HOLE IN THE WALL CAMPS DRIVER RAHAL TO COMPETE AT “HOME” FOR FIRST TIME IN THE BIG LEAGUES; McDONALD’S DRIVER WILSON LOOKING TO CONTINUE ROAD COURSE COMPETITIVENESS

LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 16, 2008) --- Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR) will return to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend for its 22nd event here and first since 2003 for this Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. McDonald’s driver Justin Wilson will make his first appearance at the track but his teammate, Hole in the Wall Camps driver Graham Rahal has been coming here since before he could walk.

Before Graham was born on January 4, 1989 in Columbus, Ohio, his father, Bobby was competing annually at the Mid-Ohio course. He made 16 starts (1983-98) here during the CART days and posted eight top-three finishes, including victories in 1985 and ’86. He later drove at Mid-Ohio for his own team beginning in 1992. Graham has many fond memories of long weekends at this track with his siblings and friends. Those memories also include the occasional joyride on golf carts, much to the chagrin of security. After competing here a few times in lower formulas, this weekend will mark the first time for him to race near his New Albany, Ohio home in the “big leagues.”

“I don’t have that much experience personally at Mid-Ohio,” said Rahal, who resides in New Albany, Ohio. “I have been there many times but a lot of those times I was just watching. The team has a lot of experience there though. They raced there before I was even born but there is still going to be a bit of a learning curve initially due to the different equipment. I will have a lot of friends and family at the race. We’re going to try to have as many people as we can at the track because it’s kind of my first time ever to race this close to home at this level. We’ve been lucky to have a lot of fans at Mid-Ohio because of Dad and he’s obviously had a lot of success there. I would like to continue that.”

The younger Rahal has had his own share of success at the 13-turn, 2.258-mile scenic road course. In 2005 he raced in the Formula Atlantic class and won the same national title that his father claimed 30 years earlier in the SCCA National Run-offs at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. He hopes to add another title to his resume in a few years but his current goal is a top-10 season-ending rank in the IndyCar Series standings. He is currently ranked 16th with 201 points, but within reach of 10th place Ed Carpenter’s 222.

“We started to get a lot closer to having a good car at the end of the Watkins Glen weekend and I think that all the information that we can take from that weekend can really benefit us as the season goes on,” said Rahal, who gained 10 positions in the previous road course event in Watkins Glen to finish eighth. “Obviously there are a heck of a lot of road and street courses in the next month so we need to make sure we do all the homework and be as competitive as we can. If you look at points, these road and street courses are what is going to help us get back into it. We’re only 21 points out of 10th place so by no means are we out of it to get a top-10 finish at the end of the year. There is definitely a lot of work to do though.”

In Newman/Haas Racing’s previous 21 races here, they won three events (Michael Andretti 1990-1991, Mario Andretti 1984), six poles (Mansell 1993; Mi. Andretti 1992, 1991, 1990; Ma. Andretti 1986, 1984) and 11 podiums (2nd – C. Fittipaldi 2002, Tracy 1995, Ma. Andretti 1990, 1988, 1983; 3rd – C. Fittipaldi 2000, Mi. Andretti 1996, 1989). It will be their first race here as NHLR. After qualifying first (Long Beach), second (Watkins Glen) and third (St. Pete) for the three non-oval races this season, McDonald’s driver Wilson hopes to become the eighth different driver to win in the IndyCar Series this season.

“Given how we performed on the road and street courses so far this season, I hope we are in the same position again and challenge for pole position,” said Wilson, who succumbed to a gearbox leak at Watkins Glen after he narrowly missed the pole by 0.04 of a second and started second. “It would be great for the McDonald’s team to pick up our first win! We have been very competitive on the road circuits this year and I don’t see why that can’t continue. It’s not a given, we’ve got to make sure we do everything right and if we do that we will have a chance.”

