Qualifying Penalty Limited Rahal to a 20th Place Start in the INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Glen; Two Fastest Laps Omitted

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Glen – Watkins Glen

Verizon IndyCar Series

QUALIFYING NOTES/QUOTES – Saturday, September 3, 2016

QUALIFYING PENALTY TOOK AWAY RAHAL’S TWO FASTEST LAPS AND HE DID NOT PROGRESS TO ROUND TWO; WILL START 20TH IN THE INDYCAR GRAND PRIX AT THE GLEN 

1)         Scott Dixon                1:22.5259 / 147.008 mph      

20)       Graham Rahal           1:58.1893 / 102.649 mph       (fastest lap at the time: 1:24.1716)

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing / RLL Dallara/Honda/Firestone:  “I’m very disappointed with the ruling. We obviously have a fast race car but we’re going to have to put our heads down and try to come from behind. There is a lot of work to be done. We will give it all we can to try to come up with good strategy to help us make our way to the front.”

• FAST FACTS: Rahal was sixth fastest when Group 2, Round 1 went red for Sato’s accident and would have advanced to Round 2 to set the top-12 positions but INDYCAR withdrew Rahal’s two fastest laps because they ruled he impeded Hawksworth’s lap time. Rahal’s third fastest lap put him P10 in his group… The INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Glen will mark Graham Rahal’s third race here. In 2008, he qualified 18th with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR) after a Saturday practice crash and finished eighth… In 2009, he qualified fifth with NHLR but lost 10 starting positions when his car was ruled to be too light in a tech inspection and he started 15th. He ran as high as second but the wrong fuel strategy contributed to a 13th place finish… He did not compete in the 2010 race… His top finish overall this season is a win at Texas Motor Speedway (oval) and his top road/street course finish is second place at Barber Motorsports Park. His top start is sixth at Barber and Road America. He also qualified third for the Indy GP but his car was disqualified for being a few pounds underweight… Rahal is ranked seventh in series standings with a total of 394 points and is only 12 behind fifth place Josef Newgarden (406) and 22 behind third place Kanaan (416).

RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING AT WATKINS GLEN … The 2016 INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Glen will mark the fifth Indy car event for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) at Watkins Glen International (WGI) and first here since the team won the 2008 event with Ryan Hunter-Reay.  The team has one win (Hunter-Reay 2008), and four top-10 finishes here and team drivers have led a total of 15 laps.  Prior to the 2016 event, the team prepared a total of 9 Indy car entries for drivers Buddy Rice (2005-2006), Danica Patrick (2005-2006), Vitor Meira (2005), Jeff Simmons (2006-2007), Scott Sharp (2007) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (2008).  The No. 15 entry for Graham Rahal will bring the Indy car total to 10 entries in 2016. 

NEXT UP: The morning warm-up will take place tomorrow from 10:30-11:00 a.m. ET and the 60-lap race will take the Green Flag at 2:37 p.m. The INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Glen will be televised live on NBCSN beginning at 2:00 PM ET Sunday, September 4.

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