IMSA WEATHERTECH SERIES
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Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
RACE NOTES / QUOTES – June 23, 2024
FITTIPALDI AND LUNDGAARD FINISHED 14TH AND 15TH IN THE FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF MONTEREY; RAHAL CHECKED AND RELEASED FROM INDYCAR MEDICAL AFTER UNAVOIDABLE CONTACT
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Mobil 1 Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a bit of a wild day. Up, down all over. It’s disappointing to end that way. It was one hell of a hard hit and it ruined the car. Canapino just ran over Kyffin and when Kyffin spun, he spun right in front of me. There was just nowhere to go. I center punched him hard, and unfortunately, I think it did a lot of damage to the Mobil 1 car, which is disappointing.”
FAST FACTS: Started 19th and was in 16th on Lap 86/95 when Canapino hit Simpson, who was turned sideways on the track right in front of Rahal, who had no choice but to t-boned him. He was taken to the INDYCAR Medical Unit, checked and released. He retired in 24th place… He dropped one position to 16th in series point standings with a total of 127.
PIETRO FITTIPALDI, 30 Eurofarma Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We went a bit off strategy at the beginning which worked out really well. The team put me in a really good position to get clean air. We did the pit stop and I made a mistake today; it was on me, and I made a mistake. I locked the front tire going out of the pit exit and crossed the line. Your transponder has to cross a certain line and I got a drive through penalty. But, we just kept our cool and stayed focused. I know these INDYCAR races can always be crazy so we stayed fighting. Our pace was good and at the end just having the pace to be able to overtake a few cars and at the end to finish P14. I think if everything would’ve panned out and we wouldn’t have gotten the penalty, a top-10 finish was in the books today. It’s easy to say after the fact but I’m happy with the job we did and thanks to the whole team.”
FAST FACTS: Started 24th for his first race here. During one of five caution periods, he elected to stay on track when others pit and ran as high as seventh but ran wide exiting the pits and was given a penalty for an improper pit exit and had to make a drive through the pits. He ultimately finished 15th. His highest starting position of the season is 11th at the Grand Prix at IMS and his highest finish is 13th at St. Pete and Detroit. He is 19th in series point standings with a total of 97.
CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a super long, tough race. Not really what we expected for sure. I think we had pace for sixth, seventh, eighth, around that area without the break marker on the front wing and then being shoved off the track by Santino in the Corkscrew. I think we had a better car today and we were on the wrong side of the chaos. We will come back stronger in Mid-Ohio. I think we have a good strong package as a team and just need to execute and keep our head cool.”
FAST FACTS: Started sixth and was in that position when McLaughlin made a daring pass going into the corkscrew on Lap 26/85 and Lundgaard was forced off track and lost five spots. He later had to serve a drive through penalty for avoidable contact with Armstrong and was forced off the corkscrew when going three-wide on the way to the pits to serve his penalty. He ultimately finished 15th in his third start here… He maintained his 11th place rank in the point standings with 156.
NEXT UP: The series will participate in a test at Iowa Speedway on Thursday, June 27 before reconvening at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Honda Indy 200 on July 7.
