WIND GUSTS LIMITED RUNNING FOR FAST FRIDAY; RAHAL, LUNDGAARD AND HARVEY MADE A FEW RUNS LATE IN THE DAY
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing106th Running of the Indianapolis 500
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
FAST FRIDAY NOTES/QUOTES – May 20, 2022
WIND GUSTS LIMITED RUNNING FOR FAST FRIDAY; RAHAL, LUNDGAARD AND HARVEY MADE A FEW RUNS LATE IN THE DAY
1) Takuma Sato 232.789 mph 24 laps
24) Graham Rahal 226.819 mph 12 laps
30) Christian Lundgaard 225.883 mph 7 laps
31) Jack Harvey 224.319 mph 8 laps
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 United Rentals Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Just a super windy day, very tough day. We didn’t go out until late in the day but even then, it was obviously a little windier but even having said that, there were a lot of guys that could do really good lap times. We are quite a ways off. Balance was very, very tricky there in the qual sims, so we have to put our heads down tonight and figure it out for sure.”
- FAST FACTS: Will be his 15th 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 12th in series standings with 98 points.
CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 30 PeopleReady Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a windy day, we didn’t do much running. We did one run at the end of the day. At the beginning of the day, what was the point of running? Looking back we probably should have run earlier in the day, but it’s easy to come back and say that afterwards. We know the conditions won’t be the exact same tomorrow so not to worry.”
- FAST FACTS: This will be Lundgaard’s first Indy 500 and second oval race. He started 24th and ran in the top-10 in his oval racing debut at Texas Motor Speedway in the late stage of the race but ultimately retired I 19th after contact with Herta. He has competed in six INDYCAR SERIES races with a best start of 4th place (IMS road course 2021) and best finish of 9th (IMS road course, 2022)… He is the highest ranked rookie in 17th place in the point standings with 79.
JACK HARVEY, 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “To be honest, I normally look forward to Fast Friday and the conditions weren’t very good today for sure. Honestly, all I could feel out there was the wind. I don’t have a ton of confidence in the car right now but I’m not sure due to the wind.”
- FAST FACTS: The race will mark the sixth time for Harvey to compete in the Indy 500. His best start in the Indy 500 is 20th, two times (2020-2021) and best finish is ninth (2020). His highest overall series start is second place and he has accomplished the feat three times, including here (2020 – IMS road course, Road America Race 2; 2021 – St. Pete). The IMS road course is also the site of his highest series finish of third place in 2019. He is ranked 21st with 61 points.
NEXT UP: Qualifying will begin at 11:00 AM ET and be televised on NBC and Peacock. Get a behind-the-scenes look at preparations for the 106th Indianapolis 500 via the Digital Ally Garage Camera on www.rahal.com.