GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Midas / Big O Tires Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "The race was good. I didn't quite have James' (Hinchcliffe) speed today but we were close. And as you know, coming from where we have been over the past few weeks, this feels pretty good. But obviously I'm disappointed to not finish higher; we wanted a podium today if not better. The guys have really worked hard to get this Midas / Big O Tires car back to the front and we're getting closer. We struggled a bit at the start of the race. On the second set (of tires) the car came on for me and felt really, really magical. That's when we went from 10th to second. I don't know what it was at the end of the race, we just lost a little bit of overall grip and struggled a little bit. The last couple of laps when Ed (Carpenter) got me, I just couldn't keep the thing turning. Earlier in that stint, I was chasing Hinchcliffe down but at the end of the race I was losing a little bit of everything in the car. I'm proud of these guys because as I've said too many people, the last few weeks hasn't been easy for us. I'm really proud of the engineering staff and everyone. For everybody to keep coming back week after week with their chins up means a lot to me. I felt like I could have won the race today. I don't know how we lost a spot on that pit stop today because I thought we had a good stop, but we did and unfortunately we got behind Hunter-Reay and never really recovered. I feel like I got robbed; I should have had a podium at least today but we'll take a fifth."
FAST FACTS: Was his sixth race here. He qualified 9th but started 6th after engine penalties were served. After his first pit stop, he began a charge from eighth place into second which he regained after his other stops and even led Lap 160 on a restart but he lost a position to Hunter-Reay while trying to navigate traffic and another two in the closing laps to finish fifth... He has earned three top-10 finishes in five starts here with his best being ninth (2012, 2010). In 2012 he qualified 10th, started 20th (penalty for unapproved engine change) and finished 9th with Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing (SCCGR). In 2011 he qualified 20th and finished 15th with SCCGR. In 2010 he qualified 17th with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, led 11 laps and finished 9th. In 2009 he qualified 9th and finished 11th with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR) and in 2008 he qualified 16th and finished 10th with NHLR... His best finish this season is second place in Long Beach and best start is 9th at Iowa... He has a total of 182 points.