Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has had a very busy off-season getting ready for the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season with the introduction of a third full-time car and the arrival of two new drivers.
Christian Lundgaard and Jack Harvey join Graham Rahal this season. Speaking about their off-season:
GRAHAM RAHAL said
“Off season prep has been really good. As a team, we got a little bit of a late start getting the staff together that we needed going from two to three cars, but I think our guys did a tremendous job. We were very fortunate to not only hire very good people, but people that fit in really well in our system, people that fit in really well with all of the other engineers and the mechanics. I think one of the things were fortunate about at RLL right now is that the team itself has a great reputation and is attracting a lot of young, good talent and so we’ve been able to add that this winter and are excited to go racing.”
CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD said:
“My offseason has been quite short. As some people know my season last year ended in the beginning of December and obviously, we were already testing in the beginning of January. It’s been quite rushed, but it’s been good to come over here and been working hard with the engineers and crack on from Day 1. It’s been going well. I think now that we are three drivers, we’ve been working together to sort out the best combination in pretty much every aspect and, so far, so good.”
JACK HARVEY said:
“The off-season preparation has been really good, probably as good as what I could have hoped for moving to a new team. Honestly, I feel like I’ve bonded really well with everybody from all of the mechanics, the engineers to Graham and Christian. Just having that opportunity to spend time with them before we even went to do our first test, I thought was really valuable actually because when we got to the test it was harmonious. Everything just kind of flowed really well, it was super easy. I feel like I’m already becoming friends with these guys as well as competitors with but also teammates and that’s something I haven’t had before. Off season prep has been really, really good, I think.”
GRAHAM RAHAL: “My mindset as I’ve gotten older is shifting. Every year is highly important to me, every year it’s really critical that we go out and we make the most of it. We try to take advantage of every opportunity that comes our way and try to perform well, whether it be on a test day or on a race day. We want to be up front, and we want to be competitive. I felt that last year we ended our season really, really well and I think it sets us up nicely as we go into this season and try to carry on that momentum. The guys were doing an amazing job in the pits, we were racing extremely well and so we just want to keep that going into St. Pete. We’re excited; we feel that we are one of the cars to beat and feel like we’re going to be up front consistently and hopefully get some wins early in the season and carry that momentum throughout the whole year.”
CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: “My mindset for this season overall is pretty straightforward. I know that I’m new here but at the same time, I want to lay my mark down. I’m here to stay; I’m here to win so that’s definitely the mindset I’m coming in with.”
JACK HARVEY: “The mindset for the season is super clear, were here to win. We’re here to go out and deliver the best results we can for RLL and everybody at Hy-Vee. The direction the team is going is one of intent. The team clearly is looking to push all areas whether it’s our on-track performance, the driver lineup, the new facility that’s in the process of being built. These are not small projects that we’re a part of and they don’t come with little goals. I came to this team because of the drive, the ambition; something I want to be part of. The goal for the year is to try and be competitive week in and week out and obviously get our first win going and try and get several of them if we can. The mindset is just to take each race at a time. Our biggest focus is St. Pete and after that Texas and move through the season in that way but we’re going out with maximum attack.”
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