"I think my engineer (Eddie Jones) and I did a very good job coming up with a setup that works at a place like this. The NYSE guys were awesome in the pits. The Firestones were unbelievable. The Honda engine was awesome. It was a great day."
Media pin-up Danica Patrick brought her Dallara home in sixth place for AGR four seconds behind the leader while IndyCar rookie Hideki Mutoh stopped on lap 32 with a mechanical problem.
"What a frustrating night," griped Patrick after the race.
"I thought our Motorola car was going to be a strong tonight, but we just never found a setup that was going to be able to compete like we wanted it to. We need to put this behind us and move on so we can be ready for next week," the 26-year-old rued.
Mutoh, who had an equally disappointing time said he was partially to blame for his retirement: "It was my fault for causing us to retire so I feel bad. I had trouble with the handling of the car in traffic at the beginning and I lost some positions.
"It's very disappointing that I retired early from my first race in the Formula Dream car, but I will concentrate on the next race and hopefully do well in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg."
