Bommarito Automotive Group 500 – World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Illinois
Pre-Race Notes
Round 15 of 17 in the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES
DATE: August 26-27, 2023
PRACTICE BROADCAST: Live on Peacock Premium on Saturday from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET and 5:00 – 6:45
p.m. ET. Also live on the INDYCAR Radio Network (IRN) and www.indycar.com (timing & scoring + live analysis).
QUALIFYING BROADCAST: Live on Peacock Premium, the IRN and www.indycar.com from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET Saturday.
RACE BROADCAST: Live on NBC on Sunday, August 27 from 3:30 – 6 p.m. ET. And on Peacock Premium, IRN, Sirius XM 160.
TRACK LAYOUT: 1.25-mile oval
RACE LENGTH: 260 laps / 325 miles
2022 WINNER: Josef Newgarden
2022 POLESITTER: Will Power (182.727 mph)
RAHAL’S BEST WWTR START / FINISH: 7th in 2018 / 10th in 2018 & 2022; will be his 8th race here
RAHAL’S HIGHEST SERIES START / FINISH: 4 Poles – St. Pete (street) 2009, Kansas (oval) 2009, Detroit (street) 2017, IMS (road)
2023 / 6 Wins – St. Pete 2008, Fontana (oval; 500 miles) 2015, Mid-Ohio (road) 2015, Texas (oval) 2016; Detroit Race 1 2017, Detroit Race 2 2017
DALY’S BEST START / FINISH AT WWTR: 11th / 5th – both in 2017; will be his 7th race here
DALY’S BEST SERIES START / FINISH: 1 Pole – Iowa, Race 1 2020 / 2nd place – Detroit, Race 1 2016
LUNDGAARD’S BEST START / FINISH AT WWTR: 19th / 19th – both in 2022; will be his 2nd race here 2 Poles – IMS (road) May 2023, Toronto (street) 2023 / 1 Win – Toronto 2023
RLL’S BEST START / FINISH AT WWTR: 1st in 2020 (Race 2) by Takuma Sato / 1st in 2019 by Takuma Sato – 11 races (1997- 2000, 2003, 2017-2019, 2 in 2020, 2021)
NOTES & QUOTES:
RLL AT WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY
The team returns to the 2023 Bommarito Automotive Group 500 in search of another pole and win in their 13th event at World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR). In Race 1 in 2020, Sato was 0.14-seconds from becoming the first driver in almost two decades to earn back-to-back wins after winning the Indy 500 and finished second. The 1.25-mile oval hosted CART-sanctioned races from 1997-2000 and IRL races from 2001-2003 before the IndyCar Series returned in 2017. The team competed in all four CART races from 1997-2000 and one of the three IRL races (2003). The best starting position for the team came in 2020 in Race 2 when Takuma Sato started from pole and the best finish came in 2019 when Takuma Sato won. Prior to 2023, the team prepared a total of 20 Indy car entries for drivers such as Bobby Rahal (1997-1998), Bryan Herta (1997-1999), Max Papis (1999-2000), Kenny Brack (2000, 2003), Graham Rahal (2017-2020, x2, 2021-22), Takuma Sato (2018-2020, x2, 2021), Christian Lundgaard (2022) and Jack Harvey (2022). The No. 15 Hogan Transportation entry for Graham Rahal, the No. 30 Mi-Jack entry for Conor Daly and the No. 45 Hy-Vee entry for Christian Lundgaard will bring that total to 26 in 2023.
GRAHAM RAHAL AT WWTR
The 2023 race will be Rahal’s eighth at the track. His highest start is seventh place in 2018 and highest finish is 10th – in 2018 and 2022. In 2022, he started 17th and worked his way into the lead for two laps (211-212) before his fourth and final pit stop on Lap 212 in the 260-lap race but right after he stopped, a caution came out for weather conditions on Lap 214 and the race was red flagged at 6:55 p.m. CT with Rahal in ninth. After a two-hour delay for lightning and to dry the track from a shower, the field restarted their engines at 9:05. Ericsson and Dixon, who were ahead of Rahal, pit for fresh tires and fuel as did Palou, when the pits opened. Rahal took the green flag from seventh place but was passed by Dixon and Ericsson on the restart and Palou a few laps later. He held his position and took the checkered flag in 10th place. In 2021, he was looking forward to the race after having a strong performance on long runs in the practice session where he ended fourth fastest. He qualified ninth and made a conservative start and dropped back to 12th. Ed Jones appeared to lose traction in the rear of his car and slid up into Rahal in Turn 1 and the two collided. Jones stopped on track and Rahal was able to continue to the pits but had substantial damage. The team tried to repair the car, first behind pit lane and then later in the garage area but had to retire from the event. Rahal is looking forward to competing in the Hogan Transportation entry and adding to a partnership that began when Bobby Rahal and Carl Hogan Sr., first joined forces to create Rahal Hogan Racing prior to the first season of competition for the team in 1992.
