NEWMAN/HAAS/LANIGAN RACING RETURNS TO TWIN RING MOTEGI FOR THEIR SIXTH RACE HERE AND FIRST SINCE 2002; McDONALD’S DRIVER RAHAL TO MAKE HIS INDY JAPAN 300 DEBUT WHILE TEAMMATE SERVIA WILL MAKE HIS FOURTH START HERE

MOTEGI, Japan (September 16, 2009) --- Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR) will compete in their sixth event at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan this weekend but first since 2002. The 200-lap Indy Japan 300 on the 1.5 mile super speedway built in the mountains north of Tokyo will mark McDonald’s driver Graham Rahal first event here while teammate Oriol Servia will make his fourth start here. Both are hoping to return the team to winner’s circle again and add to the victory Michael Andretti earned here in 2000 after he led 26 laps.

“I hear that the track is quite challenging,” said Rahal, who was a contender for his first oval win in the final laps of the previous race held on the 1.5 mile Chicagoland Speedway and finished fifth. “I’m looking forward to experiencing it for myself because it’s kind of a mix of a short oval and a high-speed Super Speedway. It will be interesting to see exactly how quickly we can adapt. Being that it will be my first time to race at the track, it will be tough.”

In the team’s previous five CART races on the unique, egg-shaped oval from 1998-2002 they earned one win with Michael Andretti in 2000, while Christian Fittipaldi finished third in 1999 and fourth in 2001 but were contenders for the win at least two other times. Although Rahal knows his first race at this track will be tough, the team is hoping to expedite the learning curve of competing here for the first time in an Indy car with the assistance of NHLR race engineer Martin Pare who joined the team in the winter and engineered Danica Patrick’s history-making first Indy car victory for a female here last year.

“We all knew it was going to be huge!” Pare said of Patrick’s historical win. “It was nice to be part of the win, as it was nice being involved with the youngest pole-winning driver this year (Rahal, St. Pete). The race played into our hands. Dan Weldon had won for Andretti Green Racing using a similar strategy. When that yellow came out we knew we could get “home” from there, it was a matter of the race staying ‘green.’ Of the three that stopped we knew (Ed) Carpenter wasn’t going to make it because he was driving too fast so it was between Danica and Helio (Castroneves) and she did a great job getting the target mileage -- enough that we did the last two laps, I think, under full power. I sure expect the McDonald’s team to be competitive; our target is top five in the Championship! It will be challenging but that’s why we do this right?”

“Martin’s experience is really going to help us,” added Rahal. “Yes he won in Japan last year but he’s had a lot of cars that were more competitive than the one last year so that bodes well for us. The track isn’t really similar to anything we have raced on this year. We’ll see exactly how it plays out for the McDonald’s team. The track is tough, we know that.”

With two races remaining in the 2009 Indy Car Series season, Rahal is ranked eighth with 331 points but is only 22 behind fifth place Danica Patrick who has 353. The final two races on the 2009 schedule at Motegi and Homestead-Miami Speedway are venues that he will compete on for the first time but he expects to be competitive at both.

“You can’t really prepare for the race in Japan other than watch tape of previous events and learn as much as you can to help you while you are there,” said Rahal. “I have spent some time looking at track maps and read all the prep notes from the team. You have to learn on the fly but we expect to show up and be competitive. I think the McDonald’s team should be pretty strong. The goal is to get fifth in the championship. It’s definitely within our reach.”

Oriol Servia will make his fourth start at this track after competing here in CART from 2000 to 2002 with a best finish of sixth in 2002. In 2000 he competed in only his third oval race as a rookie in CART’s headline series where he started 13th and finished 24th with PPI Motorsports. In 2001 he started 18th and finished 14th with Sigma Autosport and in 2002 he started 20th and earned his highest finish here of sixth place with PWR Championship Racing. He’s looking forward to his return.

“I raced three times at Motegi and I find it to be one of the most challenging and interesting ovals I have ever been too,” said Servia. “I believe it offers a perfect balance between a Super Speedway with Turns 1 and 2 and a short oval with Turns 3 and 4. It represents a great challenge for drivers and engineers as it demands a perfect balance and compromise between both ends of the track.”

In the previous race at Chicagoland Speedway, Servia qualified ninth, ran as high as third in the late stages of the race and finished seventh after rebounding from a bad final pit stop where he slightly missed his stop marks and dropped to 14th. Although it will be Servia’s first time to race on this track in an Indy car, he has been preparing for his return to Japan all season and thinks the competitiveness seen in Chicago will carry over.

