Rahal Letterman Racing Achieves Historic Qualifying at Sonsio Grand Prix

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing made history on Saturday at the Sonsio Grand Prix by qualifying all three of its drivers in the Firestone Fast Six. This remarkable turnaround comes just one week after the team struggled at Barber Motorsports Park, where the drivers qualified 12th, 21st, and 27th.

Graham Rahal, driving the No. 15 Honda, clocked a best lap of 1 minute, 9.7516 seconds on the 2.439-mile road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This time placed him second on the grid, just behind the polesitter.

“We battled hard today,” Rahal said. “I thought we made a lot of improvements. There was a lot of great feedback between all three of us.” He expressed optimism about the team’s performance and the rapport among the drivers.

Jack Foster, in the No. 45 Honda, secured a position in the second row with a lap time of 1 minute, 9.8801 seconds. Foster, the defending Indy NXT Champion, is familiar with the track, having previously won races there in junior categories.

“I know the track really well,” Foster stated. “But all the credit goes to the Rahal Letterman Lanigan racing crew and the engineers. We’ve got all three of us in the Fast Six.”

Devlin DeFrancesco, driving the No. 30 Honda, rounded out the team’s impressive showing, qualifying just behind Foster at 1 minute, 9.9432 seconds. This is DeFrancesco’s first IndyCar start at the IMS road course since briefly leading the summer race last year.

“Everyone’s rallied around me at this organization,” DeFrancesco commented. “There was high frustration leaving previous rounds, but tomorrow is simply about execution.”

The achievement follows a significant organizational change as the team recently appointed former INDYCAR President Jay Frye as Team President. Rahal expressed hope that Frye’s leadership will usher in positive changes as they move forward.

“We’re excited and pumped up for this month,” Rahal said. “Hopefully today is a sign of good things to come.”

The Sonsio Grand Prix is set to air live on FOX at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 10, with the green flag scheduled to wave shortly thereafter.