Q: Mike, at 5pm did you give any consideration to pulling Marco's time down and sending him out right then?
MICHAEL ANDRETTI: We talked about it. And it was because of this scenario that happened. I just had a feeling it was going to come down to that Ryan was not going to get a chance to defend himself. But then, you know, the rule is you don't pull a time. So it was a tough decision.
MARCO ANDRETTI: Probably a good thing you guys weren't listening on the radio.
MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Yeah, in the end it's easy to say now. I wish we would have done it, because I think Ryan was going to get enough speed to get in. But that's easy to say right now, because we would have looked really stupid had Marco gone out and not gone as quick. So it was just one of those deals. We weren't confident enough that he was going to be able to do what he did. If I had known he was going to do 224, he's been holding back all this time, if I had known he was holding back, I definitely would have run at 5.
Q: Michael, is your mind just swimming right now about what went wrong this week?
MICHAEL ANDRETTI: This month. From the moment we unloaded, we had two fast cars, and we had three slow cars. And we've gone through everything to try to figure it out. And we have not figured it out. That's just for speed. I really think once the race rolls around, that doesn't matter and it comes down to handling. That's why I feel confident with the cars we have in the field. I think Marco is going to be the guy to beat, I really do. We just felt that, you know, we've got to get him in the field first, and we're struggling with that speed all week. We knew it, you know, a few days ago. So it's been very frustrating because we can't put our finger on why. It doesn't make sense. I mean, everything theoretically is the same.
Q: Michael, it wasn't that long ago where there were just enough cars entered in this race to form the 33-car starting line. Is it back to '95?
MICHAEL ANDRETTI: '95 it wasn't this competitive, in my mind. I just feel that the team and the quality that was out there this year was just unmatched in the history of this Speedway, in my mind, from the drivers to the teams. I think this was the toughest it's ever been.
Q: Michael, I'd assume it would have been darn disappointing not to have an Andretti in the 100th anniversary event.
MARCO ANDRETTI: John is in.
Q: John is in, but from your side of things.
MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Yeah, from a dad's side, I'm ecstatic. But I'm going crazy on one side and crying on another side.
MARCO ANDRETTI: We were torn, when it was raining, we were sitting under the timing stand. I wanted it to rain all day, but for him I don't because Danica doesn't get to go out. So that's the balance we have to deal with.
MICHAEL ANDRETTI: That's what comes with having five cars out there. It finally bit us, you know. We've been pretty lucky all these years, and we've had our bad year. At least we have three solid ones in now. Penskes have been here before and missed the whole field and gone home. At least we have some guys out there fighting for Andretti Autosport.
Q: Mike, what specifically happened with Danica's missing tach earlier?
MICHAEL ANDRETTI: I don't know quite the details on it, but I guess there was a part that was changed from the day before and they threw it out, or they made her go to the back of the line to fix it. It was something in the back of the car, around the brake ducts or something.
Q: How do you feel about your prospects for race day?
MICHAEL ANDRETTI: I think we're going to be really strong Race Day. Our history is not qualifying here; our history is the race. I really feel like we're going to have good racecars and be really competitive. I think last year we had a similar type qualifying effort. If you remember, Tony [Kanaan] started 32nd and Marco started deep in the field, and they were both contending for the win. So, you know, I think we're there, and unfortunately I think we're going to be contending for the win with either a Ganassi or a Penske. It's probably the way it's going to come down. There are other good cars, I think Tag and those guys, but they've shown speed. We'll see how they are when you have 33 cars out there because it's a totally different day.