Lundgaard Finished 12th in Race 2 of the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s; Fittipaldi 21st and Rahal Cleared by Medical After Contact by Rasmussen

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s – The Milwaukee Mile

NTT INDYCAR SERIES – Round 16 of 17

RACE 2 NOTES / QUOTES – Sunday, September 1, 2024

LUNDGAARD FINISHED 12TH IN RACE 2 OF THE HY-VEE MILWAUKEE MILE 250s; FITTIPALDI 21ST AND RAHAL CLEARED BY INDYCAR MEDICAL AFTER CONTACT FROM RASMUSSEN ENDED HIS RACE IN 23RD

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Hendrickson Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I’m okay. I think the hardest impact was getting hit from behind. The actual hitting the wall wasn’t too bad. It was a tough weekend for us as a team. With a restart like that on old tires, and everyone around you has stickers, guys need to drive with their heads up. Rasmussen hit me yesterday and flattened my right front. He divebombed me and drove right into the side of me and flattened my tire. It’s disappointing to end this way today. I don’t think a drive through (penalty) will really deliver the message that he probably needs at this stage. He’s a young guy and will learn from this. Not only did he ruin our day, I think he ruined his too.”

FAST FACTS: In Race 2, he started 26th and moved up three spots as the first 15 laps of the race were run under FCC due to Palou’s car stopping on the pace lap and then Lundqvist and Armstrong got together as the field tried to go green on Lap 6 and they collected Newgarden. The team used the opportunity to top off on fuel. Later, on a restart from a FCC for Sting Ray Robb on Lap 124/250, Rahal was hit from behind by rookie Rasmussen and sent into the wall. He was checked and cleared by INDYCAR Medical afterward. Rasmussen was able to continue but received a drive through penalty for avoidable contact. In Race 1, he qualified 24th but started 21st after three cars received a grid penalty for an unapproved engine change. He had an unexpected additional pit stop due to getting a cut in his left front tire after contact from Rasmussen. He took the checkered flag in 20th place. Made his eighth and ninth race starts here this weekend. 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. He ran between second and fourth until Lap 130 when he drove over “marbles” and lost control of his car after trying to go around the slower car of Darren Manning and retired in 25th place. He qualified second with NHLR in 2009 and briefly took the lead at the start but dropped to third by the end of the lap and ultimately finished fourth, his highest finish on an oval at the time. In 2010, he ran a partial season and did not race at Milwaukee. In 2011, he qualified 12th and finished second with Service Central/Chip Ganassi Racing (SCCGR). He qualified 17th, started 11th with SCCGR after many ahead served an engine change penalty and finished ninth in 2012 with SCCGR. In 2013, he qualified 23rd with RLL but started 24th due to a 10-grid penalty for an unapproved engine change and he finished 16th. In 2014, he qualified and finished 14th with RLL. In 2015, the last time the series raced here, he qualified sixth, led five laps, and finished third to depart the event third in points with four races to go… Rahal dropped one position in the point standings to 18th with a total of 244.

PIETRO FITTIPALDI, 30 Mi-Jack Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We tried some new things on the car since yesterday’s race but from the start of the race something felt off and ultimately, we retired early, which is disappointing.”

FAST FACTS: In Race 2, he started 27th and moved up three spots as the race ran under caution for the first 15 laps due to Palou’s car stopping on the pace lap and then Lundqvist and Armstrong got together on a Lap 6 attempt to go green and collected Newgarden. Fittipaldi reported that the car felt as if something was not as it should be and the team worked to make adjustments the rest of the race before ultimately retiring after he completed 181/250 laps. In Race 1, he qualified 27th and took advantage of opportunities to finish 18th… It is his first and second times to race at this track. His grandfather, Emerson, finished second here in 1994 and finished third three times (1988, ’90, ’93)… He maintained his 19th place in the point standings with a total of 177.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a better race today than yesterday where we got lucky with the yellow that turned us up to the top five. Today, we just had more performance, and we were a lot more competitive, and we could at least do something instead of feel like a sitting duck. There were a lot of improvements made throughout the weekend. Obviously, the direction we went today is something to keep in mind for Nashville too. Overall, the race today was pretty exciting. I definitely felt more racy. It was a much more positive day, and I feel a lot more confident in the car and think that will be big for Nashville as well.”

FAST FACTS: He started 25th for Race 2 and moved up three spots as the first 15 laps of the race were run under FCC due to Palou’s car stopping on the pace lap and then Lundqvist and Armstrong got together as the field tried to go green on Lap 6 and they collected Newgarden. The team used the opportunity to top-off on fuel. He stayed in the mix the whole race and ultimately took the checkered flag 12th. The pit crew was second of all teams for cumulative time in the pits after being third overall in Race 1. For Race 1, he qualified 26th. He stayed on the lead lap most of the race and was running 18th when the final pit cycle started and a pivotal moment came when he had cycled up to fifth place by Lap 187/250 when a caution came out for Herta, who had lost a wheel after his stop. Once the pits opened, he made his final stop on Lap 194/250 and returned to the track in fifth place. A few cars passed him once the race resumed but he held off six-time champion Dixon to take the checkered flag in ninth place to earn his best career oval finish in his first race here. His previous best oval finish was 10th place in Race 1 of the 2022 Hy-Vee INDYCAR Weekend doubleheader. He maintained an 11th place rank in the point standings with a total of 301.

NEXT UP: The series will take next weekend off before returning to action for the season-finale Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Speedway on Sunday, September 15.