Rookie Schumacher To Start 16th in the Borchetta Bourbon Music City GP; Foster Qualified 20th & Rahal Scored in 25th After Being Unable to Make a Run

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix – Nashville Superspeedway
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
QUALIFYING NOTES / QUOTES – July 18, 2026

ROOKIE SCHUMACHER TO START 16TH IN THE BORCHETTA BOURBON MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIX; FOSTER QUALIFIED 20TH AND RAHAL WAS SCORED IN 25TH AFTER BEING UNABLE TO MAKE AN ATTEMPT

POLE: Kyle Kirkwood 2-lap avg. speed of 196.852 mph (L1: 23.7104, L2: 23.8381 mph)
16th: Mick Schumacher 2-lap avg. speed of 194.815 mph (L1: 23.9714, L2: 24.0743 mph)
20th: Louis Foster 2-lap avg. speed of 194.080 mph (L1: 24.0634, L2: 24.1641 mph)
25th: Graham Rahal No time No time

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I don’t 100 percent know what the problem is but overall, it’s a major bummer. I would have loved to get the qualifying run in just to understand the changes that we made to the Fifth Third Bank Honda before qualifying. Were they better? Were they worse? But the engine wouldn’t run. We ran out of our 60 second clock. It started okay, we were getting temp (temperate) and then it just shut off and wouldn’t restart. But we’ve got a ton of tires for the race, and with this extended race now, that’s one positive. I’ve only used one set of tires so I have so many tires to use its crazy. You never know, right? I’ve had a 10-lap dash or a shootout at the end of these things and guys were out of tires, and you could make a pit stop, so maybe we’ll get lucky. Mick had a great run and we wanted to get a feel for how our car was too after all the changes. It wasn’t in the cards today.”

FAST FACTS: Rahal’s race car would not fire up on the qualifying line during the 60 seconds allowed when it was his turn to make an attempt. It fired up immediately after the time lapsed but he was not allowed to make a run. A post qualifying review revealed that the engine wouldn’t maintain fuel pressure and kept shutting off… The 2026 race will mark the fourth time Graham will race at Nashville Superspeedway. His best start and finish came in his first race at Nashville Superspeedway in 2008 where he started 10th and finished 12th with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing in a rain-shortened event. In 2024, he started 19th and finished 23rd and in 2025, he started 21st and finished 22nd. His best start on the streets of Nashville is ninth in 2022 and best finish is fifth in 2021. … He is in 13th place in series point standings with a total of 218.
LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Desnuda Organic Tequila Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We made a lot of changes, really, between the two sessions. The boys worked super hard to try and give us a good car to qualify. And honestly, it felt pretty decent. I think there was just too much of a difference really for us between practice and qualifying. The Desnuda car looks fast so I think that’s a good positive. I think it’s a step in the right direction, but it felt decent to me. felt a lot faster than we were in practice, which is a good sign. I just wish we had a few more runs in that kind of setup.”
FAST FACTS: Foster will make his second INDYCAR start here this weekend. Last year, he clinched the Rookie of the Year honors here with a 20th place finish after starting 23rd. Foster won Rookie of the Year by a 213-211 margin. He competed in the INDY NXT race here in 2024 where he led all 65 laps from pole to win the event. His top oval start this year is 16th in Phoenix and his top oval finish this year is 20th at WWTR… He is 18th in the point standings with 159.
MICK SCHUMACHER, No. 47 NEREUS™ Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It’s a challenging place, a great one to race at. The bump in Turns 3 and 4 is definitely exciting at times. As we’re trimming the car out and stuff, it obviously makes things a bit more exciting as well. But nonetheless, I feel like we put a decent car together. I don’t think we had enough to be right at the front, but if we start in the midfield, we’ll take that, and build on that for the race pace. St. Louis was very promising so hopefully we can just build on that for here as well. I felt like I got the best out of it. I’m just going into it without really having much experience here. The track is obviously very different to most ovals that we’ve gone to. We’re learning as we’re doing it and hopefully we have a good race tomorrow.”
FAST FACTS: It will be his first race here, his fourth oval event in his rookie INDYCAR season and the first one he will not have tested at prior to race weekend. His overall INDYCAR top start and finishes have come at oval tracks, and he has acclimated well as the most novice of all drivers in the field in terms of oval experience… He is ranked 25th in series point standings with 108.
RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING IN NASHVILLE… The 2026 Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix will mark the third consecutive return to oval racing in Nashville for INDYCAR, who held three races on the streets of downtown Nashville from 2021-2023. Prior to the return in 2024, the series previously conducted eight races on the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway oval from 2001-2008. The team’s highest start at the superspeedway is pole in 2004 by Buddy Rice and highest finish is fourth with Danica Patrick in 2006.

NEXT UP: The 300-lap Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix is expected to take the green flag on Sunday at 5:40 p.m. ET following the conclusion of the World Cup final match. Live coverage will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1 with coverage expected to move to FOX at 5:30. Timing and Scoring information is available for all sessions from www.indycar.com and includes commentary by the INDYCAR Radio Network.