Sato Will Start the Indy 500 From Row 4 in 10th Place; Rahal Qualified for the Race in 33rd Place

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
108th Running of the Indianapolis 500
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
QUALIFYING DAY 2 NOTES / QUOTES – May 19, 2024

SATO WILL START THE INDY 500 FROM ROW 4 IN 10TH PLACE; RAHAL QUALIFIED FOR THE RACE IN 33RD PLACE

QUALIFYING SPEEDS
1st:         Scott McLaughlin              4-lap avg. speed of 234.220 mph
10th:      Takuma Sato                     4-lap avg. speed of 232.171 mph
33rd:      Graham Rahal                   4-lap avg. speed of 229.974 mph

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 United Rentals Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Today was similar to last year in the sense that we knew we can’t really run (after the first attempt). We were waiting on Marcus to go. We knew he had the speed to get in and look at how close it is. Kat, Marcus, and me — the same time in essence. It’s a game of thousandths around here. If I can say anything, it’s just ‘Great job’ to Dale Coyne Racing because honestly, they were able to successfully find a lot of speed. If you looked at where Nolan was on Friday and even yesterday, they closed the gap to us considerably as we kept losing pace. We were hanging on by a thread. I’ve been talking about that plenty. But, Kat did a wonderful job finding a couple of miles per hour. Something we have not been able to do, frankly. So, those guys put up a valiant effort. Nolan. Most of you guys don’t know his name but you will. He’s won in every class and category he’s been in. I’ve watched him. I’ve known the kid for 10 years. He was a little, little guy then. But you’re going to know his name in the future. He’s a winner and will be winning at this level sometime soon. For United Rentals, for Honda, for the 15 car, I’m just happy we’re in. But last year I saw everybody celebrating and it rubbed salt in the wound so I’m not going to be that guy. We’re going to turn the page to tomorrow and try to get a good race car which I think we’ve had. We will be in the show next week.”

• FAST FACTS: Was bumped in qualifying for the 2023 Indy 500 by then-teammate Harvey but competed in the race as a replacement for the injured Stefan Wilson and finished 22nd after mechanical issues on the starting grid. Will be his 17th Indy 500. His best qualifying position in the Indy 500 is fourth in 2009 with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing and best finish is third with Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing in 2011 and RLL in 2020. Detailed Indy 500 information available upon request… 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; 2023 – IMS road, Portland) and his highest s always want to be the best but series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… He is 12th in INDYCAR SERIES point standings with 71.

TAKUMA SATO, No. 75 AMADA Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a fantastic day for the team. Obviously, as a race driver we always want more, always want to be the best, so we wish we would be in the top-six but today I think considering where we were and where we are, I think we should be very happy. The No. 75 crew did a fantastic job, and all the entire engineering staff for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing did a phenomenal job over the course of the winter so I’m really pleased to put the No. 75 car in the top 10. Now, the first half of the Indy 500 preparation is complete and now we have a completely different focus for the race. I haven’t done any group run or race setup work in the first week so I’m really looking forward to Monday’s practice.”

• FAST FACTS: The two-time Indy 500 champion will start his 15th Indy 500 and sixth with the team from 10th place. He competed for RLL fulltime in 2012 and from 2018-2021 and won the Indy 500 with RLL in 2020. He has earned six NTT INDYCAR SERIES wins, four of which have come with RLL, including the team’s second Indy 500 win in 2020. Most recently, Sato competed in oval races with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2023. Other Indy 500 highlights with RLL include the 2012 where he was alongside eventual winner Franchitti in Turn 1 on the final lap but his race ended due to contact after he was squeezed down on the apron and lost control of his race car. He also finished third for RLL in 2019 and was a contender in the final laps… Has SIX INDYCAR SERIES wins (2013 – Long Beach street course, 2017 – Indy 500 oval, 2018 – Portland road, 2019 – Barber road, Gateway oval; 2020 Indy 500 ) and 10 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; 2019 Barber road, Texas oval; 2020 St. Louis – Race 2).

NEXT UP: Final practice will take place tomorrow from 1-3 p.m. ET. Peacock will stream the session.