Dual 1:
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "The car in the wet wasn't great; the rear was pretty sketchy in the rain. When Ed Jones went off, I think everybody was close to doing the same thing. Once it went dry, the car was very good. It just seemed like we gave up a little in the rain but when it dried out we were pretty good. Tomorrow it's going to be dry and I think we'll be strong. The changes that we made were better in the race than in qualifying this morning so hopefully that carries over. I will try to get a good night's sleep tonight and be ready to go again tomorrow."
· FAST FACTS: Thunderstorms delayed the start of the race for over an hour but the field rolled off the grid for the single-file, "wet start" and a 75-minute timed race. Rahal started 11th and gained spots when Veach spun on the pace lap and O'Ward dropped back at the start. He maintained the same position as Power and Jones went around both sides of him. He lost two spots to Pagenaud and Ericsson on Lap 6 of what would become a 43-lap race. By Lap 10 he regained 11th place when Hunter-Reay spun 43 but was passed by O'Ward on Lap 13. On Lap 17, he regained 11th when Jones crashed and brought out the caution flag. The team had been contemplating pitting for racing slicks when the caution came out and stopped when the pits opened on Lap 19. He got by Herta and Pigot in the pits and once the race restarted he moved up to eighth place. He moved to seventh when Dixon crashed on Lap 23 and held the position until the checkered flag… Will be Rahal's 14th and 15th races here. Last year, he was in second place until he lost control of his race car on the out-lap from his final stop and made hard contact with the wall in Turns 13-14 and retired in 23rd place after starting eighth. For Race 2, he started ninth and finished fifth. In 2017, Rahal was either first or second in every on-track session including qualifying and each race. In Dual 1 last year, Rahal earned his first pole since Kansas 2009 and led a dominating 55 of 70 laps en route to his fifth series victory and first ever from pole. He handily held the lead with the exception of pit cycles and built a gap of more than 13 seconds at one point before he ultimately won by a six-second margin over Scott Dixon. For Dual 2, Rahal set the second fastest time in his qualifying group 2 to Sato to start third. In the race, he passed Hunter-Reay on Lap 8 and closed the gap to pole sitter and leader Sato but could not pass. Sato pit one lap earlier than Rahal, who took the lead on Lap 23 before he made his first of two stops on Lap 24 and returned to the track behind Newgarden who was on a three-stop strategy. Once Newgarden pit on Lap 29, Rahal took over the lead and steadily built his gap to second place to 16 seconds over Sato before his second and final stop on Lap 47. He then proceeded to build an 18 second gap over second place before he caught traffic. That reduced his lead to new second place runner Newgarden to 5.5 seconds before a red flag came out for the car of Pigot, who experienced a smoky end. All race cars were stopped in pit lane for approximately 10 minutes while the track was cleared and an attempt to remove marbles was made. The race resumed with a two lap shootout and Rahal utilized his 57 seconds of Push to Pass over Newgarden's 36 to keep the lead on the restart before he was able to pull a slight gap before the checkered flag to become the first winner of both races in Detroit. In total, he led 41 of 70 laps. His other podiums in the race came in 2014 with second place in Dual 1 and third place in Dual 2 in 2015. Overall, he has two wins, four podiums and one pole in 13 races 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 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 moved up two spots in the standings to 10th with a total of 149 points.
Dual 2:
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 United Rentals Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "The strategy to start on primary tires played out. The yellow on Lap 15 or 16 kind of hurt those of us who were on that alternate strategy though. It let the group bunch back up but starting 22nd, you have to take a flyer (on strategy). We gained 15 positions today and there is no shame in that, we had a great day. I'm awfully proud of these guys and very thankful for the 30 car guys that pitched in and made it possible for us to get out there. Everything ran smoothly so we're pretty happy with that."
· FAST FACTS: A gear-related issue was found immediately prior to qualifying but the team fixed that issue and was in the pits a few minutes before Round 1 began. After his first run, which put him third at the time, another gear-related issue surfaced and his time was eclipsed and he ended up 11th in the session for 22nd place start. In the race, he gained five spots on the start after a multi-car crash. Due to his starting spot, the team elected to start on the primary tires over the faster but less durable alternate ones and the decision paid off as Rahal cycled up to fifth place on Lap 2 when the majority of the field pit under caution to replace their alternate tires. Power pit for repair on Lap 5 and Rahal moved into fourth. Race leader Dixon, whose lap time dropped four seconds when his alternate tires lost their performance jumped into the pits right before a caution came out when Bourdais hit Pigot. Rahal now ran second to Ferrucci which he held until his first pit stop on Lap 31 for fuel and alternate tires. He was able to hold his ground in sixth place as the tires began to degrade and made his second stop on Lap 45 for fuel and primary tires. HE returned to the track in 10th place. He moved into 9th when Jones pit and right after that Hinchcliffe brought out the caution flag when he stopped on course. After the restart, he moved into eighth when he passed Sato, who was battling with Power, Hunter-Reay and Rossi. He moved into seventh when Rosenqvist crashed. The series red flagged the event to clear the debris and have a green-checkered flag finish and once the race restarted Rahal held seventh until the checkered flag… Was Rahal's 14th and 15th races here. Last year, he was in second place until he lost control of his race car on the out-lap from his final stop and made hard contact with the wall in Turns 13-14 and retired in 23rd place after starting eighth. For Race 2, he started ninth and finished fifth. In 2017, Rahal was either first or second in every on-track session including qualifying and each race. In Dual 1 last year, Rahal earned his first pole since Kansas 2009 and led a dominating 55 of 70 laps en route to his fifth series victory and first ever from pole. He handily held the lead with the exception of pit cycles and built a gap of more than 13 seconds at one point before he ultimately won by a six-second margin over Scott Dixon. For Dual 2, Rahal set the second fastest time in his qualifying group 2 to Sato to start third. In the race, he passed Hunter-Reay on Lap 8 and closed the gap to pole sitter and leader Sato but could not pass. Sato pit one lap earlier than Rahal, who took the lead on Lap 23 before he made his first of two stops on Lap 24 and returned to the track behind Newgarden who was on a three-stop strategy. Once Newgarden pit on Lap 29, Rahal took over the lead and steadily built his gap to second place to 16 seconds over Sato before his second and final stop on Lap 47. He then proceeded to build an 18 second gap over second place before he caught traffic. That reduced his lead to new second place runner Newgarden to 5.5 seconds before a red flag came out for the car of Pigot, who experienced a smoky end. All race cars were stopped in pit lane for approximately 10 minutes while the track was cleared and an attempt to remove marbles was made. The race resumed with a two lap shootout and Rahal utilized his 57 seconds of Push to Pass over Newgarden's 36 to keep the lead on the restart before he was able to pull a slight gap before the checkered flag to become the first winner of both races in Detroit. In total, he led 41 of 70 laps. His other podiums in the race came in 2014 with second place in Dual 1 and third place in Dual 2 in 2015. Overall, he has two wins, four podiums and one pole in 13 races 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 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 moved up one place to 9th in the series point standings with a total of 175 points.