Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
XPEL Grand Prix at Road America
NTT INDYCAR SERIES – Round 9 of 17
RACE QUOTES – Sunday, June 22, 2025
FOSTER FINISHED 11TH IN THE XPEL GRAND PRIX AT ROAD AMERICA; DEFRANCESCO AND RAHAL 19TH AND 20TH
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Hendrickson Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It wasn’t a great race for us. It was average. All of the yellows really affected us at the start because we needed that stint to go long on the new primary tires. Instead, we had to do long stints on both of the used alternates and then on the new alternates, which was okay but you were doing such crazy fuel saving that you weren’t able to maximize the grip of the reds. It was so slow on the straightaways and that really hurt me too. Every restart, I was a sitting duck.”
- FAST FACTS: Rahal started sixth on primary tires. The team had one set of new, faster alternate tires which they used on the second stint. Multiple strategies were at play and Rahal ultimately finished 20th in a race that saw five caution periods. Was his 12th Champ or Indy car race here and 16th overall. In 2024, he drove to a 10th-place finish from a 24th place start. He started on the alternate tire and planned to take an early caution to switch to the more durable primary tires. That opportunity came after a Lap 1, Turn 1 incident set off by the top-three cars which contributed to other contact through the field, include Ghiotto hitting Rahal and putting him in the gravel. Ghiotto was given an avoidable contact penalty for the action. Once Rahal got back on track, he pitted to replace his damaged tires. After a total of four stops and three caution periods, Rahal took the checkered flag in 10th place and was presented with the Josten’s Biggest Mover award for gaining 14 positions. In 11 Indy car races here, his highlights include two third place finishes (2007, 2016), a fourth place (2019), sixth (2018), two eighth places (2017, 2022) and 10th (2024). A full list of results is available upon request… He dropped one spot to 19th in the series point standings with a total of 133.
DEVLIN DEFRANCESCO, No. 30 Manitou Group Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “The race was genuine chaos. We had a decent start but we just seemed to struggle with straight line speed and over boost at the end and we lost a lot of positions because of that which is unfortunate.”
- FAST FACTS: Started 19th on primary tires and moved up to 15th when a group of cars went off ahead of him. After three pit stops in a race that saw five caution periods and multiple strategies, he ultimately finished 19th, In qualifying on Saturday, INDYCAR ruled that Dixon impeded Devlin in qualifying and dropped him to the back of the field from a top-six time in Round 1. It was his third INDYCAR race at Road America. His best INDYCAR start is 12th in 2023 and his best finish is 18th in 2022 – both with Andretti Steinbrenner Racing. He matched his best career start of fifth place at the Sonsio Grand Prix at IMS in May and is hoping to make another return to the Firestone Fast Six in qualifying at Road America to set he and the team up for a good finish in the race. He is ranked 25th in series standings with 89 points.
LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Droplight / Desnuda Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a decent race I think. We probably got the most out of it that we could. Obviously starting P1 and finishing P11 you don’t love but we struggled so much on the blacks and a lot of other drivers did three red stints and we only did two and that’s what really made the race for them. We got a few places at the end and took the result from being a pretty average result to a decent one but we averaged our season best result of 11th so I’m not overly disappointed, but I feel like there was more on the table for the Droplight / Desnuda team today.”
- FAST FACTS: Started from his first INDYCAR pole and was passed by McLaughlin on a restart on Lap 3. He was passed by Lundgaard on Lap 9 and made the first of three stops during a caution on Lap 11 from third place. Multiple strategies were at play and the fact he had less new alternate tires due to opting to use those in qualifying, factored into the race. He ultimately finished 11th to match his best series finish (IMS road). His previous best start was third for the Sonsio GP at IMS in May. It is the first pole for the team since Rahal won the top starting spot in Portland in 2023. During Foster’s two seasons in the INDY NXT series, his best start and finish at Road America came last year when he started and finished second. He qualified fifth and finished sixth in his rookie season. His best INDYCAR start this season came on the IMS road course of third and he is hoping to carry over that performance to Road America… He moved up one position in series point standings to 23rd with 102.
NEXT UP: The series will take next weekend off before returning to action for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio July 4-6.