Rahal to Start 3rd in the Children’s of Alabama Indy GP; Schumacher and Foster to Start 20th and 22nd

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix

Round 4 of 18 in the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES

QUALIFYING NOTES / QUOTES – Saturday, March 28, 2026

RAHAL TO START THIRD IN THE CHILDREN’S OF ALABAMA INDY GRAND PRIX; SCHUMACHER AND FOSTER TO START 20TH AND 22ND

1) Alex Palou 1:06.2341 / 125.011 mph (Group 1; Round 3)

3) Graham Rahal 1:06.5181 / 124.477 mph (Group 1; Round 3)

20) Mick Schumacher 1:06.8140 / 123.926 mph (Group 2; Round 1)

22) Louis Foster 1:06.9445 / 123.685 mph (Group 2; Round 1)

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I didn’t realize I was the only person to run used alternate tires in Round 3. This is a race that tires are really important. I get that it was only one run, but it’s still one run so it’s a good situation to be in. I felt like we were in the hunt. I was glad to make it through to Round 3 because I didn’t drive too good in Q2, to be honest. I felt like I gave away a tenth or two so to squeak in was good for Fifth Third, Honda, for all of our partners, just to have a good result was nice. We know we can race well here so qualifying well is going to help a lot. It’s just a wonderful place. And the grip this weekend is great. The tire Firestone brought is faster than hell, so it’s been a lot of fun. Its physical; tomorrow is going to be a bruiser and hopefully we can take the battle to them. Obviously with Alex (Palou), who knows but we’re going to try. We’ve had a chance to win here before so hopefully we can make it happen. We’ve got good (tire) degradation, good tire lift and we’ve got better tires than our competitors so we’ll see.”

FAST FACTS: Rahal will start third in his 16th race here… His best start here is second place in 2019 to bring the team a 1-2 start and his best finish is second, two times (2015-2016) in his previous 15 races here. In 2025, he started 21st and finished 14th. He played a major factor in the most exciting races of the 2015 and 2016 seasons as he challenged for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama win but earned his best finish here of second place both times… Has six IndyCar Series wins (2008 – St. Pete street course; 2015 – Fontana Super Speedway, Mid-Ohio road course; 2016 – Texas Super Speedway; 2017 Detroit Race 1, Detroit Race 2) and five poles (2009 – St. Pete street course, Kansas oval; 2017 – Detroit Race 1 street; 2023 Indy road course, Portland road course) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015.

LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Droplight Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Qualifying wasn’t great. It was a messy session for us. We just didn’t quite hit the balance needed for qualifying but luckily we’ve got a fast car with Graham qualifying in P3 so we have some data to look at and learn from and that’s a positive sign. We can only really go forward in the race so that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

FAST FACTS: Foster qualified 12th here in his rookie season last year but a late race, off course excursion limited his result to 26th. He has competed at Barber in two INDY NXT races with a best finish of fifth place. In 2023, he qualified third but retired in 14th place after contact after completing 25 of 35 laps. His top finish of fifth came in 2024 after starting last in the field in 21st due to electrical issues.

MICK SCHUMACHER, No. 47 ENVE Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Qualifying was not quite as clean as what I was hoping. We didn’t manage to utilize the tires on that first lap and the second lap was a bit squirmy. Obviously, there was not much missing to go and advance into the next group (1/10th of a second). We lost a couple tenths for sure in Turn 5 on my second lap and per se from the fact that the tires were already used up from that moment to still be this close (to progressing) is good. The feeling on the track is amazing; it’s a great track to drive. Hopefully we’ll have a better race car tomorrow. Nonetheless, I think as a team we can be really proud of what Graham has achieved today. He’s done an amazing job and I’m really happy for him. Hopefully he’ll be able to keep it up there and we can join him. He has a great race car and he seems very confident and comfortable. In the race, its always one of those things that you never know what is going to happen until you get there. We’ll take it step-by-step and hopefully tomorrow we’ll be there.”

FAST FACTS: It will be his first INDYCAR race here and first road course race in the series. His best series start is fourth place and best finish is 18th – both at Phoenix 2026.

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 2026 Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix will mark the 14th INDYCAR SERIES race for the team at Barber Motorsports Park (BMP).

NEXT UP: The pre-race warm-up will be broadcast live on FS2 on Sunday from 10:00-11:00 AM ET and live coverage of the 90-lap Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix will be televised on FOX beginning at 1:00 PM ET.