Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
MAVTV 500 – Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, Calif.
IZOD IndyCar Series – Season Finale
RACE NOTES/QUOTES – Saturday, October 19, 2013
RAHAL RETIRED FROM THE MAVTV 500 INDYCAR SERIES SEASON FINALE AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY IN 15TH; JAKES WAS COLLECTED IN AN ACCIDENT AND RETIRED IN 22ND
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Midas / Big O Tires Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I had been struggling with the rear of the car the whole race. We started to make some inroads and started to make it a little bit better but to be honest, the whole time I struggled with the back a little too much. It was very sensitive with front wing changes. At the end of the day though we were just going to try to cruise along and get to the finish. Unfortunately I think we ended up dropping a valve in the engine and it shut off. We weren’t going to set the world on fire but we were definitely going forward and that all we can ask for.
(For 2014:) “We just have to keep working. This is a good team that’s got a lot of heart. We’ve got to keep working hard.”
JAMES JAKES, No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “The first stint of the race wasn’t too bad. We had dropped back a little bit but were still holding position and then we really struggled with the balance of the car and was fighting it but just trying to stay on the lead lap and get something going towards the end of the race and I just got involved in a wreck. I was on the high side and there was so much smoke and cars and I just got collected. There was nowhere to go. Before that, it was just so dirty and there was so much debris. I put nine tear-offs on and I had already gone through five. It was a mess out there. Its disappointing to end the season like this because I think we showed good pace just like we did in qualifying but we will just move on to next year.”
NEXT UP: The INDYCAR Championship Celebration will take place Sunday from 4-7 p.m. PT at the Globe Theater at Universal Studios Hollywood. It will be streamed live on www.indycar.com beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET.