Saturday, April 4, 2009
Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – St. Petersburg, Fla.
Round 1 in the IndyCar Series

McDONALD’S DRIVER RAHAL BECAME THE YOUNGEST POLESITTER IN SERIES HISTORY AT THE HONDA GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETE; DOORNBOS TO START 13TH

POLE: Graham Rahal 1:02.4110 / 103.828 mph
13th: Robert Doornbos 1:02.7934 / 103.196 mph




Graham Rahal, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It's an exciting day for me and a great day for the whole McDonald’s team. It's exciting to be here. I obviously love St. Pete. It was good to me last year, and it's great to be on the pole this year. We didn't really know what to expect because we had the primary tires on there while a couple of guys had the alternates (in the Firestone Fast Six). The alternates were consistently faster today. I didn't really know what to think. I'll tell you what, the car was good, the guys were working hard, and it's great to be on top.

FAST FACTS: Will be his second race here. Became the youngest winner in series history when he drove to victory in his IndyCar Series debut in St. Pete in 2008 at the age of 19 years and 93 days old last year. Made history again today when he became the youngest pole sitter in series history at 20 years, 90 days old. The previous record was held by Marco Andretti at 21 years and 79 days old when he narrowly beat Rahal for pole at Milwaukee in 2008 (2/10ths of a second over four lap avg). Here last year -- Rahal had only run 10 laps at testing speed in an ICS car on a road course (Sebring) due to a pre-race three hour test (4-1) being cancelled due to rain. Was fast all weekend last year but started 9th due to being unable to get a clear lap in qualifying. The race started in wet conditions last year and once the green flag flew he progressed to third place before his first pit stop in a race that saw multiple pit strategies. He was hit on Lap 37 by W. 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 Castroneves and Kanaan. He won by a 3.5 second margin to become the youngest winner in series history after he led a total of 19 of the 83 laps…Rahal earned the first Indy car win for a driver transitioning from Champ Car in 2008 and his teammate Wilson earned the only other in Detroit.




Robert Doornbos, No. 06 Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It’s very competitive here and that’s why the IndyCar Series is a great series. We started strong this morning and were up to P3 with a good car. The qualifying with the reds caught us out and the balance shifted. We came in and were P5 and just got bumped in the last lap by Tony. It’s a long race and for sure we will be strong in the race.”

FAST FACTS: Will make his debut in the series and with NHLR in St. Pete after having competed against the team in the 2007 Champ Car World Series (CCWS)…Has competed against fellow ICS drivers Marco Andretti (A1GP), Danica Patrick (Formula Ford), Ryan Briscoe (F3) and E.J. Viso (F3000).




NHLR HERE - 1 WIN, 2 POLES, 2 PODIUMS SO FAR: This will be the team’s THIRD race here and they earned their SECOND pole today. In the 2003 Champ Car race here with then-rookie Sebastien Bourdais and Bruno Junqueira, Bourdais won the pole position in his Champ car debut and became the first driver to accomplish the feat since Nigel Mansell won the pole for the ’93 Australian event – also while driving for NHR. He led 30 laps and also set the fastest race lap but put too much pressure on himself to get back to the front after the team pit him out of sequence and contact ended his race. Junqueira was 2nd fast in prov. qualifying on Friday but his fastest lap in final qualifying (possible 3rd) was not allowed because he brought out a red flag when he spun and stopped on course. He ultimately started seventh and he dropped to 14th in the race due an air hose problem in the pits but charged back to 3rd place…Justin Wilson started 3rd here in ‘08 and led 18 laps but alternate pit strategy due to rain dropped him to 9th place while Rahal started ninth and became the youngest winner in series history in his debut after holding off Castroneves and Kanaan for two restarts to win by a 3.5-second margin.

11 SEASON OPENING WINS: In 26 attempts NHR/NHLR has won 11 season-opening races (’05 & ‘06 – Bourdais, Long Beach; ’02 – da Matta, Mexico; ’01 da Matta, Mexico; ’98 Michael Andretti, Homestead, ’97 Mi. Andretti, Homestead; ’93 Mansell, Australia; ’88 Mario Andretti, Phoenix; ’87 Ma. Andretti, Long Beach; ’85 Ma. Andretti, Long Beach; ’84 Ma. Andretti, Long Beach).