DeFrancesco, Foster and Rahal Qualified 14th, 17th and 22nd for the Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
QUALIFYING NOTES / QUOTES – August 9, 2025

DEFRANCESCO, FOSTER AND RAHAL QUALIFIED 14TH, 17TH AND 22ND FOR THE BITNILE.COM GRAND PRIX OF PORTLAND

1)         Christian Lundgaard    58.3939 / 121.081 mph    (Group 2, Round 3)         
14)       Devlin DeFrancesco    58.4702 / 120.923 mph     (Group 2, Round 1)
17)       Louis Foster                58.6376 / 120.578 mph      (Group 1, Round 1)           
22)       Graham Rahal              58.5836 / 120.689 mph     (Group 2, Round 1)

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Hendrickson Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “P1 to P22, where I start, is only separated by three-tenths of a second (based on Round 1) but it is what it is, and you have to be on top of your game and we were just too loose all day today. When it’s that close, and the margins are that tight, you can’t be. We will be ready for all opportunities presented and try to work our way forward.”

• FAST FACTS: It will be the 10th overall race for Graham at PIR and eighth in the headline event. His highest NDYCAR start here is POLE in 2023 and highest finish is fifth in 2022… Last year, he qualified sixth but had a six-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change and started 12th. He lost two spots at the start but gained them back before a caution came out for Dixon, who had an incident with Kirkwood, which led to contact with Fittipaldi. He moved into ninth before his first of three stops and ultimately finished there… 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 – IMS road course, Portland road)… Rahal is ranked 19th in series point standings with a total of 213.

DEVLIN DEFRANCESCO, No. 30 Dogecoin Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We definitely made a good step in progress today. We’re still struggling with the rear of the Dogecoin car on alternate tires compared to yesterday but it’s frustrating to miss progressing to Round 2 by that little (three-hundreds of a second) but we’ll dig deep for tomorrow and try to move forward in the race.”

• FAST FACTS: This will mark Devlin’s third INDYCAR race at PIR and his highest qualifying position here. His previous highest start is 20th in 2023, and his highest finish is 16th in 2022 – both with Andretti Steinbrenner Racing… Is ranked 26th in series point standings with 133.

LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Droplight Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was quite a messy session with the red flag. I think we were one of the only cars that didn’t really get a lap before the red flag came out which is unlucky, simple as that. We didn’t quite hit the nail on the head with the balance but we will have three new sets of red tires in a not-awful, but not best, starting position. We’ll just focus on tomorrow now.”

• FAST FACTS: Rookie Schwartzman brought out the red flag before Foster could complete a fast lap on his final run in Round 1. The series allowed competitors to make one more qualifying lap to end the session as timed had expired, and Foster moved up to P6 from last, and able to transfer to Round 2 but dropped to ninth in his group as others completed their lap… Will make his first INDYCAR start at the track but he competed at PIR in INDY NXT and the USF Pro 2000 series and has four podiums in five events. In INDY NXT, he won from pole in 2023 and finished second from pole in 2024. In the three races at PIR in the 2022 USF Pro 2000 series, he won from pole in Race 1, finished second after starting second in Race 2 and finished sixth after starting second in Race 3. He aims to maximize the weekend and gain ground in the Rookie of the Year standings, where he holds a four-point lead over Robert Schwartzman, 172-168… Is ranked in 22nd place in the point standings with 172.

RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING AT PORTLAND … The event will mark the 19th time for RLL to compete in an INDYCAR race here. The team’s best starting position of pole here was by Bryan Herta in 1998, Max Papis in 2001 and Graham Rahal in 2023 and best finish of first place came in 2018 by Takuma Sato and in 2001 by Max Papis. RLL has earned a total of four podium finishes here (3rd – B. Rahal 1995, Herta 1998) and has led a total of 172 laps (1998: Herta, 20; 2001 Papis, 69; 2018: Sato, 25; 2021: Rahal, 36; 2023: Rahal, 21). In addition, the team competed in the Toyota Atlantic races here in 2003 (Danica Patrick, Jon Fogerty) and 2004 (Patrick and Chris Festa).

NEXT UP: The BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland will be televised live on FOX beginning at 3 PM ET Sunday, August 10.