McDONALD’S® DRIVER RAHAL AND DOORNBOS READY FOR NEXT STRETCH OF FOUR RACES IN A ROW ON THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRACKS BEGINNING WITH THE IOWA CORN INDY 250

DES MOINES, Iowa (June 18, 2009) --- Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR) and drivers Graham Rahal and Robert Doornbos made the most of the first weekend off after six consecutive weeks of work in the IndyCar Series. Now they will return to action refreshed and focused on the next task – Sunday’s Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway, the first of six races in the next seven weeks including four in a row that will begin on the banked, 0.875 track in Iowa.

“The time off was nice, very welcome for everybody after a very busy stint,” said Doornbos, 27, who combined R&R with training in Aruba. “I left the country and went to the sun to work out and chill out so I really enjoyed that. I worked hard on the fitness because that is going to be important over the next races in the summer. I’m feeling very sharp and ready for action.”

“I spent my week off doing PR days for the IndyCar Series in Elmira and Rochester, New York and at home in Columbus (Ohio) then I got to go boating one day, which was a lot of fun,” added Rahal, who pilots the No. 02 McDonald’s race car. “I had some friends over on Friday night which was also a lot of fun, so I got a little bit of relaxing in but still did a lot of work during the break. I got to meet Coach Jim Tressel of the Ohio State Buckeyes which was pretty darn cool.”

During his rookie IndyCar Series season last year, Rahal earned his best finish on an oval at the 0.875 mile Iowa Speedway oval. He started the event 16th based on point standings due to qualifying being rained out but he and the team worked hard the entire race to adjust the car to the changing conditions and he finished 10th after a very strong final stint. The team continued to improve their oval setups through 2008 and over the off season and Rahal qualified on pole twice and started on the front row in three out of six races. He topped his best oval finish of 10th in the 2008 Iowa race with a fourth place at the Milwaukee Mile earlier this season and is looking to better that position at this challenging race track.

“Last year Iowa was a great race for us, we were very competitive’” said Rahal. “The car felt extremely good in the race. It was good learning race and we finished 10th which was our best oval finish of the season. It’s a long race and you’ve got to be very patient and that’s what we did, and in the end it worked out for us. I think the challenge of Iowa is it’s a very small oval, even smaller than Milwaukee, but it’s very high banked so the most challenging part is it’s a very physically demanding track. It separates the men from the boys which is pretty exciting. It will be the first of two short ovals in a row. I think that the McDonald’s team should be very competitive in Iowa. We were competitive there last year and with (race engineer) Martin (Pare) coming on board, I think that we’ve got a good base to build on. Martin was with Andretti Green last year and they were very good there and his knowledge base of this circuit will really help us.”

Although teammate Doornbos charged up the racing ladder and made it to Formula One within five years of switching vocations from tennis, oval racing is a completely different racing experience for him and he is taking on new challenges every weekend including racing on his shortest oval to date this weekend in Iowa. To the casual observer, it might be thought that all ovals are created equal and that if you are competitive on one you will be competitive on all. But the truth is that the nuances of each track call for different racing setups. In his first oval race ever at Kansas Speedway, Doornbos out-qualified series champions and Indy 500 winners with his second place start and briefly led before a pit penalty dropped him to the rear of the field. Each oval track after that has been a different variation and he has continued to gain valuable experience.

“The oval experience is more impressive than what I thought before actually competing on ovals,” said Doornbos who is only 12 points away from a top-10 rank with 104 points in 15th place. “There is a lot to learn but I’m a fast learner, it’s been like this my entire career. Hopefully now, together with the team, we come off quite a solid Texas performance with more to build from. It wasn’t the fastest one we’ve done but at least it’s something we can build on. I feel comfortable on ovals and, when the car is fast enough, I can put it on the front row. When it’s not fast enough I can also bring it home like in Texas when we finished in 11th place. Now we just need to make sure we find a car which is really fast so it is really a team effort. I do the job on the track and team does the job in the factory but I’m sure we can do it.”

Iowa Speedway hosted its first IndyCar Series event in 2007 and NHLR first competed here last year. Not only did Rahal finish 10th, then-teammate Justin Wilson ran as high as seventh place and finished 12th. In addition to focusing on being competitive in Iowa, the team has to plan ahead in order to be as prepared as possible to run well at each of the events. The upcoming four week stretch includes two oval races (Iowa, Richmond), one on a road course (Watkins Glen) and a street race (Toronto). That diversity appeals to both drivers.

