Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Pre-Race Notes
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach – Streets of Long Beach, California
Round 3 of 17 in the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES
DATE: Friday – Sunday, April 14-16, 2023
PRACTICE BROADCAST: Streamed live on NBC’s Peacock on Friday from 6:00 – 7:15 p.m. ET, Saturday from 11:45 – 12:45 p.m. ET and Sunday from 12:00 – 12:30 p.m. ET. Also live on the INDYCAR Radio Network (IRN) and www.indycar.com (timing & scoring + live analysis).
QUALIFYING BROADCAST: Live on Peacock, the IRN and www.indycar.com (timing & scoring + live analysis) from 3:05 – 4:20 p.m. ET Saturday.
RACE BROADCAST: Live on NBC on Sunday, April 16 from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. ET. And also on Peacock, IRN and Sirius XM 160 and Sirius XM NBC Sports Audio 85.
TRACK LAYOUT: 1.968-mile, 11-turn street course
RACE LENGTH: 85 laps / 167.28 miles
2022 WINNER: Josef Newgarden
2022 POLESITTER: Colton Herta (1:05.3095 / 108.480 mph)
RLL’S BEST START / FINISH AT LONG BEACH: 3 poles (Herta 1998, Vasser 2002, Jourdain, Jr. 2003) / 2nd – four times (B. Rahal 1992-1993, Vasser 2002, G. Rahal 2013)
RAHAL’S BEST START / FINISH AT LONG BEACH: 5th in 2007 / 2nd in 2013; will be his 16th Indy car race here and 17th overall
RAHAL’S HIGHEST SERIES START / FINISH: 3 Poles – St. Pete (street) 2009, Kansas (oval) 2009, Detroit (street) 2017 / 6 Wins – St.
Pete 2008, Fontana (oval; 500 miles) 2015, Mid-Ohio (road) 2015, Texas (oval) 2016; Detroit Race 1 2017, Detroit Race 2 2017
HARVEY’S BEST START / FINISH IN LONG BEACH: 17th (2018) / 7th (2021); will be his 5th INDYCAR race here and 7th overall
HARVEY’S HIGHEST SERIES START / FINISH: 2nd – Indy GP & Road America (2020), St. Pete 2021 / 3rd at the Indy GP (2019)
LUNDGAARD’S BEST START / FINISH IN LONG BEACH: 20th / 21st – both in 2022; will be his second race here
LUNDGAARD’S BEST SERIES START / FINISH: 3rd at Nashville & Portland 2022 / 2nd at the July Indy GP 2022
NEWS & NOTES:
23RD INDY CAR RACE IN LONG BEACH
The 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (AGPLB) marks the 23rd time for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) to compete in the event. Although the team didn’t compete in Indy car races here from 2004-2011 while they fielded a fulltime entry in the Indy Racing League (2004-2008), they did compete in the 2003 and 2004 Atlantic races with Danica Patrick and in the 2007 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) race. From 2009-2019, the team competed on the streets of Long Beach in the GTLM class of the ALMS/IMSA with BMW Team RLL and has finished on the podium each year but 2016-2019 although they started from pole in 2016 and led all three of those races. The venue is still the most successful for the team on the current IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule with wins in 2011, 2013 and 2015, eight podium finishes and five poles in 11 years. BMW M Team RLL has a two-car entry in IMSA’s GTP class and is competing for their first overall sports car victory here for the first time.
In RLL’s 22 previous Indy car races in Long Beach, the team entered 37 cars for drivers such as Bobby Rahal (1992-1998), Mike Groff (1994), Raul Boesel (1995), Bryan Herta (1996-1999), Max Papis (1999-2001), Kenny Brack (2000-2001), Jimmy Vasser (2002), Michel Jourdain (2002-2003), Takuma Sato (2012, 2018-19, 2021), Graham Rahal (2013-2019, 2021), James Jakes (2013), Mike Conway (2013), Oriol Servia (2014) and Oliver Askew (2021). In total, the team won three poles (Herta 1998, Vasser 2002, Jourdain, Jr. 2003); made five front row starts including an all-Team Rahal front row in 1998 (2nd – Rahal 1998, Brack 2001); earned their best finish of second place four times (Rahal 1992-1993, Vasser 2002, G. Rahal 2013) and earned six podiums (2nd – Rahal 1992-1993, Vasser 2002 & G. Rahal 2013; 3rd – Herta 1998-1999). The team has entered the No. 15 United Rentals Honda for Graham Rahal, the No. 30 Kustom Entertainment Honda for Jack Harvey and the No 45 Hy-Vee Honda for Christian Lundgaard in this year’s race.
