Tag: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal in the No.15 United Rentals Honda had a difficult qualifying in St Petersburg and will start Sunday’s season-opening Firestone Grand Prix presented by RP Funding in eleventh place and speaking following the action he said:

Qualifying has come to a close here in St Pete with the No. 15 United Rentals car in P11. I thought we had more than that. Coming out of Q1 where we were second, I thought we were going to be very competitive but Q2 we just couldn’t quite get the balance right. It’s so close you know, 2/10ths (of a second) and you advance to the Fast Six, but we didn’t. We have to go back to the drawing board, we have to improve the car a little bit. I’m watching the others on their in-car cameras and stuff, and we have some work to do. We’re going to close in on it. I think as a team everybody was scrambling this morning, scrambling between sessions – so good job just to get all three cars on track. Hopefully we can have a good night, get some rest and get ready to go tomorrow.

Christian Lundgaard in the No.30 Shield Cleansers Honda starts the race from 15th place and speaking following the action he said:

It was a good day throughout.  I think the morning session went pretty well, we made good improvements since yesterday in practice two this morning. We had a slight issue on the car just before qualifying and managed to sort it out and got the car out there. We performed on the (Firestone; primary) blacks but didn’t quite get the performance out of the reds that we were hoping for but considering the rush we were in just before qualifying, I am pretty satisfied with the result.

Jack Harvey hit the wall during practice on Saturday morning, however, the team was able to get the car repaired and he will start his first race for RLL from 23rd place and speaking following the action he said:

Qualifying was not good honestly, I think we had quite a lot of pace that we just didn’t get to show. We got completely screwed with traffic to be honest. A tiny mistake on the entry of Turn 9 in the morning practice and, I mean, that’s the wall. I just grazed it and it was enough to take me off line and into the wall. So I’ll say I’m sorry to the guys of the #45 Hy-Vee Honda that it happened. I don’t crash often or a lot. Honestly, just a really disappointing day across the board, I do think the 45 Hy-Vee Honda has got some speed, we just didn’t get to show it. It was a tough day and it makes tomorrow tough, but we will give it 110 when it matters which will be tomorrow.

Graham Rahal in the No.15 United Rental Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing says that the team had a generally good start to the St Pete weekend on Friday.

Following the opening 45-minute practice session, Rahal found himself in fifth place following a time of 01:01.3683s and speaking following the action he said:

Practice 1 was generally good. We were P5 and fairly competitive to get going here with Jack in P7. We are generally good but still have some weaknesses in the car that we need to work through. But I would say for day one we are pretty pleased with the performance and the competitiveness. We’ll put our head down, try to improve a little in the morning, get the car a little more neutral, and ready to qualify and then go from there. We’re feeling good so far.

Jack Harvey ended the day in seventh place overall in his first practice session as a Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver and speaking after setting a time of 01:01.4903s he said:

It was a pretty good day, really. I think we had a little bit more pace than what we showed which is textbook driver answer for P1, right? But I think the thing I was happy with, we had so much positivity coming into this weekend and just to get the ball rolling on a positive is really the big takeaway. There’s not much time to get used to everybody, for teams to get used to me, for me to get used to them and everything has been so easy and seamless. We’ve got pace to go and show just by putting the lap together a bit better. Pretty happy with the 45 HyVee Honda right now, so just going to keep chipping away, I think we ended some 7th or something but we want to do better than that

Christian Lungaard was 25th fastest with a time of 01:02.5246s and speaking following the action he said:

St. Pete was a fun experience, I think there’s still a little bit of improvements to be made. It was a short session in the end, just an install, get out there and get running. I had an extra set of tires at the end but we got blocked on basically all the laps, so didn’t really manage to get a lap time in at the end. It’s tricky, but we will crack on and understand where to gain some time.

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.”

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s expansion to a three-car full-time program in the NTT IndyCar Series this season is a clear sign to the sports big three teams. Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Autosport to watch out.

Rahal has expanded their program with the arrival of not one, but two new drivers with Christian Lundgaard and Jack Harvey joining Graham Rahal at the team.

Rahal has also invested heavily in their new race shop in Zionsville, Indiana which will house all of their racing operations and signals the team’s intention to get to the front and to challenge for wins and championships on a regular basis.

The team announced on Friday that Graham Rahal will once again be sponsored by One Cure and speaking about the news,  Dr. Christine Hardy, One Cure program lead said:

Thanks to an anonymous Colorado-based philanthropist, we are thrilled to continue Racing for One Cure in the INDYCAR SERIES with Team RLL’s Graham Rahal. In the race for a better tomorrow for all cancer patients – animal and human – we couldn’t have better partners, The team owners, and Graham and his wife Courtney, have visited the Flint Animal Cancer Center to see the work that benefits animals and humans. We would like to extend a special thanks to the Graham and Courtney Rahal Foundation and their associates for their continued support. Their generosity has helped fund our clinical trials team and a clinical trial that is enrolling children with advanced bone cancer at Children’s Hospitals in Denver and Atlanta. We hope this new treatment will benefit kids in the same way it has benefitted dogs.

Graham Rahal, driver of the No.15 One Cure Honda said:

“I am extremely proud of our association with One Cure. “It’s become a great mission for all of us to raise awareness and money for this great cause and to help find a cure for cancer. The passion that we’ve been able to fuel on the track, as well as through our foundation events that all our team partners have supported, has been nothing short of amazing. We’ve been able to help Dr. Rod Page (the center’s director), and all of the staff at One Cure get the resources they need to battle cancer, something that impacts everyone.”

Christian Lundgaard who impressed on his debut for Rahal last season will be a driver to watch this season as he embarks on his full-time debut in the NTT IndyCar Series and speaking at the time of joining the team for 2022 he said:

I’m very excited to join Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in INDYCAR. They are a fantastic team who made me feel very welcome earlier this year when I made my debut in the series. They are the perfect choice and I’m happy to join them on this next chapter in my career. I was very much open-minded when I raced at Indianapolis in August and the experience then only grew my hunger to give it another go, so to have the opportunity as a full-time professional racing driver is a privilege. I can only thank Bobby, Piers and the team, as well as my investors and Alpine for putting it all together. I’m determined to repay that faith with on-track performances beginning when the season starts in February. Of course, this will be a completely new challenge for me, especially with oval racing, which I’ve never done before. I’d like to think I’m a fast learner, so taking this on is going to be an awesome experience. For now, I’m not setting too many expectations other than working hard and enjoying the racing and hopefully the results will follow. For now, though, my focus is on finishing the Formula 2 Championship before fully committing to taking on INDYCAR. I can’t wait for the experience to begin.”

Jack Harvey arrives at the team from Meyer Shank Racing and will drive the No.45 Hy-Vee Honda after the grocery store chain expanded their involvement with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and indeed the NTT IndyCar Series with the races in Iowa this season.

Speaking at the time of him joining Rahal, Jack Harvey said;

I’m incredibly excited to be joining Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. I’ve been working towards this moment for my entire career and I’m so honored and thankful for the trust Bobby, Mike, David and Piers (Phillips, president) have placed in me. Hy-Vee has massively committed to elevating INDYCAR as a series and I’m honored to be representing their brand on track in the No. 45. I’m eager to get to work with Graham and the entire team. We have common goals of competing for wins and championships, and I’m confident we’ll be contending from the drop of the green flag next year. This is an exciting next chapter, and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead.