Lundgaard, Rahal and Fittipaldi Aim to Bring the Team Consecutive Road Course Podiums at Sunday’s XPEL GP at Road America

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Pre-Race Notes

XPEL Grand Prix at Road America

Round 8 of 17 in the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES

DATE: June 7-9, 2024

PRACTICE BROADCAST: Live on Peacock Premium on Friday from 4:00 – 5:15 p.m. ET, on Saturday from 11:10 – 12:10 a.m. and on Sunday from 12:15 – 12:45 p.m. ET. Also live on the INDYCAR Radio Network (IRN) and www.indycar.com (timing & scoring + live analysis).

QUALIFYING BROADCAST: Live on Peacock Premium, the IRN and www.indycar.com (timing & scoring + live analysis) from 3:25 – 4:55 p.m. ET Saturday.

RACE BROADCAST: Live on USA Network on Sunday, June 9 from 3:30 – 6:00 p.m. ET. And also on

Peacock Premium, IRN, Sirius XM INDYCAR Nation 218 and SiriusXM NBC Sports Audio 85.

TRACK LAYOUT: 4.048-mile, 14-turn permanent road course

RACE LENGTH: 55 laps / 222.6 miles

2023 WINNER: Colton Herta

2023 POLESITTER: Alex Palou (1:40.1945 / 144.223 mph)

RAHAL’S BEST ROAD AMERICA START / FINISH: 4th in 2007 (NHLR) and 2020 (RLL; Race 1) / 3rd in 2007 & 2016; will be his 11th Indy car race here

RAHAL’S HIGHEST SERIES START/FINISH: 5 poles – Pole at St. Pete (street) 2009, Kansas (oval) 2009, Detroit Race 1 (street) 2017, IMS (road) 2023 August, Portland (road) / 6 wins – 1st in St. Pete in 2008, Fontana & Mid-Ohio 2015, Texas 2016, Detroit Race 1 & Race 2 2017

FITTIPALDI’S BEST ROAD AMERICA START / FINISH: Will be his first race here

FITTIPALDI’S BEST SERIES START / FINISH: 10th at Phoenix (2018) / 9th at Portland (2018)

LUNDGAARD’S BEST START / FINISH AT ROAD AMERICA: 7th / 7th – both in 2023; will be his 3rd race here

LUNDGAARD’S BEST SERIES START / FINISH: 2 poles – IMS (road) May 2023, Toronto (street) 2023 / 1st at Toronto 2023

RLL’S BEST START / FINISH AT ROAD AMERICA: 1st – Kenny Brack (2001) / 2nd – Bobby Rahal (1996); 22 races here

NEWS & NOTES:

RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING AT ROAD AMERICA

The 2024 XPEL Grand Prix at Road America will mark the 22nd time for Rahal Letterman Lanigan (RLL) Racing to compete in an Indy car race here. The team competed in CART and Champ Car-sanctioned races here from 1992-2003 and again since 2016 with a best starting position of pole by Kenny Brack in 2001 and best finish of second place by Bobby Rahal in 1996. The team has earned a total of five podium finishes here (2nd – B. Rahal 1996; 3rd – B. Rahal 1992-1993, Kenny Brack 2000, Graham Rahal 2016).

Prior to 2024, the team prepared a total of 40 Indy car entries for drivers such as Bobby Rahal (1992-1998), Mike Groff (1993-94), Raul Boesel (1995), Bryan Herta (1996-99), Max Papis (1999-2001), Kenny Brack (2000-01), Jimmy Vasser (2002), Michel Jourdain (2002-2003), Graham Rahal (2016-2020; two races in ’20. ’21-23), Takuma Sato (2018-2020; two races in ’20, ‘21), Jack Harvey (’22-23) and Christian Lundgaard (’22-23). The team will enter the No. 15 Hendrickson entry for Graham Rahal, the No. 30 5-hour ENERGY entry for Pietro Fittipaldi and the No 45 Hy-Vee entry for Christian Lundgaard to bring that total to 43 in 2024.

