POLE DAY
93rd Indianapolis 500
NOTES - Saturday, May 9, 2009

McDONALD’S DRIVER RAHAL QUALIFIED FOURTH FOR THE INDY 500; DOORNBOS UNINJURED IN CRASH DURING MORNING WARMUP AND WILL RETURN TO TRACK MAY 14

POLE: Helio Castroneves 4-lap avg. speed of 224.864 mph
4) Graham Rahal 4-lap avg. speed of 223.954 mph (L1: 224.3230, L2: 224.024, L3: 223.875, L4: 223.690)

Graham Rahal, No 02 McDonald’s Dallara Honda/Firestone: “We knew that before (on first qualifying attempt) we weren’t quite trimmed out, and there is probably still a little room to go even now, but we needed to go out there and give it another shot. We were completely legal, but there were some things that we felt we needed to improve on. Basically we felt we needed to go back out so we gave the McDonald’s car another shot and it turned out even better than the first time and we ended up gaining two spots because right before we made our second run we were sixth. So we’re pretty happy with fourth. We had one practice run before our second attempt at it was a little bit quicker so we decided to trim a little more. But when we went out we had a gearbox problem and it was 5 p.m. and people were starting to get in line so it was a little tense. The McDonald’s guys changed the gearbox in pit lane and we had to make our qualifying run without a practice lap because of the time. They did a great job fixing everything so quickly and I was able to go out and put it on the second row. I would rather start from the inside of the second row than the outside of the front row so I’m pretty happy with how the day ended for the McDonald’s team.”

FAST FACTS: When his father, Bobby, won in 1986 he also started from fourth place…Will be his second race here. In 2008, he was the highest Indy 500 starter of the Champ Car transitioning teams with his 13th place start but made contact on L36 after driving high to avoid the slower car of Lloyd. Retired in 33rd place…Earned two of the three poles so far this season, the first of which earned him the distinction of being the youngest pole sitter in series history after winning pole in St. Pete on 4-4-09 at 20 years, 90 days old…Is ranked eighth in series points with 72.

Robert Doornbos, No. 06T Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone: On the crash: “I have no idea what happened. I’m so disappointed. The guys did an amazing job getting the car ready. We had a good first outing. Everything felt good. We were just starting a run and the rear just went on me. I don’t know what happened. It’s disappointing because I wanted to qualify today.

“Yesterday we got into a nice rhythm again in practice and found ourselves in the top-six. And then we just tried to simulate a qualifying run but that was a bit tricky with the other cars on track and it caught me out. I learned a very expensive lesson that you need to be really on your own to do a good comparison of qualifying and I was probably too close to the car in front, understeered, touched the wall and that was it. That was (the end of) our day. So then we worked hard overnight and got the spare car out this morning. I slept a little bit bad wondering if it would be a good car but after the first run when we were straight away competitive I thought ‘Okay, this is going to be a good day.’ But then we just couldn’t pace ourselves; we wanted too much, too soon and that was it. It was a big shock for me to realize that I’m not going to be able to qualify in the top-11 on my first Indy debut. But a lot of people cheered me up by saying that it’s such a long race and a lot can happen. I know we have the pace, I know we have the speed. The team is doing a good job and we will get back out there next week.”

FAST FACTS: Will be his first Indy 500 and third time to drive on this track after running here in the 2005 (Jordan GP test/Friday driver) and 2006 (Red Bull Racing) Formula One events…The Indy 500 will be his second-ever start on an oval. Qualified second in his oval debut in Kansas…Has competed against fellow ICS drivers Marco Andretti (A1GP), Danica Patrick (Formula Ford), Ryan Briscoe (F3) and E.J. Viso (F3000)…Two-time Indy 500 winner and fellow Dutchman Arie Luyendyk is serving as an advisor to Doornbos. Luyendyk won the 500 in 1990 and 1997 and is the only driver from the Netherlands to win the Indy 500 to date…Leads the Rookie of the Year standings.

1 POLE (1987) & TWO SECONDS AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY (IMS) FOR NHR/NHLR: The 2009 entry will mark the 17th year for NHR/NHLR in the event and the fourth since 1995. Prior to 2009, the team prepared a total of 25 entries for drivers such as Mario and Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Paul Tracy, Bruno Junqueira, Sebastien Bourdais, Justin Wilson and Graham Rahal. Rahal and Robert Doornbos compete for the team in 2009 and will bring the total to 27. NHR’s highest finish in the Indy 500 is second place with Mario Andretti in 1985 and Michael Andretti in 1991 although team drivers have led many laps here. Mario Andretti also brought the team its highest start in the event when he won the pole position in 1987. NHR’s 2004 entry of Junqueira marked the first time for the team to compete here since 1995 and they returned in 2005 with Junqueira and IMS rookie Bourdais. In 2008 they ran Wilson and Rahal here during a transition season in the series but both made contact and retired in 27th and 33rd respectively. They have earned Rookie of the Year once, with Mansell in 1993 when he finished third.