Indy 500 Positions 13-30 Are Set; Sato Aims for a Front Row Start Sunday, Lundgaard and Fittipaldi Will Start 28th & 30th; Rahal to Qualify Sunday

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
108th Running of the Indianapolis 500
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
QUALIFYING NOTES / QUOTES – May 18, 2024

POSITIONS 13-30 ARE LOCKED IN FOR THE INDY 500; SATO WILL RE-QUALIFY TO SET HIS TOP-12 START AFTER BEING 9TH FASTEST; LUNDGAARD AND FITTIPALDI QUALIFIED 28TH AND 30TH RESPECTIVELY; RAHAL WILL ATTEMPT TO QUALIFY FOR A 31-33 PLACE START SUNDAY

QUALIFYING SPEEDS
1st:         Will Power                          4-lap avg. speed of 233.758 mph
9th:        Takuma Sato                      4-lap avg. speed of 232.473 mph

28th:      Christian Lundgaard           4-lap avg. speed of 231.465 mph
30th:      Pietro Fittipaldi                   4-lap avg. speed of 231.100 mph

YET TO QUALIFY
n/a:        Graham Rahal

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 United Rentals Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “All winter, the boys have worked awfully hard. I think when you’re on the shop floor, you’re working your butt off but you don’t really see all of the results. You don’t really see or fully understand what is going on in the engineering room. You just work. You put your head down and work long hours. These guys thrashed to make the cars ready for Indy with all of the things that we had done and I just want them to know if appreciate it. That run was a little too neutral for my liking. You know, you hang on for a lap and see what it does. I came out of Turn 2 and it was down on my best lap, I knew it was slow. When the car doesn’t want to pull a gear there’s just not much I can do. There just isn’t. I don’t care what anybody wants to tell you. Driving around Indy can be hard. But (James) Hinchcliffe and anybody else will tell you that the fastest lap you drive around here are the easiest laps. When you’ve got a car like the guys in the front few rows have, you don’t have to try that hard. The car does it naturally. Unfortunately, it’s the guys like us that are struggling to get there are hanging it out to just make magic happen. I mean, watch Marcus (Ericsson). It’s the way that Indy goes though. Unfortunately, we’ve been here the last couple of years. We’ve just got to put our heads down and continue to work hard and get the United Rentals Honda in the show, put together four good ones. Most importantly, I want these guys to understand they’re valued as a team because as I said, they work their tails off beyond belief. I wish we could reward them a little more than this.”

• FAST FACTS: Was bumped in qualifying for the 2023 Indy 500 by then-teammate Harvey but competed in the race as a replacement for the injured Stefan Wilson and finished 22nd after mechanical issues on the starting grid. Will be his 17th Indy 500. His best qualifying position in the Indy 500 is fourth in 2009 with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing and best finish is third with Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing in 2011 and RLL in 2020. Detailed Indy 500 information available upon request… 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, Portland) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… He is 12th in INDYCAR SERIES point standings with 71.

PIETRO FITTIPALDI, No. 30 5-hour ENERGY Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “The adrenaline was sky-high for qualifying today. We drew No. 21 so we were the 21st car to go out and make a qualifying run. That didn’t help us because the earlier number you draw, the earlier you go out on track and the cooler the track is. When the track temp is cooler, it’s much easier to go faster. So, being 21^st going out wasn’t ideal but it’s a random draw so it happens. We went out and did a four-lap average of 231.100 mph. So that was our average speed over four laps. It’s unbelievably fast. I mean like, the adrenaline I feel there is unlike anything else, honestly. Physically it’s not that demanding but my heart rate is at max heart rate around 180 bpm. If you can imagine, you feel your heart in your throat as you’re pushing. People see oval racing and say that it’s easy; flat out, but, it’s not. You’re wide open on throttle but the car is on the limit. You’re skimming the walls, you’re almost crashing. We did that run and it was just enough to make it in. We qualified 30th. We had to re-run again at the end of the day just be safe because there were some cars that could’ve dropped us into last chance qualifying but we didn’t. We held onto 30th and are in the show. So, now we’re going to focus on the race car. I’m sure that our race car is much better than 30th place so we’re going to be moving up front.”

• FAST FACTS: Will start 30th for his second Indy 500 race. Prior to the 2024 season, he had made nine series starts combined in 2018 (3 ovals, 3 road) and 2021 (3 ovals). In 2021, his best qualifying effort came in his Indianapolis 500 debut of 13th place, which earned him the “Fastest Rookie Award” and his best finish was 15th in Race 2 at Texas Motor Speedway.  He is ranked 22nd in the point standings with 45.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “For sure it’s been a long day here for qualifying for the 500. It’s been a little bit of another emotional roller coaster. Obviously, I’m happy to be in the show, for Pietro as well and Takuma of course. It’s going to be tough tomorrow with Graham, but I’m not in doubt that he’s going to make it. We are going to make some changes on the 15 car and make sure that he gets through. It’s going to be fine, now I’m just looking forward to race day really. It’s a long buildup to this one event, and it is an emotional roller coaster so at this point I think it’s all about being relaxed, making sure that you stay calm and take it as it comes and enjoy it. We’re going to keep working hard to get the Hy-Vee Honda up front in the race.”

• FAST FACTS: Lundgaard will start 28th for his third Indy 500. In 2023, he qualified 30th and finished 19th. He started 31st and finished 18th in 2022 while becoming the first Dane driver in the race… He is ranked 9th in the point standings with 84.

TAKUMA SATO, No. 75 AMADA Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Well, it was a fantastic achievement for the team. Obviously today we tried our best and we improved at the hottest time of the day and I think the timing was right. So, a huge credit, once again, and a big thank you to the engineers and all the 75 boys and of course, my teammates. It was obviously a difficult and challenging time but hopefully we make it even better tomorrow. I think I’m very happy with the team. It’s a great opportunity for now to carry on to tomorrow. The car is fast. It was very loose in the end on our lap but our true performance was a great satisfaction. Once again we need to look at the data closely tonight and try to improve tomorrow.”

• FAST FACTS: The two-time Indy 500 champion will start in the top-12 for his 15th Indy 500 and sixth with the team, whom he competed for fulltime in 2012 and from 2018-2021 and whom he won the Indy 500 with in 2020. The exact position will be determined on Sunday. He has earned six NTT INDYCAR SERIES wins, four of which have come with RLL, including the team’s second Indy 500 win in 2020. Most recently, Sato competed in oval races with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2023. Other Indy 500 highlights with RLL include the 2012 where he was alongside eventual winner Franchitti in Turn 1 on the final lap but his race ended due to contact after he was squeezed down on the apron and lost control of his race car. He also finished third for RLL in 2019 and was a contender in the final laps… Has SIX INDYCAR SERIES wins (2013 – Long Beach street course, 2017 – Indy 500 oval, 2018 – Portland road, 2019 – Barber road, Gateway oval; 2020 Indy 500 ) and 10 poles (2011 Iowa oval, Edmonton street; 2013 Houston Race 1 street; 2014 St. Pete street, Detroit Race 2 street; 2017 Detroit Race 2, Pocono oval; 2019 Barber road, Texas oval; 2020 St. Louis – Race 2).

NEXT UP: Qualifying for the 108th Indianapolis 500 will resume tomorrow. Practice for the Top-12 will take place from 12-1 and Last Chance Practice will be 1-2. Top-12, Last Chance and the Fast 6 qualifying will take place from 3-6 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on NBC.