“I think the next four races are going to be tough but our team is used to challenges like this and I think that everybody is well prepared,” said Rahal, who is ranked ninth in points with 126. “We will be happy to be back on some road courses, whether that will be returning to the street course in Toronto or permanent road courses like Watkins Glen. And I think we should be very competitive on the short ovals so the next four (races) should play right into our strengths.”

“Having this next stretch of four in a row is going to be very good because it will really show who the good drivers are and which ones prepared the best physically and mentally,” added Doornbos. “You can really extract the maximum out of yourself by driving on these different types of tracks whether you are on a short oval, road course or street course. Its where, as a driver, you can really make a difference. Obviously for myself, I am really looking forward to getting on a road course. The only road course I have done so far is the Barber test and we ended up second quickest there on the first day. We were competitive so I really look forward to getting my first strong result in Watkins Glen even though I don’t know the track and then heading to Toronto which is a nice street course. You can always have fun there if the car is good. Diversity is very important for a driver. You have to work really hard to show what you can do.”

This weekend’s Iowa Corn Indy 250 can be seen on live on Sunday, June 22 at 1 p.m. EDT on ABC. The event will get underway with practice and qualifying on Saturday and the 250-lap race will begin at 12:30 p.m. CDT on Sunday. As always, fans can follow the action from every on-track session via the official website of the IndyCar Series, www.indycar.com.com. It will also be broadcast live on IMS Radio Network and XM Radio Channel 145 and Sirius 211.



GRAHAM RAHAL, driver of the #02 McDonald’s Dallara / Honda / Firestone:
AT IOWA SPEEDWAY: Will be his second race here. In 2008, he started 16th based on point standings due to rain during qualifying and finished 10th in what was his highest career oval finish until he finished fourth in Round 5 in 2009 in Milwaukee.

2 OF 6 POLES SO FAR IN 2009 INDYCAR SEASON: Rahal ran the fastest lap times on Friday and Saturday on the streets of St. Pete to become the youngest pole winner in series history at 20 years, 90 days old. As the field entered the wide Turn 1 at the start of the race, second place starter Justin Wilson pulled slightly ahead on Rahal’s left while fifth place starter Dario Franchitti made a daring move on his right heading into the right hander. Rahal was not only squeezed in the process, he was hit from behind by Tony Kanaan which spun him sideways and into the grass. He dropped to the rear of the field but rebounded to finish seventh…Qualified seventh in Long Beach and pitted from second place but was waved out of the pits before the fuel nozzle was disengaged. Was ordered to let three cars pass as a penalty then was served another one when the officials deemed he didn’t do it quick enough although he only ran ½ lap before doing so. After a drive through penalty he could only recover enough to finish 12th…Won his first oval pole in Kansas and led eight laps, maintained a top-three position for the first half of the race and top-five second half before a caution came out when he was preparing the enter the pits. Had to get back on track and enter a closed pit for an extra stop the next time by for a splash of fuel before he came in again when the pits opened on the next lap and lost four spots. Dropped to 10th but finished seventh…Qualified fourth for his second Indy 500 but made contact after attempting to lap Duno and retired in 31st place after 56/200 laps…Qualified 2nd in Milwaukee and briefly took the lead at the start but dropped to third by the end of the lap and ultimately finished fourth, his highest finish on an oval…Qualified 12th and retired in 22nd in Texas. Struggled to control his race car in the opening laps and dropped from 12th to 18th on the first lap and continued to fall back before he lost control and made contract…Is ranked 9th in series points with 126.

YOUNGEST RACE & POLE WINNER IN SERIES HISTORY: Became the youngest winner in IndyCar Series history when he drove to victory in his series debut in St. Pete in 2008 at the age of 19 years and 93 days old. The previous mark was held by Marco Andretti who won at Infineon Raceway at 19 years, 167 days old. Rahal had only run 10 laps at testing speed in an ICS car on a road course (Sebring) due to a pre-race three hour test (4-1) being cancelled due to rain. One year later he became the youngest pole winner in series history at 20 years, 90 days old when he returned to St. Pete.

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Last year Iowa was a great race for us, we were very competitive. The car felt extremely good in the race. It was good learning race and we finished 10th which was our best oval finish of the season. It’s a long race and you’ve got to be very patient and that’s what we did, and in the end it worked out for us. I think the challenge of Iowa is it’s a very small oval, even smaller than Milwaukee, but it’s very high banked so the most challenging part is it’s a very physically demanding track. It separates the men from the boys which is pretty exciting. It will be the first of two short ovals in a row. I think that the McDonald’s team should be very competitive in Iowa. We were competitive there last year and with (engineer) Martin (Pare) coming on board, I think that we’ve got a good base to build on. Martin was with Andretti Green last year and they were very good there and of course his knowledge base of this circuit will really help us.

“I think the next four races are going to be tough but our team is used to challenges like this and I think that everybody is well prepared. We will be happy to be back on some road courses, whether that will be returning to the street course in Toronto or permanent road courses like Watkins Glen. And I think we should be very competitive on the short ovals so the next four should play right into our strengths.

“I spent my week off doing PR days for the IndyCar Series in Elmira and Rochester, New York and at home in Columbus (Ohio) then I got to go boating one day, which was a lot of fun. I had some friends over on Friday night which was also a lot of fun, so I got a little bit of relaxing in but still did a lot of work during the break. I got to meet Coach Jim Tressel of the Ohio State Buckeyes which was pretty darn cool.”




ROBERT DOORNBOS, driver of the #06 Dallara / Honda / Firestone:
AT IOWA SPEEDWAY: Will be his first race here and only FIFTH oval race ever.

FRONT ROW START IN 2009 INDYCAR ROOKIE YEAR: Worked to adapt to the different driving style needed to drive an Indy car’s in St. Pete opener. Qualified 13th, ran as high as fifth place but finished 11th after having to pit to repair damage from contact while alongside Wheldon for a pass. Race had seven caution periods for a total of 28 of the 100-laps…Started 15th in Long Beach and ran as high as third place but the timing of two caution periods negated the team’s pit strategy and he had to settle for a ninth place finish…Qualified second for his oval racing debut in Kansas to make up a 1-2 start for the team and took the lead after the first pit stop for two laps before he was penalized for hitting Rahal’s just-removed tire while leaving his pit. Dropped to rear of field but came back to finish 12th…Practice times prior to Indy 500 qualifying could have earned him a top-11 start on Pole Day but he crashed his race car on Friday and back-up car on Saturday/Pole Day and was not able to attempt to qualifying until Day 3 (23rd-33) and was the fastest that day in 23rd. Charged to 16th place in the first 50/200 laps before he brushed the wall after Scheckter abruptly passed him in Turn 1 and disrupted his air flow. The team repaired the car and he got returned to the track but retired in 28th place after a brake leak…Qualified 12th in Milwaukee and finished 15th in his third oval race…Qualified ninth in Texas and finished 11th…Is ranked 15th with 104 points and is second to R. Matos in the Rookie of the Year standings (106-104).

ROBERT DOORNBOS, No. 06 Dallara-Honda-Firestone: “The time off was nice, very welcome, for everybody after a very busy stint. I left the country and went to the sun, to work out and chill out so I really enjoyed that. I worked hard on the fitness because that is going to be important over the next races in the summer. I’m feeling very sharp and ready for action.

The oval experience is more impressive than what I thought before actually competing on ovals. There is a lot to learn but I’m a fast learner, it’s been like this all my career and hopefully now, together with the team, we come off quite a solid Texas performance with more to build from. It wasn’t the fastest one we’ve done but at least it’s something we can build on. I feel comfortable on ovals and, when the car is fast enough, I can put it on the front row. When it’s not fast enough I can also bring it home like in Texas when we finished in 11th place. Now we just need to make sure we find a car which is really fast so it is really a team effort. I do the job on the track and the team does the job in the factory but I’m sure we can do it.

“Iowa will be a completely new experience for me with it being the shortest oval track so far for me. Milwaukee wasn’t a very good experience for me but I think racing at Iowa with the banking should be more fun, and hopefully better. Hopefully we can have a better handling car and I can have more fun out there on Sunday.

“Having this next stretch of four in a row is going to be very good because it will really show who the good drivers are and which ones prepared the best physically and mentally. You can really extract the maximum out of yourself by driving on these different types of tracks whether you are on a short oval, road course or street course. It’s where, as a driver, you can really make a difference. Obviously for myself, I am really looking forward to getting on a road course. The only road course I have done so far is the Barber test and we ended up second quickest there on the first day. We were competitive so I really look forward to getting my first strong result in Watkins Glen even though I don’t know the track and then heading to Toronto which is a nice street course. You can always have fun there if the car is good. Diversity is very important for a driver. You have to work really hard to show what you can do.

“Being named the best rookie of the A1 GP, that was more than I expected hopefully we can do the same in IRL. This year I think the A1 GP car is the car that is really a lot of fun to drive, it’s a great honor to represent your country in the World Cup of Motorsports driving for Team Holland. I love driving with a high downforce car. Every time I’m in the car I’m either on the pole, or I qualified second or I get a victory so its good for the morale as well. Hopefully I’ll be back in the orange A1 GP car next season."