Graham Rahal, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “The McDonald’s car felt good all day, especially in traffic. I just kind of expected more in qualifying. I thought the McDonald’s car was going to be a little quicker in qualifying trim but it still feels good to be fifth. I thought we would get a high 214 (mph) or low 215 but I can’t complain about it since we’re fifth. The guys have worked awfully hard to put the McDonald’s car up front all year. We’ve just got to get the race part figured out. Our car is good in traffic so hopefully it will work out for us.”
FAST FACTS: Will be his second race here. He started 14th and ran as high as fifth but mid-race contact in the pits with Buddy Rice and contact with the wall on the final lap -- most likely due to a compromised part from the pit contact -- led to a 19th place finish…Highest start this season is two poles (St. Pete/street & Kansas/oval) and highest finish is third place at Richmond…Is ranked 9th in series points with 301 (only -34 to Patrick, 335).
Oriol Servia, No. 06 Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “The car feels amazing; it’s really comfortable for me and has good speed. It’s almost too comfortable for qualifying. In a way it’s good because we still have decent speed which will be good for tomorrow. We’re in good shape and I’m very excited to have a good oval car. I think we should have a great race tomorrow.”
FAST FACTS: Will be his second race here. Last year he started 12th and finished 17th for KV Racing…In his two previous ovals races with NHR in 2005 as the replacement for the injured Junqueira, he finished on the podium both times (third in Milwaukee, second in Las Vegas)…After only three races this season, he is ranked 27th with 57 points.
NHLR AT CHICAGOLAND: In the team’s only race here to date in 2008, Rahal started 14th and ran as high as fifth but mid-race contact in the pits with Buddy Rice and contact with the wall on the final lap -- most likely due to a compromised part from the pit contact -- led to a 19th place finish. Justin Wilson started 21st and finished 11th.
Tune In… The race will be broadcast live on VERSUS Saturday, August 29 at 9 p.m. EDT. The radio broadcast also will be carried on www.indycar.com. As always, fans can follow the action from every on-track session via the official website of the IndyCar Series, www.indycar.com.
