Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
50th Anniversary Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
Round 3 of 17 in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES
PRACTICE NOTES / QUOTES – Friday, April 10, 2025
The 50th Anniversary Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Kicks Off With Friday’s Lone Practice Session
1) Will Power 1:07.3227 / 105.236 mph
15) Louis Foster 1:08.1271 / 103.994 mph
19) Graham Rahal 1:08.3238 / 103.694 mph
25) Devlin DeFrancesco 1:08.9050 / 102.820 mph
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Fleet Cost & Care Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We hoped to roll off the truck better so we have some work to do overnight. I felt like the rear of the car wasn’t very good and that the hybrid was affecting the balance so those are areas we will work on overnight. I’m sure that’s the case for everyone but I felt like I could feel the weight of the car a lot and it was making the rear of the car unstable and I was struggling to get into a place where I thought I had any rhythm. We will work to improve in all areas and come back stronger tomorrow.”
- FAST FACTS: Will be his 18th Champ/Indy car race here and 19th overall. His best IndyCar start here is fifth in 2007 and best finish is second place in 2013. In 2024, he started 12th and pit from fifth place on an alternate strategy for his second stop and a fueling issue added an additional 12 seconds, which dropped him four spots at the time and valuable track position. A top-10 finish was in sight but he had to settle for 17th place. In 2023, he started 24th and finished 12th and in 2022, he started 13th and on the final lap he had a run on Dixon but was unable to pass and took the checkered flag in seventh place. In 2021, he ran as high as second place two times and led four laps but the timing of a caution while he was on his in-lap for his final pit stop dropped him to 20th. He came back to finish 16th… A recap of results is available on request… He also competed in the 2006 Champ Car Atlantic Series race 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 FIVE poles (2009 – St. Pete street course, Kansas oval; 2017 – Detroit Race 1 street; 2024 IMS road course 2, Portland) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015. He is currently ranked 12th in series point standings with 37.
DEVLIN DEFRANCESCO, No. 30 Mi-Jack Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Overall the outcome of Practice 1 was not that bad considering our fast lap got deleted for a yellow in Turn 1. That time puts us in the ballpark and I think there is a lot of low hanging fruit for us to correct overnight on the 30 car. We need to kill the understeer, it’s as simple as that and I think that would get us in the mid-to-high 67’s so I’m cautiously optimistic going into tomorrow. I think it will be pretty good.”
- FAST FACTS: This will be his third start here. His highest start is 17th in 2022 and highest finish is 16th in 2023 – both with Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport. His season highlight to date in the first two races, was being the top team qualifier in St. Pete in 14th place and was on target for a top 10 finish there until a punctured tire forced him to pit and lose valuable positions. He ultimately finished 22nd in the race… He is ranked 22nd in series point standings with 18 points.
LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Mi-Jack Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I’ve think we’ve made some improvements to the baseline of our car since Thermal to get the car to suit my driving style a bit more and so far, so good really. I think there are definitely some improvements to be made to myself, and to the car that’s what it’s like in Practice 1; there are always things to do and things to improve on. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing and try and improve.”
- FAST FACTS: This will be his first time to race on the streets of Long Beach. He earned his first top-10 start in the series at the previous race at The Thermal Club but wasn’t able to maintain that position by the checkered flag. After having lived in LA while attending college, he is looking forward to his first race in the legendary event and creating some momentum… He is ranked 27th in series point standings with 11.
3 POLES, 6 PODIUMS FOR RLL IN 24 INDY CAR RACES AT LONG BEACH: The 2025 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (AGPLB) marks the 25th time for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) to compete in the event. Although the team didn’t compete in Indy car races here from 2004-2011 while they fielded a fulltime entry in the Indy Racing League (2004-2008), they did compete in the 2003 and 2004 Atlantic races with Danica Patrick and in the 2007 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) race. In total, the team has won three poles (Herta 1998, Vasser 2002, Jourdain, Jr. 2003); made five front row starts including an all-Team Rahal front row in 1998 (2nd – Rahal 1998, Brack 2001); earned their best finish of second place four times (Rahal 1992-1993, Vasser 2002, G. Rahal 2013) and earned six podiums here (2nd – Rahal 1992-1993, Vasser 2002 & G. Rahal 2013; 3rd – Herta 1998-1999). From 2009-2019, the team competed on the streets of Long Beach in the GTLM class of the ALMS/IMSA with BMW Team RLL and as finished on the podium each year but 2016-2019 although they started from pole in 2016 and led all three of those races. The venue is still the most successful for the team on the current IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule with wins in 2011, 2013 and 2015, nine podium finishes and five poles in 13 years. BMW M Team RLL has a two-car entry in the GTP class of IMSA.
NEXT UP: Practice 2 will take place Saturday morning from 8:30-9:30 a.m. PDT and qualifying will take place from 11:35-1:00 PM PDT. FS1 will carry live coverage of Practice 2 and FS2 will carry live coverage of qualifying. Timing and Scoring information is available for all sessions from www.indycar.com. The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will be televised live on FOX beginning at 4:30 p.m. EDT Sunday, April 13.