Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingSonsio Group Grand Prix at Road America
NTT INDYCAR SERIES – Round 8 of 17
PRACTICE NOTES / QUOTES – Friday, June 16, 2023

LUNDGAARD, RAHAL AND HARVEY RAN SEVENTH, 11TH AND 23RD IN PRACTICE 1 FOR THE SONSIO GRAND PRIX AT ROAD AMERICA

1)         Alexander Rossi                   1:41.7790 / 141.978 mph
7)         Christian Lundgaard            1:42.0534 / 141.596 mph
11)       Graham Rahal                       1:42.3731 / 141.154 mph
23)       Jack Harvey                           1:43.1707 / 140.063 mph

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I thought we did a good job closing the gap (to the fastest time). We started with a car that was very, very loose and had a lot of braking issues and to close the gap to the guys up front like we did, I am pleased. I think the balance of the Fifth Third Bank car is better on the primary tires than the alternate’s but we obviously weren’t going to run another set of primary tires in the session.  We started so far off in left field just due to a couple of issues and we ended up being right with Christian. I was maybe two-tenths off but that’s nothing around this four-mile track so I’m pleased with that.”

• FAST FACTS: The Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America will be Graham Rahal’s 10th Champ or Indy car race here and 14th overall. In nine Indy car races here, his highlights include two third place finishes (2007, 2016), a fourth place (2019), sixth (2018) and two eighth places (2017, 2022). Last year, he started 22nd and utilized the third caution to pit early which later helped him run as high as second and gain valuable track position. He was running seventh in the final restart with three laps to go and lost a spot to McLaughlin and took the checkered flag in eighth place. 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 18th place in series point standings with a total of 99.

JACK HARVEY, 30 Mi-Jack Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “The balance wasn’t as I anticipated. It was wickedly free and I struggled a little bit on the brakes and the rest of the session was just scruffy after that really. I went on the alternates and was in traffic then had to pit for fuel so not much to say about that.”

• FAST FACTS: Will be his sixth race here. In three of his five races at Road America, Harvey has started 3rd (2021), 2nd (2020 Race 1) and 9th (2020 Race 2). Last year, he started 20th and earned his highest career finish here of 13th after utilizing a good pace while stretching his fuel and quick stops. After earning his best start since joining the team of fourth place in the previous road course race at IMS, he is optimistic of a competitive weekend here. His highest series finish is third place at the IMS road course in 2019. He is ranked 23rd with 78 points.  

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Vivid Clear Rx Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I think starting the month of May with a pole and not ending it as we hoped for, we’ve sort of reset. We were competitive at Barber as well. I think in Barber I basically finished an average of seventh in all sessions. Now we’re here starting with a seventh again. Not too bad. In terms of preparations for this weekend, we’ve gone into it like we have at Barber, and every other race weekend this year. I think we’ve approached it the same way as the ones that we’ve had success at this year. All three of us were there (up front) in qualifying at the Indy GP. We know that we have another race there, and we will have a strong package for that. Here, we (teammates) were on slightly different programs today and some showed promise. We all have slightly different driving styles and we need to combine that between the three of us.”

• FAST FACTS: This is Lundgaard’s second race here. After winning his first pole in the previous road course race at IMS in May, Lundgaard is looking forward to returning to a road course. In his debut at the track last year, he started 13th, conserved his fuel while maintaining a strong pace and cycled into the lead for his second of three stops on Lap 30 of 55 and went on to take the checkered flag in 10th place. On Saturday, he was a mere 0.01 from progressing to Group 2 and ended up seventh in his qualifying round.  His best series finish is second place at the IMS road course in July 2022… He is ranked in 13th place in the point standings with 136.

NEXT UP:  Practice 2 will take place from 9:55-10:55 a.m. CT tomorrow and qualifying will begin at 12:55 p.m. Sunday’s Sonsio Grand Prix of Road America will take the Green Flag at 12:30 p.m. CT and coverage will begin on USA Network at 1 p.m. ET.