Friday, August 7, 2009 Honda Indy 200 at Mid Ohio – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Round 13 in the IndyCar Series
McDONALD’S DRIVER RAHAL FIFTH FASTEST IN OPENING PRACTICE FOR THE HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO; SERVIA 11TH IN HIS FIRST SESSION ON A ROAD/STREET COURSE SINCE OCTOBER
Graham Rahal, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It’s always nice to come back to Mid-Ohio, the track is a lot of fun. The McDonald’s car was getting progressively better there at the end. We were getting pretty close and I’m definitely happy with that. If we had a little bit newer tires like some of those guys had on there at the end we would have been looking pretty darn good. It’s always nice to be here and it’s nice not to have to travel far to get to the track. Its relaxing here and there is a lot of fan support and that’s always exciting for me.”
FAST FACTS: Will be his second major open wheel race here but he has competed in many other series at his “home track.” In 2008, he started 14th and ran as high as eighth, but an off track excursion on lap 53 limited him to a 16th place finish. At the age of 16 in 2005, he became the youngest to claim the SCCA National Formula Atlantic championship at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs here by a dominant 43-seconds. He also competed in the Star Mazda race here in 2005 (S/F 4/9). Tested a Grand Am car here in 2007…Highest start this season is two poles (St. Pete/street & Kansas/oval) and highest finish is third place at Richmond…Is ranked 9th in series points with 265.
Oriol Servia, No. 06 Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was fun and challenging, honestly, to get back in a car on a road course. You want to get things done quickly and get used to the car and get a feel for the car and we did that. The team gave me great car that was fast right away. The car was faster than me but I will get there. I was happy with how everything felt and I just have to get used to it to be able to get the best out of it because this is a track where every little thing counts at the end.”
FAST FACTS: Will be his sixth major open wheel race here and only second of the 2009 IndyCar Series season (competed in Indy 500). He has competed in four CART/Champ Car races (2000-2003) and one IndyCar Series event (2008) here to date. Last year he started eighth and finished fifth for KV Racing. In his rookie CART season in 2000, he started 17th and finished 10th; started 26th and finished ninth in 2001; started 12th and finished 10th in 2002 and started eighth and finished 18th in 2003 after contact with NHR driver Junqueira…Last raced on a road/street course in the 2008 season-ending exhibition race in Australia on October 26…Competed for the team in 2005 as the replacement driver for the injured Bruno Junqueira and earned seven podiums in 11 events.
NHLR AT MID-OHIO: In their previous 22 races here the team has earned THREE wins (Mi. Andretti 1991, 1990; Ma. Andretti 1984), SIX poles (Mansell 1993; Mi. Andretti 1992, 1991, 1990; Ma. Andretti 1986, 1984), and ELEVEN podium finishes (2nd- Fittipaldi 2002, Tracy 1995, Ma. Andretti 1990, 1988, 1983; 3rd- Fittipaldi 2000, Mi. Andretti 1996, 1989).
Tune In… The race will be broadcast live on VERSUS Sunday, August 9 at 1 pm. The radio broadcast also will be carried on www.indycar.com. As always, fans can follow the action from every on-track session via the official website of the IndyCar Series, www.indycar.com.
