Lundgaard, Harvey and Rahal Qualified 13th, 20th and 22nd for the Sonsio Grand Prix of Road America
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Sonsio Group Grand Prix at Road America
NTT INDYCAR SERIES – Round 8 of 17
QUALIFYING NOTES / QUOTES – Saturday, June 11, 2022
LUNDGAARD, HARVEY AND RAHAL QUALIFIED 13TH, 20TH AND 22ND FOR THE SONSIO GRAND PRIX AT ROAD AMERICA
1) Alexander Rossi 1:44.8656 / 137.799 mph (Group 1, Round 3)
13) Christian Lundgaard 1:45.4024 / 137.097 mph (Group 1, Round 1)
20) Jack Harvey 1:45.9420 / 136.399 mph (Group 2, Round 1)
22) Graham Rahal 1:45.9951 / 136.331 mph (Group 2, Round 1)
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a tough end to qualifying being 11th in our group which is obviously not what we were hoping for in the #15 Fifth third Bank car. Christian’s done a great job this weekend. It’s interesting because he is more tolerant of a very loose rear on the car. On the overlays of now versus our run last year, there is some improvement there so we’re going to keep on down this path and we’re going to let Christian go on down the path that he’s been doing. We’re going to keep trying to see if we can figure out how to make the No.15 Fifth Third Bank car a little better for the race.”
- FAST FACTS: The Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America will be Graham Rahal’s ninth Champ or Indy car race here and 13th overall. In eight Indy car races here, he has two third place finishes (2007, 2016), a fourth place (2019), sixth (2018) and eighth (2017). Last year he ran at the front in each session, with the exception of qualifying and the race. After starting 14th, he cycled as high as fourth before his first stop but struggled with the handling of his race car at various times throughout the race and finished 11th. A full list of results is 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 in 15th place in series point standings with a total of 135.
CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 30 Fleet Cost & Care Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was tough luck; I think we could have been through (to Round 2). We are looking at the lap times from the other session and we would have been through with our lap time. Obviously, I’m sure there’s a little more in it for everyone, but I think we had what it took. Once we would have gone through that would have been it as well. I don’t think we would have had much to play with after that. We are working hard, we’ve made progress throughout the week so we are cracking on and we are going to keep on going.”
- FAST FACTS: He was a mere 0.01 from progressing to Group 2 and ended up seventh in his qualifying round… This is Lundgaard’s first race here. He has competed in eight 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 119.
JACK HARVEY, 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “P10 in our group put us 20 on the grid which is disappointing. Last year I qualified third and was second the year before that so I know I can drive this track well. We’re struggling to extract the lap time out of the car right now. There is a lot of work to do but we will stay optimistic and see what the race brings us.”
- FAST FACTS: Will mark his fifth race here. In the past three of Jack’s four races at Road America, he has started 3rd (2021), 2nd (2020 Race 1) and 9th (2020 Race 2). A variety of factors, most out of his control, limited his best finish to 15th (2019). His highest series finish is third place at the IMS road course in 2019. He is ranked 22nd with 73 points.
NEXT UP: Sunday’s Sonsio Grand Prix of Road America will take the Green Flag at 11:55 a.m. CT and coverage will begin on NBC at 12:30 p.m. ET.