GRAHAM RETURNS TO ROAD AMERICA — A LONGTIME RAHAL FAVORITE

The XPEL Grand Prix at Road America will be Graham Rahal’s 11th Champ or Indy car race here and 15th overall. In 10 Indy car races here, his highlights include two third place finishes (2007, 2016), a fourth place (2019), sixth (2018) and two eighth places (2017, 2022). In 2023, he started 14th, ran as high as 10th and finished 11th in the race. On his first of three stops, fuel sprayed from the top of the fuel rig and extended his stop, which cost him multiple positions. He worked his way back up the field and finished 11th. In 2022, he started 22nd and used an alternate pit strategy to run as high as second and gain valuable track position. He was running seventh in the final restart with three laps to go and lost a spot to McLaughlin and took the checkered flag in eighth place. In 2021, he ran at the front in each session, with the exception of qualifying and the race. After starting 14th, he cycled as high as fourth before his first stop but struggled with the handling of his race car at various times throughout the race and finished 11th. In 2020, he matched his best start of fourth place for Race 1 and passed second place starter Harvey for third by Turn 1. He held the position and set his fastest lap of the race on Lap 8 when he passed Hunter-Reay for second. He started pursuit of leader Newgarden and closed the gap by 0.4 seconds as the pit window began to open between laps 12-14. He ran between 2.2-2.5-seconds behind Newgarden and took over the lead on Lap 13 when he pit. When he made his first of three stops on the following lap, he held a 4.3-second lead on Ferrucci. There was a problem with the fueling and the extended seconds in the pit dropped him to 11th place and 21-seconds behind the leader when he returned to the track. By the time the second pit stops started to take place, he cycled up to sixth before making his second stop on Lap 27 of 55. He settled into eighth place and moved into seventh when Harvey appeared to have a car issue that brought out the full course caution. The field made their third stop once the pits opened. Rahal held seventh through the restart and was unable to hold off a last lap charge by Ericsson, who had more Push-to-Pass, but then spun off course and Rahal took the checkered flag in seventh to keep his top-10 finish streak at the track alive. Rahal planned to realize the potential of a fast car on one of his favorite tracks in Race 2 but didn’t make it past the opening lap after qualifying fifth when he was hit by Will Power in Turn 3. The hard hit sent him off course and into two different concrete walls in Turn 3. Power had previously made contact with Hunter-Reay in Turn 1 and was penalized for “avoidable contact” and had to go to the back of the field for the restart. After competitive runs on road and street courses, Graham is looking forward to returning to the site that three generations of Rahal’s competed at.

            “I think the Hendricksen team will be very competitive at Road America and I’m looking forward to getting there. It’s the greatest track on our schedule in my opinion, and it’s a great place to go. I expect us to be very strong at Road America given our road course performances. It’s also a very special place for our family. With my grandfather having raced there for so many years beginning in the 60’s I believe, then my father, and now me, it’s a special place overall for us. And now with my family, it’s a huge deal. My wife absolutely loves Road America and we look forward to it every year.”

FITTIPALDI AT ROAD AMERICA

Like the majority of circuits on the 2024 schedule, it will be Pietro’s first race at Road America. His grandfather, Emerson, won here in 1986, 1988 and 1992 while Christian Fittipaldi, son of Pietro’s grand uncle Wilson Fittipaldi, earned his first series win there in 1999. After continually gaining momentum in his first full season in the series, he is looking forward to getting to the track that is a favorite of many of his competitors.

            “As a team in Detroit, we unloaded quicker than the previous year and that momentum bodes well for Road America. It was a bit of a learning curve, like most places I am going to for the first time and we kept evolving each session. We qualified 15th and were fifth in the race warm-up so we kept that evolution going. In the race we were in the mix, fighting for a top-10 but we didn’t have the tires at the end to stay there but we continued to show good evolution. The car was great, and the team did a good job and now we carry that to Road America, another new track for me. I’m excited to get there; it’s a favorite track for many drivers that I’ve spoken to so I’m looking forward to getting my first taste of it and excited to be in the 5-hour ENERGY car again this weekend.”

LUNDGAARD AIMS FOR CONSECUTIVE ROAD COURSE PODIUMS

This will mark Lundgaard’s third race at Road America. Last year, he started seventh, ran as high as fifth and finished seventh. In his debut at the track in 2022, he started 13th, conserved his fuel while maintaining a strong pace and cycled into the lead for his second of three stops on Lap 30 of 55 and went on to take the checkered flag in 10th place. On Saturday, he was a mere 0.01 from progressing to Group 2 and ended up seventh in his qualifying round. He is looking forward to showing the pace that saw him qualify second and finish third in the previous road course race at IMS last month.

            “The car is much faster than it was last year. We made big steps forward last year and I think we carried that momentum forward. You see it on street circuits as well. We’re more competitive and are able to fight more. Detroit was a great weekend until the last lap of the race so going into Road America knowing that the momentum is really there is a good feeling. Everybody is excited about our potential there. We just need to hit the marks and get the basics right and if we do that we can get a great result. Getting the podium for the Hy-Vee team at the Indy GP was great for everybody but we need more of those and have the potential if we put it together. I think we will be fast there, and for the majority of the upcoming races.”

POINT STANDINGS AFTER 7 OF 17 RACES

Heading into Round 8, Lundgaard has a total of 122 points and is ranked 11th overall. Rahal is 16th with 101 points and Fittipaldi is 21st with 67.