DXC Technology 600 – Texas Motor Speedway
Round 9 of 17 in the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series
PRACTICE NOTES/QUOTES – Thursday, June 6, 2019
1) Scott Dixon 219.308 mph 25 laps
2) Takuma Sato 219.262 mph 36 laps
3) Graham Rahal 218.311 mph 30 laps
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Fleet Cost & Care Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Right off the bat, the Fleet Cost & Care car was pretty competitive. The speed was there which was nice. When I saw the speed flash up on my second or third lap, it was a 215 (mph) already which was a little bit of a surprise. It wasn’t a great tow and yet the speed was there so the car’s got some pace. I think both of ours (Sato) do so we’ve just got to do some tweaking overnight. The race is going to be a big guess at this point because it’s going to be hotter and the truck race is before ours, but in general I feel pretty good.”
- In his 11 races here, his best start came in 2012 of third and best finish is his win in 2016. In 2018, he started 20th and took the opportunity to pit during the first caution for a fire on Leist’s car on Lap 9 after running 19th. This enabled him to stretch his fuel and cycle into the lead on Lap 68 before he made his second stop on Lap 72 and returned to the track in 14th. He took over 13th when Veach made contact and then into 12th when Newgarden pit due to a tire going down. The field had been watching for tire wear, particularly on the right front and rear, and Rahal reported a vibration on lap 101/248. As the next pit cycle began, he moved up to second by Lap 127 before making his stop on L128. Her returned to the track in 13th place and moved up to eight when a caution came out for Wickens and Carpenter, who made contact on Lap 173. At this point, he was in seventh and a lap down but was waved around before he made his next pit stop on L183. When the race restarted, he held seventh place and another caution came out for Power and Claman De Melo who made contact as Claman De Melo was passing on the high side. He was in sixth and the team elected to pit for new tires when the pits opened. The race was restarted on Lap 215/248 and Rahal maintained his position until the checkered flag. His win in 2016 came in the postponed event. The June 11, 2016 race was postponed until June 12 due to rain which again postponed the race to August 27 after the field completed 71 of 248 scheduled laps before rain came again. Rahal had qualified 13th for the race and was in 12th when it was halted. On August 27, he restarted on Lap 72 and quickly moved to sixth place. He maintained a top-five position the majority of the time except after pitting and never was lower than eighth. He ran second many times and only led once – the final lap – and won by a margin of victory of 0.0080-of a second in what is the fifth-closest finish in Indy car history and the closest finish at Texas Motor Speedway… 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 THREE poles (2009 – St. Pete street course, Kansas oval; 2017 – Detroit Race 1 street) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… He is ninth in series point standings with a total of 175 points.
TAKUMA SATO, No. 30 ABeam Consulting Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “You want to see exciting racing here at Texas like it used to be – two-wide, three-wide, but I understand the safety issue. That’s why I think Firestone made a great commitment to bring this tire here. It seems to be working pretty well with the addition of the downforce. Tonight I felt pretty comfortable. Still there is a lot of work to be done in traffic so I don’t expect the race to be huge pack racing but somewhat more closer racing than last year for sure. Especially towards the night when everything is cooling down and the second lane opens. I tried to take that lane today and there was no way but hopefully Saturday night we will be able to go side-by-side like oval racing is meant to be.”
- FAST FACTS: In his 10 previous races here, his best start is fourth place, two times (2016 with A.J. Foyt Racing; 2011 with KVRT) and he has earned three top-10 finishes with the best being fifth place in 2011 with KVRT. Last year he started ninth and ran mostly in the top-10 other than pit cycles. The field was monitoring tire wear, particularly on the right front and rear tires, and Sato had to make his second pit stop early for new tires which put him two laps down. Later in the race he received a wave around during the caution for Wickens and Carpenter and another for the caution for contact between Power and Claman De Melo to be on the lead lap with approx. 35 laps to go while ninth. After the restart, he passed Jones and then took over seventh when Newgarden served a drive through penalty for jumping the restart. He took the checkered flag in seventh place… Has FOUR IndyCar Series wins (2013 – Long Beach street course, 2017 – Indy 500 oval, 2018 – Portland road, 2019 – Barber road) and EIGHT poles (2011 Iowa oval, Edmonton street; 2013 Houston Race 1 street; 2014 St. Pete street, Detroit Race 2 street; 2017 Detroit Race 2, Pocono oval; 2019 Barber). He is currently ranked fifth in series point standings with 255 points.
RLL AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: The DXC Technology 600 will mark the 17th event for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) at the 1.5-mile, high-banked Texas Motor Speedway oval. The team’s highest start of pole with Scott Sharp came in 2007 and highest finish of first came in 2016 with Graham Rahal. The team earned another front row start in 2004 when Buddy Rice qualified second. Overall the team has earned five top-five finishes and 10, top-10’s at the track.
NEXT UP: There will be a 30-minute tire scuffing / pit stop practice session from 1:30–2:00 p.m. CT and practice from 2:00–3:00. Qualifying will take place from 5:45-6:45 PM CT with live coverage beginning on NBCSN at 5:30 p.m. CT. The DXC Technology 600 will take the Green Flag at 7:45 p.m. CT Saturday. Live coverage will begin at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN.