Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
109th Running of the Indianapolis 500
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
PRACTICE NOTES / QUOTES – May 19, 2025
FINAL PRACTICE BEFORE CARB DAY YIELDED TWO HOURS OF RACE SIMULATION RUNS
1) Alex Palou 226.765 mph
3) Takuma Sato 226.087 mph
20) Devlin DeFrancesco 223.691 mph
23) Louis Foster 223.074 mph
30) Graham Rahal 221.572 mph
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 United Rentals Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We went through quite a lot in practice; full tanks and new tire runs and more. But we’ve got to keep working on the car. It feels like it’s completely on top of the road and very difficult to drive. Today we just kept working on that and trying to get a little more in the zone. I think we can find some things that will improve it.”
- FAST FACTS: He qualified 30th for his 18th Indy 500 and will start 28th due to two Team Penske cars being penalized. His best qualifying position in the Indy 500 is fourth in 2009 with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing and best finish is third with Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing in 2011 and RLL in 2020. Was bumped in qualifying for the 2023 Indy 500 by then-teammate Harvey but competed in the race as a replacement for the injured Stefan Wilson and finished 22nd after mechanical issues on the starting grid. Detailed Indy 500 information available upon request… 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, Portland) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… He is 13th in INDYCAR SERIES point standings with 92.
DEVLIN DEFRANCESCO, No. 30 Dogecoin Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a solid day today. I think we’re in a good spot. I was able to follow quite closely. We seem strong in race traffic so I’m looking forward to it.”
- FAST FACTS: He qualified 18th for his third Indy 500 and will start 16th after two Team Penske cars were penalized. It will be his best start in the race. His previous best Indy 500 start is 24th in 2022 and his best finish is 13th in 2024. After one year away from the series, DeFrancesco matched his best INDYCAR start of fifth place in the 2025 Sonsio Grand Prix at the previous race – for his second fifth place start on the IMS road course after also starting fifth here in 2023. He is ranked 25th in the INDYCAR SERIES point standings with 44 points.
LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Desnuda Tequila Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “There is still a lot for me to learn but practice was good. I need to get more comfortable with the car, understand how to work the traffic, how to work the tools, etc. We started off quite conservative and then once I got happy with that, we kept trimming the car and putting more COP in it and I got more comfortable. There is definitely still more work to do but from my first run to my last run, the car was much different. I’m feeling happy and confident. There is still more work to do but I’m not at a place where we can go and race.”
- FAST FACTS: He qualified 22nd for his first Indy 500 but will start 20th after two Team Penske cars were penalized. His best series start to date is third at the previous race – the Sonsio Grand Prix and his best finish is 11th – also at the Sonsio GP… He is ranked in 23rd place in the point standings with 49.
TAKUMA SATO, No. 75 AMADA Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I think we got a lot of work done today in a short period because the boys had to change the car after the impound situation this morning so it was a shortened session. I’m getting happier and our race car is getting better all the time. We’re half way through it but made another step forward and will make the other step on Carb Day. The team did a great job.”
- FAST FACTS: The two-time Indy 500 champion earned his top starting spot of second place for his 16th Indy 500 in 2025. He started 10th for his 15th Indy 500 in 2024 and sixth with the team and finished 14th. He competed for RLL full time in 2012 and from 2018-2021 and won the Indy 500 with RLL in 2020 after starting on the front row for the first time in third. He has earned six NTT INDYCAR SERIES wins, four of which have come with RLL, including the team’s second Indy 500 win in 2020. Prior to that, Sato competed in oval races with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2023. Other Indy 500 highlights with RLL include the 2012 where he was alongside eventual winner Franchitti in Turn 1 on the final lap but his race ended due to contact after he was squeezed down on the apron and lost control of his race car. He also finished third for RLL in 2019 and was a contender in the final laps… Has SIX INDYCAR SERIES wins (2013 – Long Beach street course, 2017 – Indy 500 oval, 2018 – Portland road, 2019 – Barber road, Gateway oval; 2020 Indy 500 ) and 10 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 road, Texas oval; 2020 St. Louis – Race 2).
NEXT UP: Carb Day practice will take place from 11:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET on Friday, May 23. The 109th running of the Indy 500 will air live on FOX on Sunday, May 25 beginning at 10 a.m. ET.
