Post race quotes - Nashville.

"I don't really know. Tomas (Scheckter) got up high. I don't know if he just got up high or if there was something on the racetrack. It just took off. It was like I hit a patch of ice. We didn't even have a chance. It's just really disappointing for the CURB Records team. We had a good run going, there's no doubt that we had a top-five finish going there.

21 Jul 2002

"I think there may have been oil or something on the racetrack. I haven't seen the tape yet, but we weren't that high, and Tomas got outside Eddie, and his car just took off. I hit the same space he did. I had just seen him take off, and I was ready to drive underneath him, and about that time my car just went straight. I never had a chance." - Billy Boat

ELISEO SALAZAR (No. 11 A.J. Foyt Racing/Harrah's Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone): "We were running at the front, but then we had a bad pit stop -- a 27-second pit stop -- and that put us a couple laps down. Then I guess I changed my driving style. I was being too nice, letting people on the inside because I wasn't fighting for the top positions. I let somebody by, Buddy Lazier, and that put me on the outside, and I touched the marbles. It was a slight hit. I didn't hurt the car much. It's unfortunate. On the other hand, it was a good weekend. We were running competitive. We're back."

TOMAS SCHECKTER (No. 52 Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "It's disappointing for me and disappointing for the team. I have to go and look at what happened. I was lapping Eddie (Cheever), he was a lot slower, and he forced me to use the high line. We just have to go and look at it and see what happened. I'm disappointed, and I'm disappointed for the team, too."

AIRTON DARE (No. 14 Harrah's/A.J. Foyt Racing Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone): "I guess I was surprised with him (Sam Hornish) going by. Just a miscommunication between me and my spotter. I was turning in, and I saw him on my side. It looks like he's still a little bit mad at me (for Dare's late pass for victory at Kansas), but that's racing. He didn't give me a lot of room. I got my car into the marbles, and there was just no grip at all."

BILLY BOAT (No. 98 CURB Records Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "I don't really know. Tomas (Scheckter) got up high. I don't know if he just got up high or if there was something on the racetrack. It just took off. It was like I hit a patch of ice. We didn't even have a chance. It's just really disappointing for the CURB Records team. We had a good run going, there's no doubt that we had a top-five finish going there. I don't know what happened.

A.J. FOYT (Owner, A.J. Foyt Racing): "They were all doing pretty good. One thing about the racetrack: If you get out of the groove, you're history. It's just racing. Like they say: One day it's chickens, the next day it's feathers, so we had feathers here. It's just one of them days. You're going to have good weekends, and you're going to have bad. All you can do is smile and go get ready for the next one."

FELIPE GIAFFONE (No. 21 Hollywood Mo Nunn Racing G
Force/Chevrolet/Firestone): "For me, it was a tough day. Just couldn't get everything straight today. At least we finished the race. We had some hard times. On the restart, I was in the wrong spot, and it's just one of those days."

EDDIE CHEEVER JR. (No. 51 Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "My car was phenomenal for three laps in the race. On a restart with 15 gallons of fuel, it was perfect. Then it was pushing, and then it would get loose. I just had no grip. It reminded me of the car I had at Colorado. Once I would lose speed, I couldn't get going again. It was really hard to drive. The Red Bull crew had great pit stops. We made a lot of changes in that area for this weekend. It seemed to work well with both teams gaining positions every time we left the pits.

"I have no idea what happened with Tomas. I had a really bad car. I saw the leaders coming, and I got out of everybody's way. I would lose five or six miles an hour getting out of the way. I was so low that there was dust coming up inside the car. I looked in my mirrors and saw there were two cars with Tomas. I expected a train to pass by, and they never came by."

BUDDY LAZIER (No. 91 Coors Light/Life Fitness/Tae Bo/Delta Faucet
Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone): "I don't like saying anything bad about anyone, but I got cut off several times during the night. I would make a run on two cars, in particular. If I tried to pass them low, they would sweep down low. If I would make a run up high, they would sweep high and block the line. I am very upset. We hit a ton.

"We've been trying to turn our season around, and tonight we could have very easily had a strong podium (finish). Who knows, in the closing laps maybe we could have dug deep and found more."

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone): "It wasn't my best day, but it wasn't my worst day. The Marlboro Team Penske car was handling well, and we were able to run in the top five for most of the race. It was tough to pass and get out of the groove. I tried to go off line a couple of times but decided to stay put and see how things played out.

"Unfortunately, while running second, we had to pit under green-flag conditions because of a cut right-rear tire, which put us down a couple of laps and back in 13th position. That's how it goes sometimes -- one minute you're in the front, and the next minute you're in the back. The good thing is that we were able to move up a couple of spots and score points toward the IRL championship. There are five races left, so we can hopefully regain the lead in the championship."

TONY RENNA (No. 7 Corteco/Bryant Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone): "I'm fairly pleased with tonight's results. Unfortunately, we had that spin out of pit lane. The guys gave me a great ride. The Corteco/Bryant Special was really great all night. We had no issues. We made very few changes. We had a couple close calls out there, but we came home with a top 10. That was the game plan, to get 200 laps under my belt.

"In that regard it was a successful night, and we head into Michigan next week with some momentum. Now we can start thinking about going for some high finishes. We just really want to express our support for Al (Unser Jr.). We can't wait to get him back in the car."

RAUL BOESEL (No. 12 Bradley Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "My car was good, consistent, a little understeer at the beginning. I tried to pass a slow car on outside in Turn 1, and he went a little high. I moved up into the grey and hit the wall. Luckily I didn't damage anything.

"We lost a lap early. We got it back and finished well. I'm very happy. It's only my second race with the team, so that's good."

RICHIE HEARN (No. 20 BG Products/Sam Schmidt Motorsports Racing Special
Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone): "It was fun. We had a good race. You know, handling was real important out there, and the restarts were important. It was a good race for everybody. Alex (Barron) ran a good race. Unfortunately, we were running real low on fuel. We were having to save fuel. We lost fifth gear early, so I was having to run in fourth gear the last half of the race. Not only was it too short, but it was killing gas mileage. I'm pretty happy with fifth. It's our highest finish of the year. A little disappointed, because we were second at one time, but I just couldn't hold off those other guys."

LAURENT REDON (No. 34 Mi-Jack Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "It was not a very lucky night for us. We had a fuel problem that we need to get fixed by the next race, Michigan."

GEORGE MACK (No. 31 310 Racing G Force/Chevrolet/Firestone): "I didn't win, but I won. I was chasing the car the whole weekend and couldn't quite get it together. Then we made some final changes, and you know it came to me. It was fast. I think it was one of the top-five fastest cars on the track."

On contact with Hornish: "There was a yellow, and they were talking to me on the radio, and I was with Hornish at the time. I couldn't hear anybody say there was a yellow. He checked up, and I was coming at a pretty good rate. He started to turn and my right front clipped his left rear. It's not like a major deal. It just bent up my right-front suspension."

DAVID KERSH (CURB Records recording artist, guest in Billy Boat's pit):
"The race was amazing, especially being right down here in the pit area. It is just overwhelming - totally breathtaking. I was standing up on the flat cart and taking everything in. I was watching every move Billy made, and I saw the accident right there in Turn 2. I actually saw everything go down. My heart just fell, and I started screaming. Man, I was so upset."