Rahal to Start 11th in the Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250; DeFrancesco 15th and Foster 22nd After Missing Pre-Qualifying Practice Due to Engine Change

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 – The Milwaukee Mile

NTT INDYCAR SERIES – Rounds 16 of 17

QUALIFYING NOTES / QUOTES – Saturday, August 23, 2025

RAHAL TO START 11TH IN THE SNAP-ON MILWAUKEE MILE 250; DEFRANCESCO 15TH AND FOSTER 22ND AFTER MISSING THE LONE PRACTICE DUE TO AN ENGINE CHANGE

POLE: Alex Palou 2-lap avg. speed of 162.971 mph (L1: 22.3764, L2: 22.4658 mph)

11th: Graham Rahal 2-lap avg. speed of 159.995 mph (L1: 22.7541, L2: 22.9294 mph)

15th: Devlin DeFrancesco 2-lap avg. speed of 159.047 mph (L1: 22.9239, L2: 23.0247 mph)

22nd: Louis Foster 2-lap avg. speed of 157.529 mph (L1: 23.1319, L2: 23.2595 mph)

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 WWEX Group Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I had quite a lot of understeer in qualifying but look, we qualified a second faster than last year maybe so hats off to the guys that worked extremely hard to get the No. 15 WWEX Honda to a more competitive place. I wish the second lap was fastest because we’d be up higher but I’m happy with that. We tested here in June and I think we got lucky because, while it was a very green race track, the conditions we’re in the low 70‘s and at the time I was worried it would fool us and here we are having a perfect Wisconsin day. It’s awesome to see the turnout (of fans) today. I think Louis should have been up there with me and Dev too. But I think what happened to Louis mainly is that just not having any practice, you have to come into qualifying blind.”

FAST FACTS: This will mark Graham’s 10th race here. He narrowly missed winning his first pole here in 2008 by 2/10th of a second over a four-lap average and started a career best second to Marco Andretti with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR) in what was the first Andretti/Rahal front row since 1992 in Loudon, NH. He ran between second and fourth until Lap 130 when he drove over “marbles” and lost control of his car after trying to go around the slower car of Darren Manning and retired in 25th place. He qualified second with NHLR in 2009 and briefly took the lead at the start but dropped to third by the end of the lap and ultimately finished fourth, his highest finish on an oval at the time. In 2010, he ran a partial season and did not race in Milwaukee. In 2011, he qualified 12th and finished second with Service Central/Chip Ganassi Racing (SCCGR). He qualified 17th, started 11th with SCCGR after many ahead served an engine change penalty and finished ninth in 2012 with SCCGR. In 2013, he qualified 23rd with RLL but started 24th due to a 10-grid penalty for an unapproved engine change and he finished 16th. In 2014, he qualified and finished 14th with RLL. In 2015, he qualified sixth, led five laps, and finished third to depart the event third in points with four races to go. After a hiatus, INDYCAR returned to the track in 2024 for a doubleheader. In Race 1 in 2024, Rahal qualified 24th but started 21st after three cars received a grid penalty for an unapproved engine change. He had an unexpected additional pit stop due to getting a cut in his left front tire after contact from Rasmussen. He took the checkered flag in 20th place. In Race 2, he started 26th and moved up three spots as the first 15 laps of the race were run under FCC due to Palou’s car stopping on the pace lap and then Lundqvist and Armstrong got together as the field try to go green on Lap 6 and they collected Newgarden. The team used the opportunity to top off on fuel. On a restart from a FCC for Sting Ray Robb on Lap 124/250, Rahal was hit from behind by rookie Rasmussen and sent into the wall. He was checked and released by INDYCAR Medical afterward. Rasmussen was able to continue but received a drive through penalty for avoidable contact. He tested here on June 10… Rahal is 15th in the point standings with a total of 246.

DEVLIN DEFRANCESCO, No. 30 EVTEC Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “This team has made huge steps forward on the short ovals. We did a lot of simulation preparation coming into the weekend and we had a positive test here a few months ago too. It’s nice to have a decent run and set ourselves up for a good place to work from in the race.”

FAST FACTS: Earned his best oval qualifying start of the season with 15th place for his first race at this track. He got his first experience of the unique layout here during a team test on June 10… He is ranked 26th in series point standings with 145.

LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Droplight Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I basically ran two laps today, including qualifying so it was challenging to say the least. There is not a lot we could do today due to the situation with the engine. We will try to maximize the final practice to try to catch up and just give it a go tomorrow.”

FAST FACTS: Foster only ran approx. 1/2 of a lap in the morning practice session before being called into the pits due to data the team received from the engine monitoring systems, which ultimately resulted in his engine being changed. When he made his qualifying run, it was the first full lap he completed at speed. He will serve a 9-position grid penalty. He competed at the Milwaukee Mile in last year’s INDY NXT race where he clinched the title in style after he started from pole, led all 90 laps and won the race. The track is the site of one of the few pre-event tests he has participated in prior to coming to a track for the first time in an INDYCAR. He hopes this bodes well for his Rookie of the Year battle with Robert Schwartzman where he holds a mere six-point advantage, 189-183 and is ranked 23rd.

RLL AT MILWAUKEE: The team WON here twice (Kenny Brack 2001 & Michel Jourdain Jr. 2003), started from POLE three times (Bobby Rahal 1992, Kenny Brack 2001, Vitor Meira 2004), made four FRONT ROW STARTS (2nd – Jourdain Jr. 2003) and earned FOUR PODIUMS (2nd: Rahal 2004, Rice 2004; G. Rahal 2015). Prior to the 2025 event, the team prepared a total of 44 entries for drivers such as Bobby Rahal (1992-98), Mike Groff (1993-94), Raul Boesel (1995), Bryan Herta (1996-99), Max Papis (1999-2001), Kenny Brack (2000-2001), Jimmy Vasser (2002), Michel Jourdain Jr. (2002-03), Buddy Rice (2004-06), Vitor Meira (2004-05), Danica Patrick (2005-06), Jeff Simmons (2006-07), Scott Sharp (2007), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2008), Takuma Sato (2012), Graham Rahal (2013-2015; 2024), James Jakes (2013), Christian Lundgaard (2024) and Pietro Fittipaldi (2024). The team has earned 11 top five finishes and 21 top-10’s at the track, including Lundgaard’s 9th place finish in Race 1 last year. The team will enter the No. 15 WWEX Group Honda for Graham Rahal, the No. 30 EVTEC Honda for Devlin DeFrancesco and the No. 45 Droplight Honda for Louis Foster to bring that total to 47 in 2025.

NEXT UP: The Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 will be televised live beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.