Lundgaard, Fittipaldi and Rahal Finished 11th, 13th and 15th in a Crazy Chevrolet Detroit GP That Ran in Wet and Dry Conditions

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix – Streets of Downtown Detroit

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

RACE NOTES/QUOTES – June 2, 2024

LUNDGAARD, FITTIPALDI AND RAHAL FINISHED 11TH, 13TH AND 15TH IN A CRAZY CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX THAT RAN IN WET AND DRY CONDITIONS

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 iPacket Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a frustrating race with a lot of contact being made through the field. It wasn’t good for the drivers or the fans with as many yellows as there were. At one point we had a good thing going but we had damage on the front wing, which made it challenging. Overall, it was a disappointing race after we tipped the car over with changes we made after the warmup and really struggled with the rear of the car in the race. I led us down the wrong path on that but I’m pretty bummed with the way it all shaped up in the end.”

FAST FACTS: He gained five spots on the opening lap to run 15th after a multi-car crash blocked part of the track. Alternate tire strategies and mixed conditions due to medium-to-heavy sprinkles midway through the race, coupled with eight caution periods, made for an eventful day and he ultimately finished 15th. He qualified 14th on Saturday but had to serve a six-position grid penalty for an unapproved engine change and started 20th for his 20th race in Detroit. In 2023, he started 27th and retired in 25th place after making contact with the wall on Lap 50 of 100. In 2022 on Belle Isle, Graham’s race came to an early end after he bottomed out in Turn 2, lost traction and hit the wall on Lap 2 and retired from the race. In 2021, he finished fifth in both races here. In 2019, he earned two seventh place finishes. Rahal’s most successful race weekend came in Detroit in 2017 where he won Dual 1 from pole and won Dual 2 from a third place start. His other podiums in the race came in 2014 with second place in Dual 1 and third place in Dual 2 in 2015. Overall, he has two wins, four podiums and one pole in 15 races here… 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 THREE poles (2009 – St. Pete street course, Kansas oval; 2017 – Detroit Race 1 street) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… He dropped two place in the series standings to 16th with 101 points.

PIETRO FITTIPALDI, No. 30 5-hour ENERGY Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a crazy race. It started raining at some point and it was insane, honestly. The team did a great job executing. We were in the top-10 there near the end, but we just didn’t have the rear grip to be able to fight with the guys ahead. We got run wide on one of the restarts and went from like eighth to 12th, I lost a lot of places and then at the end, we finished 13th but I think we had a top-10 in the bag for he 5-hour ENERGY Honda. I just think the last set of tires were cooked. I couldn’t really do much.”

FAST FACTS: Started 16th and gained two spots on the start when a multi-car accident blocked part of the track. He ran strong throughout the race and ultimately finished 13th in his first event here. He moved up one position to 21st in series standings with 67 points.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a hell of a race. We started off 11th and overtook four cars in Turn 1 at the start so that was good. That kind of set the pace for us. I was in a mental state of ‘I need to go forward’ and I did. On the alternate tires, the rears were going off extremely quickly which is why we pitted so early in the race and after that it was “how do we make this race on fuel? We went back and forth on a lot of different fuel numbers trying to make it and then it started raining and I think that helped us a lot. We felt like there would be a lot of yellows and we just had to save as much fuel as we could under those and we would be fine. Then we ended up crashing into a car, being parked on top of it and then reversing off, getting a stop and go penalty and having one more stop after that. We did that basically after the penalty and we were just shy of fuel at the end. But we raced from a penalty back up to fifth and were probably the fastest car in the race so, our result sucks right now but I’m proud of the team. We just need to be smart on those numbers.”

FAST FACTS: He moved from his 11th place start into seventh on the opening lap after multi-car contact blocked part of the track. He ran as high as fourth before his first stop and later elected to stay on slicks when in the lead when others pit for rain tires when light rain briefly fell. He ultimately led a total of six laps but had to serve a drive through penalty for avoidable contact after he hit Grosjean and dropped to 20th. He climbed as high as fifth after that but had to pit for a splash of fuel on Lap 99/100 and finished 11th in his third race in Detroit… He started 18th and finished 16th here last year… In 2022, he had worked his way up to 9th place from a 19th place start but had to pit earlier than planned to clear debris that was blocking airflow from his overheating car. The team had hoped to stay on the more durable primary tires longer in order to gain more positions, but he had to compete his mandatory stint on the alternate tires on the next one before returning to the preferred primary tires for the final one and finished 14th. After starting from pole at the previous road course race at Indianapolis and finishing fourth, he is looking forward to returning to a street course to continue the trajectory that saw him finish sixth on the road course in Barber and fourth at the GMR Grand Prix…. He maintained his 11th place rank in the series point standings with 122.

NEXT UP: The series heads to Road America for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America next Sunday, June 9.