Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix
Round 4 of 17 in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES
QUALIFYING NOTES/QUOTES – Saturday, April 27, 2024
LUNDGAARD, RAHAL AND FITTIPALDI QUALIFIED THIRD, SEVENTH AND 26TH FOR THE CHILDREN’S OF ALABAMA INDY GRAND PRIX
1) Scott McLaughlin 1:05.9490 / 125.552 mph (Group 2, Round 3)
3) Christian Lundgaard 1:06.0818 / 125.299 mph (Group 2, Round 3)
7) Graham Rahal 1:06.0942 / 125.276 mph (Group 1, Round 2)
26) Pietro Fittipaldi 1:07.4920 / 122.681 mph (Group 2, Round 1)
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Hendrickson Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We can’t seem to get the tire to come in (at its peak) on the first lap and I think the tire is at its peak on the first lap for most people. For me, it’s been the second lap. On the out lap you’re just cruising around. (On being unhappy getting out of his car:) I was just upset about some communication stuff. We had enough fuel to do one more lap, and I would have used that opportunity for sure but wasn’t told until I had already lifted to come in. Unfortunately, it’s really tight and fast here so obviously there is frustration because I think we’ve got a car that’s definitely capable of getting into the Fast Six so to not see it through is super disappointing. We’re seventh and the best of the rest in the sense that our tires only have one hard lap on them each and we also have a new set. When you get an opportunity like this (to qualify in the Fast Six and go for pole) it really is frustrating when you don’t quite see it all come together. Anything is a spot you can win from here. We’ll try to make that happen tomorrow for the Hendrickson team.”
PIETRO FITTIPALDI, No. 30 Mi-Jack Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Qualifying was tough with not getting any running in Practice 2 after the problem which really hurt us because it’s a rhythm track and you need rhythm to be able to maximize it. We knew qualifying was going to be tough; we maximized it but we just need to focus on the race now. We need to have a good warmup and have a really good race.”
CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Qualifying was a step up for us. We were in the mix from the first practice session in P5, P5 in Practice 2 and I think we just put ourselves in a good position for qualifying. We had a good baseline to work on from last year so I’m pretty happy with where we are. This was a race we were strong at last year which is where things turned around for us so I’m pretty satisfied to be up here. We started sixth and finished sixth here last year. If the trend is that we finish where we start then I’d happily take that right now. I’ve got to say thanks to the team, especially after St. Pete and Long Beach. As a team, we were quite strong in St. Pete but didn’t get anything out of it with the puncture on the first lap. In Long Beach, we just messed up. So, to come here and also have Graham up here all weekend as well is good. Let’s see what tomorrow brings for the Hy-Vee team. We’re looking forward to it.”
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 2024 Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix will mark the 12th INDYCAR SERIES race for the team at Barber Motorsports Park (BMP).
NEXT UP: The pre-race warm-up will take place from 10:15-10:45 AM ET. The Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix will be televised on NBC from 1:00-4:00 PM ET Sunday, April 28.