Show your support.
Buzz this article up.
IndyCar
Graham Rahal, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It shows how hard the McDonald’s guys worked because honestly at the start of this weekend we weren’t where we wanted to be and we were struggling. We just kept working through it. It’s great to be on the podium. We’ve been good on the short ovals but we just need to find some more speed on the mile-and-a-half’s. This was like a win for us. My engineers told me I needed to save as much fuel as possible. Its always hard to do as a driver because you want to push as hard as you can but you need to save fuel. I didn’t understand it so much before but I did tonight. Martin, my engineer and I and all of the guys worked extremely hard this weekend and we made more changes this weekend that I can remember ever making. It feels great to get this result for the McDonald’s team. It’s a great way to go into some road races. We’re looking forward to it.”
FAST FACTS: Was his second race here. Started 3rd and finished 18th due to contact in T4 in 2008...Highest start this season is two poles (St. Pete/street & Kansas/oval and highest finish is THIRD TONIGHT at Richmond International Raceway after he started second…Is ranked 9th in series points with 180.
Robert Doornbos, No. 06 Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “That was very hard work for P9. It reminds me of my F1 days when you had to work really hard to get up there. I’m very happy with the experience. It was very good for us to come home like this. All my team did a great job in setting up the car, it was really good to drive. Unfortunately we got unlucky with the yellow twice. I think we had the pace, especially with new tires. I was pushing really hard and really enjoyed that. For me it was like driving like in qualifying for 300 laps. With a bit more luck with the yellows we would have been higher but I’m happy with a good solid race. This will make me stronger on ovals but I have to be honest, I look forward to the road courses.”
FAST FACTS: Was his first race here and only SIXTH oval race ever…Highest start this season is second at his oval debut in Kansas and highest finish is 9th in Long Beach AND TONIGHT in Richmond…Is ranked 14th with 141 points and is second to Matos in the Rookie of the Year standings (144-141).