“I’m excited to have Hogan Transportation as the primary sponsor for my race car. It’s a great thing to have the two companies continue to work together over all these years. It’s been a long-term relationship going back to Carl Sr. so that makes it pretty cool to be flying these colors and I really hope we can have a great weekend. Brian (Hogan) is such an amazing man as are his brothers. Last year, I felt we were extremely good in the race until the red flag took place and then after that, once the race restarted, we were very loose, so we struggled after the restart. This year, I think we should be a little stronger. I feel like we’ve made some improvements. I thought we qualified well in Iowa, and I certainly hope that we can qualify well at World Wide Technology Raceway and can go to battle in a big way.”
CONOR DALY AT WWT RACEWAY
Conor Daly will make his seventh INDYCAR SERIES start at WWTR of the eight races the series has competed in here since 2017. In his six races, he has four top-10 finishes with his best being fifth place in 2017 and his highest start is 11th, also in 2017. Since it was announced he was joining the team for the Bommarito 500, he has been busy acclimating to the team.
“The team has really helped me try to prepare as much as possible and I’m thankful that Honda let me jump on the simulator for a little bit as well to get used to some things. Everyone has tried to prepare as much as possible and that’s all we can do. I won’t have a feel for this group and how this car drives until we get out there. And obviously in INDYCAR these days, there is not a ton of practice time so we will get out there and try to do our best, try to take advantage of every possible preparation source and execute once when we get on track.
“The team has been super welcoming. I’ve worked with several folks here before. Christian’s race engineer Ben (Siegel) was on my car at the 2021 Indy 500 when we led the most laps, so I’ve worked with him before. And I’ve known my chief mechanic Thomas (Semik Jr.) since 2017. There are folks all around that are familiar faces but there are also some friendly new faces as well, it’s a great group. I’m pretty proud to get to drive for this organization and even if it’s just for this weekend, it’s a great opportunity.
“There is just something that has always been special about Gateway for me. The very first test we all did there in 2017, I was quickest by quite a bit of time, and everyone thought we were cheating (said with a laugh). I was with Foyt (Racing) at the time and have always just enjoyed driving there since then. With the way the tires work there, the strategy and all of it has made it a track that suits my driving style and I love the event. I still wish it was a night race but Bommarito Auto Group, and the whole group that promote the event, do a great job.”
CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD AT WWT RACEWAY
Lundgaard heads to WWTR for his 10th race on an oval and second one here. Last year, he started and finished 19th. His best oval finish to date is 10th place in Race 1 of the 2022 Hy-Vee INDYCAR Weekend doubleheader and he is hoping to gain more experience on this type of course.
“Going into the last stretch of the season, it definitely feels like the season has flown by. I know that we will be strong (on the road courses) in Portland and Laguna Seca but coming to Gateway (short oval), it will be more challenging. I believe that as a team we have improved on this type of track though. I don’t think we’ve gone from our previous form to being a guaranteed contender for the win, but I do believe we have made progress. It is a challenging track; it’s one of those short ovals where the racing is fun. Last year was an extremely long race with the rain delay in the middle of it but I’m excited to see what we are capable of this year there and on top of that, I’m very excited to see what we can do at the end of the season.”
RAHAL AND DALY ON THE USE OF ALTERNATE TIRES FOR THE FIRST TIME ON AN OVAL TRACK
This race will mark the first time that the NTT INDYCAR SERIES will use an alternate Firestone Firehawk tire on a track other than a road or street course. The alternate tire is made from a softer compound, which improves speed on an Indy car, but has less durability than the harder compound primary Firestone Firehawk. It provides teams with a key strategic tool, but it comes with a gamble because the alternates wear out at a faster rate.
“I think it will be really interesting to see how running the alternate tire at St. Louis works out and what it does to the strategy,” said Rahal. “It’s going to be a very important and interesting new development in our sport, and I think everyone is thinking the same way.”
“The alternate tire will be a huge question mark,” added Daly. “I don’t know what it’s going to be like, and I don’t think anyone does, but we trust Firestone and what they bring to the track. It will create a strategic chance and that’s all you can ask for. It can either go really well, or it could be a tough one, so we want to take advantage of that and see if it works in our favor. There will obviously be some practice (on it) that will be very, very important to maximize the information on that tire just to figure out how it changes the balance of the car, what it does to the race strategy and etc. It’s exciting to think about.”
POINTS BATTLE AFTER 14 OF 17 RACES
Heading into Round 15 of 17 at WWTR, Lundgaard is in eighth place in the series standings with a total of 330 points and Rahal is 14th with 241.