The Team Focused on Qualifying Sims Before Switching to Race Car Prep But the Session Saw Multiple Stoppages Due to Sprinkles & Was Finally Cut Short

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
108th Running of the Indianapolis 500
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
PRACTICE DAY NOTES / QUOTES – May 16, 2024

THE TEAM FOCUSED ON QUALIFYING SIMULATIONS BEFORE SWITCHING TO RACE CAR PREP BUT THE SESSION SAW MULTIPLE STOPPAGES DUE TO SPRINKLES AND WAS ULTIMATLY CUT SHORT

1)           Pato O’Ward                     228.861 mph                     14th on the no tow chart)
23)         Takuma Sato                     225.194 mph                     12th on the no tow chart     
27)         Graham Rahal                   222.669 mph                     5th on the no tow chart     
30)         Christian Lundgaard        222.061 mph                     16th on the no tow chart
31)         Pietro Fittipaldi                 221.924 mph                     17th on the no tow chart

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 United Rentals Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Today we just did qualifying runs. We tried to get back out and work on our race car but didn’t due to the weather. I thought it was a fairly solid day for the 15 United Rentals team. I thought our no tow’s (times) were competitive. We were fourth or fifth, which is important. Obviously, there’s a bit of speed to be found I think but generally we were in the hunt which is where we want to be. We will keep working on it tomorrow once the boost goes up and see what we get.”

• 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 series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… He is 12th in INDYCAR SERIES point standings with 71.

PIETRO FITTIPALDI, No. 30 5-hour ENERGY Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We wanted to get more running in than we did. Unfortunately, we had an issue there that meant a few hours in the garage but they did a good job getting us back out here and then the rain hit. It would’ve been great to be able to run again and see how the car is after that long break. We’re going to go back out tomorrow and see how it is.”

• FAST FACTS: This will be his second Indy 500 race. Prior to the 2024 season, he had made nine series starts combined in 2018 (3 ovals, 3 road) and 2021 (3 ovals). In 2021, his best qualifying effort came in his Indianapolis 500 debut of 13th place, which earned him the “Fastest Rookie Award” and his best finish was 15th in Race 2 at Texas Motor Speedway.  He is ranked 22nd in the point standings with 45.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I think it’s been a relatively productive day. We migrated more towards the 15 car’s setup on the 45. We wanted to go back to the 45 car (setup) and verify what we learned but obviously the rain hit. I think overall we seem to be quicker than last year and we still have some more coming. There’s still a lot of optimism. We’re still not where we want to be but we are moving in the right direction. I think we need to be realistic. We’re moving in the right direction and that’s the most important. We got a good amount of laps today so we’re all big smiley faces.”

• FAST FACTS: This will be Lundgaard’s third Indy 500. In 2023, he qualified 30th and finished 19th. He started 31st and finished 18th in 2022 while becoming the first Dane driver in the race… in 2022… He is ranked in 9th place in the point standings with 84.

TAKUMA SATO, No. 75 AMADA Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We continued to work on qualifying simulations today to continue to squeeze out speed from the car. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get out back on track in race trim. We did try three times, but all three times it was raining. This is the first time for me going to go into qualifying without doing a single lap in race trim in a group but I think we collected really valuable data today once again. We shall see how much speed we get gain for Fast Friday.”

• FAST FACTS: The two-time Indy 500 champion will make his 15th Indy 500 start and sixth with the team, whom he competed for fulltime in 2012 and from 2018-2021 and whom he won the Indy 500 with 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: Fast Friday will take place tomorrow  from 12 to 6 p.m.