Changing Track Conditions Provided Added Challenges for Qualifying for the XPEL GP at Road America After Intermittent Rain Fell Throughout the Day

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

XPEL Grand Prix at Road America

NTT INDYCAR SERIES – Round 8 of 17

QUALIFYING NOTES / QUOTES – Saturday, June 8, 2024

CHANGING TRACK CONDITIONS PROVIDED ADDED CHALLENGES FOR QUALIFYING FOR THE XPEL GRAND PRIX AT ROAD AMERICA AFTER INTERMITTANT RAIN FELL THROUGHOUT THE DAY

1) Linus Lundqvist 1:45.1519 / 137. 424 mph (Group 2, Round 3)

13) Christian Lundgaard 2:02.3826 / 118.076 mph (Group 1, Round 1)

24) Graham Rahal 2:04.8213 / 115.769 mph (Group 2, Round 1)

25) Pietro Fittipaldi 2:05.6079 / 115.044 mph (Group 1, Round 1)

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Hendrickson Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “This morning in the rain, we were quite good. But as the track was kind of getting more of a dry line there in qualifying, we couldn’t maximize braking and I felt like I was so loose on corner entries. I went off on my best lap – which wasn’t as fast as I would have liked anyway – I went off in Turn 5 and 8. I struggled with lateral bite and was sideways through all of the carossel so it was quite a ride. Tomorrow’s race strategy will be pretty interesting because I had an alternate tire that had an issue after one hard lap on Friday and some other teams had the same so, with that being said, that adds another element to the race. If you start on the alternate tire and take advantage of an early caution and pit to change them, it could play into our hands if we played that right.”

FAST FACTS: Set the seventh fastest time in the wet Practice 2 session. Will be his 11th Indy car race here and 15th overall. Last year, he started 14th, ran as high as 10th and finished 11th in the race. On his first of three stops, fuel sprayed from the top of the fuel rig and extended his stop, which cost him multiple positions. He charged his way back up the field and finished 11th in his 10th Champ / Indy car race here and 14th overall. In his previous 10 Indy car races here, his highlights include two third place finishes (2007, 2016), a fourth place (2019), sixth (2018) and two eighth places (2017, 2022). In 2022, he started 22nd and utilized the third caution to pit early which later helped him run as high as second and gain valuable track position. He was running seventh in the final restart with three laps to go and lost a spot to McLaughlin and took the checkered flag in eighth place. A full list of results is available upon request… He is ranked 16th place in series point standings with a total of 101.

PIETRO FITTIPALDI, No. 30 5-hour ENERGY Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We were out of balance with the car in qualifying. In hindsight, we should have pitted for a second set of wet tires, but we didn’t and it basically hurt us. If we had gone on that second set of wet tires, we would have been in a better position. Now the focus changes to the race and the forecast is for conditions more like we ran in on Friday.”

FAST FACTS: Set the 11th fastest time in Practice 1 on Friday and 12th in Practice 2 that ran in wet conditions. It will be Fittipaldi’s first race here. His grandfather, Emerson, won here in 1986, 1988 and 1992 while Christian Fittipaldi, son of Pietro’s grand uncle Wilson Fittipaldi, earned his first series win here in 1999. He is ranked 21st in series standings with 67 points.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Qualifying wasn’t really the session we were expecting. The car wasn’t anywhere close to where we were this morning. We expected to perform more in line with where we were this morning. We were all a lot more loose than we typically are, especially on the wet Firestone tires. We typically seem to be struggling a lot with understeer and today was the complete opposite. We will maximize the opportunities tomorrow in the race.”

FAST FACTS: Was fifth fastest in Practice 1 on Friday and fourth fastest in the wet Practice 2 today. Will be his third race here. In the previous road course race this season at IMS, he qualified second and finished third. Last year here, he started seventh, ran as high as fifth and finished seventh. In his debut at the track in 2022, he started 13th, conserved his fuel while maintaining a strong pace and cycled into the lead for his second of three stops on Lap 30 of 55 and went on to take the checkered flag in 10th place. On Saturday, he was a mere 0.01 from progressing to Group 2 and ended up seventh in his qualifying round. His best series finish is second place at the IMS road course in July 2022… He is ranked 11th in series point standings with 122.

RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING AT ROAD AMERICA: The 2024 XPEL Grand Prix at Road America will mark the 22nd time for Rahal Letterman Lanigan (RLL) Racing to compete in an Indy car race here. The team competed in CART and Champ Car-sanctioned races here from 1992-2003 and again since 2016 with a best starting position of pole by Kenny Brack in 2001 and best finish of second place by Bobby Rahal in 1996. The team has earned a total of five podium finishes here (2nd – B. Rahal 1996; 3rd – B. Rahal 1992-1993, Kenny Brack 2000, Graham Rahal 2016).

NEXT UP: Warmup will take place from 11:15-11:45 a.m. CT tomorrow and Sunday’s 55-lap XPEL Grand Prix at Road America will take the Green Flag at 2:45 p.m. CT. Coverage will begin on NBC at 3:30 p.m. ET.