Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix – Phoenix International Raceway
Verizon IndyCar Series
RACE NOTES/QUOTES – Saturday, April 2, 2016
RAHAL FINISHED FIFTH IN THE DESERT DIAMOND WEST VALLEY PHOENIX GRAND PRIX AFTER STARTING 19TH
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I knew I had to make up a bunch of spots in the first few laps. I got a good start and got a couple of positions on the first lap and another when Luca dropped back. I felt decent about that, I was just trying to close the gap. The team was keeping me up to date on where (race leader) Helio was the whole time and I knew he couldn’t get through traffic. The frustrating thing is that I felt like I had the best car out there. I could catch everybody but I just couldn’t pass at all so I started to save fuel. We got two yellows and it helped a lot. The pit stops were amazing as always. I said it from the start that I felt confident today because of those guys. Had I not had that crew and those pit stops behind me, I wouldn’t have felt as good about this race going into it. Getting the points we did for fifth place helps us in the standings for sure. We’re going to keep challenging and pushing hard.”
NEXT UP: The majority of the series will participate in a test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday, April 6 including Graham Rahal. Round 3 of the Verizon IndyCar Series season will be the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 15-17.
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