“Well, I can tell you I have been eating sushi regularly all season long!” said the Spaniard who, like many Japanese, is a fan of Karaoke and travels with his own system. “The truth is that from a driver standpoint there is not much you can do apart from watching last year’s race and trying to have an open mind from the very beginning. We had a great race car in Chicago. The setup and pure speed of the car were very impressive so I expect Motegi to suit our car very much. Winning at any race weekend in this championship is extremely difficult, you must do everything perfect and still have a bit of luck on your side but I truly believe we can do it. My goal is nothing less.”

Servia will work with a new race engineer this weekend as regular No. 06 engineer Todd Malloy and his wife recently welcomed the birth of their second child. Senior Engineer Craig Hampson will return to the role of race engineer for the first time since he engineered Sebastien Bourdais to a history-making fourth consecutive Champ Car title in 2007 this weekend in Japan.

“On one hand I am sad to not be able to continue working with Todd Malloy because I really believe we were getting to know each other really well and we had very good momentum going,” said Servia. “The reason for the change though is a good one. Todd and his wife Laura just had their second baby, Ardyn, and I am very happy for them. I will be working with Craig Hampson which I got to know very well during my 2005 season while driving for the team when he was engineering Sebastian Bourdais. Not only he is one of the most accomplished engineers in the country he is also extremely competitive and intelligent and I intend to take full advantage of it.”

The new technical rules introduced at Kentucky Speedway two oval races ago should make a positive impact on the racing at this track as well although the three-wide racing seen in Chicagoland Speedway isn’t expected.

“I think we will see a perfect type of race where it’s going to be exciting and close race but without becoming a "bee pack" like it was in Chicago,” said Servia. “You never know until you get there but I think the tech rules will be perfect.”

“I don’t expect a race like Chicago,” agreed Pare. “In the best conditions Motegi isn’t easy flat-out. Motegi is a bit like a big fast mile oval, a really nice challenge and nice facility. Turns 3 and 4 aren’t easy. There should still be plenty of passing but it won’t be a pack of cars, maybe more like a short oval -- a very fast short oval. I think we have as good a chance as any at the pole and the win in Motegi. The pole at Homestead will be harder but we can win there. It’s quite good to see the progress we’ve made this year.”
The 2009 IndyCar Series season continues Sept. 19 with Round 16 of 17 -- the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 10:30 p.m. (EDT) Sept. 18 by VERSUS. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 145. The radio broadcast also will be carried on www.indycar.com. The qualifying show airs Friday, September 18 at 6 p.m. EDT.

AT MOTEGI: Will be his first race here. He came here approx. 10 years ago as a spectator when his father Bobby Rahal raced here.

2 POLES & ONE PODIUM SO FAR IN 2009 INDYCAR SEASON: Rahal ran the fastest lap times on Friday and Saturday on the streets of St. Pete to become the youngest pole winner in series history at 20 years, 90 days old. As the field entered the wide Turn 1 at the start of the race, second place starter Justin Wilson pulled slightly ahead on Rahal’s left while fifth place starter Dario Franchitti made a daring move on his right heading into the right hander. Rahal was not only squeezed in the process, he was hit from behind by Tony Kanaan which spun him sideways and into the grass. He dropped to the rear of the field but rebounded to finish seventh…Qualified seventh in Long Beach and pitted from second place but was waved out of the pits before the fuel nozzle was disengaged. Was ordered to let three cars pass as a penalty then was served another one when the officials deemed he didn’t do it quick enough although he only ran ½ lap before doing so. After a drive through penalty he could only recover enough to finish 12th…Won his first oval pole in Kansas and led eight laps, maintained a top-three position for the first half of the race and top-five second half before a caution came out when he was preparing the enter the pits. Had to get back on track and enter a closed pit for an extra stop the next time by for a splash of fuel before he came in again when the pits opened on the next lap and lost four spots. Dropped to 10th but finished seventh…Qualified fourth for his second Indy 500 but made contact after attempting to lap Duno and retired in 31st place after 56/200 laps…Qualified 2nd in Milwaukee and briefly took the lead at the start but dropped to third by the end of the lap and ultimately finished fourth, his highest finish on an oval…Qualified 12th and retired in 22nd in Texas. Struggled to control his race car in the opening laps and dropped from 12th to 18th on the first lap and continued to fall back before he lost control and made contact…Started ninth based on entrant points in Iowa after qualifying was canceled and ran as high as sixth but contact with Patrick forced an unscheduled stop which put him two laps down and he ultimately finished 11th…Qualified fifth at Watkins Glen but failed the post qualifying tech inspection for being a few pounds underweight. Penalized 10 positions and started 15th, ran as high as second on an alternate pit strategy but finished 13th…Started third in Toronto but was hit by second place started Will Power who squeezed him to the wall on the opening lap before T1. A forced stop to replace his front wing dropped him to the back but he charged through the field into seventh place but held his position behind Patrick but flat-spotted his tires which led to losing three positions before his next stop. Tried to pass the lapped car of Carpenter on the inside a right hander but the contact ended his race in 20th place…Started fifth and finished seventh at Edmonton…Started 10th based on entrant points in Kentucky due to “weepers” but hoped to qualify much higher based on winning pole at similar track (Kansas; previous 1.5 mile track). Finished fifth in what he called “his best car on an oval ever”…Started fourth at home race at Mid-Ohio and looked likely to finish fourth before an off-track excursion while fifth late in the race led to an eighth place finish…Made the final Firestone Fast Six in qualifying six times in the seven road/street races and started sixth in Sonoma. Contact on the opening lap with Marco Andretti forced an early stop for a new front wing but his drive shaft broke when he attempted to leave the pits. After the car was repaired in the garage area, he returned to the track many laps down in 21st position and ultimately retired in the same place after completing 30 of the 75 laps…Qualified fifth in Chicagoland and ran third in the final laps with a shot at the win before he finished fifth…Is ranked 8th in series points with 331 (only 22 behind fifth place Patrick, 353).

