Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma – Sonoma Raceway
Verizon IndyCar Series
QUALIFYING NOTES/QUOTES – August 23, 2014
RAHAL QUALIFIED 14TH FOR THE GOPRO GRAND PRIX OF SONOMA
POLE: Will Power 1:17.4126 / 110.912 mph (Round 3, Group 2)
14th: Graham Rahal 1:18.1249 / 109.901 mph (Round 1, Group 2)
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 National Guard Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It’s very, very competitive. We were seventh in our group which means we missed advancing by one-tenth of a second but that’s the way this sport is, you can’t miss it at all. It was a hair but we’ll be alright tomorrow. We have a lot of work to do overnight but I have confidence in this group and the National Guard car will be alright. This place has always been tough for me but I’ve had four top-10s here and hopefully we can have another one of those days tomorrow, work through strategy and make our way forward. The elevation here is tough on the tires, tough on the drivers and it will be a long 85 laps around here tomorrow but I’m looking forward to it.”
RLL AT SONOMA: The race will mark the seventh Indy car event for RLL here. The highest start and finish for the team here is by Buddy Rice in 2005 when he started sixth and finished second. Prior to the 2014 event, the team prepared a total of 11 Indy car entries for drivers Buddy Rice (2005-2006), Vitor Meira (2005), Danica Patrick (2005-2006), Jeff Simmons (2006), Scott Sharp (2007), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2007-2008), Takuma Sato (2012), Graham Rahal (2013) and James Jakes (2013).The team has earned one podium (2nd – Rice 2005), one top-five and four top-10 finishes at the track. The No. 15 National Guard entry for Graham Rahal will bring the Indy car total to 13 entries in 2014. Last year at Sonoma, Rahal qualified eighth in Sonoma, ran as high as sixth but contact while in the middle of a three-wide situation dropped him to the back and he rallied to finish 11th. Jakes ran well in practice at Sonoma but started 19th. He gained 10 spots to run ninth but retired in 25th with engine failure after 57/85 laps.
NEXT UP: Pre-race warm-up will take place tomorrow from 10:00 – 10:30 a.m. PDT and NBC Sports Network will begin coverage of the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at 4 p.m. ET. The race will also be broadcast by the IMS Radio Network and XM & Sirius channels 209 & 213. Timing and Scoring information is available for all sessions from www.indycar.com.
PHOTO AND VIDEO AVAILABLE: Media members who register on the IndyCar Series media site have access to photography as well as video. Register for access to photos at: http://www.indycarmedia.com/pages/ApplyforAccess