Honda Indy GP of Alabama

Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
Round 4 of 17 in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES
RACE NOTES/QUOTES – Sunday, May 1, 2022

RAHAL FINISHED EIGHTH IN THE HONDA INDY GP OF ALABAMA; LUNDGAARD 15TH AND HARVEY 18TH AFTER A THREE-STOP STRATEGY WAS NEGATED BY A CAUTION

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Code 3 Associates Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a solid day for us but unfortunately on the last lap we had to clutch and coast. We didn’t get to finish where we probably should have, the fuel save was big there in the end. The Code 3 Associates team did a great job in the pits, the pit stops were money once again. It was just a frustrating day I think, a frustrating end because I thought we were in the hunt battling cars. The yellow kind of saved Power and some of those guys. It closed them right up but that’s the way these things go. We’ve just got to keep working hard.
“I gave him (Grosjean) room. I was trying this outside move on Scotty (McLaughlin) the whole time so I knew Romain was going to dive bomb me because I’d already been warned that’s what he’s doing. But we are already straight there (said while watching a replay) so why are you turning into me? Your right front is at my left rear, and here again we’re straight and he hits me again. At some point we have to clean up our act but let’s turn to the positive. The Code 3 Associates car was good, the pit crew was amazing today, we came up a little short on fuel which was disappointing — we had a little telemetry issue. We raised a lot of money for Turns For Troops, we’re doing good things, our race cars are getting better, and I’m excited for the future for our team, I’m just disappointed we had to let him by on the last lap.”

FAST FACTS: Rahal started ninth and ran seventh in the final laps of the race while attempting to pass McLaughlin for sixth but he ultimately had three seconds of overtake to McLaughlin’s 79. He was alongside him multiple times but unable to complete the pass. After that, he was holding off Grosjean, who made contact with him two times while attempting to pass to no avail but Rahal had to “clutch and coast” to stretch his fuel on the final lap and Grosjean took over seventh while Rahal finished eighth. Rahal competed in his 12^th race here… His best start here is second place in 2019 to bring the team a 1-2 start… He played a major factor in the most exciting races of the 2015 and 2016 seasons as he challenged for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama win but earned his best finish here of second place both times… 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 ranked 10th in the point standings with 84.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 30 Shield Cleansers Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Honestly, it was a long race, physicality was there – the next race is going on. I think the strategy wasn’t quite the right one for today. Bit disappointed in our first pit stop, we got stuck behind Malukas who was in the pit box ahead of us – I wanted to get out and he came in. We lost a lot of positions in the first sequence there due to that. At that point we were already set back from there so it was all about keeping your head cool, save some fuel, and get the car over the line in the end. We will go on to the first Indy GP in a couple of weeks and take it from there, see you there.

FAST FACTS: He started 14^th and ran as high as ninth before his first stop, which was delayed by another car entering the pit ahead of him as he needed to depart, and ultimately finished 15^th. The 2022 race will be his fifth INDYCAR race and first at BMP. He moved up from 17^th to 15^th in the points standings with 57 points.

JACK HARVEY, 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Obviously not the result we were looking for there. That yellow came out just perfectly timed in a bad way as what you could hope for us today. I thought the #45 Hy-Vee Honda was making some pretty good headway at the start of the race up until halfway but, yeah, that yellow just killed us. But I think right now there’s a lot of really great things happening, we just have to pull the best pieces of our weekend together and go from there – we should be okay. There is still some work to do to figure out how we put this puzzle together.”

FAST FACTS: Harvey started 15^th and claimed 12^th at the start. The team opted for a three-stop strategy but the timing of the caution for rookie Ilot, after his first stop, limited the effectiveness and he ultimately finished 18^th… It was Harvey’s third INDYCAR race at the track and seventh overall. He competed in Indy car races here in 2019 and 2021 with a best start and finish of 11^th in 2021. He also competed in two doubleheader Indy Lights events here in 2014 and 2015 where he started second twice and earned three podiums in four races with his top finish being second place in Race 1 and 2 in 2015… He is ranked 22nd with 44 points.

NEXT UP: The GMR Grand Prix will take place on Saturday, May 14.