RACE NOTES/QUOTES for Race 1 of "2 in T.O". - Saturday, July 13, 2013
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Midas / Big O Tires Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "Unfortunately I saw in my mirror that Newgarden had stalled and I was thinking 'There goes that.' I was kind of excited about the start; I thought that it would be fun but then again I also wasn't all that disappointed. I know the fans will be but to be honest IndyCar racing isn't Formula One, it's not about the standing starts. And I'm not sure we need them. Tradition in this sport goes back 100 years.
"My start was good, I think I passed four guys. I got by Sato and a couple of others in the second lap and felt pretty strong initially. The tires went away from me early and I struggled with the rears on the reds and we pitted to get on the blacks and unfortunately Vautier hit us as I was trying to pass Pagenaud. It was kind of a mess and Pagenaud appeared to be struggling with the rears (tires) so I was trying to get by him and Vautier drove over his head and I should have known it could happen. He couldn't have even had his (car) nose next to my rear pod and the contact didn't leave a mark on the tires which tells you something.
(On learning things today for tomorrow's race:) "The laps that you do today help. As dad said on the radio, this became a test session for us. Unfortunately with the issues that we had getting the car started, we lost a few laps and knew we were totally out of contention for anything but a top-20 at best. So you just try things like driver lines and I figured some stuff out but we have some work to do before tomorrow."
FAST FACTS: Was his sixth Indy car race here and he also competed in one Atlantic race. He started 18th and moved to 17th when Justin Wilson (and also Newgarden, behind) stalled before the standing start. On the rolling start he gained two spots and another when he passed Sato on the following lap. He was later hit by Tristan Vautier, who was assessed a drive through penalty for avoidable contact, on Lap 35 and fell three laps down by the time he got restarted and pitted. He finished the 85-lap race in 20th place… Started from pole in the 2006 Atlantic race but was hit by Raphael Matos on the first lap. Repaired the damaged suspension and returned to the track a few laps down, set the fastest race lap but later retired in 15th place. Started 15th in the 2007 Champ Car race as a rookie for NHR but an evasive move to avoid a pile up on Lap 1 led to him hitting the wall and a subsequent stop for a new front wing. Had to pit again for another front wing later in the race after running as high as second. Retired in 11th place after he made contact for the third time due to a broken steering rack. There was not a race in Toronto in 2008. In 2009, he started third but was hit by second place starter Will Power, who squeezed him to the wall on the opening lap before T1. A forced stop to replace his front wing dropped him to the back but he charged through the field into seventh place. He held his position behind Patrick but flat-spotted his tires which led to losing three positions before his next stop. He tried to pass the lapped car of Ed Carpenter on the inside on a right-handed turn but the contact ended his race in 20th place after 57/85 laps… In 2010, he started 14th with NHR and earned his best finish since his 2008 win in St. Pete of fifth place… He competed for Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing in 2011-2012. In 2011 he qualified fifth, led 23 laps and finished 13th… In 2012, he qualified 12th, started 10th after penalties were served to two competitors ahead on the grid and was sixth when contact in Turn 1 forced him to retire from the race in 23rd… His best finish this season is second place in Long Beach and best start is 11th also in Long Beach.
RLL RACING AT POCONO RACEWAY: It is the 14th (and 15th) Indy car races for the team in Toronto and second/third since 2003. The team also competed in the Atlantic Series races here in 2003 and 2004. The team earned a total of four second place finishes (Rahal 1992, 1994, 1995; Michel Jourdain Jr. 2003) and best start was pole in 1992 by Bobby Rahal. Prior to the 2013 event, the team prepared a total of 22 Indy car entries for drivers Bobby Rahal (1992-98), Mike Groff (1994), Raul Boesel (1995), Bryan Herta (1996-99), Max Papis (1999-2001), Jimmy Vasser (2002), Michel Jourdain Jr. (2002-03) and Takuma Sato (2012). The team also prepared three Toyota Atlantic entries (Danica Patrick 2003-2004; Chris Festa 2004). The team has earned FIVE podiums (3rd - Rahal 1996), 9 top-five's and 17 top-10 finishes at the track.
RACE NOTES/QUOTES for Race 2 of "2 in T.O". - Sunday, July 14, 2013
"The standing start was okay. The traditional rolling start was more fun for me to be honest but I think the fans enjoyed it. It really didn't change Turn 1 at all. We just struggled again for a little bit of pace, a little bit of grip. We lost a little ground in those middle stints when we were stuck in traffic but we went quick at the very end so I'm pretty happy with that but certainly we want to finish better than we did. It was really physical. This was probably the most physical weekend of racing I have ever had. I'm going to need to drink a lot of fluid tonight."
FAST FACTS: Was his seventh Indy car race here and he also competed in one Atlantic race. He qualified 20th but started 19th after gaining a position due to Ryan Briscoe breaking his wrist in Race 1 and being replaced by Carlos Munoz, who started in the back. He drove to a 14th place finish… Started from pole in the 2006 Atlantic race but was hit by Raphael Matos on the first lap. Repaired the damaged suspension and returned to the track a few laps down, set the fastest race lap but later retired in 15th place. Started 15th in the 2007 Champ Car race as a rookie for NHR but an evasive move to avoid a pile up on Lap 1 led to him hitting the wall and a subsequent stop for a new front wing. Had to pit again for another front wing later in the race after running as high as second. Retired in 11th place after he made contact for the third time due to a broken steering rack. There was not a race in Toronto in 2008. In 2009, he started third but was hit by second place starter Will Power, who squeezed him to the wall on the opening lap before T1. A forced stop to replace his front wing dropped him to the back but he charged through the field into seventh place. He held his position behind Patrick but flat-spotted his tires which led to losing three positions before his next stop. He tried to pass the lapped car of Ed Carpenter on the inside on a right-handed turn but the contact ended his race in 20th place after 57/85 laps… In 2010, he started 14th with NHR and earned his best finish since his 2008 win in St. Pete of fifth place… He competed for Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing in 2011-2012. In 2011 he qualified fifth, led 23 laps and finished 13th… In 2012, he qualified 12th, started 10th after penalties were served to two competitors ahead on the grid and was sixth when contact in Turn 1 forced him to retire from the race in 23rd… His best finish this season is second place in Long Beach and best start is 11th also in Long Beach… Is ranked 17th in series standings with 221 points.
NEXT UP: The series will take the next two weekends off and reconvene at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course August 2-4 for the Honda Indy 200. It will mark the 16th Indy car event for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) at what is considered the team's home track due to the proximity to the Hilliard, Ohio race shop. The team also competed in the Atlantic Series race at Mid-Ohio in 2003 with Danica Patrick and has competed in ALMS races there in 2007 and from 2009-2012. The highest IndyCar finish for the team is two third place finishes (Rahal 1997, 1998) and the highest start is pole (Herta 1997). Another front row start came in 1999 (Herta; 2nd).