Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing PR

GALLAGHER GRAND PRIX AT IMS

Posted on by Patrick Stephan

Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingGallagher Grand Prix – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
RACE NOTES/QUOTES – July 30, 2022

LUNDGAARD EARNED HIS FIRST INDYCAR PODIUM WITH SECOND PLACE IN THE GALLAGHER GRAND PRIX AT IMS; RAHAL FINISHED SEVENTH AND HARVEY 20TH

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 One Cure Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I would say it was a solid day. It was nothing overly special today as far as the car. It was a bit of a handful but we were able to put it together and go from 17th to seventh. I don’t know that we had much more pace than that to be honest. Our straight-line deficit that we had all in qualifying and all of practice continues. And on the straightaways I was just getting killed today. It took everything we had to hold our own but we’re going to look into it and try to understand what’s wrong and why we don’t have the straight-line speed our teammates do and I think we’ll come back in Nashville stronger. We’re looking forward to it. We have a couple of days of rest here and off we go.”

  • FAST FACTS: He started 17th and gained three spots on the start for P14 and by Lap 2 he was 11th.  He held the position through a FCC for Kellett. He was 11th when he made his first of three stops, ninth when he made his second and seventh when he made his final stop, which he held until the checkered flag. He utilized the same black/red/red tire strategy the majority of the field ran… The Gallagher Grand Prix was Rahal’s 12th Indy car race on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He finished second on the road course at IMS in 2015 and 2020. In 2021 he finished fifth and seventh in May and August. Earlier this year at the Indy GP, he started 12th, ran as high as sixth and finished 16th after slick racing conditions and zero visibility led to him hitting Kirkwood and drawing a penalty… 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 moved up from 13th to 12th in NTT INDYCAR SERIES point standings with 274.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 30 Shield Cleansers Dallara/Honda /Firestone: “What a day. I didn’t think my first podium with INDYCAR would come this early with the performance we started the season with but it proves how much we’ve improved and what steps we are making as a team to get the car up here. Man, I’m exhausted now. It’s a huge relief. The team gave me the opportunity last year at this specific event and I didn’t perform well enough on race day so to back them up and show it was possible is absolutely amazing as a team result. I told them we were on a streak and we took the step we needed today. Obviously, I’m happy but I’m even happier for the team. They deserve this second place. I can for sure get used to this so I’ll go again next week in Nashville.”

  • FAST FACTS: He earned his best start of the season of sixth, and second best in his career after starting fourth in his debut at IMS in 2021. In the race, he moved into fourth on the opening lap ahead of Power and O’Ward, who had an issue.  He was passed by Herta before Kellett brought out a caution and passed Newgarden on the restart to regain fourth. He passed Rosenqvist for third on Lap 9 before his first stop on Lap 14. He held third through the majority of the race and claimed second place on Lap 42/85 when previous leader Herta slowed on course.  In the late stages of the race, he pressured eventual winner Rossi but took the checkered flag 3.5 seconds behind him for his first series podium and a career-best finish of second place… The 2022 July race was his third on the IMS road course and 14th INDYCAR race overall. While an FIA Formula 2 driver, Lundgaard made his INDYCAR debut with the team at the August 14, 2021 Grand Prix at IMS. He earned a career best 4th place start and finished 12th. At the GMR Grand Prix in May, he started eighth and finished ninth. Intermittent rain and low visibility limited the possible performance… He moved up one spot in the standings to 15th place with 248 and holds a 27-point advantage over Malukas (221) in the Rookie of the Year standings.

JACK HARVEY, 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was not a good race for us. On to Nashville.”

  • FAST FACTS: He was 0.0653 from progressing to Round 2 in qualifying and was seventh in his group to earn a 13th place start.  In the race, he gained three spots to run 10th on the start and cycled up to seventh before his first pit stop on Lap 13 and cycled into 9th by his second stop on Lap 35/85 before a caution for Pagenaud, who appeared to run out of fuel. On the next stint he ran in 14th place and choose the more durable primary tires for his final stint from Laps 60-85 when the majority of the field opted for the faster, but less durable alternates. He ultimately finished 20th. The race marked the eighth INDYCAR Series event on the road course for Harvey and 12th overall including four Indy Lights races from 2014-2015. His highest 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 has three top-three series starts on the IMS road course, which is a personal best of any track on the schedule. Earlier this year at the GMR Grand Prix at IMS, Harvey ran as high as third place in one of the craziest races in recent INDYCAR history but a penalty for making contact with Ericsson after leaving his pit box relegated him to the back of the field. He had been running seventh prior to his stop but some ahead were expected to pit soon for rain tires, so a podium was still in his sights. Once he went to the back of the field in 20th place, he climbed up to 13th before the race ended after 75 of the 85 laps due to a time limit after starting ninth. In Indy Lights, he competed in four races on the IMS road course and has two poles and two wins, three top-three starts, and three top-two finishes. Last year in the two IMS road course races, he started third and finished 23rd in May and started seventh and finished sixth in August… He is ranked 22nd with 158 points. 

RLL AT THE IMS ROAD COURSE…. The Gallagher Grand Prix marked the 13th NTT INDYCAR SERIES race on the 2.439-mile road course. The team’s best finish here is second in 2015 and July 4, 2020 by Rahal and by Lundgaard today. RLL’s best start is fourth in 2020 by Rahal and 2021 Race 2 by Lundgaard.

NEXT UP:  The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix will take place next Sunday, August 7 in Nashville.