Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway
Verizon IndyCar Series
QUALIFYING NOTES/QUOTES – August 18, 2018
SATO AND RAHAL QUALIFIED 10TH AND 18TH RESPECTIVELY FOR THE ABC SUPPLY 500 AT POCONO RACEWAY; BOTH AIM FOR THEIR SECOND 500-MILE VICTORY
POLE: Will Power 2-lap avg. speed of 219.511 mph (L1: 219.942, L2: 219.080)
10th: Takuma Sato 2-lap avg. speed of 216.863 mph (L1: 217.379, L2: 216.350)
18th: Graham Rahal 2-lap avg. speed of 214.225 mph (L1: 214.346, L2: 214.103)
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Bobby Rahal Automotive Group Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We struggled with the rear of the car. We had minimal understeer which was good but when I tried to go in Turn 1 hard, it gave a big wiggle and it’s hard to get your confidence back after a lap like that. I knew we needed to be flat (on the accelerator) in Turn 3 and we were nowhere near that so I knew we would struggle with the pace. The race is 500-miles. Last year it didn’t feel great in qualifying either and we ended up leading a little bit of the race so we’ll be alright. We won the 500-mile race at Fontana from 19th. You can win 500-mile races from anywhere. All of us do our best work on Sundays.”
- FAST FACTS: Will be his sixth race here. His highest start is fifth in 2015 and his highest finish is 9th last year although he has run in the top-five all but two races. In 2017, he started seventh, was running fourth near the halfway point of the 200-lap race and later restarted the race in second place on Lap 118 and swapped the lead with Kanaan repeatedly the rest of the stint although he was only credited with nine laps led due to leading many laps in the back of the track but giving up the spot before the start/finish line. After his fifth stop on Lap 151 he returned to the track behind Kanaan and Andretti, who passed him in the pits. Right after that, he ran three-wide with Munoz and Castroneves but backed out to avoid contact. After that, a group of cars was able to carry momentum around him and he ran 13th. He climbed back up to ninth place, which he held for the final 10 laps. In 2016, he started 11th, ran as high as fourth and finished 11th. In 2015, he entered the race second in the point standings and started fifth. He ran in the top-eight until a fueling problem on his second pit stop dropped him to 20th place. On Lap 66 of 200, he was in 16th place on a restart and got a run on Justin Wilson and pulled inside him on track. They were two-wide until Tristan Vautier decided to dive low inside, partially on the track, and make it three-wide. Vautier made contact with Rahal and spun the two into the wall. Both were checked and released from the medical center. The DNF in 20th place hindered his title bid after having entered the penultimate race in second place and only 9 points behind leader Montoya who finished third and increased his lead to 34 points entering the double-points season-finale in Sonoma. In 2014, he started 14th and moved into 11th on the opening lap but his helmet pad on the right side of the cockpit flew out of the car and he gradually dropped to 19th. The helmet pad helps the drivers head stay upright while sustaining high G-Forces for 200 laps and he was unable to see as well. Once he made his first stop and the team replaced the helmet pad, he steadily climbed back up the field and ran 12th midway through the race and held the fastest lap of the race through his third stint. He was in 11th place when a problem surfaced on Lap 158/200. The car appeared to abruptly change and Rahal spun. The side of the car made contact with the Turn 2 wall and he ultimately retired in 19th place. In 2013 he qualified 17th, started 16th due to a grid penalty ahead and finished 18th. Graham is looking forward to the race after having a competitive car here in 2017 … His top finish this season is second at St. Pete and top start is fifth at Long Beach… Rahal is eighth in series point standings with a total of 335. He is 64 points behind fifth place Ryan Hunter-Reay.
TAKUMA SATO, No. 30 Mi-Jack / Panasonic Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Today we didn’t have a particularly good practice session so I am satisfied with our qualifying run. We had a good speed. The tires are different; the aero kit is different so it was a whole new challenge for the drivers and engineers. We will hopefully find out how the new package will race in the final practice if the weather cooperates.”
- FAST FACTS: Will be his sixth race here. In his five previous races, his best start is pole last year with Andretti Autosport and his best finish is sixth in 2015 after he led three laps with A.J. Foyt Racing. He retired with electrical failure in 2014 and contact in 2013 and 2016 while with A.J. Foyt Racing. Takuma recalled winning pole last year and expects new challenges with the universal aero kit for this year’s race…. His highest start of the season is fifth at St. Pete and his highest finish is third at Iowa… Has TWO IndyCar Series wins (2013 – Long Beach street course, 2017 – Indy 500 oval) and SEVEN poles (2011 Iowa oval, Edmonton street; 2013 Houston Race 1 street; 2014 St. Pete street, Detroit Race 2 street; 2017 Detroit Race 2, Pocono oval)… He is ranked 12th in series point standings with 245.
RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING AT POCONO AND IN 500 MILE RACES… Will be the sixth race for the team at this track. The team entered cars for Graham Rahal and James Jakes in 2013 and Rahal in 2014-2017. Rahal earned the best start for the team here with fifth place in 2015 and the best finish is 9th by Rahal in 2017. The team’s highest 500-mile start is pole by Buddy Rice in the 2004 Indy 500 and the team has three 500-mile wins – 2004 Indy 500 by Buddy Rice, 2002 by Jimmy Vasser and 2015 by Graham Rahal – both at Auto Club Speedway.
NEXT UP: The 200-lap ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway will take the Green Flag at 2:10 p.m. ET Sunday. NBC Sports Network will begin live coverage at 1:30 p.m. ET.
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