Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix – Streets of Downtown Detroit
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
RACE NOTES / QUOTES – May 31, 2026
RAHAL EARNED HIS THIRD PODIUM IN FIVE RACES WITH THIRD PLACE IN THE DETROIT GRAND PRIX; FOSTER MATCHED HIS CAREER BEST SEVENTH PLACE FINISH AND SCHUMACHER RAN AS HIGH AS THIRD BUT FINISHED 21ST
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We had a lot of pace when we needed it. We got lucky a little bit with the yellow. Although having said that, that was the strategy we played. When we got spun, we knew we were going to pit on the very early side of this window, and we’ve got to go a long, long way and save a lot of fuel but we have got to get a yellow and it worked out perfectly. We know that during the pit cycles is when you typically get yellows. Brian Barnhart did a wonderful job calling that, Honda did a wonderful job in the Motor City; I know it feels good for them. And the fuel mileage was really key for us. And the drivability too. On those restarts, I didn’t have any push to pass left because when I was passing all those guys to make my way back though the field, I had to use it all. For Fifth Third Bank, United Rentals. Mobil 1 and all our partners, this feels extremely good to have a season like this. And look, we had a little bit of bounces too, but we also stayed out of the carnage other than the Kyffin (Simpson) part watching Power and McLaughlin take each other out and all the other guys banging. Luckily it was a good day. And my girls are here for the first podium, I think maybe ever, all of my daughters are here so its special for me.”
- FAST FACTS: Rahal earned his third podium in the last five races with a third-place finish today. It was also his fifth podium finish in Detroit. He started 12th and had pit from fourth place on Lap 36/100. On Lap 38, Kyffin Simpson hit him in Turn 3 and dropped him to the back of the field, which drew an avoidable contact penalty for Simpson as well as a full course caution. Before the race went green, Rahal pit from the back and then topped off on fuel in the hope of capitalizing on a caution later. He utilized his push to pass to help him return to the front. During the third of five cautions from Laps 66 to 71, many cars pit for fuel and Rahal moved up to fifth place on Lap 70. On the Lap 72 restart, third place Schumacher and fourth place Malukas battled for position with Schumacher going nose first into the barrier and Malukas going into the Turn 5 runoff, which moved Rahal to third. He held the position until the checkered flag. The event marked Graham’s 22nd race in Detroit. His father, Bobby, won the inaugural race on Belle Isle in 1992 and Graham won the doubleheader there in 2017. Overall, he has two wins, five podiums (including today) and one pole in 22 races here… 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 Indy road course, Portland road course) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… He moved from 11th to 9th in series standings with 186 points.
LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Droplight Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a good day, honestly. First off, congrats to Graham again; he’s doing a great job. Obviously, he got helped out by that yellow, which hurt me a bit, but all in all, is was a great day as a team. It was my best race for sure in INDYCAR; I am very, very happy with that result which matched my best result of the Indy GP. There is some consistency and there’s some momentum so I’m looking forward to getting to some tracks that we know we are fast at.”
- FAST FACTS: Started 11th in his second INDYCAR race here and put in a strong performance to match his career best finish of seventh place from the Sonsio GP in May. His INDYCAR debut in Detroit didn’t go as planned. He qualified 14th and started 13th due to grid penalties. He moved up to fifth by Lap 13 in the race as different pit strategies played out. A caution came out from Laps 14-16 and he moved into fourth on Lap 16. He took over third on Lap 19 and held it until Lap 32 when second place runner Rahal pit and he took over second. He made his first stop on Lap 37 and set his fastest lap of the race on Lap 41/100 while seventh. After his final stop, he ran 15th when a car part failed and he hit the wall going into Turn 3. He was taken to INDYCAR Medical and was seen and released as was Felix Rosenqvist who was hit by Foster. He was ultimately scored in 22nd place. On Saturday, he was a mere -0.008 of a second from transferring to Round 2, with a seventh-place rank in Round 1, Group 2 and qualified 14th. Louis has competed in three INDY NXT races on the downtown streets of Detroit and started from pole in all three. In 2024, he won the race from pole. And in Race 1 of a doubleheader weekend in Detroit in 2023, he started from pole but contact limited his finish to 19th.. In Race 2, he finished third after starting from pole. He is hoping to have another chance to run in the top-five of the race in Detroit… He is tied for 18th place in the points standings with 121.
MICK SCHUMACHER, No. 47 ENVE Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Obviously it was a very disappointing end to the whole story. Starting with the last full course yellow, I think up to that point we had done everything right in terms of strategy and the right calls, right timing and everything, which brought us up to P3. And during that last full course yellow, we lost the radio and so from that point on, I was on my own and just not in the right settings with the car and everything. It was the hardest lap ever, and then I obviously got run into a couple times and was just trying to survive more than anything. And then I ended up going straight there with Malukas, so it was very disappointing for what could have been a really decent result for us. The team did an amazing job in terms of pit stops and guided me through the race. I appreciate it and owe it all to them, to have been put into the position.”
- FAST FACTS: Schumacher started 23rd and ran as high as third place from Laps 70-72. The action-packed race had five caution periods for a total of 21 laps. On the third caution, many in the field took the opportunity to pit for fuel and Schumacher moved up to third place. On the restart on Lap 72, Schumacher and David Malukas were engaged in an intense duel for third, with Schumacher missing the corner in Turn 5 and nosing into the barriers. Malukas had nowhere to go and ran wide with the incident bringing out another full-course caution on Lap 73. On Lap 83, Mick served a drive through penalty for taking full service in a closed pit n Lap 82 and came in again on Lap 87 to repair his in car radio. His car also lost the GPS transmission and was not scored for a few laps until the system updated. He ultimately finished 21st…. He has 75 points and an overall rank of 25th place.
NEXT UP: The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 will take place next Sunday, June 7 at World Wide Technology Raceway.
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