Patrick Carpentier Quotes (11 Quotes)

Racing in Canada would be so much fun.

We had a car that was much better than a tenth place finish. Overall the weekend has been great. We had gear shifting problems the entire race. It was a lot of work, and it got a lot worse just before that last yellow. It was not going into fifth gear. I just couldn't hold on to that fourth place once all the cars were packed together. But, I am happy. You look and see where we are coming from and where we are going. There were four of five guys at the front that were clearly leading the field today and we were a part of that. So, overall it's not that bad.

We really struggled to find a consistent car today. Some of that might be due to the weather, but we face a challenge finding that consistency.

Going into the last race, you always want to run strong, but it's also important to be safe. I've had quite a bit of experience at Fontana, so there really shouldn't be too many surprises. I should have won there a couple of times, but circumstances didn't allow it. I really expect the 83 car to be competitive in the race. Toyota has made some big improvements, and we were able to hang with the leaders on a big track for the first time at Chicago. So, I think we should be able to finish the season on a high note.

It looks like a fun project for the whole of Canada.

I went out there and wasn't nervous at all. We had nothing to lose coming in. We were happy with sixth, so we just went for it. We knew our car was better in the long run, so it was a really fun ride. I have never done a lap like that in my life. For us, it was by far the fastest time we've accomplished here by more than a second and a half. During my top lap, I missed the apex of the last turn by about 10 feet, so I left a little bit out there. Other than that, I got everything I could out of the car. The team and Toyota did a great job giving me a great car for this weekend. Starting in the top three is fantastic. The race is going to be very competitive, but when you're starting up front, it's a whole different game. I'm definitely looking forward to it.

I'd like to stay with this team and in the IRL because I think we made some great improvements from the start of the season, Right now, I keep hearing a lot teams want me, but I wish one of them would offer me something.

It was a great day for me, but I'm definitely sorry about what happened to Alex. You always hate it when these things happen, and he's just ended up in the wrong place a couple of times this year. For me, it was very fun racing today. Things were a bit crazy at the beginning, but the guys calmed down and made the car a lot of fun to drive. This was by far my best race on one of these fast ovals. It was the first time that we were able to stick with the leaders, but it's not going to be the last.

I don't care how it happens but I hope it does, ... I think Montreal would support a doubleheader of Indy cars and NASCAR.

Toyota has really improved the performance of their engine lately, ... For the first time this year, I could keep up with the leaders without relying on race cautions to maintain contact with them. We are still lacking a bit of power to go for the win on a regular basis, but we are getting there. Toyota is really working hard to catch up to Honda. We are going to Watkins Glen next week for a day of testing in order to be more competitive for the penultimate race of the 2005 season.

I'm very pleased with this result. Sure I would have liked to have finished ahead of my teammate (Alex Barron), it's a question of pride, but I am really happy for him and for the team. We had a good weekend. Qualifying wasn't that great, but we got it back during the race. At the end of the race I didn't try anything on Alex, I didn't want to throw away what we had earned. Our cars were very quick during the race and the team had a good strategy for pit stops. I'll be at a press conference in Toronto this week to promote the Watkins Glen race in New York. After that I'll head home to Las Vegas.