GRAHAM AND LONG BEACH
The 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will be Graham’s 16th Champ/Indy car race here and 17th overall. His best IndyCar start here is fifth in 2007 and best finish is second place in 2013. In 2022, he started 13th and cycled into second place by stretching his first stint before he stopped on Lap 31. He returned to the track in 10th place before the next round of stops began and he pit from sixth place on Lap 56 of 85 after Herta crashed. He returned to the track in eighth place and claimed seventh when third place runner Ericsson made contact and also hit teammate Dixon, who was able to continue. Johnson and Malukas brought out another caution flag from Laps 76-79 and on the restart, Rahal had the most “push to pass” of those in the top-10. He had a run on Dixon but was unable to pass and took the checkered flag in seventh place. In 2021, he ran as high as second place two times and led four laps by utilizing an alternate strategy after starting 19th but the timing of a caution for contact between teammate Askew and Daly while he was on his in-lap for his final pit stop dropped him to 20th. He came back to finish 16th. He is looking forward to what he considers his second home race.
“In St. Pete, I thought we vastly improved between qualifying and the race. Particularly in the race, I thought we were pretty competitive so I feel good about where we stand going into Long Beach. I think there is a lot still to be found and gained as a team and I think our competitiveness should increase even compared to St Pete. There is always a lot of pressure when you go to Long Beach, it’s a big race — probably the second biggest of the year behind Indy and it’s an important one to do well in. There are obviously challenges on race day with the hairpin and all of that. You’ve got to be smart, drive wise, leave some space and making sure you stay out of trouble is key. You also have one of the longest straightaways in all of street course racing down the front straight. It’s a demanding track that hasn’t changed much over the years so it’s a known quantity but has always been a big challenge for everybody. I just think it’s a huge, huge event for our sport. For the people that go, it’s a tradition. The Acura GP of Long Beach, in southern California, is a known quantity and 100’s of thousands come throughout the weekend to enjoy it and certainly I’d like to get a Rahal on the top step of the podium. A Rahal has been second five times so it would be good to get one step higher there for sure.
“We’ve got to do everything correctly in order to get on the top step. We’ve improved but we’ve got to continue to close the gap to some of these other teams and find a little bit more. I expect there to be a handful of guys that will be extremely strong this weekend and we’ve go to do what we can to make the best of it.”
JACK HARVEY AT LONG BEACH
Jack has competed in four INDYCAR races in Long Beach with his best finish of seventh place coming in 2021 after he led one lap. He also has experience starting up front after having won pole in one of this two Indy Lights races at the track in 2015.
“Everyone is excited for the Long Beach race. It’s one of the races at the start of the year that people just really look forward to. The track and the area are really fun places to be. I’m extra excited this weekend because I’m celebrating my 30th birthday while driving the No. 30 Kustom Entertainment car, which is pretty awesome if you think about it. From a performance stance, last year we showed we had decent race pace. I think we’ve improved our street circuit package, which we saw in St. Pete so hopefully we just continue that package forward. It’s a new week full of new opportunities and I think we’re going to the track with maximum positivity and optimism I’m excited to get back on track in Long Beach.”
LUNDGAARD AT LONG BEACH
Christian Lundgaard will make his second start in the AGPLB. In 2022, his finishing position was limited last year after running out of fuel entering the pits for his first stop, which put him two laps down and he ultimately finished 18th. He is excited to return to the iconic setting Long Beach provides.
“I’m looking forward to Long Beach. It’s one of the greatest events throughout the season in my opinion. Driving near the ocean with palm trees lining the course is a perfect backdrop. We’re going there with the intent to improve our package and get the best result we can. I think last year was a little bit of a clear read where we were performance wise so it’s a good baseline for us to back up and see if we can see how much we’ve improved from 2022 to 2023. Overall, I’m looking forward to the weekend, I think it’s going to be a fun one. Looking at our progression off the track, I think we’ll see some improvements. We’ve just got to go out there and do it and put the Hy-Vee car up front.”
ON “100 DAYS TO INDY” SHOW AND WEDNESDAY’S PREMIERE IN LONG BEACH
“100 DAYS TO INDY,” the six-part docuseries that will provide never-before-seen-footage and exclusive interviews of NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers, will hold a private, red-carpet premiere on Wednesday, April 12 at the Long Beach Convention Center near the iconic Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach course. The show will debut nationally from 9-10 p.m. ET/PT Thursday, April 17 on The CW Network.
Produced by Penske Entertainment and VICE Media Group, the series will showcase all the intense preparation, relentless competition, a few pranks and plenty of speed before the green flag drops and 300,000 fans roar at the world’s largest single-day sporting event. Produced by multiple award-winning VICE World News, “100 DAYS TO INDY” is directed and co-executive produced by Emmy Award-winner Patrick Dimon and executive produced by Bryan Terry for VICE. “100 DAYS TO INDY” will be distributed globally by Vice Content Distribution.
“I think Pat (Dimon) and the boys have been great to work with so far and I think it’s going to continue to be the case,” said Graham Rahal. “I feel like everybody in INDYCAR racing is going to see the fruits of their, and our, labor. Everybody’s been committed to it to see it succeed. I think Wednesday night will be a great premiere for it will be a successful show for everybody.”
POINT STANDINGS AFTER 2 OF 17 RACES
Rahal is ranked 13th in series point standings with a total of 34. Lundgaard is 14th with 33 and Harvey is 22nd with 20.