Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston – NRG Park, Houston
Verizon IndyCar Series
PRACTICE NOTES/QUOTES – Friday, June 27, 2014
LUCA FILIPPI FOURTH FASTEST OVERALL IN PRACTICE FOR THE SHELL AND PENNZOIL GRAND PRIX OF HOUSTON IN HIS INDYCAR RETURN; RAHAL 14TH AND PLEASED WITH PROGRESS
FASTEST: Simon Pagenaud 1:00.1415 / 97.809 mph
4th: Luca Filippi 1:00.6735 / 96.952 mph (3rd in afternoon session)
14th: Graham Rahal 1:00.9989 / 96.435 mph (11th in afternoon session)
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 National Guard Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I think the National Guard car is very competitive and I think there is more time in it. We didn’t get a run on new tires so we don’t really know its potential but I think it’s probably a top-five car at this point. I just have to keep working on myself and find a bit more speed. I think we’re learning; we’ve just got to keep going forward. I think we will have a pretty competitive car tomorrow. It’s hot, there’s no doubt about it but we’ll be alright. It’s going to be a survival of the fittest and hopefully we’re one of them. I feel pretty good out of the car. The front straight is significantly better. It’s a hard thing to do and they’ve done a phenomenal job with it.”
LUCA FILIPPI, No. 16 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a great day. I was obviously very motivated but to finish in the top three (in the second practice) is amazing. We have to keep our feet on the ground and work harder because it’s going to be a long weekend with two races but we have the opportunity to do well obviously. So we just have to do a clean job. At the moment I feel good with the car. There are some things we can still improve to suit my driving style but my confidence is good and I feel very thankful to the team, to Bobby and everybody who is working with me to make this happen.”
RLL AT HOUSTON / LANIGAN’S ROLE IN EVENT: The event will mark the third (and fourth) time for the team to race at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Speedway at NRG Park. The team competed on the temporary circuit downtown around the George R. Brown Convention Center from 1998-2001 but this will mark the second year for RLL to compete at NRG Park. Team co-owner Mike Lanigan’s company, MJ Promotions, is the promoter of the event. The event will mark the fifth overall Indy car race at Reliant Park and second since the 2006 and 2007 Champ Car races that MJ Promotions also promoted. Last year the team finished seventh and 18th in races 1 & 2 respectively with Rahal and sixth and 17th with James Jakes.
NEXT UP: Qualifying for Race 1 will take place tomorrow morning from 10:00-11:10 a.m. CT. The first of two 90-lap races will take the Green Flag at 2:50 p.m. CT Saturday and be televised live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 3:00 ET. Timing and Scoring information is available for all sessions from www.indycar.com.
PHOTO AND VIDEO AVAILABLE: Media members who register on the IndyCar Series media site have access to photography as well as video. Register for access to photos at: http://www.indycarmfedia.com/pages/ApplyforAccess