Saturday, May 31, 2008
ABC Supply / A.J. Foyt 225 – The Milwaukee Mile
Round 6 of 18 in the IndyCar Series

HOLE IN THE WALL CAMPS DRIVER RAHAL EARNED HIS BEST CHAMP OR INDY CAR STARTING POSITION OF SECOND PLACE FOR THE ABC SUPPLY / A.J. FOYT 225 AT THE TEAM’S HOME TRACK; McDONALD’S DRIVER WILSON DISAPPOINTED WITH 22ND PLACE

POLE: Marco Andretti 4-lap avg. speed of 168.079 mph (L1: 21.8031, L2: 21.6651, L3: 21.7477, L4: 21.7432)
2nd: Graham Rahal 4-lap avg. speed of 167.654 mph (L1: 21.8749, L2: 217373, L3: 21.7583, L4: 21.8091)
22nd: Justin Wilson 4-lap avg. speed of 159.927 mph (L1: 23.0679, L2: 22.9940, L3: 22.6924, L4: 22.6374)



Justin Wilson, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We’ve struggled a bit today and haven’t quite got the balance right on the McDonald’s car. We went from quite a lot of understeer to quite a lot of oversteer now. This is one of those places where when you get it right it feels great but when you get it wrong, it’s a tough day. The key is going to be to try to find a balance for the race. You need to have a good solid race car where you can change lines and that’s the key. You need to be good in traffic and move around without worrying about the car too much.”

FAST FACTS: Will be his be his fourth race here and first in the IndyCar Series at this track. In his three previous Champ Car races here he finished second, fourth and 11th. He earned his highest finish to date on an oval at this track in 2006 when he started fourth with the RuSport team and finished second to Bourdais, the driver he was hired to replace this season. In 2005 he started third and finished fourth with RuSport and started 12th and finished 11th in his 2004 rookie season with Mi-Jack Conquest Racing…Is ranked 20 in the point standings with 81…Finished runner up in the Champ Car championship to the driver he recently replaced, four-time champion Sebastien Bourdais, in 2006 and 2007. Was a title contender until the conclusion of the penultimate race of each season.



Graham Rahal, No. 06 Hole in the Wall Camps Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Obviously, I’m pretty happy with my first front row start. It would have been great to get the pole. It was so close, but unfortunately, that’s the way these go. A lot of this car came out of the Newman/Haas/Lanigan notebook for sure. A race car is a race car. They are slightly different animals maybe but the concept is the same. All the experience these guys have had just carries on. They've done a great job. It was nice to have that one hour practice on Friday because it allowed us to be more comfortable. It’s a tough track for sure so to qualify this well is rewarding and also a great reward for all of the hard work the guys have done this year. We’ll move on from here. I think we have a great racecar and we’ll have to see how it goes tomorrow."

FAST FACTS: Will be his first race here and his third IndyCar Series race on an oval (Kansas, Indy, Milwaukee)…In his IndyCar Series debut on a road/street course he became the youngest winner in major open-wheel racing in North America after winning in St. Pete on 4-6-08 at 19 years, 93 days old…He is ranked 13th in series points with 98 points…His previous best Champ Car start is fourth place (’07 - Cleveland, Edmonton & Elkhart Lake)…The last time an Andretti and Rahal started alongside each other on the front row was in New Hampshire during the 1992 CART season. In total Bobby Rahal and Michael Andretti started side-by-side on the front row three times that season with Andretti earning pole in Phoenix and Detroit and Rahal on pole in New Hampshire. Rahal won all three events.



SEVEN WINS, 13 PODIUMS IN MILWAUKEE: NHR has won SEVEN races at this track (Sebastien Bourdais – 2006; Michael Andretti 1996, 1992, 1991; Paul Tracy 1995; Nigel Mansell 1993; Mario Andretti 1985) and TWO poles (Bourdais – 2006; Ma. Andretti 1985). They have earned a total of 13 podium finishes (2nd – Mi. Andretti 2000, 1997, 1989; 3rd – Oriol Servia 2005, Mi. Andretti 1995, Ma. Andretti 1991).