HORNISH JR.: “I was pretty happy with the car all day. I think we definitely had a better finish in the car but kind of got stuck back in traffic a little bit and kind of were just fighting for our life there for a little while. But I’m real happy with all the guys that work on the Mobil 1 No. 77 Dodge. They did a great job for me today, especially the spotter. I’ve got a little bit of work to do, not only getting the draft down but also getting in and out of the pits. We’re all trying to work together and do the best we can.” IT SEEMED LIKE YOU HAD A VERY SMOOTH DAY. “Well that’s what we’re going to try to do all year long is just be smooth and make sure we don’t make too many mistakes. It’s a learning year for us and we know that the best thing that I can do is get a whole bunch of time out there on the racetrack. And that’s what we’re trying to do, just be smart and make it to the end of the races.” WHAT HAPPENED WITH JIMMIE JOHNSON LATE IN THE RACE? “He was stuck in the middle and I got down on the bottom and I was trying real hard not to get into him. I don’t know if he came down a little bit or I came up; just not enough room there. I feel really bad about it if it was my fault. I’ll go talk to Jimmie about it and apologize. Even if it wasn’t my fault it’s still off the front of my car. I’m trying to learn as much as I can and get as much out of it while I do that.” DID YOU CAR DRIVE DIFFERENTLY AFTER THAT? DID YOU HAVE ANY DAMAGE? “Not really. I just started trying to make sure that I didn’t get stuck on the bottom anymore. It’s not a very good spot to be in down there sometimes.” THIS WAS A BIG DAY FOR PENSKE RACING. “It’s a great day and it was said all along that my goal coming over here was to try to make the team better and to be a part of Roger being able to win the 500 and the championship. You know, one down and one to go so keep working away at it. Ryan and Kurt both have an excellent start to the year and hopefully they’ll be able to continue forward and I’ll be able to continue myself.”

DARIO FRANCHITTI, No. 40 DODGE JOURNEY DODGE: “What we did was we were very conservative to start with and it went green for so long. When I got in a pack I was so loose I really couldn’t hang on so we’ve got to work on that. We finished, that’s about all I can say. A great effort from my guys, but I definitely got to work on some stuff. We’re going to do better next time.”

CHRIS CARRIER, CREW CHIEF, No. 77 MOBIL 1 DODGE: “First of all, we’re very, very happy for both our teammates, Kurt and Ryan both. To be honest with you, down here five weeks ago, six weeks ago when we were testing, I was a little bit worried. I thought we were a little bit in trouble as a company. I thought we were a little bit in trouble but everybody was calm and cool back at the shop. They promised that things would be better. We were just very methodical. Pat Tryson and Roy are great crew chiefs and Mike Nelson who is over our Penske Racing South NASCAR division was a very accomplished crew chief and he is the cement that holds us all together. They are just very methodical. Sam was great this week. I can’t say enough about him. I really think somebody has lied to me here because they told me I had a Raybestos Rookie and I don’t believe I’ve got a rookie. But all jokes aside, Sam is a great individual. He’s very calm. He doesn’t say a whole lot. He’s very quiet. And to me that shows confidence and inner strength. There’s not an arrogant bone in his body but on top of that, down deep, there is a fierce competitor. Roger has told me all week that ‘You’re going to have to keep a leash on him [laughs]. And we did that. Man, he did a good job. We got fouled up in the pits a couple times. We apparently had a loose wheel right there, a pretty strange situation at the first of the race and kind of got us out of synch. We worked through that, got the caution flag when we needed it and worked our position back up through there. Ran in the top-10 basically all night and then right there toward the end overshot the pit box a little bit and kind of got messed up, lost a few positions. He stayed calm through it. I think everybody talked him through it and he used his professionalism and got a good finish out of this. It’s a good start. You know, one thing that a lot of people lose focus on is the first five races. You gain points for the sixth race and the ones that are solidly in the top-35 after the first five races are the guys that don’t have to worry about qualifying their way in at Martinsville. I’m well aware of that. I’ve been in that swamp for about three years and it’s no fun. This is a good start on it when you have a good finish the first race it gives you a little boost. We had a good test at California. We’re looking forward to going back there. We’ve got a good team here, a lot of good guys, some young guys with energy and also some guys that’s got experience. I guess I fall under the category of experience ‘cause I’m too old. I ain’t got much energy anymore. Anyway, just a fun night, man. I hope the fans enjoyed this race. It was a good race. I think NASCAR can be proud of it. It’s very easy to see why this guy is Indy 500 champion, very easy to see.”