McDONALD’S® DRIVER RAHAL AND TEAMMATE DOORNBOS LOOKING FORWARD TO FIRST ROAD COURSE OF THE SEASON AT THIS WEEKEND’S CAMPING WORLD GRAND PRIX AT THE GLEN

WATKINS GLEN, New York (July 2, 2009) --- McDonald’s driver Graham Rahal and teammate Robert Doornbos have been looking forward to this weekend’s Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen since the start of the 2009 IndyCar Series season. The 11-turn, 3.4 mile permanent road course is the first of its kind on the 17-race schedule so far this season and both drivers are excited to get back on a road course for Round 9.

“I would say that everyone on the entire team is looking forward to some road races,” said Rahal, who is looking to carry momentum from his highest finish of the season to date of third last Saturday in Richmond where he became the first transition team driver to earn a podium on an oval. “We have momentum on our side and I think that over the next few races the opportunity for a win for our team is very high. We ought to be amongst the best on the road and street courses.”

“It has been a very hard and tough start to the season for myself and the team and we have shown strong signs of competitiveness in qualifying but the results we were hoping for on Sundays haven’t come yet and with the second half of the season starting in Watkins Glen I’m feeling our luck will change,” added Doornbos, who set the second fastest lap on the first day of testing at the Barber Motorsports Park road course in March. “It’s nice for me to race on road courses and street courses for the next few events because that’s were my experience comes from. But honestly I am feeling more comfortable on the ovals and am starting to understand the set up of the car better so I know that with the combination of both types of racing this is the championship were I want to be! The only road course experience I have with this car and the team is from our pre-season test at Barber and we were competitive there, on the top of the timesheets. But that’s testing and now we are racing and there are some very strong teams and drivers out there so it’s going to be hard work and play hard!”

The Watkins Glen round will be the first of three consecutive road/street course races and five of the next six events will take place on this type of track. Although Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR) has achieved success on each of the different type of tracks they have competed on in their 27 seasons, success on the road and street courses – which many consider the ultimate test of man and machine due to the physical demands on each – makes up the bulk of their success. In total the team has earned 80 of their 107 wins and 90 of their 109 poles on road and street courses.

“I’m looking forward to starting the road and street course stretch off at Watkins Glen,” said Rahal who became the youngest pole sitter in series history with his starting position at the 2009 season-opening race on the streets of St. Petersburg. “It’s a physical track with lots of elevation changes and very high commitment corners. This always makes it tough for any driver, but also a lot of fun! Road courses are challenging from a drivers standpoint because they combine all aspects of driving talent. It is harder to get the maximum out of a car on a road course versus being on an oval. I think that road racing ultimately highlights the best drivers in the series.”

“On ovals you are very much dependant as a driver from what your car is capable of doing, so the difference between the top teams and smaller teams is bigger and the driver has little he or she can do to change this,” said Doornbos, who hopes to top his best start of the season of second place in his oval debut in Kansas here this weekend. “But on a road or street course the driver can work hard with the engineers to tune the car around his preferred set up and try to stay close to the limit and actually get more out of what the car on paper is capable of doing. And physically there is no doubt that it’s going to be tougher than racing on ovals but that’s what we are paid to do, to stay fit and I take my fitness very serious!”

Although NHLR is no stranger to road course racing, last year was their first event at Watkins Glen International. Despite still being challenged by the initial stages of their transition to the IndyCar Series, the team narrowly missed starting on pole when then-driver Justin Wilson set a lap time only four-hundredths of a second behind Team Penske driver Ryan Briscoe and started second. Gear box oil was found to be leaking on his first stop on Lap 7 under caution and he later retired from the race on Lap 22 with gearbox failure in 25th. Rahal crashed in the Saturday morning practice which contributed to an 18th place qualifying position but he rebounded to finish eighth. Both Rahal and Doornbos are optimistic due to the Wilson’s potential last year.