Wilson is looking to turn around his luck this weekend. He battled car-related problems in the last two events but specifically on road and street courses, which is the two-time Champ Car runner up’s specialty, he has encountered disappointment. He surprised the team with a third place qualifying effort in St. Pete, the teams ICS debut on a street course, but strategy dictated by rain shuffled him to a ninth place finish after he led 18 laps. In the Champ Car finale in Long Beach, he earned the team’s only pole this season but retired with a rare engine failure on Lap 13. He is hoping to put the disappointment of retiring from the previous road race at The Glen behind him with a strong finish at Mid-Ohio.

“I’m looking forward to going to Mid-Ohio,” said Wilson. “I drove the course on video games years ago and watched last year’s race on DVD. From what I have seen, it’s a fantastic track with a lot of elevation changes. It’s a bit like a roller coaster ride with the off-camber corners and elevation changes. It’s what I enjoy and I am looking forward to it.”

When NHR competed here previously, the Mid-Ohio race was commonly referred to as the most physically demanding race of the season. Rahal believes it will be even more so this year after the track recently repaved the course.

“The course is very physical,” said Rahal. “It is one of the more physically demanding places we will race at all season. By no means is it going to be easy to complete the race. I haven’t raced there since they repaved it and I have been told that it’s got even more grip. If that’s the case it’s going to be an even tougher weekend. There are a lot of fast, high G (force)-loading corners as well as some that are slow. It’s fun because you go through the esses and there are a lot of elevation changes at a rapid pace which makes it more exciting. It’s a cool place and I love going there.”

“I have heard it is a physically demanding track but we are used to road racing so we should be fine,” added Wilson. “You just have to make sure you are hydrated and save your energy. We had quite a few road races last year so I think we are ready for one this weekend. The hard part this year is that we are on the road so much this season and are not able to train as much as we normally do. You have a question mark about your fitness because you have spent more time sitting around at a race track than working out as compared to previous seasons. Still I think we will be in good shape and I am not too concerned.”

In recent years in the Champ Car series, the Edmonton race was considered one of the most physically demanding due to the level of grip the airport street circuit provided. With the addition of the Rexall Edmonton Indy to the IndyCar Series schedule in two weeks, the two most physical races of the season will be back-to-back. Although the team can keep the cars in the same course configuration rather than change from oval set-up to road course, the short turnaround will still be challenging.

“Having two road races in a row is going to be good for the team,” said Wilson. “It’s still a tough schedule and the team is working flat-out to keep up. Even though the cars will stay in the same configuration between Mid-Ohio and Edmonton, there is still quite a lot of work to be done between the two events. The travel time alone to get the equipment from Ohio on Sunday night to Edmonton by Wednesday morning is a factor and that doesn’t include the two days needed to prepare the cars for the next race. It’s a big challenge but we are looking forward to these next two races and hopefully we will come away from them with two great results.”

This weekend’s Honda Indy 200 can be seen on live on Sunday, July 20 at 1:30 p.m. EDT on ABC. The event will get underway with practice on Friday, qualifying on Saturday and the 85-lap race will begin at 1:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday. As always, fans can follow the action from every on-track session via the official website of the IndyCar Series, www.indycar.com. It will also be broadcast live on IMS Radio Network and XM Radio Channels 144 and 145.



JUSTIN WILSON, driver of the #02 McDonald’s Dallara / Honda / Firestone:
AT MID-OHIO: Will be his first race here and his 10th event on a new track this season of 12 races.