YOUNGEST RACE & POLE WINNER IN SERIES HISTORY: Became the youngest winner in IndyCar Series history when he drove to victory in his series debut in St. Pete in 2008 at the age of 19 years and 93 days old. The previous mark was held by Marco Andretti who won at Infineon Raceway at 19 years, 167 days old. 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. One year later he became the youngest pole winner in series history at 20 years, 90 days old when he returned to St. Pete. He also became the youngest pole winner on an oval at Kansas Speedway on April 25, 2009.

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a lot of fun going to Japan the first time when my father was racing. It’s quite different than anything we are familiar with in the states. I only saw the Honda Collection Museum and not much else because we went straight to the track from the airport. The biggest thing is to get the job done. After that we can go and have some fun and maybe see the sights a little on Sunday.

“I hear that the track is quite challenging. I’m looking forward to experiencing it for myself because it’s kind of a mix of a short oval and a high-speed Super Speedway. It will be interesting to see exactly how quickly we can adapt. Being that it will be my first time to race at the track, it will be tough. Martin’s experience is really going to help us. Yes he won in Japan last year but he’s had a lot of cars that were more competitive than the one last year so that bodes well for us. The track isn’t really similar to anything we have raced on this year. We’ll see exactly how it plays out for the McDonald’s team. The track is tough, we know that.

“You can’t really prepare for the race in Japan other than watch tape of previous events and learn as much as you can to help you while you are there. I have spent some time looking at track maps and read all the prep notes from the team. You have to learn on the fly but we expect to show up and be competitive. I think the McDonald’s team should be pretty strong.

“I don’t think we will see three-wide racing like we did at Chicago. It’s never been that type of track. You can pass there but it’s not the type of circuit where you see side-by-side racing. I definitely think it will be a good race though. The goal is to get fifth in the championship. It’s definitely within our reach.”




ORIOL SERVIA, driver of the #06 Dallara / Honda / Firestone:
ORIOL AT MOTEGI: Will be his fourth race here. In 2000 he competed in only his third oval race as a rookie in CART’s headline series where he started 13th and finished 24th with PPI Motorsports. In 2001 he started 18th and finished 14th with Sigma Autosport. In 2002 he started 20th and earned his highest finish here of sixth place with PWR Championship Racing.

ORIOL IN 2009 INDYCAR SERIES: Competed in the Indy 500 for Rahal Letterman Racing where he started 25th and retired in 26th due to a fuel pump failure after 98 / 200 laps. Started 14th and finished 11th in his return to NHLR at Mid-Ohio. A broken fuel pump in the only pre-qualifying practice at Sonoma led to a 17th place start but he stretched his fuel longer than many and finished sixth after an exciting late race duel with Justin Wilson, whom he held off despite the Brit being on the faster red “alternate” Firestone’s while he was on the standard tire. He started 9th in Chicagoland, ran as high as third and finished seventh after rebounding from a bad final pit stop where he slightly missed his stop marks and dropped to 14th.

2008 INDYCAR SERIES: Ran a full season with KV Racing in 2008 and earned four top-5 and six top-10 finishes in 16 races to finish the season ranked ninth overall. Highest start was third place, two times (Edmonton & Detroit) and highest finish was fourth in Detroit. In total he earned four, fifth place finishes (Long Beach, Richmond, Mid-Ohio & Edmonton) for a total of five, top-five finishes. Led two races for a total of six laps.

