IMSA WEATHERTECH SERIES
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Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Hy-Vee INDYCAR Weekend – Iowa Speedway
Hy-Vee Homefront 250 – Saturday, July 13
Hy-Vee One Step 250 – Sunday, July 14
Pre-Race Notes
Round 11 & 12 of 17 in the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES
DATE: July 12-14, 2024
PRACTICE BROADCAST: Live on Peacock Premium on Friday from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. ET. Also live on the INDYCAR Radio Network (IRN) and www.indycar.com (timing & scoring + live analysis).
QUALIFYING BROADCAST: Live on Peacock Premium, the IRN and www.indycar.com (timing & scoring + live analysis) from 3:45 – 4:45 p.m. ET Saturday.
RACE BROADCAST(S): Live on NBC on Saturday, July 13 from 8:00 – 10:00 p.m. ET and live on NBC on Sunday, July 14 from 12:00 – 3:30 p.m. ET. And also on Peacock Premium, IRN, Sirius XM INDYCAR Nation 218 and SiriusXM NBC Sports Audio 85.
TRACK LAYOUT: 0.875-mile tri oval
RACE LENGTH: 250 laps / 218.75 miles (Race 1 & 2)
2023 WINNERS: Josef Newgarden (Race 1 & 2)
2023 POLESITTERS: Will Power (181.426, Race 1 & 181.578, Race 2)
RAHAL’S BEST IOWA START / FINISH: 6th in 2013 / 3rd in 2020 (Race 2); will be his 19th & 20th races 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
FITTIPALDI’S BEST START / FINISH AT IOWA: Will be his first race here
FITTIPALDI’S BEST SERIES START / FINISH: 10th at Phoenix (2018) / 9th at Portland (2018)
LUNDGAARD’S BEST START / FINISH AT IOWA: 17th – Race 2 2022 / 10th in Race 1 2022; will be his fifth and sixth races here
LUNDGAARD’S BEST SERIES START / FINISH: Poles – IMS (road course) 2023, Toronto (street) 2023 / 1 Win – Toronto (street) 2023
RLL’S TOP START / FINISH AT IOWA: 4th by Sharp in 2007 / 3rd – 2020 Race 2 by G. Rahal, 2018 by Takuma Sato and 2007 by Scott Sharp
NEWS & NOTES:
RLL AT IOWA SPEEDWAY
The 2024 Hy-Vee INDYCAR Weekend will mark the 17th and 18th 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. Prior to the 2024 events, the team prepared a total of 27 entries for drivers Scott Sharp (2007), Jeff Simmons (2007), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2008), Takuma Sato (2012, 2018-2020 x 2) Graham Rahal (2013-2020 x 2, 2022 x 2, 2023 x 2), James Jakes (2013), Christian Lundgaard (2022 x 2; 2023 x 2) and Jack Harvey (2022 x 2; 2023 x 2). The team has earned three podiums (3rd – Sharp 2007, Sato 2018, Rahal 2020) and 11, top-10 finishes at the track. The team will prepare the No. 15 One Cure entry for Graham Rahal, the No. 30 Luther Automotive entry for Pietro Fittipaldi and the No. 45 Hy-Vee entry for Christian Lundgaard for the weekend.
GRAHAM AT IOWA SPEEDWAY
The 2024 Hy-Vee INDYCAR Weekend doubleheader will mark Graham Rahal’s 19th and 20th races here. He has earned 11 top-10 finishes in 18 starts with his best being fourth in 2015. Last year, he qualified 13th for Race 1 but struggled with the handling of the race car and brought out the only caution of the 250-lap race on Lap 152 when he lost control of his race car in Turn 4 and made contact with the wall. He retired in 28th place. In Race 2, he qualified sixth and dropped back in the field while trying to dial in his race car on stops. The team elected to gamble and undercut the field by stopping a little earlier which was working out until a caution came out for Canapino and he ultimately finished in 20th place. In 2022, in Race 1 he started 16th, fell to the back of the field early on and worked his way back up to a ninth-place finish. In Race 2, he started 23rd, fell to the back in 26th and then worked his way back up to 13th in the closing stage of the race but was passed by Palou with six laps to go and took the checkered flag in 14th. In 2020, he started from 21st place and stayed on the lead lap until Lap 23 of 250. The team was on a four-stop strategy and the handling appeared to improve mid-to-late race but he reported a vibration and struggled with the handling of the car, so he made another stop from 10th place on Lap 227 and ultimately finished 12th. In Race 2, in the Hy-Vee Honda, 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. After setting the fourth fastest time in the test in Iowa on June 27, Rahal is optimistic about the team’s performance heading into the race weekend although the aero specs have been changed by the series since then.
