Jakes Finished 13th at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio; Rahal Finished 18th

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda Indy 200 – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
IZOD IndyCar Series
RACE NOTES/QUOTES – Sunday, August 4, 2013

JAKES FINISHED 13TH AT THE HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO; RAHAL FINISHED 18TH

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Midas / Big O Tires Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a struggle all day. The car was loose from the get-go, really loose. Here, where you have these high commitment corners when you are loose it’s a struggle and unfortunately we never really came to grips with that. Obviously I’m disappointed. We wanted to show better at my home race but unfortunately this is all we had today. We’ve just got to keep soldiering on. Nothing is coming easy to us right now. We’re just not competitive so we have to just keep working hard. We are looking forward to the test day in Sonoma, without a doubt. Hopefully we can get out there and get a lot done.”

· FAST FACTS: Was his sixth Indy car race here but first for his father’s Indy car team. He started 22nd and finished 18th after a three-stop strategy in the race. At least four front-running drivers, who initially decided on a two-stop race, held up the field with their fuel-saving pace which made for challenging conditions… He has competed in many other series at his “home track.” In 2012 he qualified 22nd, started 21st (engine penalty ahead on grid) and finished 11th with Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing (SCCGR). In 2011 he qualified sixth, stalled in the pits after his first stop and finished 24th with SCCGR. In 2010, he qualified 25th with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR) and had moved up to 14th when he attempted to pass Wheldon for 13th on Lap 61/85 in T2 and went off course and dropped to 21st. Finished 20th. In 2009, he started fourth with NHLR and looked likely to finish fourth before an off-track excursion while fifth late in the race led to an eighth place finish. In 2008, he started 14th with NHLR and ran as high as eighth, but an off track excursion on lap 53 limited him to a 16th place finish. At the age of 16 in 2005, he became the youngest to claim the SCCA National Formula Atlantic championship at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs here by a dominant 43-seconds. He also competed in the Star Mazda race here in 2005 (S/F 4/9). Tested a Grand Am car here in 2007… His best finish this season is second place in Long Beach and best start is 11th also in Long Beach… Is ranked 17th in series standings with 233 points.

JAMES JAKES, No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a pretty frustrating race really. We started tenth, lost a spot on the start. Everyone else was on red tires and the three guys that were on blacks in front of us Marco, Pagenaud and ourselves all caught up to each other and I thought we were in a good position. We had pretty good laps going and I was quite happy with the balance of the car but then we just got stuck behind the guys that were doing the two stop race and that just killed us. It was difficult to overtake and we struggled from then on.”

· FAST FACTS: After earning his best starting position at this track of 10th place, Jakes lost a position at the start to Hinchcliffe but moved back in to 10th and as high as eighth when he made his first of three stops on Lap 24. At least four front-running drivers, who initially decided on a two-stop race, held up the field with their fuel-saving pace which made for challenging conditions and Jakes ultimately finished 13th, which is his best finish at the track… Was his third event here and first with RLL. In 2012 he qualified 21st, started 20th after a competitor ahead was penalized for an unapproved engine change and finished 19th. In 2011 he qualified 24th and finished 23rd. Both events were with Dale Coyne Racing… His best series start to date is 2nd at Dual 2 in Detroit and best finish is 2nd also at Dual 2 in Detroit… Is ranked 18th in series standings with 232 points.

NEXT UP: The series will take next weekend off before reconvening for the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma on August 25 which will be televised live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET. Rahal and Jakes will test at Sonoma Raceway on Tuesday, August 13 and return for a series-wide Open Test on Wednesday, August 21st of race week. The GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma will be the sixth for the team at this track. The highest start and finish for the team here is by Buddy Rice in 2005 when he started sixth and finished second.

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