Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingFirestone Grand Prix of Monterey
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
PRACTICE NOTES/QUOTES – September 9, 2022


LUNDGAARD, HARVEY AND RAHAL SET THE 15TH, 19TH AND 20TH FASTEST TIMES IN PRACTICE 1 OF THE FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF MONTEREY

1)         Josef Newgarden         1:11.4103 / 112.824 mph       
15)       Christian Lundgaard    1:12.3193 / 111.406 mph       
19)       Jack Harvey                  1:12.9774 / 110.401 mph
20)        Graham Rahal              1:13.0487 / 110.294 mph       

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 United Rentals Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “The car was way off what it was at the test; it’s so loose. From the first lap, it was unbelievably loose. On the reds (Firestone alternate tires), I can’t even get them up to temp I’m so sideways all the time. We tried two different setups and I have no clue what it’s behaving like it is. It’s like we have no diff (differential). I can’t control the car so we have to go back and look at the data and figure out what is happening.”

• FAST FACTS: The 2022 race will mark the third for Rahal at the track. In 2021, he started 12th and ran as high as fourth before his first stop on Lap 18/95. The handling of his race car was better halfway through his second stint and he gained a few spots before he made his second stop from third place on Lap 40.  He pit from second place for his third stop on Lap 67 and was able to leapfrog O’Ward by staying out longer. He held third place for 11 laps before Grosjean, whose tires had six less laps on them, passed him on Lap 84/95 and he held on to finish fourth.  In 2019, he started eighth and lost two positions on the start to Hunter-Reay and Ferrucci. He dropped to 11th on Lap 5 when Rosenqvist passed him and cycled as high as fifth place before his second pit stop on Lap 39. He ran 10th for the majority of his next stint before his third and final stop and came out 11th. He later lost a position to Hunter-Reay on Lap 68 of 90 and ultimately took the checkered flag 12th. In 2019, he started eighth and finished 12^th…After testing at Laguna Seca on August 29 and setting the fourth fastest lap, he is hoping to continue the momentum from a fifth-place finish last Sunday in Portland and finish the season strong. His highest start of the season is fifth at Portland and his highest finish is third at Texas Motor Speedway… 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)… He is 11th in series point standings with a total of 333.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 30 PeopleReady Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was an interesting session. We started off pretty well, the car seemed to be handling quite okay in a decent window which was very positive from the get-go. I think we struggled a little more toward the end, making sure the car was in that window we started in. I’m sure there is more pace to be found, the end result was for sure not our maximum potential so I’m not too worried for tomorrow and the rest of the weekend.”

• FAST FACTS: Will make his first start here Lundgaard was having another great race weekend at the previous race in Portland after qualifying fourth, starting third and taking over second place on the start. A couple of issues in the pits and an off-track excursion while eighth dropped him to a 21st place finish but he is determined to end the season on a high and add the knowledge gained over the Portland weekend to the data collected in a test at Laguna on August 29. Although his lead reduced from +11 to +5 on fellow rookie David Malukas, he is focused on having another strong weekend… He is the highest ranked rookie in 15th place in the point standings with 293, +5 points on David Malukas.

JACK HARVEY, 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a weird session because I felt like we really unloaded out of the box, not bad. I think we had a top-10 lap time. I made a small mistake and it didn’t show it but I went slower on (the typically faster) reds than I did on blacks so that is confusing. Yeah, it was a weird one”

• FAST FACTS: Harvey has raced at Laguna Seca two times. His best start and finish came in 2021 with a 20th place start and 15th place finish… He is ranked 22nd with 184 points.  

RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING AT LAGUNA SECA … The 2022 Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey will mark the 15th Indy car event for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and second here since 12 consecutive races at the track from 1992-2003. The team has also competed in ALMS and IMSA races here from 2009-2021 as BMW M Team RLL and has earned three wins, three poles and a total of 11 podium finishes to date – including pole and a second-place finish in 2019. The team finished third at the May 1, 2022 race. The Indy car team has earned three wins, three poles and a total of six podiums (1st – Herta 1998-1999; Papis 2001; 2nd – Herta 1996; 3rd: B. Rahal 1992, Papis 1999) including three straight pole positions (Herta 1997-1999).

NEXT UP:  Practice 2 will take place tomorrow from 10:15-11:15 a.m. PT and qualifying will take place from 2:05-3:20 p.m. PT.  Peacock will broadcast all sessions live. Timing and Scoring information and live streaming video is also available for all sessions from www.indycar.com and includes live commentary. The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey will be televised live on NBC beginning at 3 PM ET Sunday, September 11.