IMSA WEATHERTECH SERIES
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Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
Round 5 of 18 in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES
RACE NOTES / QUOTES – Sunday, April 19, 2026
Rahal Finished Eighth in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach to Earn a Top-10 Points Rank; Foster and Schumacher Finished 16th and 17th
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 One Cure Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “The team just did a wonderful job today in the pits and that’s what made our race frankly. For me on a personal level, I felt like I struggled a little bit with the front of the car on two stints and the rear on the last stint but, overall, sadly it was one of those fuel save races that wasn’t that exciting for the fans. It was all done in pit lane and luckily our guys did a wonderful job there.”
FAST FACTS: Started 10th and finished eighth after a two-stop strategy to move to a 10th place rank in the series point standings with 106. His best IndyCar start here is fifth in 2007 and best finish is second place in 2013. 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; 2024 IMS road course 2, Portland) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015. He finished third in the previous race in Barber.
LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Desnuda Tequila Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a decent race. We had a good first couple of stints and when the yellow came out we had a great pit stop to get us up into P10 but unfortunately, we just need to figure out something with the damping of the car to make the tires last longer for us. We fell off a cliff with 15 laps to go and went from a very good result to a very average result. It’s a shame because it would have probably been our best finish in INDYCAR on the cards today, but it just didn’t fall our way.”
FAST FACTS: Started 17th, was up to 10th when he started struggling with tire wear and dropped back to ultimately finish 16th. The team changed the hybrid component on his engine after Practice 2. Although he has been racing in the US for years, Foster will compete in only his second race in Long Beach this year. In his debut at the track last year, he started 20th and finished 16th. The Los Angeles area is one of his favorite places to visit in the US after having lived there while attending college. His highest start of the season so far is ninth place on the streets of St. Pete, which is also the team’s best start on a street course this year, and Foster is hoping to build upon that.
MICK SCHUMACHER, No. 47 Liquid Death Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was definitely a steep learning curve there for us. I think on that last set, we just ended up using up the tires a little too much which ended up making our life quite hard. I probably got a couple of overtakes on me that weren’t necessary. Overall, it was a good race coming from no free practice on Friday and limited running on Saturday. I think we made the best out of it. I’m really happy about Liquid Death being onboard and trying to get their car around quick in Long Beach. I’m looking forward to the month of May now and to the Indy road course that I have tested on before. Hopefully we’ll have a good race there.”
FAST FACTS: Started 21st and finished 17th in Long Beach. On Friday, after only two laps, Schumacher’s car came to a stop after the fountain area in the first practice session. The team changed the engine late Friday. He found the limit of the car in approximately the same location on Saturday. The team repaired the left front .… This will be his first time to race on the streets of Long Beach and third street race of the season. His highest start and finish this season has come on the Phoenix oval of fourth and 18th, respectively.
NEXT UP: The series will take the next two weekend’s off before returning to action at the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, May 8-9.
