Carlos Munoz speaks ahead of first IndyCar street circuit start

Carlos Munoz said he does not know why John Barnes and Panther Racing called him to replace the injured Ryan Briscoe, but says his goal is to get faster and faster and stay out of trouble this afternoon in Toronto.

Munoz got the call late last night and accepted the seat, but told Barnes "don't expect me to do as good a job as in Indy."

"It's a great opportunity of course, it was last minute 7 p.m. yesterday," said Munoz. "It's still crazy, but not crazy. I didn't sleep much. I was really surprised, because it was really late and they called a driver without any experience in an IndyCar."

In the morning warm up session, Munoz had 30 minutes to get accustomed to the car, and was able to record a lap that was 1.4 seconds back from the leader. Munoz said while he has one start in an IndyCar, there is no correlation between the car he drove in Indianapolis and this car in Toronto.

Carlos Munoz, Panther Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: Rebecca McKay

"It's totally different from Indianapolis. In Indy, the car is nothing. You don't have to brake, it's flat out all around," said Munoz. "I have a long way to go."

Briscoe, who will head back to Indianapolis tomorrow for surgery, was on site and giving Munoz tips ahead of the practice and race this afternoon.

"We talked a little bit before this morning. He told me what to expect from the car and gave me some reference points with the car," said Munoz.

The second of two IndyCar races will start at 3:30 eastern time.