On how his car was so good on race day:
Yeah. What can I tell you? We tried our best in qualifying, and we came up a little short. None of us were happy with that. We worked, Scott in particular on Bump Day worked very hard on the car. On cash Carb Day we did again. We left thinking the car was good. From the first lap today, yeah, it wasn't easy to drive, it was bouncing around in one as much as I've had a car move around here in the rear, but I couldn't fix that because it was in balance other corners. But it was fast. Everybody had a problem in traffic, but we seemed to get through.It was all looking good right up until that whole yellow, then we had to save fuel, were we saving enough, was Tony going to catch us. Turned out he wasn't. Turns out we had plenty of fuel because of the slow down lap. Came in to pit lane, did some burnouts, still had some fuel in it. There was enough.
On his quick jump into first place:
Much easier to get on it and keep the foot down because the Target car was good. But great day. To win two of these things is pretty damn special.
On what being a 2 time winner means to him:
They showed me a list of two time winners. Those guys are legends. I said the other night, I'm just a driver, those guys are legends. I'm so lucky to be drive for Chip and Team Target, getting in good cars, especially having gone away after we won in '07. To be invited back was pretty cool. To have won a championship and an Indy 500, I didn't expect any of this. I said before, I expected to be retired by the time I was 35. This is all bonus and it's pretty cool.
On if his opinion had changed about the potential $20 million bonus now that he had won the race. (For the Ganassi team winning both the 500 and the Daytona 500. Franchitti had previously said that winning the Indy 500 would be enough.):
Yeah. Quite frankly, it's a lot of money, 20 million bucks. Hasn't been announced they're doing it yet. For me, this is enough. Physically, this is enough. That was a tough day out there. For me it's enough.I think if you want to win either of these races, the Coke 600 or the Indianapolis 500, you have to specialize at it. Chip might change my mind at some point. He seems pretty happy at some point as the man that won the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 in one year, that's pretty cool.
On what Chip Ganassi's accomplishment (winning both Indy and Daytona in the same year) means to him:
I wish we would have had those cars in '08 (laughter). Mind you, might not have been sitting here, which would be a real shame. It all worked out perfectly. We said that at Long Beach last year, didn't we? Worked out perfectly. Got to have a holiday, come back, have some fun.I think it says a lot about Chip, the people he employees. The mindset, whether it's here or down in Concord, it's the same mindset: we're here to win. All he wants to do is win. If you're not interested in that, if you take your eye off the ball, he lets you know. That's all he cares about. Mike is the same. We go racing, and we like to win. To be a part of a team like that just makes your job so easy as a driver. You're going to get beaten, absolutely. But you know everybody is on it all the time. That comes from the top down.
On where his two victories rank him with drivers Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart.
I could win races, Indy 500s, for the rest of my life, till I'm 70 years old, and I still wouldn't be in the same vein as Jim Clark or Jackie Stewart. Those guys are absolute legends. I'm in awe of both of them.
On being a role model and an ambassador for Scottish kids:
I think by the way maybe you live your life, that's all you can really do. Yeah, that's about it. It's very important, both at the track and out of the track, we look after the kids, the fans, the younger kids, because I remember going to racetracks and seeing my heroes. When they were nice to me, it was an unbelievable feeling. I think it's very important.
On how his 2010 win compares to his 2007 win:
I think that would be like comparing my two dogs, our two dogs. You can't do it. They're both different. They're both pretty cool, yeah.(Mike Hull)Need a third dog.
(Franchitti) Need a third dog, exactly (laughter).
I have to say that feeling, when you drive into Victory Lane, you see some of my family, my dad was here, Ashley, some of my family from Nashville, my friends from Scotland, my team, it's cool, man. That's it right there. You get out and you get to drink the milk. That's what it's all about.
