Fittipaldi, Lundgaard, Vips and Rahal Gained Valuable Data During Practice 1 of the BitNile.com GP of Portland

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

PRACTICE NOTES/QUOTES – August 23, 2024

FITTIPALDI, LUNDGAARD, VIPS AND RAHAL GAINED VALUABLE DATA DURING PRACTICE 1 FOR THE BITNILE.COM GRAND PRIX OF PORTLAND

1) Scott McLaughlin 58.3669 / 121.137 mph

12) Pietro Fittipaldi 58.8362 / 120.171 mph

13) Christian Lundgaard 58.8759 / 120.090 mph

20) Juri Vips 59.0610 / 119.714 mph

24) Graham Rahal 59.1234 / 119.587 mph

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Hendrickson Dallara /Honda/Firestone: “It’s disappointing to not be able to be a little further up the grid. It felt like I really had to force it to try and get any laps out of the car which I don’t typically like to do. The rear of the car versus the front seemed very disconnected so we have some work to do. Last year, the pace was there right away and it was easier to get the lap time but this year, that’s not the case. We will work hard to close that gap and come back stronger tomorrow.”

FAST FACTS: It will be the 9th overall race for Graham at PIR and seventh in the headline event. His highest NDYCAR start here is POLE in 2023 and highest finish is fifth in 2022…Last year, he started from his fifth career series pole on alternate tires and led the first 21 laps before his first stop to switch to the preferred primary tires, that he won pole on. Once he pit, fifth place starter and eventual winner Palou, who started on primary black tires and performed an “overcut” pit strategy, cycled into the lead and held it for the majority of the remaining laps (led 69/110 laps) while Rahal repeatedly struggled with track position and traffic as well as a fueling issue on his final stop and finished 12th… 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 18th in series point standings with a total of 205.

PIETRO FITTIPALDI, No. 30 Localiza Rent a Car Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It’s been six or seven years since I’ve been here so, initially I was just acclimatizing to the track and getting used to it. We ran 45 minutes together, and then in groups and we we’re in the first group and were P5 in our group there. I’m pretty happy with the car and we were P12 overall. I think there’s for sure more in it. We will just keep working and looking forward to having a good weekend.”

FAST FACTS: Will make his second start here. He earned his best career INDYCAR finish here of ninth place in 2018 with Dale Coyne Racing after starting 16th… Is ranked 19th in series point standings with 151.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It’s good to get out there. We tried a lot of things. We were very keen on testing a couple of setup dampers and I think we got through the list. We have some work to do. Last year the lap time came a little bit more naturally than it does this year. We’re still in the mix so I think the car is fast. We’re just a little bit out of the window so, we just have to understand what will get us in the window and move on to Practice 2.”

FAST FACTS: Will make his third start at the track after running in podium contention in his maiden race here in 2022 and also ran well in practice in 2023, setting the first and second fastest times in the two sessions, respectively. He wasn’t able to maximize performance in qualifying and started 17th in the race but jumped as high as 13th in the opening laps after avoiding contact between competitors on two different instances. He took the restart from a full course caution on Lap 6 from 12th place and ultimately finished 11th. In 2022, he qualified fourth but started third due to Newgarden, who set the second fastest time, having to serve a six-spot grid penalty. He passed Power on the opening lap and held second place until leader McLaughlin made his first stop on Lap 21/110. He pit from the lead on Lap 22 but the fueler had an issue with slower than usual fuel flow. He made his second stop on Lap 47 and settled into fifth place behind McLaughlin, Power, O’Ward and Newgarden. When he pit from fifth place for his third and final stop on Lap 78, he stalled in his pit and lost a few positions. He was running eighth on Lap 94 when he attempted to pass Rossi and went off course in Turn 2. He collected a foam banner that stuck to the front of his race car, and he had to pit to have it removed and returned to the track in 21st place, where he ultimately finished… Has ONE INDYCAR SERIES win (2023 – Toronto street course) and TWO poles (2023 – IMS road course (May), Toronto street course)… Is ranked 12th place in the point standings with 244.

JURI VIPS, No. 75 AMADA Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a very positive session. I got up to speed a bit quicker than I thought I would so that was a positive. We had really good pace on the primary tires and I think we were P2 at the time when we posted the lap so that was very, very positive. We tried a bunch of things and found out what worked and what didn’t. On the reds we just didn’t have pace at all. I only went a tenth quicker than what I did on my first run on the blacks. But, there’s no negatives in that. We learned there’s a clear direction where we need to go and what we need to do on the reds so I’m not worried about that at all. Overall, it was a positive session. (On his first experience with the hybrid system:) That took a couple of laps to get used to but you do it two or three times, try some different mixes and different regen modes and you get used to it. You can see on paper what they would do but I just wanted to feel how they feel in the car as well. It was just something to get used to and understand but I think I got used to it pretty quickly.”

FAST FACTS: Vips, 24, will make his return to INDYCAR competition for his third series start at PIR this weekend. He made his series debut at PIR in 2023, where he started and finished 18th. He used that experience to run up front the following weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca where he was sixth fastest in Practice 1 and a mere -0.05 from advancing to the Firestone Fast Six on Saturday qualifying seventh. After a six-grid penalty in the race for an unapproved engine change, he started 13th and was collected in a multi-car crash on the opening lap but soldiered on to finish 24th. Vips is a three-time Formula 2 race winner and a part of the Red Bull Junior Team between 2018-2022, where he also served as a Formula One test and reserve driver from 2020-22. He drove an Indy car for the first time on October 12, 2022, at Sebring International Raceway in a test for the team and again at Barber Motorsports Park on March 13, 2023. He has also performed static simulator testing for the team in 2023-2024. His most recent win came at the F2 sprint race in Monza on September 10, 2022, and his most recent race was at Laguna Seca on September 10, 2023.

RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING AT PORTLAND … The team competed in CART and Champ Car-sanctioned races here from 1992-2003 with a best starting position of pole by Bryan Herta in 1998, Max Papis in 2001 and Graham Rahal in 2023 and best finish of first place 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: Practice 2 will take place tomorrow from 12-1 p.m. ET, qualifying will take place from 3:30-5:00 p.m. and the warm-up will be 8:15-8:45 p.m. All times are eastern with live coverage on Peacock Premium. The BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland will be televised live on USA Network beginning at 3 PM ET Sunday, September 3 August 25.