Iowa Corn Indy 250 – Iowa Speedway
IZOD IndyCar Series
HEAT RACE NOTES/QUOTES — June 22, 2013
RAHAL WON HEAT RACE 2 BUT DAMAGE IN HEAT RACE 3 LIMITED HIS START TO NINTH FOR THE IOWA CORN INDY 250; JAKES WAS FOURTH WHEN CONTACT ENDED HIS RACE IN EIGHTH AND QUALIFIED 21St
POLE: Helio Castroneves (Won Heat Race 3)
9th: Graham Rahal (Won Heat Race 2; finished 9th in Heat Race 3)
21st: James Jakes (8th in Heat Race 2 after contact while 4th)
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Midas / Big O Tires Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “The first heat race was great. I thought we had a good car this morning. The Midas / Big O Tires guys did a great job and we charged from seventh and got up there and won the race. We really, really felt the car was very competitive and were able to charge through the field which not a lot of the guys were seemingly able to do. And again in the second heat race, I think we could have won it. I think we had the car but unfortunately Ed (Carpenter) and I bumped and we lost four percent front COP (center of pressure; from front wing damage) so the car didn’t want to turn. The fact that we could still run high 18’s (18-second lap time) without a front wing is pretty impressive so I’m pleased with the car. I think it’s going to be pretty good.”
JAMES JAKES, No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We just made a mistake in Turn 2. We struggled on our own and then the balance came to us. I could see those three cars coming up pretty quickly. I was a bit optimistic. I don’t think there is too much damage so the guys won’t have to stay too late. It’s disappointing.’
RLL RACING AT IOWA SPEEDWAY: The Iowa Corn Indy 250 will mark the fourth event for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) at Iowa Speedway. The best finish for the team is third in 2007 by Scott Sharp who also earned the top start for the team of fourth the same year. Prior to the 2013 event, the team prepared a total of four entries for drivers Scott Sharp (2007), Jeff Simmons (2007), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2008) and Takuma Sato (2012). The team has earned ONE podium (3rd, Sharp 2007) and two, top-10 finishes at the track. LAST YEAR AT IOWA: Sato qualified 23rd and finished 12th. The No. 15 Midas / Big O Tires entry for Graham Rahal and the No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts entry for James Jakes will bring that total to six in 2013.
NEXT UP: The 250-lap Iowa Corn Indy 250 will take the Green Flag at 2:05 p.m. CT tomorrow. ABC will begin their live broadcast of the race at 2:30 p.m. ET. It will also be broadcast by the IMS Radio Network on Sirius XM (XM 94 and Sirius 212). Timing and Scoring information is available for all sessions from www.indycar.com.
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