Fittipaldi and Lundgaard Finished 14th and 15th in the Bommarito Auto Group 500; Rahal Retired in 23rd Place After Engine Issues

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Bommarito Auto Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

RACE NOTES / QUOTES – August 17, 2024

FITTIPALDI AND LUNDGAARD FINISHED 14TH AND 15TH IN THE BOMMARITO AUTO GROUP 500; RAHAL RETIRED IN 23RD PLACE AFTER ENGINE ISSUES

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Code 3 Associates Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a shame to retire from the race because our guys did a phenomenal job with the changes overnight. I can’t even tell you how much better the car was in the race. Unfortunately, this really, really hurt us. From the start, we had no acceleration it seemed. Even when I’d get in a good group of good cars in the corners, I could hold even no problem, but I would get on the straightaways and the acceleration would go away. Eventually we could tell the engine was going because I wasn’t really needing sixth gear at all, which was frustrating. Then, finally, in front of Christian, I came out of Turn 2 and boom.”

FAST FACTS: Qualified 16th and started 14th due to Rosenqvist and Palou having a grid penalty. Before the halfway mark, HRC discovered an issue with Rahal’s engine and he was initially able to continue but ultimately retired in 23rd place after 161 of 260 laps. The 2024 race was Rahal’s ninth at the track. His highest start is seventh place in 2018 and highest finish is 10th – in 2018 and 2022. In 2023, he qualified 23rd in the morning session and started 21st after several competitors served grid penalties for unapproved engine changes. The team attempted different strategy plays and he ultimately finished 20th. 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 road) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… Rahal dropped from 17th to 18th place in series point standings with a total of 205.

PIETRO FITTIPALDI, 30 Mi-Jack Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We had really good pace when it was green-flag running but we were struggling on the starts and the restarts. I’ll have to speak to Graham and Christian to see how it was for them but from what I saw, Graham dropped back also. We struggle as a team on that so we will definitely work on it. In terms of strategy, we were on a very good one looking at a top 12, top-10 finish. I think we made a little mistake with the strategy and it kind of didn’t go our way. We might have been able to get a top 10, top-12 finish. We had decent pace and were running the leaders pace so that was positive. We will just keep working.”

FAST FACTS: Qualified 17th and started 15th due to two cars having grid penalties. He had a strong race and finished 14th in his second start here. In 2018, he started 21st and finished 11th with Dale Coyne Racing. He enjoys racing on short ovals and is aiming to earn a top finish after coming close to matching his top career finish of ninth place this season… He is ranked 19th in series point standings with a total of 151.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “The work continues so we can find improvements for our oval setup for the three oval races remaining. We didn’t have much to fight with today, but we got three cars home in one piece with no damage and that’s a positive.”

FAST FACTS: Started 23rd and drove to his highest finish here of 15th place…. It was his third race here. Last year, he qualified 20th and started 19th after grid penalties ahead of him. He cycled as high as fourth at one point during pit stops and ultimately finished 17th. In 2022, he started and finished 19th. His best oval finish to date is 10th place in Race 1 of the 2022 Hy-Vee INDYCAR Weekend doubleheader and he hopes to surpass that this weekend. He dropped from 11th to 12th place in the point standings with a total of 244.

NEXT UP: The series heads to the Pacific Northwest next weekend for the Bilnile.com Grand Prix of Portland. Rahal started from pole there last year. The team will field four entries with the addition of the No. 75 AMADA Honda for Juri Vips.