Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing105th Running of the Indianapolis 500
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
PRACTICE DAY NOTES/QUOTES – May 19, 2021

MORE DATA WAS GAINED ON DAY 2 OF PRACTICE AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

1)         Scott Dixon                  226.829 mph   
14)       Graham Rahal             224.813 mph
20)       Takuma Sato               224.057 mph   
34)       Santino Ferrucci          219.088 mph

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 United Rentals Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was actually a really good day for the No. 15 United Rentals boys. I think we did a great job kind of going back and resetting overnight and trying not to overreact to the challenges that we faced yesterday. Today the car was significantly better.  We focused 100% on race stuff today so I know there’s some guys out there doing qual sims and kind of seeing what their pace was. We will do that tomorrow. Today we focused on just trying to get the racecar better and I’m glad to say that we did. We’re excited for what’s ahead.”

• FAST FACTS: Will be his 14th 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 THREE poles (2009 – St. Pete street course, Kansas oval; 2017 – Detroit Race 1 street) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… He is currently fifth in series standings with 137 points, only 39 out of first place.

TAKUMA SATO, No. 30 Panasonic / PeopleReady Dallara/Honda/Firestone:  “I think it was a good day again, we learned a lot. We did qualifying simulations, still with lower boost but we can learn so many fundamental things. Then the group runs were very strong. You know if you have a lot of downforce you can carry in a good speed but then when you get to lead the race its difficult. We learned tons, I’m sure Santino and Graham gathered great data too so we shall see at the end of the day meeting and hopefully we can move another step forward for tomorrow.”

• FAST FACTS: Sato is the only active two-time Indy 500 Champion.  The 2021 race will be his 12th Indy 500 and fourth with RLL. In 2012 with RLL, 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 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).  He is 12th in series standings with 98 points.

SANTINO FERRUCCI, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Another day done. We got back out for the last 15 minutes to check things out. It was a solid day – a lot of learning. We definitely found out a couple of things about the car, things we like and things we don’t like but we’re ready to come back strong tomorrow.”

• FAST FACTS: Will be his third Indianapolis 500 and first with the team.  His best finish is fourth in the 2020 Indy 500 and his seventh-place finish in the 2019 Indy 500 earned him Rookie of the Year. 

NEXT UP: Practice will take place from 12-6 p.m. ET tomorrow. Get a behind-the-scenes look at preparations for the 105th Indianapolis 500 via the Digital Ally Garage Camera on www.rahal.com.  Qualifying for the Indy 500 will take place Saturday and Sunday, May 22-23.