NTT INDYCAR SERIES
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Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Pre-Race Notes
XPEL Grand Prix at Road America
Round 10 of 18 in the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES
DATE: June 19-21, 2026
PRACTICE BROADCAST: Live on FS2 on Friday from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. ET, on FS1 on Saturday from 11:00 – 12:00 p.m. and on FS1 on Sunday from 11:00 – 12:00 p.m. ET. Also live on the INDYCAR Radio Network (IRN) and www.indycar.com (timing & scoring + live analysis).
QUALIFYING BROADCAST: Live on FS1, the IRN and www.indycar.com (timing & scoring + live analysis) from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday.
RACE BROADCAST: Live on FOX on Sunday, June 21 from 2:00 – 4:30 p.m. ET. And also on IRN, Sirius XM
INDYCAR Nation 218.
TRACK LAYOUT: 4.048-mile, 14-turn permanent road course
RACE LENGTH: 55 laps / 222.6 miles
2025 WINNER: Alex Palou
2025 POLESITTER: Louis Foster (1:44.5141 / 138.263 mph)
RAHAL’S BEST ROAD AMERICA START / FINISH: 4th in 2007 (NHLR) and 2020 (RLL; Race 1) / 3rd in 2007 & 2016; will be his 13th Indy car race here
RAHAL’S HIGHEST SERIES START / FINISH: 5 poles – Pole at St. Pete (street) 2009, Kansas (oval) 2009, Detroit Race 1 (street) 2017, IMS (road) 2023 August, Portland (road) / 6 wins – 1st in St. Pete in 2008, Fontana & Mid-Ohio 2015, Texas 2016, Detroit Race 1 & Race 2 2017
FOSTER’S BEST ROAD AMERICA START / FINISH: 1st / 11th – both in 2025; second INDYCAR race here
FOSTER’S BEST SERIES START / FINISH: Pole at Road America 2025 / 7th (Indy GP & Detroit 2026)
SCHUMACHERS BEST START / FINISH AT ROAD AMERICA: Will be his first race here but he tested at the track on June 9
SCHUMACHER’S BEST SERIES START / FINISH: 4th – Phoenix (oval) 2026 / 16th at WWTR (oval)
FOSTER’S BEST ROAD AMERICA START / FINISH: Pole / 11th – both in 2025; will be his second INDYCAR race here
FOSTER’S BEST SERIES START / FINISH: Pole at Road America 2025 / 7th (Indy GP and Detroit 2026)
RLL’S BEST START / FINISH AT ROAD AMERICA: 1st – Kenny Brack (2001), Louis Foster (2025) / 2nd – Bobby Rahal (1996); 23 races here
NEWS & NOTES:
RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING AT ROAD AMERICA
The 2026 XPEL Grand Prix at Road America will mark the 24th time for Rahal Letterman Lanigan (RLL) Racing to compete in an Indy car race here. The team competed in CART and Champ Car-sanctioned races here from 1992-2003 and again since 2016 with a best starting position of pole by Kenny Brack in 2001 and Foster in 2025 and best finish of second place by Bobby Rahal in 1996. The team has earned a total of five podium finishes here (2nd – B. Rahal 1996; 3rd – B. Rahal 1992-1993, Kenny Brack 2000, Graham Rahal 2016).
Prior to 2026, the team prepared a total of 46 Indy car entries for drivers such as Bobby Rahal (1992-1998), Mike Groff (1993-94), Raul Boesel (1995), Bryan Herta (1996-99), Max Papis (1999-2001), Kenny Brack (2000-01), Jimmy Vasser (2002), Michel Jourdain (2002-2003), Graham Rahal (2016-2020; two races in ’20. ’21-24), Takuma Sato (2018-2020; two races in ’20, ‘21), Jack Harvey (’22-23), Christian Lundgaard (’22-24), Pietro Fittipaldi (2024) and Devlin DeFrancesco (’25). The team will enter the No. 15 MSC Industrial Supply Honda for Graham Rahal, the No 45 Droplight Honda for Louis Foster and the No. 47 ENVE Honda to bring that total to 49 in 2026.
GRAHAM RETURNS TO FAMILY FAVORITE ROAD AMERICA
The XPEL Grand Prix at Road America will be Graham Rahal’s 13th Champ or Indy car race here and 17th overall. He has a best start of fourth place here in 2007 (NHLR) and 2020 (RLL; Race 1) and a best finish of third in 2007 & 2016. In 12 Indy car races here, his highlights include two third place finishes (2007, 2016), a fourth place (2019), sixth (2018), two eighth places (2017, 2022) and 10th (2024). In 2025, Rahal started from sixth place on primary tires. The team had one set of new, faster alternate tires which they used on the second stint. Multiple strategies were at play and Rahal ultimately finished 20th in a race that saw five caution periods. In 2024, he drove to a 10th-place finish from a 24th place start. He started on the alternate tire and planned to take an early caution to switch to the more durable primary tires. That opportunity came after a Lap 1, Turn 1 incident set off by the top three cars, which contributed to other contact through the field, include Ghiotto hitting Rahal and putting him in the gravel. Ghiotto was given an avoidable contact penalty for the action. Once Rahal got back on track, he pitted to replace his damaged tires. After a total of four stops and three caution periods, Rahal took the checkered flag in 10th place and was presented with the Josten’s Biggest Mover award for gaining 14 positions. Other race information is available upon request. Graham has earned three podium finishes in the past six races and hopes to continue that momentum at one of his favorite road courses.
