Rahal Earned Third Top-10 at Phoenix With 9th at the Good Ranchers 250; Schumacher Hindered by Faulty Wheel Gun & Finished 18th; Foster Did Not Finish

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Good Ranchers 250 – Phoenix Raceway

NTT INDYCAR SERIES – Round 2 of 18

RACE NOTES / QUOTES – Saturday, March 7, 2026

Rahal Earned His Third Top-10 Finish in Four Races at Phoenix Raceway with Ninth in the Good Ranchers 250; Schumacher Was Hindered by a Faulty Air Gun and Finished 18th While Foster Did Not Finish After Brushing the Wall

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 WWEX Group Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I was pleased with the car. A handful of guys got lucky with the one yellow, which really played out for them and put them into the front. Otherwise, I think we had the pace to finish on the podium or certainly in the top four or five. It was a shame that the yellow came when it did, but I thought the race was pretty good actually. There was a lot of passing, a lot of jockeying and I enjoyed that. Everyone has done a great job, Yves, Timmy, and the entire team. It’s the best car I’ve had on an oval in a long time. It was fun to go out there and be able to fight and I really enjoyed that.”

FAST FACTS: Earned his third top-10 finish in four races at Phoenix Raceway with ninth place. After qualifying third and running in the top five much of the race, the timing of a caution favored some drivers who ultimately leapfrogged him in the results as did a few others who undercut the pit strategy Rahal was on and moved ahead. It was his best start on an oval of third place for the first time since qualifying third in Texas in 2012… The 2026 race was Graham’s fourth here. The 2016 race marked Graham Rahal’s debut at the track. He started 19th and moved into the top 10 near the halfway point of the 250-lap race and was on his “in laps” of his second and third stops when a caution period came out but was able to continue on low fuel each time until the pits opened. He ran as high as third, which is the position he was running in when he entered his pit for his third and final stop but lost a spot to Simon Pagenaud. He was passed by Tony Kanaan on Lap 223 of 250 and was in fifth place when the final caution came out for debris with a few laps to go and the race ended under yellow. In 2017, he qualified 17th but was collected in a multi-car crash due to Aleshin’s Lap 1, Turn 1 spin and retired in 21st place. In 2018, he earned his best start at the track of 12th place and finished ninth after he led a total of seven laps during pit cycles. He and the team had a strong test here on Feb. 17-18 where he set the 13th fastest time… 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; 2023 – IMS road, Portland road) and FIVE POLES (2009 – St. Pete street course, Kansas oval; 2017 – Detroit Race 1 street; 2023 – IMS road, Portland road) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… He is ranked 15th in the point standings with 34.

LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Droplight Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “In the big picture, we’ve learned a lot this weekend. We’ve improved a lot and there is a lot of progress as a group. There are a lot of positives to take away as a team. From the 45 car side specifically, there are not as many. I didn’t have a great qualifying, obviously didn’t have a good race but I think its given almost a sense of clearness for me at least, that I know what the car can do and what the team can do so now we need to figure out how to do it properly. I think the tools are all there to be able to do so because it worked for the other two guys. We just need to try and figure out why something isn’t working for me that’s working for the other guys. Obviously, I’m going to keep pushing myself to try and be better and be faster and work with the team to get the car in the window I need. I think generally it was a positive weekend to look back on as a team but work to do for sure.

(On the brush with the wall:) I basically went a touch high in Turns 3 and 4, lost the rear, caught it but was a bit too high and got in the marbles and just tapped the outside wall. It wasn’t a crash, I just hit the wall and just bent the car a little bit, but it was too much to get fixed and go back out in time to move up.”

FAST FACTS: Foster qualified 16th for his first race in Phoenix and was running 19th on Lap 142 of 250 when he brushed the wall and brought out the third of four cautions in the race from Laps 142-154. The team worked to replace the upper and lower wishbone on the right rear of the car behind the pit wall for over 20 minutes but ultimately retired from the race in 23rd place. He is 20th in the point standings with 24 points.

MICK SCHUMACHER, No. 47 ENVE Composites Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “First oval race done. Obviously, it was a tough race for us today. Nonetheless there was a lot to learn, a lot to take away and understand still on our side. We had a couple of issues here and there on pit stops and the race itself on restarts. Overall, I think we can be happy with it. We had a good qualifying pace and now we have to figure out how we can make the race pace better. I think the race pace was overall okay. It was just maybe the aggressiveness at some points and being unlucky in other places like pitting under the green and then the caution coming out right after. Qualifying went well yesterday and so we will work to understand why maybe the race didn’t go quite our way and then hopefully be better for next time.”

FAST FACTS: Schumacher started fourth and had been running in the top 11 through his first stint and cycled as high as sixth place on Lap 70 before he made his first stop on Lap 71. A suspected wheel gun failure on the right front tire led to a lengthy stop and he dropped to 22nd when he returned to the track. He soldiered on through two more stops, gained valuable experience and ultimately finished 18th in his oval racing debut after qualifying fourth. Made his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut in St. Pete from a 21st place start. Sting Ray Robb, who started 20th, ran too deep and went nose-first into the wall in Turn 4 on the opening lap. Santino Ferrucci also had the same fate, and Schumacher had nowhere to go and was collected in their accident and retired in 25th place. Robb was able to continue and served a penalty for avoidable contact. He is ranked 25th in series point standings with 17.

UP NEXT: The series heads to Arlington, Texas for the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, March 13-15.