Justin Wilson, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I’m really pleased with fourth place start for the McDonald’s team because this morning I didn’t expect us to make it to the third round of qualifying. I was asking if we would make the top-12. We made a change to the setup overnight and it wasn’t right so we went back on the change for qualifying. It just means we are a couple of steps behind. We haven’t tested at this track or on a road circuit yet so we are on a steep learning curve. I’m really pleased with the way we came back to get the McDonald’s car in the top-six again. It’s great. I felt we had a little more time we could get out of the car. It’s just a little tricky to drive and I couldn’t quite get it all out. I thought we could maybe sneak up a little bit closer to the front but at the end of the day I’m pretty happy with where we are. It feels good to make it to the Firestone Fast Six all three times in the IndyCar Series. We are going to keep chipping away at it so we can earn another pole this season.”
FAST FACTS: Will be his first race here and fourth on a road/street course this season after racing on the streets of St. Pete (April 6; Started 3rd/Finished 9th), Long Beach (April 20; Pole/Finished 19th-engine) & Watkins Glen (July 6; Started 2nd / finished 25th – gearbox leak)…Is ranked 19th in the point standings with 183…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 title contender until the conclusion of the penultimate race of each season…Highest start this season is pole on the streets of Long Beach and his highest finish is seventh on the one-mile oval in Milwaukee and ¾ mile track in Richmond.
Graham Rahal, No. 06 Hole in the Wall Camps Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I think we just went out too early and ran out of laps. Before the session we plan how many laps we are going to do and only put enough fuel in for that. We knew the track would get quicker and quicker but at Watkins Glen we went out too late and got caught out by the yellow so we tried to be cautious this time. Right at that last minute when I had to come in, I could feel the track getting better and better and dropped out of the top-six in our group to seventh. Once again we are just on the bad end of it. It’s a shame but we’ve been working hard. This is the first time all year that I felt like I had a car that I could push to go a little bit quicker but it just didn’t work out. We ran out of laps before we ran out of time. I told everyone that we needed to be cautiously optimistic about our results this weekend. I wish it was as easy as just going out, putting it on pole and go win the race but it’s much easier to say than do. The qualifying format is great for the fans but it leaves some of us ticked off because you are so close but so far from advancing. We will do our best to move forward through the race and hope the race comes to us.”
FAST FACTS: Was 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...Was his fourth this season
on a road/street course after he won in St. Pete (April 6), finishing 13th in Long Beach and eighth in Watkins
Glen…In his IndyCar Series debut on a road/street course he became the youngest winner in major open- wheel
racing in North America after winning in St. Pete on 4-6-08 at 19 years, 93 days old…He is ranked 16th in series
points with 201 points…His highest start this season is second on the one-mile oval in Milwaukee where he
narrowly lost becoming the youngest pole winner in series history to Marco Andretti. His highest oval finish is 10th place on the .894 mile oval at Iowa Speedway.
NHR AT MID-OHIO: NHR earned THREE wins (Michael Andretti 1990-1991, Mario Andretti 1984), SIX poles (Mansell 1993; Mi. Andretti 1992, 1991, 1990; Ma. Andretti 1986, 1984) and 11 podiums here (2nd – 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.
