Rahal Qualified 11th for the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway

Verizon IndyCar Series

QUALIFYING NOTES/QUOTES – August 20, 2016

RAHAL QUALIFIED 11TH FOR THE ABC SUPPLY 500 AT POCONO RACEWAY

POLE: Mikhail Aleshin       2-lap avg. speed of 220.445 mph        (L1: 40.7901, L2: 40.8629)

11th:     Graham Rahal      2-lap avg. speed of 218.204 mph        (L1: 41.2689, L2: 41.2228)

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Bobby Rahal Automotive Group Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We trimmed out a lot more than (fellow Honda driver) Munoz and some others. The balance has been good but we’ve been lacking speed so we trimmed out a ton compared to them. I think we could have gotten away with it but the understeer was sky high. A little bit of lifting (off the throttle) and your time drops. I was pleased to see 18.3 (lap time) but I think we could have done a high 19 or 20 had we been flat so we’ve got to work on that but ultimately what matters most is having a good race car and we’re going to work on that in the final practice.”

• FAST FACTS: Will be his fourth Indy car race here. In 2015, he started fifth and ran in the top-eight until a fueling problem on his second pit stop dropped him to 20th place. On Lap 66/200, he was in 16th place on a restart and got a run on Justin Wilson and pulled inside him on track. They were two-wide until Tristan Vautier decided to dive low inside, partially on the track, and make it three-wide. Vautier made contact with Rahal and spun the two into the wall. Both were checked and released from the medical center. The DNF hindered his title bid after having entered the penultimate race in second place and only 9 points behind leader Montoya who finished third and increased his lead to 34 points entering the double-points season-finale in Sonoma… In 2014, he started 14th and moved into 11th on the opening lap but his helmet pad on the right side of the cockpit flew out of the car and he gradually dropped to 19th. The helmet pad helps the drivers head stay upright while sustaining high G-Forces for 200 laps and he was unable to see as well. Once he made his first stop and the team replaced the helmet pad he steadily climbed back up the field and ran 12th midway through the race and held the fastest lap of the race through his third stint. He was in 11th place when a problem surfaced on Lap 158/200. The car appeared to abruptly change and Rahal spun. The side of the car made contact with the Turn 2 wall and he ultimately retired in 19th place… In 2013 he qualified 17th, started 16th due to a grid penalty ahead and finished 18th… His top finish this season is second place at Barber Motorsports Park and his top start is sixth at Barber, Road America and Mid-Ohio. He also qualified third for the Indy GP but his car was disqualified for being a few pounds underweight… Rahal is ninth in series point standings with a total of 324 and is only 33 points behind fifth place Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan (tied with 357) and 49 behind third place Helio Castroneves.

RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING AT POCONO AND IN 500 MILE RACES… Will be the fourth race for the team at this track.  The team entered cars for Graham Rahal and James Jakes in 2013 and Rahal in 2014-2015. Rahal earned the best start for the team here with fifth place in 2015 and the best finish is 12th by Jakes in 2013. The team’s highest 500-mile start is pole by Buddy Rice in the 2004 Indy 500 and the team has three 500-mile wins – 2004 Indy 500 by Buddy Rice, 2002 by Jimmy Vasser and 2015 by Graham Rahal – both at Auto Club Speedway.

NEXT UP: The 200-lap ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway will take the Green Flag at 3:09 p.m. ET Sunday. NBC Sports Network will begin live coverage at 3 p.m. ET.

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