2ND IN 2005 CCWS STANDINGS WITH NHR: Ran first two races with Dale Coyne Racing…Started 14th in season-opener in Long Beach and finished 11th…Started seventh in Monterrey, Mexico and was in second place late in the race before he spun and ultimately finished ninth in the event and was ranked 13th in the point standings…Made his debut for NHR in Milwaukee as the replacement for Junqueira who was injured in the Indy 500 on May 29. Qualified ninth and went on to pass his new teammate Bourdais and ultimately finish third and move up to sixth place in the standings…On June 9 was named to drive the PacifiCare car until Junqueira recuperates…Started 12th in Portland and had pitted in fourth place after running fifth when his drive shaft failed and he retired in 16th place...Started sixth and finished third in Cleveland as well as set the fastest race lap...Earned his best qualifying position with team of fourth place in Toronto and matched his best career finish of second place after he led 20 laps but lost the lead with 11 to go…Started fourth, led two laps and finished second in Edmonton to move from his fifth place rank in the standings to fourth with 135 points to leader Bourdais’ 182…Matched his best career start of second place in San Jose but dropped to a third place finish when Paul Tracy short-filled and passed him in the pits…Moved into third in the standings with a fourth place finish in Denver despite starting a disappointing 8th due to struggling to find a good set-up. Closed to within 13 points of P. Tracy for second place (196-183)…Matched his best qualifying position of second place in Montreal and remained in the top-three for the entire race. Was in second place in the final stage of the race and made two attempts to pass Timo Glock for the lead but the German made an illegal move and shortcut the chicane each time. He was warned after first time and served a penalty the second which enabled Servia to take the lead on the final lap and earn his first Champ Car win as well as take over second place from Tracy (215-211, plus 4) who finished eighth after a pit problem…Started second, ran although he was within 0.5 to one-second of the leaders for the majority of the race and finished second in Las Vegas to increase lead over third place Paul Tracy (243-216, plus 27) with two event to go in season…Earned his first Champ Car pole in Australia but was hit from behind by Cristiano da Matta before the first turn of L1 and dropped to the back of the field. Recovered to finish fifth…Started seventh in Mexico City and was in third when the team discovered a fuel pressure problem before his final pit stop and he ultimately finished fourth to claim second place in the season-ending point standings with 288.

1 WIN, 1 POLE & 14 PODIUMS IN CHAMP CAR: Of his 14 career top-three podium finishes, he has ONE win (Montreal 2005), and SIX second place finishes (2007: Long Beach; 2005: Toronto, Edmonton, Las Vegas; 2003: Milwaukee, Montreal). He has SEVEN third place finishes (2006: Cleveland; 2005: San Jose, Cleveland, Milwaukee; 2004: Laguna Seca; 2003: Denver; 2000: Detroit) and ONE pole (Australia 2005). Of his results, his 1 win, 1 pole and seven of his 14 podiums came with NHR.

ORIOL SERVIA, No. 06 Dallara-Honda-Firestone: “I raced three times at Motegi and I find it to be one of the most challenging and interesting ovals I have ever been too. I believe it offers a perfect balance between a Super Speedway with turns 1-2 and a short oval with Turns 3-4. It represents a great challenge for drivers and engineers as it demands a perfect balance and compromise between both ends of the track.

“On one hand I am sad to not be able to continue working with Todd Malloy because I really believe we were getting to know each other really well and we had very good momentum going. The reason for the change though is a good one, Todd and his wife Laura just had their second baby Ardyn and I am very happy for them. I will be working with Craig Hampson which I got to know very well during my 2005 season while driving for the team when he was engineering Sebastian Bourdais. Not only he is one of the most accomplished engineers in the country he is also extremely competitive and intelligent and I intend to take full advantage of it.

“I think Martin is a great asset for the team at any given race but in this race in particular his experience with the track and car will definitely be a plus. On a short weekend like that it helps a lot to know that you are in the ball park with the other teams from the get go.
“Well, I can tell you I have been eating sushi regularly all season long! The truth is that from a driver standpoint there is not much you can do apart from watching last year race and trying to have an open mind from the very beginning.

“We had a great race car in Chicago. The setup and pure speed of the car were very impressive so I expect Motegi to suit our car very much. Winning at any race weekend in this championship is extremely difficult, you must do everything perfect and still have a bit of luck on your side but I truly believe we can do it. My goal is nothing less. I think we will see a perfect type of race where its going to be exciting and close race but without becoming a "bee pack" like it was in Chicago. You never know until you get there but I think the tech rules will be perfect.

“My past experiences in Japan were very enjoyable and I missed not going back for all these years. I am actually taking a week off after the race and will visit different places in Japan with my girlfriend. I love the sushi, the respect they have for one another and how committed they can become thanks to their culture.”