Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Verizon IndyCar Series
RACE NOTES/QUOTES – Sunday, March 13, 2016
RAHAL CLIMBED BACK UP TO 16TH AFTER CONTACT BY MUNOZ LED TO A MULTI-CAR PILEUP IN THE FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETE; PIGOT FINISHED 14TH IN HIS SERIES DEBUT
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Steak ‘n Shake Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was an interesting day overall. We struggled a little bit at the start but we started to get the Steak ‘n Shake car a little bit better mid race but when Munoz punted us there was nothing we could do. The race was over for us so we just tried to make the most of it and we did alright and passed four or so cars at the end but it’s frustrating because we deserved better results. The whole team put a lot of work in and it’s a shame to have it go the way it did. If I look at our day as a whole, I think we had one of the fastest race cars but when you get caught up in someone else’s mistake there is just not much you can do.”
- FAST FACTS: Rahal started sixth after pole sitter Will Power was replaced by Oriol Servia due to a mild concussion and Servia started from the back of the field. After a mid-race return to Green, Rahal was running eighth, but sixth on the same fuel strategy, when Carlos Munoz dove into Turn 4 and hit him from behind which set off a pileup of more than eight cars that blocked the turn. Once he was restarted, he had to pit for a new front and rear wing and ran 21st. Munoz was penalized for “avoidable contact.” Rahal moved up to a 16th place finish… Was his ninth Indy car start at this track. His best start here is pole in 2009 and best finish is a win in 2008 in his IndyCar Series debut – both history-making moments. Last year, he started 15th and gained three spots on the first lap and ran as high as fifth place midway through the race but was penalized for “avoidable contact” after he made contact while trying to pass the damaged car of Charlie Kimball. He dropped to the back of the field and ultimately finished 11th… In 2014, the start of qualifying was delayed over three hours after an afternoon storm. Rahal was in Group 1 that ran on a wet track on rain tires. Conditions improved as each of the three rounds took place and teams switched to “slick” tires. Rahal lost control of the car on the slick course and made contact with a tire barrier which brought out a red flag. His two fastest laps were omitted, one of which was sixth fastest and would have allowed him to progress to Round 2 and start in the top-12. On the opening lap, Rahal charged from his 21st place starting spot to 12th and was in 14th when he made his first pit stop. Different pit strategies played out in a race that saw only 10 caution laps of 110 total. In the closing laps of the race, Rahal was 13th but lost a position to Bourdais with two laps to go and finished 14th… He qualified 15th in 2013 for RLL and was in ninth place when the team discovered an electrical issue on Lap 22 under caution that shut the engine off intermittently 6-7 times and dropped him to 21st place. He soldiered on to finish 13th… He qualified 11th in 2012 and finished 12th and qualified 12th in 2011 and finished 17th – both for Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing (SCCGR)… He qualified 16th and finished 9th for Sarah Fisher Racing in 2010… While with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, he won pole in 2009 and finished seventh and in 2008 he qualified ninth, led 19 laps and won in his series debut at the age of 19 years, 93 days old… Has three IndyCar Series wins (2008 – St. Pete street course; 2015 – Fontana Super Speedway, Mid-Ohio road course) and two poles (2009 – St. Pete street course, Kansas oval) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015.
SPENCER PIGOT, No. 16 RLL / Andersen Interior Contracting Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was an eventful race. I had a little bit of everything. There were some good passes; we had a good pace which is exciting. We’ve been working on the car and some things that I needed to work on over the weekend and I think they all came together in the race and I’m proud of that. There were a couple of rookie mistakes as well that hurt us and also getting caught up in a few other incidents. I’m happy to get the first one out of the way and happy with our pace. I definitely learned a lot and can’t wait to get another shot. (On the first pit stop:) Something happened with the fuel hose but the guys had awesome stops all day after that. They were perfect and I think we definitely picked up some spots when we came in with everyone. I had a great first weekend with the team. (On the mid-race contact:) I was looking inside of Filippi and I wasn’t really going to pass him because I wasn’t quite far enough alongside him but then Kanaan came flying down the inside and clobbered me and clobbered Filippi. Unfortunately that broke our front wing again which kind of screwed us up for the second half of the race.”
- FAST FACTS: Pigot started 21st after pole sitter Will Power was replaced by Oriol Servia due to a mild concussion and Servia started from the back of the field. Pigot moved up to 17th after four drivers had issues and passed Tony Kanaan for 16th on Lap 7. He was as high as 12th when the first pit cycle was in full swing but had an extended stop due to a mechanical issue with the refueling system which dropped him to 19th. He was brake-checked later on a restart which damaged his front wing which was replaced on a caution period. His new wing was damaged when Kanaan hit Pigot and Filippi but he continued to turn lap times as quick as the leaders throughout the race and soldiered on to finish 14th in his series debut…. In his previous 10 races here he has won five races, started from pole three times and from the front row five times and finished on the podium eight times… In 2015, he competed in two races in the Indy Lights Series with Juncos Racing where he started fifth and finished third in both… In 2014, he won both Pro Mazda races from pole with Juncos Racing, led all laps and set the fastest race laps in each… In 2013, he started and finished fourth in the Pro Mazda series Race 1 and started sixth and finished fourth in Race 2 with Team Pelfrey… In 2012, he won the USF2000 Race 1 from pole (qualifying record still stands) and won Race 2 from a second place start and led all laps in both races… In 2011, he won Race 1 of the USF2000 event from pole and finished second in Race 2 after starting second… Pigot is the most successful driver since the formation of the Mazda Road to Indy in 2010 with 24 race wins to his credit in USF2000, Pro Mazda and Indy Lights. He was the 15th driver to graduate from the Mazda Road to Indy into the Verizon IndyCar Series since 2010. He has won no fewer than four scholarship prizes from Mazda to maintain his career’s momentum to get to the IndyCar Series.
NEXT UP: The Phoenix Grand Prix, Round 2 of 16 in the Verizon IndyCar Series, will take place April 2 at Phoenix International Raceway. Bobby Rahal brought the team its first victory in the inaugural season on April 5, 1992. It will be the first time for Graham Rahal to race there.
PHOTO AND VIDEO AVAILABLE: Media members who register on the IndyCar Series media site have access to photography as well as video. Register for access to photos at: http://www.indycarmedia.com/pages/ApplyforAccess