Photo Credit: Dana Garrett/IndyCar
For the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis Graham Rahal, driver of the No. 15 Steak and Shake Honda, had a solid qualifying run claiming the third starting position. The quickest Honda in qualifying. However, he would fail post qualifying inspection for being two pounds underweight and will have to start from the end the field.
“Yeah, I mean, it was a good run for us,” he said. “Pretty please with the performance. This morning the car wasn’t so great. I was a little bit nervous going into this one. Worked out. The guys did a great job again with the changes.”
The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver will have a teammate in Spencer Pigot for this month for both this race and the Indianapolis 500 later this month, versus normally being RLL’s only entry.
“It’s good,” he said “Last night in practice we kind of went off, tried something big, just to kind of get direction. Spencer stayed put, tried some other stuff, other ideas we had. It was good to be able to come together this morning, have a little bit if an idea.
“I felt like the way we went yesterday was wrong. He felt pretty pleased with his car. It was good to have a base to go off of. All these guys would say the same. It’s nice to have something else to look at than just your data.
“I think Spencer is doing a hell of a job this weekend. Qualifying is an eye-opening experience, when you see these cars doing a second faster than practice. It’s hard to imagine you can find that time anywhere. It’s good to have him.”
Honda has struggled this season compared to Chevrolet, but in qualifying for this race, it was evenly divided with three of each making the fast six.
“It’s a combination of power and aero,” he said. “Honda, they’ve had their backs up against the wall. Everybody has been very critical of them. We’ve tried to lead the charge for them. I think they’re doing a great job. Seeing three Honda in the top six, that’s probably the first time that’s happen in a few years. It’s great to see.
“At the end of the day these guys have no quit in them. Honda is a company that will do what it takes to win. I think they’re going to continue to try very hard.”
