Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingSonsio Group Grand Prix at Road America
NTT INDYCAR SERIES – Round 8 of 17
RACE NOTES / QUOTES – Sunday, June 18, 2023

LUNDGAARD, RAHAL AND HARVEY FINISHED SEVENTH, 11TH AND 26TH IN THE SONSIO GRAND PRIX AT ROAD AMERICA

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was disappointing not to get the Fifth Third Bank car into the top 10. I thought we were definitely a top-five or top-six car there. We just didn’t do a good enough job on that last out lap. I was really hanging on, I got wide in the carousel and it cost me a handful of seconds. Ultimately a handful of seconds would’ve put us right in the meat of that next big group ahead. Ultimately, we did a good job today. At the first stop there was a (fuel) vent issue and I don’t know but the redhead had a fault or something which hurt us a little bit. Then, we were able to claw back and the next stop was phenomenal. The next stop the guys gained a ton of spots so we just have to keep our heads down. I felt we closed the gap this weekend and that’s a real positive.”

• FAST FACTS: He started 14th, ran as high as 10th and finished 11th in the race.  On his first of three stops, fuel sprayed from the top of the fuel rig and extended his stop, which cost him multiple positions. He clawed his way back up the field and finished 11th. It was his 10th Champ or Indy car race here and 14th overall. In his previous 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… He moved up one position in the standings to 17th place with a total of 116.

JACK HARVEY, 30 Mi-Jack Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was like bumper cars out there. I had a good start and then got hit into Peterson when he was having an issue so I couldn’t avoid him and then, all of the positions I gained, then lost from the exit of 6 to Turn 7 so that was pretty annoying. Then on the restart, I had a good jump. Went to go by Helio on the inside and he covered and then I went left and as I went left he pushed me off into the grass and then that was that. I went off again just trying to stay ahead of the leaders and just didn’t have enough grip at that point and went off. I mean, at that point you’re trying everything just to try and make something happen there was nothing left to happen, unfortunately. Which, is a shame because the car was fast. We definitely had top-10 pace so it’s pretty disappointing.”

• FAST FACTS: He started 24th, was 17th when he tried to pass Castroneves on a restart and was pushed off course and damaged his front wing, which necessitated two extra stops. He ultimately finished 26th.  Was 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 24th with 83 points.  

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Vivid Clear Rx Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “That was a long race. We lost a bit in the start. I ran into the back of Rossi. I lost the momentum in the start which is why I got kind of swallowed and then I saw a lot of cars hitting each other into Turn 1 so I just tried to stay out of that. We got Rossi a few laps later which was great. I tried to go around the outside of Newgarden into Turn 5 and basically he just hit me and drove me off the track. If we can drive that way, it’s okay but it needs to be equal to all race tracks as well. I’m a little disappointed in seventh. I think we had a car to be around the podium today and at least fight for it at the end. I didn’t get a fuel number early enough in the last stint so I was a little surprised when they gave me a pretty big number and was trying to reach that and made a few mistakes which is something we need to look into and understand because I just started locking fronts (tires) out of nowhere.”

• FAST FACTS: He started seventh, ran as high as fifth and finished seventh in his second race here. 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 moved up two spots in the point standings to 11th place with 162.

NEXT UP: The team will test at Iowa Speedway on Wednesday in preparation for the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Weekend doubleheader, July 21-23.