Lundgaard, Rahal & Vips Finished 11th, 12th and 18th in the BITNILE.com GP of Portland

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
RACE NOTES / QUOTES – September 3, 2023

LUNDGAARD, RAHAL AND VIPS FINISHED 11TH, 12TH AND 18TH IN THE BITNILE.COM GRAND PRIX OF PORTLAND

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 PeopleReady Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I was at the wrong place, at the wrong time a lot today. Every time we came out of the pits, we were in a gaggle of cars. Every time we came into the pits, we had lapped cars in front of us that cost us a lot of time. The Canapino deal cost me four or five seconds on an in lap which cost me three spots. On the last stop, we had a little fueling issue and that cost us. We should have been well ahead of McLaughlin and instead we were four cars behind by the time everything had cleared. I’m clearly not happy but not pointing fingers. Maybe there were times that I could have maximized it more. I can’t think of a clear mistake that I made but maybe there was a lap or two that I could have gotten more out of. Our balance on blacks on the first stint, I was really, really loose and I think that hurt us. Should’a, could’a, would’a. We could go on about this all day. I think the first stint, we controlled well until Palou came up behind us and it was clear that the guys who had started on blacks (primary tires) were in the catbird seat. We were this close to starting on blacks, but we just thought that starting on pole, it was probably a little bold but we probably should have. Congrats to Alex on his second championship.”

• FAST FACTS: Started from pole on alternate tires and led the first 21 laps before his first stop to switch to the preferred primary tires, that he won pole on. Once he pit, fifth place starter and eventual winner Palou, who started on primary black tires and performed an “overcut” pit strategy, cycled into the lead and held it for the majority of the remaining laps (led 69/110 laps) while Rahal struggled with track position and ultimately finished 12th… On Saturday, Rahal won his first pole at Portland and the team’s third (2001, 2018, 2023), his second of the season (IMS road August ’23), second on a road course and fourth for the team in 2023 (Lundgaard – IMS road May, Toronto). It was the eighth overall race for Graham at PIR and sixth in the headline event. His highest previous INDYCAR start here was fifth in 2021 and highest finish is fifth in 2022… 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/Aug.; Portland)… Rahal is ranked 14th in series point standings with a total of 271.

JURI VIPS, No. 30 Kustom Entertainment Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I really enjoyed gaining experience and definitely had my tough introduction to INDYCAR. I think our race came undone in the first stint. It’s early to see why but the rear tires just never came in. I don’t know if it was something to do with me or some precious stuff like this but I really struggled on the first stint and then we had a slow stop as well. I missed my marks a little bit and made it tough on the boys so sorry to them. Little things here and there could have been better, but I think we have to be proud of the job we did. Everyone on the 30 crew did an amazing job. They prepared me as well as they could and I think we just had a clean weekend. Next time it will all be much easier for me so I’m sure we will have a better result.”

• FAST FACTS: Started and finished 18th in his series debut. Vips, 23, is a three-time Formula 2 race winner and a part of the Red Bull Junior Team between 2018-2022, where he also served as a Formula One test and reserve driver from 2020-22. He drove an Indy car for the first time on October 12, 2022, at Sebring International Raceway in a test for the team and again at Barber Motorsports Park on March 13, 2023, and will make his INDYCAR SERIES debut at Portland. He has also performed static simulator testing for the team during the season. His most recent win came at the F2 sprint race in Monza on September 10, 2022, and his most recent race overall took place at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on November 20, 2022.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We had a pretty good first stint. I think the start was pretty good, we avoided all the chaos at the start. Then we went on to a new set of reds (alternate tires) and the front tires just died. We were bleeding a lot of lap time at that time. I wanted to come in but the team didn’t want me to come in that early because then it just turns into a huge fuel save race.  But I had to so we did a few more laps, bleeding more lap time. I came in and then the car was actually easier to drive as soon as we had to save fuel so we were a lot faster then, as well. It was a frustrating race. We had some good restarts at the end and made up some positions so I’m pretty happy with that. I think we could have gotten Kirkwood if we would have had a little more time.”

• FAST FACTS: Started 17th and jumped as high as 13th in the opening laps after avoiding contact between competitors on two different instances. He took the restart from a full course caution on Lap 6 from 12th place and ultimately finished 11th. Was fastest in Practice 1 and second fastest in Practice 2. Will make his second start at the track after running in podium contention in his maiden race here last year. He qualified fourth in 2022 but started third due to Newgarden, who set the second fastest time, having to serve a six-spot grid penalty. He passed Power on the opening lap and held second place until leader McLaughlin made his first stop on Lap 21/110. He pit from the lead on Lap 22 but the fueler had an issue with slower than usual fuel flow. He made his second stop on Lap 47 and settled into fifth place behind McLaughlin, Power, O’Ward and Newgarden. When he pit from fifth place for his third and final stop on Lap 78, he stalled in his pit and lost a few positions. He was running eighth on Lap 94 when he attempted to pass Rossi and went off course in Turn 2. He collected a foam banner that stuck to the front of his race car, and he had to pit to have it removed and returned to the track in 21st place, where he ultimately finished. Has ONE INDYCAR SERIES win (2023 – Toronto street course) and TWO poles (2023 – IMS road course (May), Toronto street course… Maintained his 8th place rank in the point standings with 362.

NEXT UP: The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey season-finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca will take place next weekend. The series is holding an open test there on Thursday.