Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix – Streets of Downtown Detroit
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
PRACTICE NOTES/QUOTES – May 31, 2024


LUNDGAARD, RAHAL AND FITTIPALDI PLEASED WITH THE INFORMATION GAINED IN PRACTICE 1 OF THE CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX

1)         Alex Palou                           1:01.7210 / 95.948 mph 
10)       Christian Lundgaard          1:02.4726 / 94.794 mph 
13)       Graham Rahal                     1:02.7235 / 94.414 mph
17)       Pietro Fittipaldi                   1:02.9237 / 94.114 mph

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 iPacket Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a solid day, much more solid than last year to start. Much more so than last year so I’m pleased with that. Obviously, we still have more work to do to find more speed and a little bit more performance, but I think the guys have done a good job. We’ve got to keep our heads down and make the right changes overnight to put the iPacket Honda in a better spot.”

• FAST FACTS: Will be his 20th race in Detroit. He will serve a six-position grid penalty for an unapproved engine change for his fifth engine. In 2023, he started 27th and retired in 25th place after making contact with the wall on Lap 50 of 100. In 2022 on Belle Isle, Graham’s race came to an early end after he bottomed out in Turn 2, lost traction and hit the wall on Lap 2 and retired from the race. In 2021, he finished fifth in both races here. In 2019, he earned two seventh place finishes. Rahal’s most successful race weekend came in Detroit in 2017 where he won Dual 1 from pole and won Dual 2 from a third place start. His other podiums in the race came in 2014 with second place in Dual 1 and third place in Dual 2 in 2015.  Overall, he has two wins, four podiums and one pole in 15 races here…  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 ranked 14th in series standings with 86 points.

PIETRO FITTIPALDI, 30 5-hour ENERGY Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It’s my first time here so I’m trying to learn the track but it was a good session overall. We ran into a little bit of issues but were able to sort them out and get running. I didn’t lose that much track time; just a little bit and it could have been worse. The course is quite bumpy, but I was expecting it to be a little more bumpy from how others were talking about it. I’m looking forward to getting back on track tomorrow and keep improving the 5-hour ENERGY car before qualifying.”

• FAST FACTS: Will be his first race here. He is 22nd in series standings with 50 points.  

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We were much more competitive than we were last year from the get-go and that was very confidence-inspiring to be able to continue through the session. But I also knew everyone else was going to go fast throughout the session. I think it was good we were just able to get out there and able to push from the beginning in clean air (from the pit out pit box) and get in our own rhythm. I think overall the balance of the car is alright, but I think we tipped it over at the end. The alternate tires don’t really seem to function, especially on the front axle so that is something we need to understand. Other than that, it’s a pretty positive start for the Hy-Vee team. I’m looking forward to tomorrow now. I think there is something to come in qualifying.” 

• FAST FACTS: Will be his third race in Detroit. He started 18th and finished 16th here last year… In 2022, he had worked his way up to 9th place from a 19th place start but had to pit earlier than planned to clear debris that was blocking airflow from his overheating car. The team had hoped to stay on the more durable primary tires longer in order to gain more positions, but he had to compete his mandatory stint on the alternate tires on the next one before returning to the preferred primary tires for the final one and finished 14th. After starting from pole at the previous road course race at Indianapolis and finishing fourth, he is looking forward to returning to a street course to continue the trajectory that saw him finish sixth on the road course in Barber and fourth at the GMR Grand Prix…. He is 11th in the series point standings with 102. 

RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING AT DETROIT: The 2024 event will mark the 24th year for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) to compete in Detroit after 22 years of competition at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park. It is the team’s 33nd race here.  The team’s highest start of pole came in 2017 with Graham Rahal earning his first pole since 2009 in Race 1. Bobby and Graham Rahal have earned a combined total of three wins for the team here. Bobby won the inaugural race on Belle Isle in 1992 and Graham is the only driver to have won both races on the same weekend, which he did in 2017. In total, the team has earned eight podiums (2nd – G. Rahal 2014, Jakes 2013 & Max Papis 2000), (3rd – G. Rahal 2015, Takuma Sato 2019) 12 top-five finishes and 24 top-10’s here (chart available).

NEXT UP:  Qualifying will take place tomorrow from 12:15-1:45 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on Peacock Premium and also on the INDYCAR Radio Network and www.indycar.com (timing & scoring + live analysis). The Chevrolet Grand Prix of Detroit will be televised live on USA Network beginning at 12:00 PM ET Sunday, June 2.