Rahal Finished 11th in the SYNK275 Powered by Sukup at Iowa Speedway; Foster was 14th and DeFrancesco 19th

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Sukup INDYCAR Weekend

Synk 275 Powered by Sukup – Race 1

Iowa Speedway

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

RACE 1 NOTES / QUOTES – Saturday, July 12, 2025

RAHAL FINISHED 11TH IN THE SYNK 275 POWERED BY SUKUP AT IOWA SPEEDWAY; FOSTER WAS 14TH AND DEFRANCESCO 19TH

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 One Cure Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a good day for us. We should have been in the top-10 there, if not better. Had I figured out some of the stuff I figured out late (in the race) earlier, I probably would have been in the top five or so. But look, we’ve got a lot of good things for tomorrow and we start further up. We feel like we’ve got a pretty good race car. So, let’s see what happens here. The pit stops were phenomenal today. The One Cure guys really put us up into the hunt. They gained four or five spots in the pits overall in the race and it was tremendous. They did a wonderful job today.”

FAST FACTS: He started 14th in the race and held his ground through the stints. On Lap 234/275, he moved into the top 10 before his third stop. Once the field cycled through stops he returned to the top-10. At 5:57 p.m. CT, the red flag came out after 259/275 laps were completed to repair the SAFER barrier, which was damaged when Siegel crashed. Cars restarted and resumed green flag conditions with 14 laps to go. Rahal was 10th and lost a position to Dixon on the restart and took the checkered flag in 11th place… This will mark Graham Rahal’s 21st and 22nd races here. He has earned 12 top-10 finishes in 20 starts with his best being third in Race 2 in 2020. Last year, in Race 1 he qualified 12th but had to serve a 9-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change and started 21st. On Lap 84, he slowed on track and brought out a full course caution for what was later determined a wheel failure. He entered a closed pit for emergency service and later received a drive through penalty for having gotten full service. The team discovered that all but one of the metal spokes on his right front wheel broke. He ultimately took the checkered flag in 16th place after four more caution periods. In Race 2, he started eighth, ran as high as seventh and finished eighth. His best finish at Iowa Speedway of third place came in Race 2 in 2020 where he set the eighth fastest time in the pre-race practice and started from 19th place. He extended his stint the longest and made his first stop from the lead on Lap 63. Due to track position, he went a lap down but was able to get it back by Lap 84 before he made his second stop from the lead on Lap 119 under caution for Carpenter once the pits opened. He returned to the track in fourth place and closed on third place Power before passing him on Lap 129 for third. He cycled back into the lead on Laps 171-174 before his third stop on Lap 175 and had moved into sixth a few laps later when Hunter-Reay brought out a caution. After the pits opened, a few drivers made stops, and he restarted in fourth place. Once third place Daly made his stop, Rahal moved into third on Lap 216 and held it until the checkered flag. A complete list of results are available… 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 moved up two spots in the point standings to 19th with a total of 158 points.

DEVLIN DEFRANCESCO, No. 30 Luther Automotive Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “All the passing is done on starts and restarts here so we really need to capitalize on those. Generally, our car at the end of the stint tends to be very strong but at the start of the stints, we seem to struggle to fire up the tire so we’ll look into that overnight and be better tomorrow.”

FAST FACTS: He started 20h and finished 19th… DeFrancesco previously raced here four times with a best start of 12th in Race 1 in 2023 and best finish of 15th in Race 2 of 2022 – both with Andretti Steinbrenner Racing. He is 25th in series standings with 110 points.

LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Droplight Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was good to get a good result on an oval. It matched roughly what we did at the Indy 500, more or less. We were there on pace, on merit. Yeah, it was a good race. I think the pit stop were also phenomenal by the boys, so thank you to the 45 Droplight crew. We should have probably finished, I would say, maybe towards the top 10 area, had we just had a (car) balance that was a bit more comfortable for me to drive. But we’ve got tonight to work on it and we’ve got a race tomorrow to improve on that. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and seeing what it brings.”

FAST FACTS: He started 12th and ran in that area for the majority of the race. He struggled on one stint but the team made aero changes on a stop and he regained some ground and eventually finished 14th in his INDYCAR debut race here… Foster’s top start in INDY NXT is second place in 2024 and his top finish also came in 2024 when he won. He is 22nd in series point standings with 144. He increased his margin over second place, Robert Schwartzman, in the Rookie of the Year standings, who has 123 points and is 23rd.

RLL AT IOWA: The 2025 Sukup INDYCAR Weekend will mark the 19th and 20th events for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) at Iowa Speedway. The best finish for the team is third place (2020 Race 2 by G. Rahal, 2018 by Sato and 2007 by Scott Sharp). Sharp also earned the top start for the team of fourth in 2007.

NEXT UP: Sunday’s Farm to Finish 275 Powered by Sukup will be televised live on FOX beginning at 12 am ET on Sunday, July 13. Timing and Scoring information is available for all sessions from www.indycar.com and includes commentary by the INDYCAR Radio Network.