SO FAR IN 2008: Qualified 17th but started 15th in the season-opener in Homestead due to two cars having their qualifying speeds disallowed. Dropped one lap down when he was hit by Will Power on a restart after approx. 22 laps and had to pit to replace a deflated tire but rallied to finish 15th…Started third in his street course ICS debut in St. Pete but alternate fuel and tire strategies dictated by intermittent rain led to a ninth place finish after he led a total of 18 of 83 laps…Was the pole winner on Friday and Saturday in the Long Beach Champ Car finale and dropped to second on the start but engine failure on Lap 13 ended his race and he finished 19th …Gained valuable experience after he was first to qualify and started 22nd in Kansas, led five laps after staying on track while others pit and finished ninth…Qualified 16th for his first Indy 500 and ran as high as second place but made contact after completing 133 of 200 laps and retired in 27th place. Became one of only five drivers to run in the “500” as well as the USGP at IMS. Others include Jacques Villeneuve (Indy 1994-95; USGP 2000-03, 2005-06), Juan Pablo Montoya (Indy 2000; USGP 2001-06), Tomas Enge (Indy 2005; USGP 2001), Wilson (USGP 2003) and fellow 500 rookie Enrique Bernoldi (USGP 2001)…Steadily moved to the front in Milwaukee after starting 22nd but as he was about to pit, a caution came out and he had to make an extra stop from ninth place for a splash of fuel in a closed pit and dropped to the back of the field. Charged back to a seventh place finish…Qualified 23rd in his first race on a high-banked oval at Texas and was in 14th place when he brushed the Turn 2 wall and retired in 27th place with suspension damage…Started 20th in Iowa based on point standings when qualifying was rained out. Ran in the top-10 for most of the event including as high as seventh and finished 12th after struggling with the handling in the final stint…Was first to make a qualifying attempt in the hottest part of the session in Richmond after showers and non-compatible rubber was left on track from sprint cars. Qualified 23rd but drove to a seventh place finish in a crash-filled race…Lost pole by four-hundredths of-a-second and started second. Gear box oil was found to be leaking on his first stop on Lap 7 under caution and he later retired from the race on Lap 22 with gearbox failure in 25th…Suffered a software related gear shift problem after starting 13th in Nashville. Had to pit to change the gear cluster and finished 28 laps down in the rain shortened event…Is ranked 19th in the point standings with 183 points.

2006 & 2007 RUNNER UP TO THE CHAMPION: Finished runner up in the Champ Car championship to the driver he recently replaced, four-time champion Sebastien Bourdais, in 2006 and 2007. Was a championship contender until the conclusion of the penultimate race of each season. He also finished third to NHR drivers Bourdais and Oriol Servia in 2005.

PERSONAL: Justin Boyd Wilson was born on July 31, 1978 (29) in Sheffield, England…He married the former Julia Coggins in England on 12-29-2006 and reside in a suburb of Denver with their newborn daughter Jane Louise (born 4-12-08; expected 6-1-08)…His father Keith was an amateur Formula Ford racer in England but retired before Justin was born due to a crash that broke his back and legs. Instead of taking interest in mother Lynne’s love of horses, Justin followed his father’s passion and began racing karts when he was eight…In order to help finance his 2003 season in Formula One, Justin created a company -- Justin Wilson PLC – and approx. 900 investors “bought shares of Justin” which raised $2 million. A portion of his earnings go toward repaying the debt…He has conquered the challenges of dyslexia and, if he wasn’t a race car driver, would be a designer of cars or etc. because he is curious about how things work or how to improve them…Hobbies include cycling, miniature golf, video games, karting and trying to fly one of his two RC Helicopters…He spends his free time plotting and completing home improvement projects as well as trying to find time to mow the yard between races…His typical day begins at 7 a.m. and he calls the U.K. and checks his email before spending an hour at his local gym with Julia. After lunch he rides his bike for 1.5 hours and devotes the remainder of the day to home projects, reading 50+ pages of NHLR engineering reports and hanging out with friends…At 6’ 3-1/2” he is the tallest IndyCar Series driver…Listens to Coldplay, Stereophonics, The White Stripes and dance music.

JUSTIN WILSON, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Given how we performed on the road and street courses so far this season, I hope we are in the same position again and challenge for pole position. It would be great for the McDonald’s team to pick up our first win! We have been very competitive on the road circuits this year and I don’t see why that can’t continue. It’s not a given, we’ve got to make sure we do everything right and if we do that we will have a chance.
“I’m looking forward to going to Mid-Ohio. I drove the course on video games years ago and watched last year’s race on DVD. From what I have seen, it’s a fantastic track with a lot of elevation changes. It’s a bit like a roller coaster ride with the off-camber corners and elevation changes. It’s what I enjoy and I am looking forward to it.

