Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto – Streets around Exhibition Place
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
RACE NOTES / QUOTES – Sunday, July 21, 2024
LUNDGAARD SEVENTH AND RAHAL 10TH IN THE ONTARIO HONDA DEALERS INDY TORONTO; FITTIPALDI CLEARED FROM INDYCAR MEDICAL AFTER UNABLE TO AVOID CRASHED CAR OF O’WARD
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 United Rentals Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “The race was looking pretty straightforward, until the steering wheel went blank around Lap 25. And then it kept happening until we pit earlier than planned to change it. And it still happened the rest of the race so we will have to figure out what happened. The car would only shift when the dash would light up so I had to time my shifts with when the lights went on. Mid-corner on tight corners, I would have to look at the dash to be able to shift and some guys got by me then. It was a tough one for sure. We were lucky to get out of here in 10th place. I’m glad Pietro, and everyone else is okay. That was a scary crash. After all of that, it’s good to get United Rentals a top-10 finish.”
- FAST FACTS: Started eighth and dropped to ninth after being passed by Power on the opening lap. He reported an issue with his steering wheel that would go blank intermittently on Lap 25. The device also controls shifting. The team pit early to change wheels but the problem persisted. He was 15th when the red flag was brought out and moved up to 13th after cars were penalized or hit for damage. Once the race resumed, he moved up to 10th and held the position until the checkered flag. This was Rahal’s 17th Indy car race here and 18th overall (Atlantic 2006) here. In 16 Indy car races, his best start of second came in 2017 with RLL and best finish of fourth came in 2022. He has three, top-five starts and seven, top-10 finishes. Last year, wet conditions in qualifying led to contact and derailed the top starting spot Rahal was on target for according to computer data, but he started 27th after losing his two fastest laps as a penalty for bringing out the red flag after hitting the wall. In the race, he avoided an opening lap crash and drove through a runoff area to avoid an impassable track to catch up to the field. Persistence paid off and he climbed to a ninth-place finish… 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; IMS (road) 2023 August, Portland (road) 2023) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… He has a total of 177 points and is ranked 16th overall.
PIETRO FITTIPALDI, No. 30 HUB International Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We executed well. We were pushing, going forward and I think for sure there was a chance for a top-13 or something like that. We had pace at the end and yeah, something happened to Pato on that lap. He was quite a few positions ahead of us. There were no yellow flags, no indication and we all went through the corner and then he was just stopped on the outside wall like that and then there was nowhere to go. Graham cleared him last minute and for us, there was nowhere to go. It’s a shame because we wanted to get a good finish for HUB International.”
- FAST FACTS: He started 23rd and was 16th when he came into Turn 1 and O’Ward was in the wall. Rahal had barely avoided hitting O’Ward, per Fittipaldi, who wasn’t as lucky in the tight corner and ran into him. He was taken to the INDYCAR Medical Unit and ultimately cleared and released. He retired in 19th place. This was his first race here. His grandfather, Emerson Fittipaldi, won the race in 1987 and earned two, second-place finishes (1989, 1993) and a third (1994) and his while Christian Fittipaldi, son of Pietro’s grand uncle Wilson Fittipaldi, finished third in 1999 and 2002 here. He is looking to put his recent simulator experience on the track into practical knowledge beginning Friday afternoon. He moved from 20th in series point standings to 19th with 135.
CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Toronto 2024 was not quite the replica of 2023. It was way more action packed, a lot of yellows, a lot of crashes. I’m glad to see everyone is okay after that Turn 1 incident. At the end, with VeeKay pitting for alternate’s, I knew it was going to be tough for us to stay ahead of him. Especially when I found out he got out right behind Grosjean and was basically one car behind me. Overall, I’m quite happy with the day for the Hy-Vee team. To finish P7 in a race like this, considering last year, to finish seventh I think we need to be very satisfied with ourselves and give ourselves a clap on the shoulder going into the break. We will regroup and get after it again for Gateway. We want to end the final stretch on a high.”
- FAST FACTS: Started 16th and ran as high as 11th before his first of two stops. He was in 10th when a red flag was brought out for a multi-car crash involving teammate Fittipaldi. Once the race resumed, he was able to climb up to a seventh-place finish despite a possible puncture after being hit by Veejay. Was the defending winner entering the weekend after having earned his first INDYCAR victory with an almost 12-second margin of victory after leading 54 of 85 laps from his second series pole. In 2022, he started 10th and climbed as high as fifth before his first of two stops on Lap 17. He made his second stop with the majority of the field during the second of four caution periods on Lap 47 and returned to the track 12th. He gained more positions when a few drivers made their final stop and others made contact. He took the checkered flag in eighth place for his highest career INDYCAR finish to date at that point. Will be his third race here… He moved from 13th place in series standings to 11th with 229.
NEXT UP: The series will take the next three weekend’s off during the Olympic break before returning to racing for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 on August 17.