“I’m excited for this weekend. It’s a big race for Hy-Vee, it’s a big race for our team and it’s a big race for the series. Obviously, there are great musical acts and entertainment this weekend again. And it will be interesting with a Saturday night shoot out, which I had been hoping for. We haven’t had one of those in a while. And Sunday is an early race so the conditions will be different all around from recent races. We’re looking forward to putting on a good show. Obviously, Randy, Jeremy, Aaron, Donna, Matt, Anna — the list goes on at Hy-Vee of people who have done an amazing job to put this together year in, year out, and they are clearly a great partner to our team but also a heck of a great partner of the sport.
“The test at Iowa Speedway went well for us but the series changed the aero configuration for the race since then. Overall, this is going to be quite different with the repave. There were extremely fast lap times at the test and since then, INDYCAR has made some rule changes with reducing the downforce level, so we’ll see how that works out. Hopefully we can put on a great show this weekend. This is a race that we as a team in particular put a lot of energy and time into to try to be at our best, and I think the repave is going to level the playing field from what we’ve had in the past, so we’ll see how it goes. There will be a lot to learn again when we get back on track but all three of our cars had good pace at the test.”
PIETRO FITTIPALDI AND IOWA SPEEDWAY
Although it will be his first (and second) time to race at Iowa Speedway this weekend, Pietro had a good test at the track in June and is looking forward to putting on a good show for the fans.
“The test went well at Iowa Speedway; the car was very competitive, and we were always in the top-10. It was better than the previous test in Milwaukee which showed the gains the team made between the two. The series changed the rules and tire specs for the race since the test so that will shake things up again which is a bit unfortunate for us because we were very competitive with the previous specs. We will get there and try out the new specs and work to put on a good show for the fans. It’s an important weekend for our team and sponsor, Hy-Vee. I have heard a lot about this race and how great of a job they do. I’m looking forward to seeing it for myself.”
CHRISTIAN’S BEST OVAL FINISH CAME AT IOWA SPEEDWAY
This will mark Christian’s fifth and sixth races at Iowa Speedway. In 2023, he started off the weekend right by winning the first Hy-Vee Pit Stop Challenge on Friday night. For Race 1 he qualified and finished 20th. In Race 2, he qualified 21st and finished 13th. In 2022, he qualified 20th for Race 1 and drove to his highest career oval finish to date of 10th place. In Race 2, he qualified 17th and was running 15th when he pit due to brake issues after completing 112 of 300 laps. The team was unable to repair the car in time to return to the race and he retired in 26th place. After running well during a test at Iowa Speedway on June 21, he is optimistic of being able to have a competitive run in the doubleheader races, one of which is on his 22nd birthday on Sunday, July 23.
“The June 27 test went well. As a team, we’ve picked up some pace with improvements and I do think the repave is in favor of our car as well. I’m not sure the hybrid is going to make a big difference with on track battles, but we will see this weekend. It has definitely added weight to the car which is a new challenge. Being a part of such a brand and to represent Hy-Vee across the entire season is something I’m incredibly proud of. Seeing how they transform this venue every single year is incredible. Our test seemed to go well so I’m optimistic to give them a good result at home. It’s my first time racing in the dark so I’m quite excited. On Wednesday, we are delivering Meals on Wheels with Hy-Vee as part of their 100 Million Meals program. I think it’s key to highlight the importance of food insecurity and something I’m proud of being able to help with because of Hy-Vee. Again, it just shows the difference they make to society.”
POINTS BATTLE AFTER 10 OF 17 RACES
Heading into Round 11 and 12 of 17 at the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Weekend, Lundgaard is 11th in series point standings with a total of 182 points, Rahal is 16th with 139 and Fittipaldi is 20th with 103.