“I have heard it is a physically demanding track but we are used to road racing so we should be fine. You just have to make sure you are hydrated and save your energy. We had quite a few road races last year so I think we are ready for one this weekend. The hard part this year is that we are on the road so much this season and are not able to train as much as we normally do. You have a question mark about your fitness because you have spent more time sitting around at a race track than working out as compared to previous seasons. Still I think we will be in good shape and I am not too concerned.”

“Having two road races in a row is going to be good for the team. It’s still a tough schedule and the team is working flat-out to keep up. Even though the cars will stay in the same configuration between Mid-Ohio and Edmonton, there is still quite a lot of work to be done between the two events. The travel time alone to get the equipment from Ohio on Sunday night to Edmonton by Wednesday morning is a factor and that doesn’t include the two days needed to prepare the cars for the next race. It’s a big challenge but we are looking forward to these next two races and hopefully we will come away from them with two great results.”



GRAHAM RAHAL, driver of the #06 Hole in the Wall Camps Dallara / Honda / Firestone:
AT MID-OHIO: Will be his first major open wheel race here but has competed in many other series at his “home track.” At 16-years-old in 2005, he became the youngest to claim the SCCA National Formula Atlantic championship at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs here by a dominant 43-seconds. He also competed in the Star Mazda race here in 2005 (S/F 4/9). Tested a Grand Am car here in 2007.

SO FAR IN 2008: Missed the series opener in Homestead due to a lack of time and parts to repair his lone race car after a testing crash the Tuesday prior to race day…Progressed to Group 2 in qualifying for his debut on the street course in St. Pete but was unable to get a clear lap and qualified ninth. The race began under caution while standing water was cleared and once the green flag flew he progressed up to third place before his first pit stop a race that saw multiple pit strategies. He was hit on Lap 37 by Will Power which caused a spin and he dropped to 23rd but the team elected to gamble and keep him on track while others pit on Lap 60 under caution and he moved into second before the restart on Lap 65 and took the lead and held it through two more restarts including one with three laps to go while holding off two-time St. Pete winner Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan. He won by a 3.5 second margin to become the youngest winner in series history at 19 years, 93 days old after he led a total of 19 of the 83 laps and moved to fourth in the standings…Started ninth in Champ Car series finale in Long Beach and was up to fourth when he was alongside Franck Montagny during an attempt to pass for third and was spun which dropped him back to 12th place. While setting the fastest laps of the race, he charged through the field and into seventh before he hit the tire barrier on the final lap to drop to a 13th place finish…Made his oval debut in Kansas, qualified 20th and finished a competitive 12th only one lap down to the leaders…Was the highest Indy 500 starter of the Champ Car transitioning teams with his 13th place qualifying position in his Indy debut but made contact on Lap 36 after driving high to avoid the slower car of Alex Lloyd. Retired in 33rd place…Missed his first pole at Milwaukee by 2/10th of a second over a four lap average and started a career best second to Andretti in what was the first Andretti/Rahal front row since 1992 in Loudon, NH. Ran between second and fourth until Lap 130 when he drove over “marbles” and lost control of his car after trying to go around the slower car of Manning. Retired in 25th place…Started 18th and finished 11th, one-lap down in his high-banked oval debut in Texas…Started 16th in Iowa based on point standings when qualifying was rained out and earned his highest oval finish to date of 10th place…Earned his second highest start of the season with third in Richmond and held the position through his first stint but crashed on Lap 132 of 300 and retired in 18th place… Crashed in the Saturday morning practice at Watkins Glen and qualified 18th but rebounded to finish eighth…Qualified 10th in Nashville, ran as high as 9th and finished 12th in the rain-shortened race…Is ranked 16th with 201 points.

