RAHAL FINISHED 19TH IN THE MAVTV 500 INDYCAR SERIES SEASON-FINALE AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 National Guard Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "It was a frustrating race. I don't know what happened. The team thinks there might be something wrong in the right rear of the car like an upright or a bearing started to go. The car was pretty good for three stints and all of a sudden it was just looser than can be. We put 100 pounds of right front wing in and did everything we could to get it to understeer. It was really, really frustrating. We wanted to give the National Guard something to be proud of tonight. We have to thank the National Guard in IndyCar racing and motorsports in general. It's a shame that it ended this way but we were very lucky to have had them in the series as long as we've had and we can't thank them enough."
FAST FACTS: Was his third Indy car race here. He qualified 10th and finished 19th… In 2013 he qualified 18th but started 22nd after grid penalties were assessed. He was in 14th place, one lap down to the leaders, when a mechanical failure ended his race and he ultimately finished 15th. He qualified 11th in 2012 with Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing (SCCGR), started 18th after a penalty for an unapproved engine change and finished sixth. He is looking to close the season with a top-five performance… His best finish this season is second place in Detroit Dual 1 and best start is fourth in Race 2 of the 2014 Houston doubleheader… He ended the 2014 season ranked 18th in the Verizon IndyCar Series point standings with a total of 345.
RAHAL EARNED HIS BEST STARTING POSITION AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY OF 10TH FOR THE MAVTV 500
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 National Guard Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "I think our run was good. In the practice earlier, our car struggled in the heat. But at night, the other night in the test, I felt our car was really strong compared to those I was around. It's hot here obviously for qualifying; everybody knows that the track temp is probably the hottest that we've seen. The wind was picking up and it made it tricky in Turns 1 and 2. And in Turns 3 and 4 it was pretty loose because the wind was on the nose (of the car). But our National Guard car is good. I thought the 17.0 (qualifying lap 1) was strong and on the second lap I had to lift too much in Turn 1 but I think at night we'll have a pretty good race car. We've just got to do well tomorrow. Its not only the last race for us with the National Guard, it's also their last race in Indy car racing and we want to make them proud."