Rahal to Start Eighth in the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto; Lundgaard and Fittipaldi to Start 16th and 23rd

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto – Streets around Exhibition Place

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

QUALIFYING NOTES / QUOTES – Saturday, July 20, 2024

RAHAL TO START EIGHTH IN THE ONTARIO HONDA DEALERS INDY TORONTO; LUNDGAARD AND FITTIPALDI TO START 16TH AND 23RD

1) Colton Herta 59.5431 / 107.982 mph (Group 2, Round 3)

8) Graham Rahal 1:00.0323 / 107.102 mph (Group 2, Round 2)

16) Christian Lundgaard 1:00.7510 / 105.835 mph (Group 2, Round 1)

23) Pietro Fittipaldi 1:01.3791 / 104.752 mph (Group 1, Round 1)

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 United Rentals Dallara/Honda/Firestone: We would have liked to have advanced to the next round, but I thought the lap I did was very, very good for what we had. It was very close to advancing to the next round, but I thought the United Rentals No. 15 was solid; we’ve made really good improvements throughout the weekend. And I think we’ve found quite a bit of improvements, so I’m pleased with that. Hopefully we can put it together tomorrow. It takes a long time to get the concrete to where it has any grip and I think we’re just starting to get there. I would have like to have the United Rentals car up just a hair higher, but we’ll take P8. It’s a very respectable starting spot.”

FAST FACTS: This will be Graham Rahal’s 17th Indy car race here and 18th overall (Atlantic 2006) here. In 16 Indy car races, his best start of second came in 2017 with RLL and best finish of fourth came in 2022. He has three, top-five starts and seven, top-10 finishes. Last year, wet conditions in qualifying led to contact and derailed the top starting spot Rahal was on target for according to computer data, but he started 27th after losing his two fastest laps as a penalty for bringing out the red flag after hitting the wall. In the race, he avoided an opening lap crash and drove through a runoff area to avoid an impassable track to catch up to the field. Persistence paid off and he climbed to a ninth-place finish… 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; IMS (road) 2023 August, Portland (road) 2023) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… He has a total of 177 points and is ranked 16th overall.

PIETRO FITTIPALDI, 30 HUB International Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Qualifying was tough. We had a SOC (state of charge) hybrid issue that cost us a few tenths which would have put us at least a few positions forward, maybe 10th or ninth in our group. We have to just be resilient and keep pushing through it and have a good race tomorrow.”

FAST FACTS: This will mark his first race here. His grandfather, Emerson Fittipaldi, won the race in 1987 and earned two, second-place finishes (1989, 1993) and a third (1994) and his while Christian Fittipaldi, son of Pietro’s grand uncle Wilson Fittipaldi, finished third in 1999 and 2002 here. He is looking to put his recent simulator experience on the track into practical knowledge beginning Friday afternoon. He is ranked 20th in series point standings with 124.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Going into qualifying there was some uncertainty of what we really had and where we really were compared to last year. We struggled to get the balance right. We’ve struggled with an imbalanced, very square car that is not easy to drive and we saw in qualifying we weren’t able to extract lap time. Not having tested the hybrid as much as the test teams is a factor. We will continue to work hard to close the learning gap on that with the hybrid.”

FAST FACTS: Returns as the defending winner after having earned his first INDYCAR victory with an almost 12-second margin of victory after leading 54 of 85 laps from his second series pole. In 2022, he started 10th and climbed as high as fifth before his first of two stops on Lap 17. He made his second stop with the majority of the field during the second of four caution periods on Lap 47 and returned to the track 12th. He gained more positions when a few drivers made their final stop and others made contact. He took the checkered flag in eighth place for his highest career INDYCAR finish to date at that point. Will be his third race here… He is in 13th place in series standings with 203.

RLL AT TORONTO: The 2024 Honda Indy Toronto will mark the 24th year of Indy car racing for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) here. The team also competed in the Atlantic Series races here in 2003 and 2004. The team won in 2023 with Christian Lundgaard, earned four second place finishes (Rahal 1992, 1994, 1995; Michel Jourdain Jr. 2003), and finished third in 1996 (B. Rahal). In total, the team has earned SIX podiums (3rd – Rahal 1996), 11 top-five’s and 22 top-10 finishes at the track. RLL’s best start is pole in 1992 by Bobby Rahal and 2023 by Christian Lundgaard.

NEXT UP: Warm up will take place tomorrow from 10:00 – 10:30 a.m. ET. The 85-lap Honda Indy Toronto will be streamed live on Peacock beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday, July 21.