PERSONAL: Graham Robert Rahal, 19, was born in Columbus, Ohio on 1-4-1989 and resides in New Albany, Ohio…The 6’2” driver is one of four children of Bobby Rahal, three-time open wheel champion, Indy 500 winner and Hall of Fame race car driver…Has two sisters (Michaela and Samantha) and one brother (Jarrad)…Became the youngest IndyCar Series winner with his victory in his series debut in St. Pete on 4-6-08 and appeared on "Late Night with David Letterman" on 4-16-08 to discuss the feat…Graduated from New Albany High School with a 3.8 GPA on 6-3-07 despite missing over 80 days of school that year due to racing. ESPN The Magazine covered his graduation… When not racing he likes to work on cars, hang out with friends and family or play other sports for fun…Is a self-proclaimed “Car Guy” and still has the first car he received when he was 16 – a Subaru WRX sti – and is in the process of turning it into a race car with a Cosworth race engine. He purchased an ’07 Atomic Orange Corvette Z06 with his prize money but later sold it and now has an ’07 Ron Fellows limited edition Corvette Z06 as well as an ’08 Chevy Trailblazer SS. In addition he has a 1964 Mini Cooper that he restored for his high school senior project. He also temporarily owned a Porsche GT3 and an Audi he earned by graduating high school with a GPA of 3.5 or above…To prepare for the physicality of racing he spends many hours doing cardiovascular training and weightlifting, skiing, running or bicycling… His favorite type of clothing is anything made by Puma… His favorite food is sushi and his weaknesses are ice cream and white chocolate mocha drinks at Starbucks…His favorite books are those written by Lance Armstrong (and anything he read other than for school)…His favorite thing to watch on TV is any Ohio State Buckeye game, his favorite actor/actress are Owen Wilson and Eva Longoria and favorite movie is “Wedding Crashers.”

GRAHAM RAHAL, #06 Hole in the Wall Camps Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I don’t have that much experience personally at Mid-Ohio. I have been there many times but a lot of those times I was just watching. The team has a lot of experience there though. They raced there before I was even born but there is still going to be a bit of a learning curve initially due to the different equipment. We started to get a lot closer to having a good car at the end of the Watkins Glen weekend and I think that all the information that we can take from that weekend can really benefit us as the season goes on. Obviously there are a heck of a lot of road and street courses in the next month so we need to make sure we do all the homework and be as competitive as we can. If you look at points, these road and street courses are what is going to help us get back into it. We’re only 21 points out of 10th place so by no means are we out of it to get a top-10 finish at the end of the year. There is definitely a lot of work to do though.

“I have tested a Grand Am car at Mid-Ohio and I won my only national championship there in the Atlantic series. I did some other SCCA races there in Atlantics cars. The Atlantic car was the one with the most power that I drove here and these Indy cars are like a big Atlantic car in terms of power and grip. These cars have a lot of grip although I didn’t think that at Watkins Glen but did at St. Pete. We can improve that with more experience.

“The course is very physical. As a driver you should have been preparing for it for a while. There sure isn’t much time to do that with the schedule the way it is but you have to fit it in. It would be too last-minute for a driver to start working out the week of the race. Its going to be important to stay hydrated and eat as well as you can. It is one of the more physically demanding places we will race at all season. By no means is it going to be easy to complete the race. I haven’t raced there since they repaved it and I have been told that it’s got even more grip. If that’s the case it’s going to be an even tougher weekend. There are a lot of fast, high G (force)-loading corners as well as some that are slow. It’s fun because you go through the esses and there are a lot of elevation changes at a rapid pace which makes it more exciting. It’s a cool place and I love going there.

“I will have a lot of friends and family at the race. We’re going to try to have as many people as we can at the track because it’s kind of my first time ever to race this close to home at this level. We’ve been lucky to have a lot of fans at Mid-Ohio because of Dad and he’s obviously had a lot of success there. I would like to continue that.”