Foster Won His Second Career INDYCAR Pole for the Inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham; Rahal and Schumacher Qualified 10th and 11th

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham – Streets of Downtown Markham
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
QUALIFYING NOTES / QUOTES – Saturday, August 15, 2026

FOSTER WON HIS SECOND CAREER INDYCAR POLE FOR THE INAUGURAL ONTARIO HONDA DEALERS INDY AT MARKHAM; RAHAL AND SCHUMACHER TO START 10TH AND 11TH WITH RLL THE ONLY TEAM TO HAVE ALL THREE CARS IN THE FAST 12

1)         Louis Foster             1:13.2383 / 103.225 mph           (Group 2, Round 3)
10)       Graham Rahal         1:14.6654 / 101.252 mph           (Group 1, Round 2)
11)       Mick Schumacher    1:14.7101 / 101.191 mph           (Group 2, Round 2)

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 United Rentals Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I thought we maximized it. We should have advanced, but I screwed up. I locked up into Turn 5 on the last lap. Louis was lightning fast and Mick was very fast today compared to me. So, to be 10th is better than I expected, considering all things. It’s the same as Portland, honestly. I think we maximized qualifying there after being in a position where I didn’t feel great so we’ll take it. I think the race is going to be like bumper cars. You’ve got to stay on the dance floor. We’ll see. Its slippery. If you get offline, it’s really slippery.”

• FAST FACTS: RLL was the only team to have all three cars in the Fast 12 today… This will be Graham Rahal’s 19th Indy car race in Ontario, Canada and 20th overall (Atlantic 2006). In 18 Indy car races, his best start of second came in 2017 with RLL and best finish of fourth came in 2022. He has four, top-five starts and nine, top-10 finishes. Full results are available upon request. Bobby Rahal won the first race held on the streets of Toronto in 1986. After earning three podium finishes on road and street courses this season, Graham Rahal is hoping to also make his mark on the inaugural race in Markham… 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; IMS (road) 2023 August, Portland (road) 2023) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… He is ranked 13th in series point standings with a total of 169 points.

LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Desnuda Organic Tequila Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We’re on pole and we also still have two new sets of alternate tires so im happy about that! We had such a messy session beforehand, like the first round. In the second round, I knew if we pieced it all together, we would be there. And when I was doing that, I was thinking  that the tires felt great and the Desnuda Tequila car was awesome. It’s been so fast all weekend. So yeah, I’m super happy to get another gremlin off our back. Obviously, we got pole last year, but we’ve gotten nowhere close this year so finally we’ve done it, which is nice. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. We just wanted two new sets for the race. We had the issue last year where we were overexerting ourselves in qualifying to get good finishing positions in qualifying and then screwing ourselves over a little bit in the race. We thought that pole would be off the cards and that maybe P3 would be our best but I can’t complain about being on pole!
“When I came across the line I was like ‘This is going to be quick.’ And when I crossed the line and I was P1, I was pretty convinced it would hold even though I knew people had more laps to go. I didn’t think anyone could go much faster than that. So, yeah, I’m super happy, this is absolutely awesome. One of the best laps of my life, for sure.  I love it (the track). I think being downtown in Toronto is obviously lovely and has its perks but the actual circuit here is really cool.”

• FAST FACTS: Foster earned his second career INDYCAR pole today and first on a street course with an impressive margin of four-tenths of a second over Christian Lundgaard. His first pole came last season on the Road America road course… This will mark his second INDYCAR race in Ontario, Canada. Last year in Toronto, he ran in podium contention until race car damage contributed to a 21st place finish. He started seventh and dropped to eighth on the opening lap when eventual second place finisher Veekay passed him. Multiple strategies came into play when a caution came out for McLaughlin on Lap 3 and Foster moved up to third on his primary tires. He ran as high as second for seven laps and was passed by Malukas. His race outcome was limited when he passed rookie Abel, and their cars briefly touched. A problem would later surface and he had to pit for repairs on Lap 44/90. The team worked quickly to identify the problem and replace his lower left A-arm before he rejoined the race. He ultimately was scored with a 21st place finish, 23 laps down. Foster competed on the streets of Toronto two times in the USF Pro 2000 series, both in 2022. In the doubleheader, Foster won both poles, set the fastest lap in both races and won both races en route to the championship in his rookie season. He has been building momentum after some strong sessions at Portland and hopes to continue that in Markham… He is in 18th place in series standings with 188.

MICK SCHUMACHER, No. 47 ENVE Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We should be happy that we managed to advance into the top 12 but on my side I’m still quite disappointed. I think we had more in it. I think a top six was definitely possible; I think the speed was there. Unfortunately, in Round 2, we had a loose wheel, which took some time to essentially get off and back on and that cost us the time to already have a banker lap in. The way the session played out with the red flag and everything, it would have been good. We’re were for sure on for a good lap as the red came out. So its unfortunate on that side. But overall, I think we can still look forward to the race. I think it’s going to be a good opportunity for us to score some big points. I’m obviously happy for Louis and happy for the team for the pole position. We’ll take it from here and keep our nose clean tomorrow.”

• FAST FACTS: Mick earned his top start on a road or street course of 11th place. He looked to have the pace to make it into the Firestone Fast Six but spent unplanned time in pit lane during Round 2 to ensure his inside rear tire was on correctly. When Palou brought out a red flag later in Round 2, it minimized Schumacher’s time to adequately get his tires up to temperature and maximize the potential of his race car when the session returned to green conditions with a little over two minutes left.… Like the rest of the field, Schumacher will get his first experience on the track on Saturday. Markham is one of only three tracks this season that it will happen – the others being new races in Arlington and Washington, D.C.. He competed in Canada in 2022 in the Formula One series where he qualified sixth but retired due to an engine failure after 19/70 laps. He has continued to gain valuable experience this season and is hoping to better his existing top start of fourth place in Phoenix and eighth in Nashville. He earned his best INDYCAR career finish at Nashville Superspeedway (oval) with eighth place. He is 24th in series point standings with 146 points. 

RLL IN ONTARIO, CANADA: The 2026 Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham will mark the 25th year of Indy car racing for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) in Ontario, Canada and first in Markham after competing in Toronto previous years. This is the team’s third POLE in Ontario, Canada after having won pole with Bobby Rahal in Toronto in 1992 and Christian Lundgaard in 2023.

NEXT UP: Warmup will take place tomorrow from 8:40 – 9:10 a.m. ET and 90-lap Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto will be air live on FOX beginning at 12 p.m. ET Sunday, August 16.