Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing PR

Indy 500 Carb Day is in the Books and the Team is Ready To Defend Their 2020 Indianapolis 500 Victory

Posted on by Tony DiZinno

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

105th Running of the Indianapolis 500
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
CARB DAY NOTES/QUOTES – May 28, 2021                                      

INDY 500 CARB DAY IS IN THE BOOKS AND THE TEAM IS READY TO DEFEND THEIR 2020 INDIANAPOLIS 500 VICTORY

1)         Scott Dixon                  228.323 mph   
9)         Takuma Sato               225.701 mph   
19)       Graham Rahal             224.872 mph     
27)       Santino Ferrucci          223.884 mph   

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 United Rentals Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Carb day has come to an end for us and it was pretty good for the United Rentals car; I thought it was exceptionally fast. We had pretty high downforce early on and were able to work our way through the field quite quickly. Once we got to the front with Dixon and those guys we needed to figure out the trim level that we could go to so the very last run we did that, and yeah, the car understeered a little bit more, we struggled a little bit more, but we know how to fix it – it’s simply a COP thing. I feel good, I do, I feel good, I feel really good. I see a lot of guys up at the top of the charts that I was around that their cars didn’t look quite as good in traffic as us so I’m excited by the prospects. I think there’s a good chance that we’re able to get to the front and be able to go race at the end of this thing.”

  • FAST FACTS: Will start from 18th place for 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: “Carb day was very cold! I think it’s just below 60 degrees so it’s very cold, but the weather prediction on race day is 70ish so still cooler than a normal 500 but it was good to get the data under the very cold conditions with wind and steering.  The track and downforce demand is a bit different. It was a tough run, but I think we checked quite a few things between the 15 and 45 car so I think we collected quite good data.  Now we need to gather everything and pick the best of the best Sunday.”

  • FAST FACTS: Sato is the only active two-time Indy 500 Champion.  He will start his 12th Indy 500 from 15th place. 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: “Today was an interesting day for us. Our Hy-Vee 45 definitely picked up some speed. We got in the pack and definitely learned a lot on our car. We made a ton of changes and I’m feeling really good for Sunday. And then we got to lead a couple of laps in the train and nobody could really pass us so I think that shows well for our Honda-powered Hy-Vee car.  I can’t wait to get back out there.”

  • FAST FACTS: He will start his third Indy 500 from 23rd place. He has competed in two Indy 500’s with his best finish of fourth in the 2020 Indy 500 and his seventh-place finish in the 2019 Indy 500 earned him Rookie of the Year. 

NEXT UP: The 105th Indy 500 will take place on Sunday, May 30 and will be televised live from 11-4 p.m. ET on NBC. Get a behind-the-scenes look at preparations for the 105th Indianapolis 500 via the Digital Ally Garage Camera on www.rahal.com.