MC:
I eavesdropped on your conversation coming in here, and I heard you say, I could have won this race.

Danica Patrick:
Well, Dario clearly won, but still I wasn't aware of really what could have been and what could have happened with being able to win the race. Michael said when I came into the pit that if the yellow would have come out at a slightly different time that we'd have had the lead. So I don't really know how that all would have shaken out exactly. But the bottom line is we made incredible strides through being sort of calm with the car in the last couple of runs, and just said let's get something comfortable underneath me, and then also with strategy as well. Was Dario the only other one that pitted like I did?

MC:
Yes.

DP:
Yeah, so that's pretty good from the new guy in the pit box, right?

MC:
Absolutely. Then you run from 22nd to 4th. I guess you were upset with your qualifying run yesterday and the charge there?

DP:
Yeah, we obviously had our moment in qualifying with spinning out and hitting the wall, and taking out the front wing at the beginning of the qualifying run. After being in the top ten in the morning practice we thought "man, we've got a shot to on move out of our group and see what we can do". But once we hit the wall and got back out there it's been very easy to tip the car over and make it hard to drive and not very fast. So, what's felt good hasn't been good for a lap time unfortunately, either. So, with those two things combined, it's been a tricky weekend. But the bottom line is that my engineer Eddie put a good car underneath me for the race. And if you're going to get to pick one session, you hope it's the race. So we'd obviously like to improve qualifying on so we can have a race from the front but all the points are the same in the end when you finish.

Q:
On your way up to the IndyCar Series , you were always a good road racer. Are you a little surprised with the good results on the road circuits have been a little slower coming?

DP:
I'm a little surprised that I can't seem to figure qualifying out. I can't seem to pull the time out of the car when I need to. But to be honest, my race pace from the beginning has never been that bad. I think that showed again in the race today when probably my favourite part of the race was being able to hang there with Dario. I'm sure he was saving fuel because we were doing the same thing. And he was saving fuel, too. I think that was good though. I just need to learn. Whether they're holding back, I don't know. I highly doubt it, to be honest, because I have three teammates. But to be able to just have that left in you to know how to get speed out. But other than that, we've been doing well on road courses. We finished well at Sonoma last year, obviously, Detroit the year before. Couple front row starts in '07. It hasn't been horrible, but, my goodness, if you look at the field now, the whole field is good. So it's really hard.

Q:
You're talking about the guy on the box there calling your strategy. How has that been working out for you? You seem you've got a little confidence going into Kansas now with the boss calling a little bit of the shots there.

DP:
Well, he's done a good job. Mike is... it's his first time. I mean, he's definitely called it from the sidelines a little more so with the radio on his head, making that exact call. But he's so passionate. He lives it every day of his life, so it's nice to have somebody that's as passionate as you are, and also understands it from a driving perspective. Mike's done a great job. We were on a great strategy at St Petersburg, as well. We were on a two‑stopper which was first, second, third, fourth, fifth finished. And so presuming that would have put me in that mix, that would have been another good mix for us. So Mike's done a great job, and I'm sure he'll only continue to improve.

MC:
We are now joined by Helio Castroneves. Was last night a normal night before race or did it feel different?

Helio Castroneves:
I will be honest. You know that butterfly going on in your stomach before the race? I didn't have it. I slept like a baby. I was tired from practice. I think it was finally sinking in that I was in Long Beach. I woke up really well rested and said, "Wow." I slept with a smile on my face. But the point is, it was awesome. It was just so great, and day-by-day I think it's going to come back slowly, but I'll be ready, I'll be in the rhythm.

Q:
You said to the TV guys that your muscles were sore? Is that from yesterday or just from rustiness?

HC:
No, I think it was more my butt, so basically ‑‑

Q:
Thanks for sharing.

HC:
I'm sorry. But if you know, you move a lot, you put a lot of pressure on the brakes and throttle to keep moving your feet quite a lot. You stay in one position, and you don't move at all the arms and this area. It's kind of like a little cramp. It's typical when you have sore muscles. I actually was enjoying it. It was nice to have back this kind of soreness, and the neck as well from the G‑force, all the normal things. Remember, it has been six months and I ran for an hour and a half yesterday, and this place is very bumpy. So it was a good feeling, I have to say.

Q:
You also said that your water broke, your water bottle broke?

HC:
Yes, actually you have holes right here in the helmet, and somehow from inside it escaped. And I just felt it about halfway through the race. I felt really cold in my chest. I'm like, "I'm not sweating. What's going on here? Oh, that feels good". And I realised it's the worst thing, because anything to distract you in this place is very bad. I did face that challenge today, but it didn't bother me. I wasn't very thirsty. I thought I would be really tired, really thirsty, but, hey, I'm back in the game and I'm happy about that.

Q: