Rahal, Foster and Schumacher to Start 11th, 17th and 18th in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 on Sunday Night

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

QUALIFYING NOTES / QUOTES – June 6, 2026

RAHAL, FOSTER AND SCHUMACHER TO START 11TH, 17TH AND 18TH FOR THE BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500 ON SUNDAY NIGHT

POLE: Alex Palou 2-lap avg. speed of 174.353 mph (L1: 25.7195, L2: 25.9000 mph)

11th: Graham Rahal 2-lap avg. speed of 171.479 mph (L1: 26.2634, L2: 26.2213 mph)

17th: Louis Foster 2-lap avg. speed of 170.569 mph (L1: 26.3437, L2: 26.4208 mph)

18th: Mick Schumacher 2-lap avg. speed of 170.290 mph (L1: 26.4258, L2: 26.4252 mph)

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 One Cure Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was great run. The boys and girls have done a great job for me. We made a couple of tweaks there going into qualifying and all played out perfectly, and that’s all you can ask for, you know? We don’t have the speed that some of these guys have so we’ve got to play it for what we’ve got. But to do two consistent laps, with the second lap being better than the first, for One Cure, and for every one of our sponsors on this number 15 car, it feels good. That’s a lot stronger than we’ve been here in recent years. Those were our best laps of the weekend. Obviously qualifying should be, but we threw some things at it, so you never really know if it’s going to work and it did and we’ll take it. I think the teams on the right track. We made some good changes today. We didn’t start good, I can tell you that.”

FAST FACTS: This will be Rahal’s 11th race at the track. His highest start at WWTR is seventh place in 2018, and highest finish is 10th – in 2018 and 2022. In 2025, he started 22nd and reported a loose race car soon after the start. The team attempted to improve it with quick adjustments in the pit stops to no avail. He took the checkered flag in 22nd place… Rahal qualified third on the Phoenix oval this year and finished ninth. And at the Indy 500, he qualified 28th and finished 20th. After three podium finishes in the past five races, Rahal is looking to continue the team’s momentum this weekend… 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 – IMS road, Portland road) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… Rahal is 9th in series point standings with a total of 186.

LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Droplight Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a decent run but I think we had a lot more on the table, really. It wasn’t the cleanest of runs for us. I think the wind was difficult and I just had too much understeer. We trimmed a bit more for qualifying and I was pushing as hard as I could but I just got too much understeer on the exits and had to lift out of it or otherwise, I’d be in the wall. It wasn’t the best we could produce for this qualifying session, but was still pretty quick which shows the big steps forward for the team. But I think generally, so far the season has gone reasonably well. Obviously, we always want to do better and get more, but so far I’m happy with it.”

FAST FACTS: It will be Foster’s second INDYCAR race here. In 2025, he started 21st and worked his way up to 10th place before he got high in the marbles, lost control of his race car and slid across the track after completing 128/260 laps. Race leader Josef Newgarden had nowhere to go and the two collided with Newgarden going upside down. Both were checked and released from INDYCAR’s Medical Unit. He competed twice at WWTR in the INDY NXT series where he started on pole in 2024 and led all 75 laps en route to victory. In 2023, he qualified fifth and finished second. After matching his best series finish of seventh place in the Sonsio Grand Prix at Detroit on Sunday, he is hoping to continue the strong results. He is ranked 19th in the INDYCAR point standings with a total of 121.

MICK SCHUMACHER, 47 Bommarito Automotive Group / ENVE Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We had a lot of understeer right from the get go and that wasn’t ideal. I couldn’t carry the speed that I wanted to. Obviously, with the temperatures being hot and stuff that will happen. We made some changes for that, that we hoped would be good enough for the conditions. We were hoping for a little bit more. We came here testing and the was in a great place. I think that with the temperature’s being hotter than I expected, the conditions made the car very understeer-y for us. Tonight we will work to figure out what we need for tomorrow and we’re going to have a good race tomorrow. I think the race will be a great spectacle under the lights. I think it’s up to 90 percent sold out so far, and I hope they will get a couple more. I think we’ll be able to have a good show.”

FAST FACTS: It will be Mick’s first INDYCAR race at WWTR. He tested here on April 23 and is hoping to turn that experience into a strong performance. His highest career INDYCAR start came at his oval racing debut in Phoenix with a fourth-place qualifying effort. In the race, he 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. At his second oval race — the Indy 500 – he earned the Fastest Rookie Award after qualifying 27th for his first Indy 500. In the race, he was the highest finishing rookie with an 18th place result in the 33-car field. He gained valuable experience running in the top 10 for a handful of laps with a top running order of fifth place. Near the end of the race, he went a lap down but was able to get back on the lead lap by passing the leader. On the second to last restart, he lightly brushed the wall and continued but it brought out a caution and set up a final one-lap shootout for the win… He is ranked 25th in series point standings with a total of 75.

NEXT UP: FOX will begin live coverage of the 260-lap Bommarito Automotive Group 500 on Sunday beginning at 9 p.m. ET.