Vitor Meira Quotes (14 Quotes)

Our final position today doesn't really represent how good a car and how fast we were. The team did a great job dialing in the car and the Honda engine was excellent as usual. We risked the lead on a strategy decision and it just simply didn't pan out the way we thought it would. Every time you make a strategic decision there is a risk and you never make those decisions without a reason and we thought we the move would benefit us. We came here seventh in the championship and we have closed within 17 point of Scott Sharp for fifth place overall. Fifth is the goal. Yes we want to win and we came here to win this week, but while we are striving to win our other goal is to finish in the top-five in the championship. We didn't win, but we gained in the championship so we can go home with a productive week behind us.

As the rules say, you can't improve your position below the white line. If I could've, yeah, I think I would've had him.

The team did a great job putting the car together to the new Chevy Gen IV engine and we were very fast. That's the way it goes sometimes. I was really trying hard mostly because the team and engine company deserves it. That's the way it goes I crashed. I got loose. We were trying to free up the car and that was my first qualifying simulation. Maybe the tires weren't ready and maybe I pushed too hard. The fact is I got loose and crashed.

I was telling (team co-owner) John Barnes that patience pays here. That's what we did the whole race. We were racing smart instead of aggressive. It paid off for us.

We had to go out second and that is a little bit of a question mark since the weather changed so much. You never know what will happen with the cool temperatures and the wind, but I was flat on the throttle. It felt pretty good. We did some race setups this morning and the car seems to be very good for the race. Rahal Letterman Racing had enough data coming into qualifying that we were not too surprised by the conditions. I got some information from Buddy after the last practice when the wind was really strong. Overall we had a strong run. Of course, we would obviously like to be faster.

We worked on our race settings during practice, ... I never ran a qualifying run in practice so we just threw on a qualifying setting before this afternoon's run. The race is the important thing here. Sure, we would like to qualify on the pole but it doesn't matter here. You can win the race from anywhere on the grid. We think we have a good race car and that is the key for Sunday. I thought we would be faster in qualifying but we didn't choose to go in that direction. We'll be ready for the race.

I have always admired the Special Olympics program and its thousands of athletes for their determination and enthusiasm. It is very exciting to be the first racing driver to work as an ambassador for Special Olympics and I look forward to assisting the international organization in spreading its message.

We are really still learning in the Indy cars on the road circuit, ... Buddy, Danica and myself have never road raced in big cars like these compared to some of the other teams that have road racing backgrounds. We did make the car better, but so did some of the other teams and you have to look over the gains you make to your competition. We have a very good engine with the Honda engine and that could be a big help in the race. Buddy's car is much improved and we'll see how that works for the race. I like my car for the race right now, but we can still make it better. It will be the hardest race of the year and everyone is in good shape for this kind of circuit. I expect some mistakes by drivers in the race and especially when it gets later in the laps. If you are tired physically, you will make mental mistakes too.

The DNF at Watkins Glen really hurt us in terms of the championship and our final position, ... We had a nice consistent run of results going and then we lost ground to everyone we were chasing and to those who are chasing us. You can't worry about where this driver or that driver is during the race. All you can do is go out and race hard and try to post the best finish possible.

I have always enjoyed racing at Chicagoland, ... Yes, it is a basic 1.5-mile oval, but it seems to have a different personality. It is wider than most of the other tracks and the grip level is good everywhere. So you see a lot more drivers using the high groove. I think that is why there have been so many close finishes there. I think there will be another close one this year. I just want to have the front of my car cross the line first this time.

We had a vibration with the car after the second practice today. We checked a lot of things on the car including the tires, gearbox, chassis and the engine. Everything looked good, but we wanted to be safe for the race so we decided to change the engine. That way we are ready for warm-up and the race. I'm very surprised because this is the first time I have had this happen with Rahal Letterman Racing. We can work out some more things in warm-up and the car will be set to go. The car felt very good in traffic in the practice. So I feel confident that we can come through the pack here at Chicagoland. Some other tracks you couldn't do, that but here it is possible.

My goal coming into this season was to win my first race and I still haven't accomplished that, ... Our cars will be good at California and it would be a great way to finish the season with a victory. I think we'll be in the hunt right to the end.

It is a great honor to be an ambassador for the Special Olympics. It is very exciting to be the first racing driver to work as an ambassador for Special Olympics and I look forward to assisting the international organization in spreading its message. Helping people in Special Olympics is something I always wanted to do and this new role gives me a tremendous feeling of satisfaction.

Wow, this place is physical. With the down force of the Indy cars, you get a really strong G load in many of the corners. It is almost as much as some of the high-banked ovals we race. But it is different since we turning left and right. But that is why we train so hard off the track. (Meira is a tri-athlete). You need to be in as good shape as possible. Overall, we learned a lot with the car today. We'll be stronger on Saturday and be prepared for the race. Eighty laps is going to be long at a track like this place.