How long have you worked with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing?
This is the start of my 30th year with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
What do you currently do on the INDYCAR program?
I’m the Vice President of Operations. I make sure that everyone has everything that they need to do their job properly. I’m setting budgets and monitoring those throughout the year. I help facilitate the work done throughout the entire INDYCAR operation.
I also call the race strategy for the No. 45 car. This is my second season in that role with Christian (Lundgaard). The whole team gets along with him really well. He’s a good guy and very energetic. He has a good attitude, wants to succeed and believes that he can succeed, which is critically important for a driver to believe that he can make it happen. Because if the driver doesn’t believe it then it won’t happen. Confidence is a huge part of racing. The guys all like him and I think we all get along well. It has been a good fit between him and Ben Siegel, the No. 45 engineer, and just the whole team.
This is Christian Lundgaard’s second attempt at the Indianapolis 500. How do you anticipate this year will go?
He took to the ovals pretty well straight out of the box. Indy was a bit of a challenge last year because we didn’t have the best cars and, due to weather on Fast Friday, we didn’t give him the opportunity to run as much as he should have to be properly prepared for qualifying. The weather was so windy that it became very dangerous for the drivers, and we hedged on the side of safety. So, we ended up running minimally as did many other teams did. But, with his limited experience it proved detrimental to our qualifying effort.
RLL has performed well in the past at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. What does it take to have that caliber of performance on race day?
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a difficult race track. People can get into their own heads quickly. It’s very much a confidence track; particularly with qualifying. You need to be able to float the car around the track for qualifying. Which means that it could get away from you at any second.
So, the guys who qualify well will have a car that is very neutral which means that the balance is stable but the rear end could come around without much notice. But that allows the car to arch around the track well. You transition from there into a little more downforce for the race and you need a car that is stable that can get in and out of traffic well and be able to pass. You need a car that can suck up to the other cars and slingshot around them. That is something that we’re going to be working on throughout the month because even if you are out front you still have to pass back markers. You need to have the ability to slingshot around cars so you have to be ready to get out front and then still have a car with light enough downforce so that you can stay out front. There’s a difficult balance between a car that is stable in the race that can work through traffic and one that can get to the front. We have the ability to pull out rear wing and front wing in our cars during the race. So, we may start the race with a little bit more downforce and as the race progresses pull it out. It’s best if we can find a happy balance of something that can cut through traffic and push out front and be able to stay away from the other competitors.
What is the biggest challenge when getting ready for the month of May?
The biggest challenge for the month of May is not much different than any of the other ones. It’s finding a fast car that will perform in all different conditions. The hard part is it is a very small window you have to try to hit to make it work. This car is very mature which means that everybody has developed it over multiple years so the gap from P1 to last place has shrunk every year. So, you have to be very precise. If you’re just a little bit off anymore, it will take you from what used to be P8 but is nowadays P28. It is just that close that you have to be precise and you have to find a car that has a balance of what the drivers will like. It’s not easy with changing conditions.
You would think that since I’ve been doing this for 30 years that it would be fairly straightforward but tires change, the weather conditions make it different, every year there is something that is a little bit different. This year we got new wing pillars that allow us to run more downforce.
The challenge is to have a plan and execute the plan well.
How do you anticipate RLL will perform heading into the month of May?
Heading into the month of May, I’m anticipating a strong race at the GMR Grand Prix . We’ve been very good there previously. Christian’s car was quite good at the Barber race last weekend which is a similar sweeping road course. I think we will do quite well there.
I believe that we are facing some challenges for Indy based on how the race in Indy went last year and Texas this year. But, I think we’ve found some things that will help us move forward and get us up the grid. We just need to execute and have the team go out there and make it happen.
What can partners anticipate at this year’s Indianapolis 500?
The Indy 500 race is quite a bit different than the others. From the standpoint that it is the biggest race of the year and we spend a lot more time practicing so there’s a lot more build up and pressure on the drivers and teams.
For one reason, the Indy 500 pays the most and a chance to win the Indy 500 only comes once a year. It makes people superstars if you win; it’s a career-changer. To say you’re an Indy 500 champion is huge. The first time I won, and every other time still sticks with me.
The energy there is quite a bit different. There’s a party atmosphere in the Snake Pit, intensity of the garage area and the pressure and the fun of the pit stops. There are so many people at the event that the energy is palpable.
For me, it’s fun because there are so many people there and everyone wants to have a good race. It’s our biggest stage so we enjoy getting to perform on that stage. I hope our partners have a really great time. We have a nice hospitality suite but it’s good to walk around and see the whole spectacle. I’d encourage partners to go down to the Snake Pit, walk around the grounds and be near the pits because the pit stops are fun — especially a yellow pit stop when everyone comes in all at once. It’s crazy for the drivers, it’s very intense for the crew and a high-pressure situation that is fun!
What is your favorite part of the month of May?
I love qualifying day, it’s right there with race day for me. The decisions that you have to make in a short period of time if your car is not running well to go into the slow or fast lane. It’s all about how you move those chess pieces around with all four cars. It’s a big challenge but a lot fun.