NTT INDYCAR SERIES
//
D:00
H:00
M:00
S:00
D:00
H:00
M:00
S:00
D:00
H:00
M:00
S:00
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
XPEL Grand Prix at Road America
NTT INDYCAR SERIES – Round 8 of 17
PRACTICE NOTES / QUOTES – Friday, June 20, 2025
DEFRANCESCO SECOND FASTEST IN PRACTICE 1 OF THE XPEL GRAND PRIX AT ROAD AMERICA; FOSTER EIGHTH AND RAHAL 22ND
1) Kyle Kirkwood 1:44.9881 / 137.638 mph
2) Devlin DeFrancesco 1:45.1414 / 137.438 mph
8) Louis Foster 1:45.3233 / 137.200 mph
22) Graham Rahal 1:46.3416 / 135.887 mph
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Hendrickson Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I was on my out lap on the reds (tires) when the red flag came out so I didn’t get a read on them and the chance to run a quick lap. The car was okay; I thought we were competitive. It was really pushy in the slow speed and loose in the high speed areas so it’s a bit disconnected. But the pace was okay. I actually didn’t even finish my run on new tires because I was in traffic so there is more lap time in it. We’re going into qualifying blind again (due to not running a practice lap on the reds).”
FAST FACTS: Will be his 12th Champ or Indy car race here and 16th overall. In 2024, he drove to a 10th-place finish from a 24th place start. He started on the alternate tire and planned to take an early caution to switch to the more durable primary tires. That opportunity came after a Lap 1, Turn 1 incident set off by the top-three cars which contributed to other contact through the field, include Ghiotto hitting Rahal and putting him in the gravel. Ghiotto was given an avoidable contact penalty for the action. Once Rahal got back on track, he pitted to replace his damaged tires. After a total of four stops and three caution periods, Rahal took the checkered flag in 10th place and was presented with the Josten’s Biggest Mover award for gaining 14 positions. In 11 Indy car races here, his highlights include two third place finishes (2007, 2016), a fourth place (2019), sixth (2018), two eighth places (2017, 2022) and 10th (2024). A full list of results is available upon request… He is 18th in the series point standings with a total of 123.
DEVLIN DEFRANCESCO, No. 30 Manitou Group Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It always positive to start a weekend like that and roll off the truck well. This track rewards high commitment. We need to be exit (of a corner) focused. We’re very strong on the brakes and have been everywhere we’ve gone. Nailing our exit seems to be important and the key factor for us in the session. And we seemed to be very solid on the alternate tires; I’m very happy with our pace on those. We need to find a bit more speed on blacks. We feel a bit disconnected on those but we’ll continue to work on that.”
FAST FACTS: It will be his third INDYCAR race at Road America. His best INDYCAR start is 12th in 2023 and his best finish is 18th in 2022 – both with Andretti Steinbrenner Racing. He matched his best career start of fifth place at the Sonsio Grand Prix at IMS in May and is hoping to make another return to the Firestone Fast Six in qualifying at Road America to set he and the team up for a good finish in the race. He is ranked 25th in series standings with 78 points.
LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Droplight / Desnuda Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was good; we had a decent balance so I’m pretty happy with the Droplight / Desnuda car so far. I think we need to find where there is some extra lap time in it but I’m generally pretty happy. It’s a good starting point for us this weekend. We just need to keep working hard and make sure we’ve got a good balance for qualifying.”
FAST FACTS: During Foster’s two seasons in the INDY NXT series, his best start and finish at Road America came last year when he started and finished second. He qualified fifth and finished sixth in his rookie season. His best INDYCAR start this season came on the IMS road course of third and he is hoping to carry over that performance to Road America… He is 24th in series point standings with 81.
NEXT UP: Practice 2 will take place from 10:05-11:05 a.m. CT tomorrow and qualifying will begin at 1:35 p.m. Sunday’s XPEL Grand Prix of Road America will take the Green Flag at 2:45 p.m. CT and coverage will begin on FOX at 1:30 p.m. ET.
