Saturday, July 25, 2009 Rexall Edmonton Indy Round 11 in the IndyCar Series
McDONALD’S DRIVER RAHAL QUALIFIED FIFTH FOR THE REXALL EDMONTON INDY; DOORNBOS TO START 10TH
1st: Will Power 1:01.0133 / 116.414 mph
5th: Graham Rahal 1:01.6952 / 115.127 mph
10th: Robert Doornbos 1:01.6844 / 115.147 mph
Graham Rahal, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We started the third round on the old reds (alternate tires) and we probably could have gone a little bit quicker but we wouldn’t have done a 1:01.2. We decided early on that if we weren’t going to get enough out of it we were going to come in early and put on a set of blacks (primary tires) but it felt like the left rear was loose when we did which wasn’t the case but that’s how it felt. It was so loose in the right handers that it felt like something was broken so we pitted and didn’t really make our second run in the final round of qualifying. Fortunately we’re in the top-six again which feels really good for the McDonald’s boys. The best thing is that at the end of last year we sat down and had a talk at the shop and we said ‘If we don’t make the top-six at least three times next year we’re going to be disappointed’ and we’ve been in it every single time but once and we narrowly missed it and started seventh. So we’ve got to be pretty pleased with that.”
FAST FACTS: Rahal has 2 podium finishes in 3 Edmonton events. Will be his third major open wheel race here and fourth overall. He started third and finished second in the Atlantic race here in 2006 and started fourth and finished third in the 2007 Champ Car race for NHLR. In 2008 he started eighth and was hit on the opening lap by Moraes which damaged his right rear pushrod and forced multiple stops. On Lap 61, he was hit by Viso, who had to serve a drive through penalty for avoidable contact. Retired in 26th place…Highest start this season is two poles (St. Pete/street & Kansas/oval) and highest finish is third place at Richmond…Is ranked 10th in series points with 209.
Robert Doornbos, No. 06 Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We worked hard today towards qualifying. I think we proved in the first round that the pace is there and ended up P2 in that one. We made some changes in between rounds which didn’t seem to work when we went back out so we tried to go back on them but we couldn’t seem to find the balance anymore. It is obviously disappointing but it will be a long race.”
FAST FACTS: Will be his second race here and only third track so far this season that he has raced on previously. He entered the 2007 Edmonton race weekend as the CCWS points leader. Started 11th and was in 9th place when contact with Tagliani on Lap 69 in Turn 1 dropped him one lap down. Finished 11th…Highest start this season is second at his oval debut in Kansas and highest finish is 9th in Long Beach, Richmond and Watkins Glen… Is ranked 14th with 175 points and is second in the Rookie of the Year standings to Matos (182-175).
2 WINS, 1 POLE, 6 PODIUMS IN 4 EDMONTON EVENTS: NHR won the inaugural race here in 2005 when Bourdais drove to victory from a 10th place start. Bourdais won again in 2007 from a second place start and set the fastest race lap. In total, the team has earned TWO wins (Bourdais 2007, 2005), ONE pole (Bourdais 2006) and SIX podium finishes (2nd – Bourdais 2006, Servia 2005; 3rd – Wilson 2008, Rahal 2007).
Tune In… The race will be broadcast live on VERSUS Sunday, July 26th at 5pm. 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.