“I’m looking forward to going to Road America; it’s a great track and one of my favorites of the whole year. I feel confident after having some good results on some of the road and street courses that we have been to this year. Obviously, the road course performance in particular has been very strong and I expect that to continue at Road America. We had a good test there last week, although we tried some unique things that we will probably back track a little bit on but it was good to check off some theories. Overall, I’m excited to get there and put together a good weekend for the debut of MSC Industrial Supply being the primary sponsor. It’s an iconic track and one that should be a great one for us. It is a place our family has loved going to for decades so were pumped for the weekend.”
FOSTER RETURNS TO THE SITE OF HIS FIRST POLE – AND WHERE HE SHAVED HIS ‘STACHE FOR CHARITY
Foster earned his first series pole in his INDYCAR debut at Road America last year. It came days after he agreed to shave his moustache for a $1000 donation to the Racing for Kids charity on the previous Thursday so many thought the gesture led to good luck. In the race, he led the field until he was passed by McLaughlin on a restart on Lap 3. On Lap 9, he was passed by Lundgaard and made the first of three stops during a caution on Lap 11 from third place. Multiple strategies were at play and the fact he had less new alternate tires due to opting to use those in qualifying, factored into the race. He ultimately finished 11th to match his best series finish at the time of 11th place (IMS road). During Foster’s two seasons in the INDY NXT series, his best start and finish at Road America came 2024 when he started and finished second. He qualified fifth and finished sixth in his rookie season. His best INDYCAR start this season of sixth place came on the IMS road course and he is hoping for another appearance in the Firestone Fast Six on Saturday at Road America.
“It was super cool to get pole last year. It was a very special day for me and the team and everyone involved. We’re obviously looking to replicate that. It was definitely one of the highlights last year and definitely something we’re going to try and do again.
“The test went well; the car was back to how it felt last year in qualifying. I was very happy with the ultimate pace of the car and we ended up making those runs short and focusing more on our long run pace since I was so confident with the qualifying car pace. I’m feeling good going into the weekend. I think we have a strong car and it’s just going to come down to executing on the day and making sure we get the car right with the conditions and it all clicks together. It’s a pretty difficult track based on its length, the load that goes on the tires and how low the downforce is. The combination of those three things means that tire wear is difficult. And now with these new tires rules, it’s going to make it more interesting with the extra set of reds we’re going to need to run so we’ve got to make sure we have good tires for the whole stint length. It’s going to be super important. I’m looking forward to it.”
SCHUMACHER AT ROAD AMERICA
It will be Mick’s first INDYCAR race at Road America, but a team test there on June 9 helped accelerate his learning curve and should allow him to settle in more quickly on race weekend. He earned his best series finish of 16th place at the previous race at World Wide Technology Raceway and is looking forward to the next two road course races at Road America and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to continue his progress during his rookie season.
“The Road America test went well. We didn’t get quite as much driving in as we wanted unfortunately but it was good to learn the track and to know where we start before the weekend is a positive. To be able to put everything together already in the first free practice and know where we have to work towards is a benefit.
“Road America is a beautiful racetrack. I love the old school tracks that lay in the countryside more than anything else. Overall, it’s a beautiful race track. It’s such an old-school track that you also don’t see what is ahead like Turn 6 for example. The carousel is a very tough part of the track with this car which moves around a lot and is quite oversteer-y at times. Hopefully, it will be a good track for me. I know how to look after the tires and I think it’s going to be a tire / fuel saving race so the more your inputs are smooth, the better it is for fuel saving but also for tire saving so hopefully that’ll come my way.
“You need to be able to go smoothly through the corners and carry a lot of speed so I think minimum speed is key in these places. It’s weird to think that we’ve only done two road courses so far, but I think Road America has come to me pretty naturally, pretty quickly. I had never seen Barber before and I had never seen Road America before but with the test, things are different now and I think I’ll be able to start off in a really good place for the race and hopefully be on par with everybody else, and if not, be up front with everybody else. I’m looking forward to the race. It’s good to go to a road course that is that beautiful. I’m excited for it.”
NEW PARTNER MSC DEBUTS AS PRIMARY OF THE NO. 15 AT ROAD AMERICA
Announced in April, MSC Industrial Supply Co. will be the primary sponsor of Graham Rahal’s No. 15 entry at the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America. This is MSC’s first involvement in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the company’s multi-year deal places it as the full-season associate sponsor and the Official Industrial Supply Partner of RLL. Racing and manufacturing share common objectives: maximizing performance, minimizing inefficiencies, and optimizing results. Whether on the track or in a facility, precision, performance, and continuous improvement matter. Throughout MSC’s 85-year history, the company has helped customers rethink, retool, and improve operational performance with approximately 2.5 million products, inventory management solutions, and supply chain expertise, combined with technical and industry insight.
POINT STANDINGS AFTER 9 OF 18 RACES
Heading into Round 10, Rahal has a total of 193 points and is ranked 11th overall. Foster is 19th with 133 points and Schumacher is 25th with 89.
FIRESTONE PIT STOP CHALLENGE
The No. 15 crew is only one point out of the lead in the pit stop standings to Scott Dixon’s No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing crew at 254-253 after 9 of 18 races.
