GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Midas / Big O Tires
Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a busy race. On the initial start I was the
series punching bag; I got hit by about 10 guys and pushed backwards. And the
car just didn’t really come to me until a few laps in. Unfortunately it kept
going yellow and we barely got any clear running. When we got up and running,
we tried a different strategy to make up a little bit of time and initially it
was working but with all of the yellows that came out, everybody ended up doing
a similar sort of thing. By no means am I upset with where we finished but
certainly this weekend has been a difficult weekend for all of us. James
(Jakes) did a great job and we scored two top-10’s but we need to find a better
balance in our cars, not only here but the ovals and everything.”
· FAST FACTS: He started 15th and drove to a 9th place
finish today. He started 23rd in Dual 1, climbed 14 spots and finished 9th...
He qualified seventh with Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing in 2012 but had a
10-grid penalty for an unapproved engine change and started 17. He was eighth
when he made his final stop on Lap 45/60 but during the red flag stop to repair
the track, a clutch problem surfaced and he was unable to continue and retired
in 19th place. In 2008 he drove for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing and progressed
to the Firestone Fast Six in qualifying for the first time in his series career
and qualified sixth. The team chose the same pit strategy as then race leader
Dixon which almost worked but a late race fourth caution botched the plan and
he had to stop for a splash of fuel with three laps to go and dropped to 13th…
His best finish this season is second place in Long Beach and best start is
11th also in Long Beach… Is ranked 14th in series standings with 126 points.
JAMES JAKES, No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It’s huge. It’s huge for a lot of people. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan guys have done a great job this weekend. This one is for Honda. Three Hondas on the podium in Detroit again. They’ve really worked their butts off since Indy, and we’re proud of them. The No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts-StemCyte car was just magical today. It was tough, obviously. In the beginning it wasn't going our way but we stayed patient and then we got a stint in the middle part of the race where we were able to push like hell and manage the lead. Thanks to the guys. They did a great job. We really struggled on the red tires yesterday and towards the end of this last stint we were struggling but we had enough pace at the start of it to pull a big enough gap. So big thanks to the Rahal/Letterman/Lanigan guys.
(On the double header) "It's very tough. It has been a long weekend. But I'd go again, I love this track. Starting 2nd and 3rd, you know, I'd race here every weekend."
· FAST FACTS: Today was his best series start of second place and he earned his best series finish of second. His previous best was eighth in Toronto in 2012. On Friday he earned his best series qualifying position of fourth for Duel 1 and started third when pole sitter Franchitti served a 10-grid penalty for an unapproved engine change from Indy. He struggled with the handling of his car on the red alternate tires, drove into the runoff area which dropped him to 21st and ultimately finished 10th… He qualified 25th at Belle Isle last year with Dale Coyne Racing and had gained seven spots by Lap 14 before a problem surfaced and he retired in 23rd after mechanical failure... It is his third season in the IndyCar Series and first with RLL. In 31 Indy car starts with Dale Coyne Racing from 2011-2012, his best finish was eighth at Toronto and series-best start of eighth was at Motegi… His best start to date this season is 4th at Detroit and best finish is 12th at Long Beach although he had the potential to finish higher in each race… Is ranked 12th in series standings with 130 points.
JAMES JAKES, No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It’s huge. It’s huge for a lot of people. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan guys have done a great job this weekend. This one is for Honda. Three Hondas on the podium in Detroit again. They’ve really worked their butts off since Indy, and we’re proud of them. The No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts-StemCyte car was just magical today. It was tough, obviously. In the beginning it wasn't going our way but we stayed patient and then we got a stint in the middle part of the race where we were able to push like hell and manage the lead. Thanks to the guys. They did a great job. We really struggled on the red tires yesterday and towards the end of this last stint we were struggling but we had enough pace at the start of it to pull a big enough gap. So big thanks to the Rahal/Letterman/Lanigan guys.
(On the double header) "It's very tough. It has been a long weekend. But I'd go again, I love this track. Starting 2nd and 3rd, you know, I'd race here every weekend."
· FAST FACTS: Today was his best series start of second place and he earned his best series finish of second. His previous best was eighth in Toronto in 2012. On Friday he earned his best series qualifying position of fourth for Duel 1 and started third when pole sitter Franchitti served a 10-grid penalty for an unapproved engine change from Indy. He struggled with the handling of his car on the red alternate tires, drove into the runoff area which dropped him to 21st and ultimately finished 10th… He qualified 25th at Belle Isle last year with Dale Coyne Racing and had gained seven spots by Lap 14 before a problem surfaced and he retired in 23rd after mechanical failure... It is his third season in the IndyCar Series and first with RLL. In 31 Indy car starts with Dale Coyne Racing from 2011-2012, his best finish was eighth at Toronto and series-best start of eighth was at Motegi… His best start to date this season is 4th at Detroit and best finish is 12th at Long Beach although he had the potential to finish higher in each race… Is ranked 12th in series standings with 130 points.
Courtesy of Paddock Talk
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