Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Snap-On INDYCAR Race Weekend – The Milwaukee Mile
NTT INDYCAR SERIES – Rounds 16 & 17 of 18
RACE 1 NOTES / QUOTES – Saturday and Sunday, August 29-30, 2026
FOSTER AND SCHUMACHER FINISHED 11TH AND 12TH IN SATURDAY’S POSTPONED RACE 1 OF THE SNAP-ON INDYCAR WEEKEND AT THE MILWAUKEE MILE; RAHAL 23RD
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Luther Automotive Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We made good improvements in Race 2, but it didn’t show from the outside. It was a frustrating couple of days. I’m trying to get comfortable being uncomfortable in the car. I’m trying to get comfortable with the rear moving, doing all the things I don’t typically like it to do. But even doing that, the grip for me is very inconsistent. One lap, the front feels really good. The next lap, there’s no front. I’m trying to figure this thing out and figure out how to make our cars better. And I think the second race was a better performance, although it doesn’t show it. The car felt a lot better. We’re just a long way off but we’ll keep working at it.”
- FAST FACTS: He qualified 20th for Race 1 and started 19th on Saturday after a driver ahead served an unapproved engine change penalty. At the start, he dropped to 25th and was one lap down to the leaders in in 23rd place when the race was red flagged after 90/250 laps. Once the race resumed on Sunday, the team had made some setup changes to his car and he attempted to move forward. He ultimately finished 23rd…. This marked Graham’s 12th race here. He has earned two front row starts and four top-10 finishes including two podiums (2nd – 2011; 3rd – 2015) in his 10 races. He narrowly missed winning his first pole here in 2008 by 2/10th of a second over a four-lap average and started a career best second to Marco Andretti with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR) in what was the first Andretti/Rahal front row since 1992 in Loudon, NH. In the first of his two podium race in 2011, he qualified 12th and finished second with Service Central/Chip Ganassi Racing (SCCGR). In 2015 with RLL, he qualified sixth, led five laps, and finished third to depart the event third in points with four races to go. Last year, he started 11th and dropped to 14th at the start. When a caution came out at the end of the first lap for Seigel, who crashed, Rahal reported he had no rear grip. When the field went back to green, he lost traction and completed a three-quarter spin which led to the series bringing out another caution. The race resumed and he continued to struggle and ultimately took the checkered flag in 24th place in his 10th race here. Other recaps are available upon request. Rahal dropped from 14th to 15th place in the point standings with a total of 291.
LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Desnuda Organic Tequila Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I think for me, it was a great weekend overall for us. We made good progress. It’s a P10 and a P11 in each race and great points for us. It keeps us in a decent spot in the championship. We’ve struggled on the short ovals, and it’s nice to be able to kind of have the monkey off our back a little bit and have some decent results. I think our issue comes from the fact that we just weren’t able to develop the car much between qualifying and the races and others were. So they went forward and we went backwards a little bit and it showed in the race pace. I was trying out there, but there were other cars out there that looked like they were in a different car. We have work to do but I’m proud of the team for sticking in it with us. I was a long weekend and we have one to go. Let’s get it done.”
- FAST FACTS: He earned a career-best oval qualifying position of ninth place for Race 1 and started sixth after three drivers ahead of him served 9-grid engine penalties for unapproved engine changes. In the race, Foster ran in the top-10 for most of the 90 laps that were run before a red flag came out for wet conditions and was in eighth place. When he restarted the race on Sunday, he briefly took over seventh place and ran in the top-10. He was running 14th when teammate Schumacher brought out a caution after spinning. He was able to maintain his position and gain a few spots before he ultimately finished 11th.… Foster made his second INDYCAR start at the Milwaukee Mile. Last year he only ran approx. 1/2 of a lap in the morning practice session before being called into the pits due to data from the engine monitoring systems, which ultimately resulted in his engine being changed. When he made his qualifying run, it was the first full lap he completed at speed. He was given a 9-position grid penalty for an unapproved engine change and started 27th (last in the field) after qualifying 22nd.and steadily moved up in the field to ultimately finish 17th. He earned his top oval start on Saturday with ninth place and earned his top oval finish of 10th place on Sunday in Race 2, which was run before Race 1 was resumed. He moved from 20th to 19th in series point standings with 251 points.
MICK SCHUMACHER, No. 47 ENVE Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Considering everything that’s happened in this race, I think the team definitely made the right call. When John (Hennek) and the team took the bet of staying out and it totally paid off. I’m really proud of the team. The pit stops have been good and we dealt with what we had. There has been a lot of confidence built up throughout. I think the biggest one was, by far, the Indy 500, where I feel like I just learned the most. And Nashville where there was a big step again in my progression. So all of these obviously helped for today and they will help for next year. Looking at the two races in a day, that was pretty tough but I’m happy that the weather held up and INDYCAR managed to get us through the races this afternoon.”
- FAST FACTS: Mick qualified 13th for Race 1, started and ran in the top-10 in 9th and had pit before the red flag came out for wet conditions after 90/250 laps and was in 18th place. When the race resumed on Sunday, he moved up to sixth and on into second before his next stop on lap 124. Later when running 19th, he and Hauger made slight contact – Mick front right to Hauger’s left rear – and Schumacher spun. He was able to keep it off the wall and rejoined the field during the caution period. He took the checkered flag in 12th place.…The doubleheader will mark Schumacher’s fifth and sixth oval races of his career. His experience and comfort has steadily increased each time he is on track. He matched his best start of fourth place from his oval debut in Phoenix for Race 2 and his best finish remains his 8th place finish in Nashville. He maintained 23rd place in series point standings with 205 points.
NEXT UP: The 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season finale is next weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, September 4-6.
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