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.
More Quotes from Vitor Meira:
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.Vitor Meira
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.
Vitor Meira
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.
Vitor Meira
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.
Vitor Meira
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.
Vitor Meira
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.
Vitor Meira
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