Lundgaard, Rahal and Fittipaldi to Start Sixth, 19th and 24th in the Firestone GP of Monterey

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

QUALIFYING NOTES/QUOTES – June 22, 2024

LUNDGAARD, RAHAL AND FITTIPALDI TO START SIXTH, 19TH AND 24TH IN THE FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF MONTEREY

1) Alex Palou 1:07.1465 / 119.988 mph (Group 2, Round 3)

6) Christian Lundgaard 1:07.5112 / 119.340 mph (Group 2, Round 3)

19) Graham Rahal 1:08.0922 / 118.322 mph (Group 1, Round 1)

24) Pietro Fittipaldi 1:08.1824 / 118.165 mph (Group 2, Round 1)

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Mobil 1 Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “All we needed to advance to the next round was a tenth (of a second). We went out right behind Ferrucci and Sting Ray and weren’t in a good sync, or (open track) gap. We had minimized the laps that we did on the prime tires to get a gap for the next run, but we didn’t get one, we went out with everybody else. It is going to be a tough race tomorrow. This place is very physical, there is very little room to take a breath. We need to keep improving our car. It’s not great but it’s also not far out of the window. The important thing is that we keep the tires underneath us. Our goal is to get the Mobil 1 car as far forward as we can. It’s a great livery, a great partnership and we want to do a good job for them. Literally one-tenth is all we needed to move forward, and we know where that time was at so it’s disappointing to not put it together but tomorrow is a new day.”

FAST FACTS: The 2024 race will mark the fifth for Graham Rahal at the track. He earned two poles in 2023 on a road course and is hoping for a strong performance in Laguna Seca’s final race for the current engine configuration before the hybrid motor makes its competition debut at the next event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, July 7. In 2023, he was collected in an opening lap incident and retired in 27th place after starting 10th. In qualifying, he was seventh fastest in his group and failed to progress to Round 2 by less than 1/10th of a second. Four cars ahead of Rahal served a grid penalty so he started 10th. In 2022, he started on primary tires from 19th place and steadily climbed his way up the field. A pivotal decision came when the team opted to take on used alternate tires on his second stop compared to Lundgaard, who took on primary tires and ultimately finished fifth. The two had been running together with Rahal ahead in seventh place initially but the two swapped positions on Lap 57/95 and he fell four positions before the team elected to stop again for primary tires on Lap 61. He ultimately finished 18th, one lap down to the leaders. In 2021, Rahal started 12th and ran as high as fourth before his first stop on Lap 18/95. The handling of his race car was better halfway through his second stint, and he gained a few spots before he made his second stop from third place on Lap 40. He pit from second place for his third stop on Lap 67 and was able to leapfrog O’Ward by staying out longer. He held third place for 11 laps before Grosjean, whose tires had six less laps on them, passed him on Lap 84/95 and he held on to finish fourth. In 2019, he started eighth and lost two positions on the start to Hunter-Reay and Ferrucci. He dropped to 11th on Lap 5 when Rosenqvist passed him and cycled as high as fifth place before his second pit stop on Lap 39. He ran 10th for the majority of his next stint before his third and final stop and came out 11th. He later lost a position to Hunter-Reay on Lap 68 of 90 and ultimately took the checkered flag 12th… 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 – IMS road/August, Portland road)… He is 15th in series point standings with a total of 121.

PIETRO FITTIPALDI, 30 Eurofarma Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We started the weekend off really strong. Our fastest lap time was in Practice 1, which is confusing given it was my first laps here. We have lost pace through the weekend and have to work hard between now and the race to recover that.”

FAST FACTS: Will make his first INDYCAR SERIES start at Laguna Seca. His highest starting position of the season is 11th at the Grand Prix at IMS and his highest finish is 13th at St. Pete and Detroit. He is 20th in series point standings with a total of 81.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “If you would’ve told me before qualifying that we were going to be in the Fast Six, I would’ve taken that. We hadn’t shown the speed to be there, but we executed qualifying well. We were fast when we needed to be. I wish we had a little more in the Fast Six but, seeing the gap from sixth to fifth, everybody else had another two-to-three tenths that we simply just don’t have. The track aging has not been kind to us. It was kind to us last year so we will see what we can do in the race and move the Hy-Vee Honda forward.”

FAST FACTS: Will make his third start here after some history-making runs in his previous two races here. In Round 2 of qualifying last year, he set a time of 1:06.4610, which is a new track record, well over Helio Castroneves’s qualifying lap record of 1:07.722, set in 2000. In the Firestone Fast Six, he was on a lap time that would have been four-tenths-of-a-second up and good enough for his third pole of the season but made a mistake in the Corkscrew and had to settle for third place. On the opening lap of the race, he came into contact with second-place starter McLaughlin in Turn 1, which set off a multi-car crash that involved teammates Rahal and Vips. He pit for repairs and new tires and the team battled back during a race that saw eight cautions for a total of 35 of the 95 laps and he ultimately finished sixth. In his first race at WRLS in 2022, Lundgaard clinched the Rookie of the Year title over David Malukas with a fifth-place finish after starting 16th. In the race, he steadily moved up the field after starting on primary tires while the majority of the field started on alternates, which turned out to be the best strategy. After setting the fastest time in Practice 1 in Portland and second fastest in Practice 2, the team was unable to maximize the potential there last weekend but plan to do that in the season finale… He is ranked 11th in the point standings with 141.

RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING TO MAKE ITS 1000TH INDYCAR START AT LAGUNA SECA … The 2024 Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey will mark the 17th Indy car event for RLL at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and fourth here since 12 consecutive races at the track from 1992-2003. Even more notable is the fact that it will be the team’s 1000th, 1001 and 1002 INDYCAR start since the first race in 1992. The team has also competed in ALMS and IMSA races here from 2009-present as BMW M Team RLL and has earned three wins, three poles and a total of 11 podium finishes to date – including pole and a second-place finish in 2019. The Indy car team has earned three wins, three poles and a total of six podiums (1st – Herta 1998-1999; Papis 2001; 2nd – Herta 1996; 3rd: B. Rahal 1992, Papis 1999) including three straight pole positions (Herta 1997-1999).

NEXT UP: The pre-race warm-up will take place tomorrow from 12:00-12:30 p.m. PT. USA Network will begin live coverage of the 95-lap Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at 6 PM ET Sunday, June 23.