good chassis and such a good understanding of the aero on the car. The Menards Chevy was definitely a good car today before bad luck struck us today. We got a misfire in the engine at about Lap 97 and we had to fight with that the rest of the way. It was just inconsistent power. We kept fighting, though, and still have the lead in points. I really thought we had the car today.”

SAGE KARAM (No. 24 Gas Monkey Energy Chevrolet): “So bummed for the crew guys. The car was so fast, Gas Monkey Energy DRR-Kingdom Racing car was just so fast all day. We were just picking our way through and it looks like Josef (Newgarden) got checked up out of four and Townsend (Bell) went low. I went high and I thought I was going to be clear of Townsend and I had maybe a tire length on him and I can’t blame anybody. It was just a bad place at the wrong time and just got up in the gray. The car got loose and it ended up taking us out of the race.”

STEFAN WILSON (No. 25 Driven2SaveLives – KVRT Chevrolet): “Disappointing to not be able to bring home the No. 25 Driven2SaveLives car and make it to the finish. Unfortunately, a fuel leak started happening maybe on the 100th lap and caused an electrical fire that disabled the gearbox. So when we went on that final restart during Lap 104, it wouldn’t shift out of third gear. We tried to solve the issue and took the car back to the garage, came back out and the issue persisted so we had to call it a day. The No. 25 Driven2SaveLives Chevy was handling really well and we made a great start going 30th to 24th on the first lap and really felt that the car was getting going. I felt like we had some more speed in there that we just had to make adjustments on the pit stop and I think we would’ve been in really good shape, we could’ve brought home a top-15 finish today but you know, that’s racing – there’s always mishaps and unfortunately that’s what happened today. Overall, it was a good month, we ran a lot of laps and I’ve learned a lot about running an Indy car here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I think that’s going to help me in future years if I’m able to come back here and race again. I know now what I want to achieve from the car handling and I think if I do come back next year, I’m already so far developed from where I started just under two weeks ago. It seems as though a lot of time has passed but it’s crazy to think it has only been two weeks.”

CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 26 United Fiber & Data Honda): “I was really disappointed when it comes down to fuel and you lose the race because of that. I was really disappointed to get second and be half a lap short. That’s what it took. I was sliding the last two stints. I knew I had the car to win in the first half of the race. I just was holding my position. Last part of the race I was pushing really hard, overtaking everyone. One of the yellows didn’t help us. We fell back into the field and got back to the front of the field again. It wasn’t our day, if I’m honest. My team never was in the fight. But this is racing. We have to congratulate him (Alexander Rossi). It’s part of the racing, strategy and everything. The only thing I’m clear about is that I want to win this race one day. Man, it was a close one. I think me and (Josef) Newgarden had the battle for the win, we were so strong. But I’m happy for the team, one and two Andretti, one and two for Honda.”

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 27 Snapple Honda): “It was a fun day, I think the Snapple car could have been competitive and gave the leaders a real challenge. Unfortunately, the front tires were put on the wrong side during one of the later stops, which cost us track position until we could come in and correct the issue. I’m really bummed for our final result, being the 100th running we were hoping for more – and the Snapple car was good. It was an unfortunate mistake, but my guys are the best.”

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): “Something out of our control happened. They said, ‘Go, go, go!’ It looked like Townsend (Bell) got into Helio (Castroneves) and bounced into me. At that point I would have just have waited until they got by. As a driver you can’t see anything (beside you in the pits). When you’re released, you go. The car was so strong. The only time we ever spent any time (slower) was because I was saving some fuel. Other than that, it was a rocket ship. Such a shame when you have a car like that. The car was great. We could have won this thing today.”

TOWNSEND BELL (No. 29 California Pizza Kitchen/Robert Graham Honda): “He (Ryan Hunter-Reay) was pulling out and I’m not going to stop. What a shame. We had a great race car and we were saving fuel early on. The pit stops seemed pretty good. All of a sudden I’m leading, I think, when I come in. We pit, I get out before Ryan and he starts going. So I’m going around him outside and I didn’t know a car was coming down. I guess the three of us were trying to occupy space for two cars. It took me and Ryan out. I’ll look at it but I don’t know what I could have done differently. ”

ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 35 Alfe Heat Treating Special Honda): “After Carb Day, our car was quite good. I had a really solid car that my A.J. Foyt Racing team gave me today. Thanks to all of the guys for their hard work the whole month. I think it was a really fun car to drive today, and we got some awesome restarts. Somehow, we ran out of luck in some places; we really needed track position when we trimmed. We went back to P20 when we trimmed and that was a bit difficult, but nevertheless I was really happy I had a car I could fight with for the whole race. There were a few things we missed on pit stops when changing wing that weren’t correct, but with the group of guys we had for the short time we worked together, we had a solid race. We just never had track position with a bit of luck on fuel that we could’ve showcased. When we were up front, we needed to save fuel so we could push, and when we were in the back, we were pushing but we were too trim. Again, I’m still really happy with the car. Thanks to Alfe. I’m really honored to represent the Fort Wayne company here [in Indianapolis]. Given the right circumstances, we could’ve fought for a win today.”

