Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix
Round 4 of 17 in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES
PRACTICE NOTES/QUOTES – Friday, April 26, 2024
LUNDGAARD, RAHAL AND FITTIPALDI PLEASED WITH PRACTICE 1 FOR THE CHILDREN’S OF ALABAMA INDY GRAND PRIX
1) Josef Newgarden 1:06.7045 / 124.130 mph
5) Christian Lundgaard 1:06.8972 / 123.772 mph
7) Graham Rahal 1:06.9679 / 123.641 mph
20) Pietro Fittipaldi 1:07.7388 / 122.234 mph
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Hendrickson Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a good run today. Typically, we are fairly competitive here but I thought it was a strong day but I also thought I left a couple tenths of a second on the table too which is a little disappointing but I just mistimed the tire. I thought the best time on the tire would be Lap 2 and did a 90 percent push on Lap 1and actually went quite quick; a low 7.1 or 7.0 and thought that was faster than I expected. Then I went for it on Lap 2 and the front tires were already kind of gone for me. We’re still quicker, still competitive but think I just missed it. Overall, it was definitely a strong day for us in the Hendrickson car.”
PIETRO FITTIPALDI, No. 30 Mi-Jack Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It’s extremely hot and I was super-sweaty after Practice 1. Barber is a crazy-physical track. It was good to be able to do a few laps and get in a rhythm of the track. Everything changes on Day 2 but we will debrief and try to understand what to work on and go at it again for practice and qualifying.”
CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “As a team, I think we are looking extremely strong. We also expected that because we were quick here last year but the 15 (Graham Rahal) was up there with us today. In looking at the theoretical lap times, the Hy-Vee Honda was even a little faster. And we were running different things to find some weaknesses in the car. We’re looking pretty good and quite happy at the moment.”
RLL AT BARBER: In 2019, the team qualified 1-2 for the race here, which was the first time the team locked out the front row of an Indy car race since the September 11, 2005 race at Chicagoland when Danica Patrick won pole and Buddy Rice started second. Sato led 74 of 90 laps en route to victory. The 2024 Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix will mark the 12th INDYCAR SERIES race for the team at Barber Motorsports Park (BMP).
NEXT UP: Practice 2 will take place from 12:15-1:15 PM and qualifying from 3:30-5:00. All times eastern. The Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix will be televised on NBC from 1:00-4:00 PM ET Sunday, April 28.