Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix
Round 4 of 17 in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES
RACE NOTES/QUOTES – Sunday, April 30, 2023
LUNDGAARD FINISHED SIXTH IN THE CHILDREN’S OF ALABAMA INDY GRAND PRIX; RAHAL AND HARVEY 17TH AND 24TH
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 One Cure Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We set out to do a two-stop strategy and the yellow flag came at a weird time and forced our and not going to a three-stop strategy. We got in the pit right before they closed due to the caution and unfortunately it reset us to the back of the pack. So, I had to make some moves and get by guys. Its frustrating to have to do that. At the end of the day, we really struggled with the rear of the car during the race. I guess our fast lap pace wasn’t that far off; it was the quickest of our team by about six-tenths of a second or so but I think compared to the winning team, it’s a half a second off. I was driving my tail off, but we need a little more pace. We have to reset and hope to come back at the GMR Grand Prix a little stronger.”
FAST FACTS: The team planned for a two-stop strategy but the timing of a caution led them to opt to jump in the pits to switch to the primary tires as a caution looked likely to happen. Track position and other factors contributed to a 17th place finish… His best start here is second place in 2019 to bring the team a 1-2 start… He played a major factor in the most exciting races of the 2015 and 2016 seasons as he challenged for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama win but earned his best finish here of second place both times… 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 16th in series point standings with 65.
JACK HARVEY, No. 30 AMADA Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Pre-race strategy was to try to do two stops (versus three) and we executed it pretty-well but that clearly wasn’t the strategy to be on today with the way the race played out. There was one moment when I was battling with Graham and I guess he pitted and, in hindsight, we should have done the same. The guys were saying our pace was pretty similar to him and in the end he was 17th and I was 24th. There was a bit of congestion by the museum on Lap 1. By the time you get there and the accordion effect has happened, Helio and I came together and it damaged my wing.”
FAST FACTS: He started 24th and suffered from front wing damage at the start after contact with Castroneves, which dropped him three places. He ultimately finished 24th… It was Harvey’s fourth INDYCAR race at the track and eighth overall. He competed in Indy car races here in 2019 and 2021 with a best start and finish of 11th in 2021. He also competed in two doubleheader Indy Lights events here in 2014 and 2015 where he started second twice and earned three podiums in four races with his top finish being second place in Race 1 and 2 in 2015… He is 23rd in series point standings with 43.
CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We had a good start and the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda guys had some of the best stops we’ve had all season. We’ve got to take the positives from this weekend; we started sixth. We took a big step forward. Just looking at my overtake (Dixon), these were the kind of moves that we had to get done today. I knew I had to be aggressive. My dad told me ‘Think about driving and what you enjoyed growing up’ and that was racing hard and I did that today.”
FAST FACTS: This was Christian’s best start of the season with sixth place. He ran as high as fourth and ultimately finished sixth on a two-stop strategy to the winner’s three-stop one… He is returning to the site of his first experience in an Indy car (July 26, 2021). Last year, he started 14th here and ran as high as ninth before his first stop, which was delayed by David Malukas entering the pit ahead of him as he needed to depart which dropped him many positions and he ultimately finished 15th… He is 12th in series point standings with 77.
NEXT UP: The GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will take place on Saturday, May 13.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