JACK HAWKSWORTH (No. 41 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda): “I thought the No. 41 ABC Supply Honda was pretty good considering that we missed a lot of practice early on in the month. Throughout the race we kept making it better, chipping away, chipping away after starting at the back. We were able to get ourselves into the top 10. I had a moment coming into the pits in the last stop. So sorry to the guys for that. It cost us some track position. In the end the left rear tire was delaminating (degrading). It was down to the cords so I was hanging on and the car was sliding all over. Not a bad day overall considering the circumstances. Hopefully we can come back in the future and prepare to not have the same issues. Being able to start up front and staying up there is key.”

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 42 Tresiba Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet): “Well, we went through quite a lot with the 42 car. The Novo Nordisk Team and Chip Ganassi Racing never give up. I hit a really big piece of debris. It actually got lodged in the suspension in one of the earlier accidents, so we finished with a backup front wing on the car and a hole in the floor. We came in multiple times to get all the debris out of the sidepod. I’m really proud of these guys. They kept fighting at the end. I don’t know how I did it frankly; I don’t know how the 98 (Alexander Rossi) made it to the finish. The Hondas were a little back on mileage all day, so we’ll learn from that. I think we’ll be better moving forward.”

MATT BRABHAM (No. 61 PIRTEK Team Murray Chevrolet): “It is incredible to think that we finished this race, out there was a little surreal to be honest. It was an amazing experience to be in the 100th Indy 500 race and now I can say that I have finished the Indianapolis 500 and I am the third generation of Brabham to do that. It is special to think that there have only been three families during the 100-year history of this race to do that. The PIRTEK Team Murray Chevrolet was good all day. During some of the stints it developed a vibration. In the middle of the race there, I was able to make up eight places which was a really great feeling. I’m happy that we got through and that we were able to put on a good show. I can’t thank the guys from PIRTEK, the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation, Speedcafe.com, all the other sponsors and of course ‘Crusher’ (owner Brett Murray) who has developed this phenomenal program that gave me the opportunity to be in this race. Let’s hope we can have an opportunity to do more again.”

PIPPA MANN (No. 63 Susan G. Komen Honda): “That was a little bit of a tough race for the first part of the race for us. After I made the mistake on Friday, I just had to be more careful than I wanted to be in the first part of the race. We didn’t quite have the car where we wanted it. We had a minor issue on pit lane that set us back a little bit but the crew was fantastic. They kept coming back, making changes to help me make the car better. In the last couple of stints, the car was really good and we were running a really strong pace. It’s such a shame we didn’t get that lucky yellow to give us a good result, but at the same time I have to be really happy with how the crew did and the way all the pit stops went after that first one. Coming in cold, not having driven the race car since August, and managing to finish in the top 20 of the Indianapolis 500, that’s not a bad day.”

ORIOL SERVIA (No. 77 Lucas Oil Special Honda): “At the beginning, a couple things happened. The car was not really as great as I wanted and I think the pressure was having an effect on me. Then when we made the first stop, I actually jumped the pit speed limit, which was my fault, and that’s why we got the penalty that sent us to the back. But that kind of woke me up, plus we had adjusted the pressures so the car was great. It was a rocket ship from there, but it was just hard to get to the front. We didn’t take the gamble on fuel at the end, but still we would’ve been fourth. We had a bit of miscommunication in the pits and we put too much fuel in, so we went back to 12th place. If that wouldn’t have happened, we would’ve been legitimately fourth place so it’s a little sad. At the end of the day, the car was great, the team effort was great and only one can win. Today, it wasn’t us.”

BRYAN CLAUSON (No. 88 Cancer Treatment Centers of America Honda): “It’s pretty special to complete your first Indy 500. I can’t thank these guys enough. We had a pretty clean race. I kind of found a home there in the middle of the race and settled in. I felt like our car was all right. I struggled in the big packs, in the small packs we were OK but in the big packs we struggled with balance a little bit. I’m just happy to get to the end of one! I caught a yellow at the wrong time and gave up four of five spots, which was bad luck more than anything. Overall it was a great day for us and I’m happy to get the first 500 miles under my belt.”

ALEXANDER ROSSI (No. 98 NAPA Auto Parts/Curb Honda): “I don’t even know where to begin. In February I wasn’t even thinking about INDYCAR and now we’ve just won the Indy 500 and thanks to an amazing group of people who gave me an opportunity to come here this year, relatively unknown in American junior formula and they gave me the shot. I have to thank Michael Andretti and Bryan Herta for giving me such a wonderful race car all month. We ran out (of fuel) in Turn 4 and we were clutching it and coasting it down the back straight. We knew it was going to be tight but Ryan (Hunter-Reay) helped give me a tow to the finish the last couple laps there and it was an amazing result. Firestone Firehawks were fantastic and they gave us such a consistent platform. It has been a great tire all month and it’s a privilege to drive on such a wonderful piece of equipment. The milk tasted better than anything I’ve ever had. I will forever be a fan of milk. A huge thank you to INDYCAR and the American Dairy Association.”

Quotes and photo courtesy of the Verizon IndyCar Series