Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Sonsio Grand Prix – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
RACE NOTES / QUOTES – May 10, 2025
RAHAL LED A RACE HIGH 49 OF 85 LAPS OF THE SONSIO GRAND PRIX OF INDY AND FINISHED SIXTH; FOSTER EARNED HIS TOP FINISH OF 11TH AND DEFRANCESCO WAS 17TH
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I’m genuinely proud of the effort. I don’t think I locked up once, I don’t think I put one wheel wrong, I defended as best I could, but the Ganassi cars are in a league of their own. The grip they have; their ability to follow so close. We tried our best and I’m proud of the effort of the Fifth Third Bank guys. I tried to drive as flawlessly as I could because I knew that was the only way to beat them but unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that today. We’ll keep working hard. We’ve made gains and we will continue to try to close the gap.”
- FAST FACTS: Started second and took the lead on the start, which he held through two pit stops after the pit cycles shook out. During the second stint he closed on rookie Jacob Able, who did not want to give up the lead lap, which closed Palou’s gap to Rahal by half and also caused Rahal to use up his overtake and tires. He had a slightly slower final stop and also had to use primary tires while those around him had the faster alternates and dropped to sixth place, which he held until the checkered flag for his best finish of the season to date… Has ONE POLE (2023), two FRONT ROW STARTS (2nd today) and THREE PODIUMS (2015, 2020, 2023) here… Made his 17th INDYCAR start on the road course at IMS today. After a second-place finish on the road course at IMS in 2015 and 2020 (July) he hoped to breakthrough and win at IMS in August 2023 after starting from pole. He led the most laps at 36/85 but finished second to Scott Dixon in the closest INDYCAR SERIES finish ever at the IMS road course with a margin of -0.4779 to the winner. Dixon qualified 15th and spun due to an opening lap incident but utilized the early stop for repairs on Lap 5 and then chose a two-stop strategy after that which dictated fuel saving. In the closing stages, Rahal, in second, had a quicker pace than Dixon but was held up in traffic while trying to close the gap. He was also on used alternate tires for his final stint to Dixon’s new ones after flat-spotting a set in qualifying en route to pole. After getting around the lapped traffic between himself and Dixon with approx. 12 laps to go, he closed the gap from -3.5 seconds to -0.5 with a few laps to go but ultimately settled for second place with a margin of -0.4779 to the winner. In May 2023, Rahal battled from the back after opening lap contact from Kyle Kirkwood to finish 10th. Sixth place starter Kirkwood made contact with Rahal, who had pulled ahead in the first few turns of the opening lap. It sent him into other cars, and he ultimately had to pit to replace a right rear, punctured tire. A caution came out after that for two other cars, and he pit to top off before the race returned to green. He climbed into the lead for seven laps at one point and ultimately finished 10th to salvage his race… 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; 2023 – IMS road, Portland) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… He moved up three spots in the point standings to 13th with 92.
DEVLIN DEFRANCESCO, No. 30 EVTEC Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We had a really good first 40 laps; all the executing and speed was really good and for some reason when I dropped the clutch on the second pit stop the car stalled. We need to look into that. and we had a bit of a slow plug in as well which hurts. We had such a competitive car this weekend and I’m frustrated for myself and for the team because we deserved more than that. We were pressuring Palou in the first stint. They all had to pit early because they were starting to drowned and we were solid. It hurts after being so strong this weekend. Our open test for the Indy 500 was quite good. Our race car was quite solid so we’ll execute the rest of May.”
- FAST FACTS: Started from a career best fifth-place start and jumped to third on the opening lap. He held the position until his first stop but had a slight fueling delay on his second stop and stalled when he tried to leave. He later dropped to 17th while trying to fend off passes from drivers on the faster alternate tires and took the checkered flag in 17th… After one year away from the series, DeFrancesco matched his best INDYCAR start of fifth place yesterday – for his second fifth place start on the IMS road course after also starting fifth here in 2023. His best finish here of 17th place came in Race 1 in 2023 and today… He moved up one place in the series point standings to 25th with 44.
LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Mi-Jack Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a good race for us. It’s nice to finally get some decent points on the board. We had definitely had more potential today. Usually, I would say I’m happy with 11th but after qualifying third, it’s definitely more disappointing. We’re going to go back over the race and try to understand the things we need to work on and why we just didn’t have the pace of the other cars. Aside from that, I’m happy to get 11th. It’s a good result for us. I’m looking forward to the rest of May.”
- FAST FACTS: Foster started from a career-best third place today and dropped to fourth on the start when DeFrancesco passed him. He started the race on new alternate tires but they fell off quicker than expected and instead of a planned pit stop on L22, the team called him in on L17. The team’s race pace wasn’t as they expected, and he ultimately took the checkered flag in 11th place for his best INDYCAR career result to date. Foster has competed in three INDY NXT races on the road course at IMS with a best start of third in 2023 and a win in Race 2 in 2024. He took the lead in the rookie standings with 49 points to second place Schwartzman’s 47. He moved up two places in the point standings to 23rd with 49.
NEXT UP: Opening day for the 109th running of the Indy 500 is Tuesday. FOX, FS1 and FS2 will cover most sessions, all of the qualifying sessions and live coverage of the 2025 Indy 500 will begin at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 25.