“Justin was very competitive here and that certainly makes us feel good,” said 20-year-old Rahal who is ranked ninth in series point standings with 180 points, only 39 out of fifth place. “He struggled early in the race before falling out, but I think that we should be competitive from the start. Other teams have tested here and this will challenge us but we should be looking fairly good by race time. The Barber test is a sign of our speed and ability on road courses, we simply need to make it happen. I think we will have the pace on the road course after running well on the street courses at the start of the season. In fact if the Barber road course test is any sign I feel that we should be extremely competitive. Our cars there were very strong and I think that the team has continued to develop a few items that can really help us on the rest of the road races. I feel confident that we should be very competitive.”

“For sure the team has developed and understands the car better than they did last year and hopefully this shows this coming weekend,” added Doornbos who is only three points behind Raphael Matos in the Rookie of the Year title fight with 141. “But all the other teams have been working hard too so we will see who has done their homework better. In motor racing you can never take anything for granted and you always have to stay sharp and work hard to make sure everything is perfect! This car needs some set up work before the driver is happy on a road or street course because the car has been designed to race fast on ovals with no downforce so we are going to ask a lot of the Firestone grip in coming races and work to fine tune the car around the available grip. This is a big challenge for the engineers and driver and hopefully with my road course experience we can work strong together and get a good result.”

For the second straight year McDonald’s and Coca-Cola produced 250,000 commemorative cups that feature the McDonald’s Indy car driver and a redeemable coupon for reduced priced tickets to the race. Rahal and his No. 02 McDonald’s race car have flown out the doors of the 95 Central New York area restaurants in the Syracuse, Binghamton, Elmira and Utica markets a week ahead of schedule. After having spent much of his childhood roaming around race tracks, he applauds the program the local McDonald’s owner/operators have put together at Watkins Glen for families.

“I’m honored to be on the 250,000 cups and represent such great companies in McDonald’s and Coke!” said Rahal. “I think that the cup looks great. I’m looking forward to continuing to do fun activities like this. McDonald’s also has the Family Zone at the track and I think it’s a great opportunity for the families to groom their kids into IndyCar Series fans by presenting them with a fun filled weekend at the track. It’s great that McDonald’s supports such activities at the track as this and it makes it enjoyable for all parties involved – including me because I’m going to spend some time there Saturday and Sunday!”

This weekend’s Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen can be seen on live on Sunday, July 5 at 1 p.m. EDT on ABC. The weekend has been shortened to a 2-day event and will get underway with practice and qualifying on Saturday and the broadcast of the 60-lap race will begin at 1 p.m. EDT 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. It will also be broadcast live on IMS Radio Network and XM Radio Channels 144 and 145.




GRAHAM RAHAL, driver of the #02 McDonald’s Dallara / Honda / Firestone:
AT WALKINS GLEN: Will be his second race here. In 2008, he crashed in the Saturday morning practice which contributed to an 18th place qualifying position but he rebounded to finish eighth.

2 POLES, 1 PODIUM 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 contact…Started ninth based on entrant points in Iowa after qualifying was canceled and ran as high as sixth but contact with Patrick forced an unscheduled stop which put him two laps down and he ultimately finished 11th…Was the top non-Penske or Ganassi qualifier in Richmond with a fifth place start and finished third to earn his best career oval finish…Is ranked 9th in series points with 180.

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: “I would say that everyone on the entire team is looking forward to some road races. We have momentum on our side and I think that over the next few races the opportunity for a win for our team is very high. We ought to be amongst the best on the road and street courses.

“I’m looking forward to starting the road and street course stretch off at Watkins Glen. It’s a physical track with lots of elevation changes and very high commitment corners. This always makes it tough for any driver, but also a lot of fun! Road courses are challenging from a drivers standpoint because they combine all aspects of driving talent. It is harder to get the maximum out of a car on a road course versus being on an oval. I think that road racing ultimately highlights the best drivers in the series.

