Intermittent Rain Provided a Challenging Backdrop for Qualifying; Foster Leads the Team With a 12th Place Start in the Children’s of Alabama GP

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix

Round 4 of 17 in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES

QUALIFYING NOTES/QUOTES – Saturday, May 3, 2025

INTERMITTANT RAIN PROVIDED A CHALLENGING BACKDROP FOR QUALIFYING DAY; THE FIELD IS SET FOR THE CHILDREN’S OF ALABAMA INDY GRAND PRIX

1) Alex Palou 1:07.2918 / 123.046 mph (Group 1; Round 3)

12) Louis Foster 1:08.4427 / 120.977 mph (Group 2; Round 2)

21) Graham Rahal 1:08.0106 / 121.746 mph (Group 1; Round 1)

27) Devlin DeFrancesco 1:09.0373 / 119.935 mph (Group 2; Round 1)

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Hendrickson Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I’m disappointed with qualifying; it’s on me. We should have gone red/red (alternate Firestone tires) just to be safe. We went black (primary), then red. Then when we came out on the reds we were just mired in traffic. We ran a good lap; I don’t think there was a lot more speed than what we did but I can see where we lost the time. At the start of the lap, we lost a tenth and a half because of traffic. Leading up to the lap, I didn’t get a good run through Turns 12 and 13; I was on my heels. I think just the pure speed of the car, because of that, I wasn’t at normal pace, and I think that cost me a tenth to a tenth and a half up the hill. And then to Power I lost another tenth in Turns 1-2-3. Those two sectors are where we needed to do well to advance.”

FAST FACTS: Rahal will compete in his 15th race here… His best start here is second place in 2019 to bring the team a 1-2 start and his best finish is second, two times (2015-2016) in his previous 14 races here. In 2024, he started seventh on a two-stop strategy, ran in the top five hoping the timing of the caution periods would play into the team’s favor but they did not, and he ultimately finished 11th. He played a major factor in the most exciting races of the 2015 and 2016 seasons as he challenged for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama win but earned his best finish here of second place both times… 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 Indy road course, Portland road course) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… He is currently ranked 17th in series point standings with 45 points.

DEVLIN DEFRANCESCO, No. 30 EVTEC Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We were at least three-tenths up (on the fastest lap) and just getting through Turn 17 before we got to Malukas. I definitely think we had a car capable of transferring to the next round today. On blacks (primary tires) we were ok but I knew all weekend we were happier on the reds and were just buried in traffic every single lap. I was right up the gearbox of Malukas. And not doing a (complete) lap, in hindsight, I probably should have stayed in it (not let up) and did what (time) we did. We wouldn’t have advanced, but we would have been better than where we ended up. It’s frustrating because we were strong yesterday and good on reds (alternate tires). Even our lap yesterday would have been okay-ish today. We have to move forward tomorrow.”

FAST FACTS: It will be his third INDYCAR race here. His top start is 18th in 2023 and his top finish is 17th in 2022. He also competed in two INDY NXT races here in 2021 and finished third two times. He is ranked 26th in series point standings with 24.

LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Mi-Jack Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a good session; I made it through to the top-12 and I’m happy with that. I didn’t really have anything for the guys in the Top-12. We were planning on saving the reds for the race. We knew that it would be better to prioritize the race and have the reds for the race tomorrow. All in all, it was a really good job by the boys. The No. 45 Mi-Jack crew has been amazing all weekend. This is a track I’ve struggled at; I’ve never done amazing here so it’s good to come away with a top-12 in qualifying. I always think there is room for improvement, but I think we maximized what we had. We’ve just got to go and do the job tomorrow now.”

FAST FACTS: Foster has competed at Barber in two INDY NXT races with a best finish of fifth place. In 2023, he qualified third but retired in 14th place after contact after completing 25 of 35 laps. His top finish of fifth came in 2024 after starting last in the field in 21st due to electrical issues. His top INDYCAR start of the season is 10th place at Thermal and his top finish of 16th at Long Beach, which is also the highest start/finish for a rookie this year. He is currently ranked 24th in series point standings with 25 points.

RLL AT BARBER: In 2019, the team qualified 1-2 for the race here, which was the first time the team locked out the front row of an Indy car race since the September 11, 2005 race at Chicagoland when Danica Patrick won pole and Buddy Rice started second. Sato led 74 of 90 laps en route to victory. The 2025 Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix will mark the 13th INDYCAR SERIES race for the team at Barber Motorsports Park (BMP).

NEXT UP: Warmup will take start at 10:02 AM ET and the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix will be televised on FOX beginning at 1:30 PM ET Sunday, May 4.