“Justin was very competitive here and that certainly makes us feel good. He struggled early in the race before falling out, but I think that we should be competitive from the start. Other teams have tested here and this will challenge us but we should be looking fairly good by race time.
“Watkins Glen was a disappointing race for us last year. I just never had the confidence in the car during the weekend. I had also just come off a crash in Richmond which hurt, but I think we take a very different approach this year, and we have a fantastic opportunity to do great things. The barber test is a sign of our speed and ability on road courses, we simply need to make it happen.

“I think we will have the pace on the road course after running well on the street courses at the start of the season. In fact if the Barber road course test is any sign I feel that we should be extremely competitive. Our cars there were very strong and I think that the team has continued to develop a few items that can really help us on the rest of the road races. I feel confident that we should be very competitive.

“I’m honored to be on the 250,000 cups and represent such great companies in McDonald’s and Coke!! I think that the cup looks great. I’m looking forward to continuing to do fun activities like this. McDonald’s also has the Family Zone at the track and I think it’s a great opportunity for the families to groom their kids into IndyCar Series fans by presenting them with a fun filled weekend at the track. It’s great that McDonald’s supports such activities at the track as this and it makes it enjoyable for all parties involved – including me because I’m going to spend some time there Saturday and Sunday!”




ROBERT DOORNBOS, driver of the #06 Dallara / Honda / Firestone:
AT WATKINS GLEN: Will be his first race here and first on a road course, which is the type of track he has mostly raced on.

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…Started 14th in Iowa based on entrant points after qualifying was cancelled due to water seepage on track. Got sideways on the opening lap and was collected by Ryan Hunter-Reay. The team repaired his left front suspension and he returned to the track to move up three places and finished 15th…Started 12th in Richmond and earned his top oval finish of 9th place…Is ranked 14th with 141 points and is second to R. Matos in the Rookie of the Year standings (144-141).

ROBERT DOORNBOS, No. 06 Dallara-Honda-Firestone: “It has been a very hard and tough start to the season for myself and the team and we have shown strong signs of competitiveness in qualifying but the results we were hoping for on Sundays haven’t come yet and with the second half of the season starting in Watkins Glen I’m feeling our luck will change. It’s nice for me to race on road courses and street courses for the next few events because that’s were my experience comes from. But honestly I am feeling more comfortable on the ovals and am starting to understand the set up of the car better so I know that with the combination of both types of racing this is the championship were I want to be!

“The only road course experience I have with this car and the team is from our pre-season test at Barber Motorsports Park and there we were competitive on the top of the timesheets. But that’s testing and now we are racing and there are some very strong teams and drivers out there so it’s going to be hard work and play hard!

“For sure the team has developed and understands the car better than they did last year and hopefully this shows this coming weekend. But all the other teams have been working hard too so we will see who has done their homework better.

“I hear from other drivers that it’s a great track with some awesome corners and that’s what I like to hear. Of course I did my homework and looked at some footage from last year’s race and it looks like good fun. Also I’m quite pleased to race at this track knowing that some great drivers have been here in the past from Indy cars and F1.

“In motor racing you can never take anything for granted and you always have to stay sharp and work hard to make sure everything is perfect! This car needs some set up work before the driver is happy on a road or street course because the car has been designed to race fast on ovals with no downforce so we are going to ask a lot of the Firestone grip in coming races and work to fine tune the car around the available grip. This is a big challenge for the engineers and driver and hopefully with my road course experience we can work strong together and get a good result.

“On ovals you are very much dependant as a driver from what your car is capable of doing, so the difference between the top teams and smaller teams is bigger and the driver has little he or she can do in changing this. But on a road or street course the driver can work hard with the engineers to tune the car around his preferred set up and try to stay close to the limit and actually get more out of what the car on paper is capable of doing. And physically there is no doubt that it’s going to be tougher than racing on ovals but that’s what we are paid to do, to stay fit and I take my fitness very serious!”