McDONALD’S® DRIVER WILSON AND HOLE IN THE WALL CAMPS DRIVER RAHAL READY FOR NEXT STRETCH OF SIX RACES IN SIX WEEKS BEGINNING WITH THE IOWA CORN INDY 250

DES MOINES, Iowa (June 18, 2008) --- Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR) made the most of a rare weekend off from competition in the IndyCar Series and returns to action refreshed and focused on the next task – Sunday’s Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway, the first of six races in six weekends. McDonald’s driver Justin Wilson and Hole in the Wall Camps driver Graham Rahal made the most of their off weekend and are ready to get back to work.

“I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the McDonald’s car after a weekend off,” said Wilson, who became a first-time father seven weeks earlier than expected on April 12. “I got to spend some time at home with (wife) Julia and (daughter) Jane, who is doing really well. She has doubled in weight since her birth. I have had a bit of practice changing diapers and I think my technique is pretty good but I had time to perfect it! We have also been able to spend some time with Julia’s parents who came over from the U.K. and have had some good, quality time together.”

“To have an off-week was important for all us because it was good to get out of the rhythm we were in where it gets very repetitive after a while and that makes it tough to stay focused,” added Rahal. “It was good to take a step back and take a breather. I tried to play as much golf as possible and did a little bit of swimming and anything else that I could do to relax. It was great but I am ready to get back to work.”

The .875-mile Iowa Speedway hosted its first IndyCar Series event in 2007 and although the track will be new to NHLR and its drivers, longtime series competitors don’t have the advantage that comes with multiple years of experience on the track although its fair to say they still have more overall knowledge of the racing equipment. The shortest track run so far this season was the one-mile oval in Milwaukee and Rahal was a contender for his first ever Champ or Indy car pole but was narrowly beat by Marco Andretti and started second. He ran in the top-three for most of the race until contact ended his day. He is looking forward to the new experience that running at Iowa will afford but admits he doesn’t know what to expect.

“I think it’s going to be a very tight race track with 27 cars,” said Rahal, whose top oval finish this season is 12th at Kansas Speedway. “The traffic is going to be pretty tight; even more so than on the one-mile oval in Milwaukee. Obviously it will be a pretty tough race but I’m looking forward to it and to continuing to learn. It will be cool to do three types of oval racing – the high speed oval, the super speedway and these shorter types of circuits like in Iowa. I don’t know really what to expect but overall I feel pretty comfortable on ovals in general.”

The upcoming six week stretch includes three oval races (Iowa, Richmond, Nashville) and three on road or street courses (Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, Edmonton) and that diversity appeals to Wilson, whose top starting position this season is pole on the streets of Long Beach in a Champ Car and his top finish is seventh place at the Milwaukee Mile oval.

"I think we are learning a lot of valuable lessons on the ovals right now,” said Wilson. “I also think we have not shown our true potential yet, but we will. It just takes time to work everything out. I personally like the diversity of racing on road and street courses, short ovals and speedways as you have to be a very complete driver to win on all these disciplines. I’m exciting to get on with the next phase of the season.”

Only twelve of the 27 drivers entered in this weekend’s Iowa Corn 250 competed in the IndyCar Series race here last year so the series has added four hours of testing on Friday prior to the official start of the weekend on Saturday. Rahal believes every minute of track time is helpful.

“We are going to try to get closer on our setups; I think we’re still quite a ways off and its time to catch up,”’ said Rahal. “I wish we would have been more competitive (on the high-banked track) in Texas and the 1.5 mile tracks but we’re moving on to a circuit that will be a place that is more like Milwaukee where we were pretty competitive. We’re gaining experience every time we are on track but in racing there is always something more to learn and ways to keep improving no matter how competitive you are. We just need to be able to do it in double time because we are new to the series.”

Paternity leave has been a theme at the McDonald’s team (aka Happy Meal team) this season as Wilson and wife Julia welcomed their first child in April and crewman Kyle Sobczak and his wife welcomed their first in late May. Wilson’s race engineer Mike Talbott will miss the Iowa race to be with his wife, who is due to give birth to their second child any day. His fill in? Senior engineer Craig Hampson, who was race engineer for four-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais, will replace Talbott this weekend before returning home to also await the birth of his second child.

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 a test session on Friday, followed by 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. It will also be broadcast live on IMS Radio Network and XM Radio Channels 144 and 145.



JUSTIN WILSON, driver of the #02 McDonald’s Dallara / Honda / Firestone
AT IOWA SPEEDWAY: Will be his first race here, sixth oval race in the IndyCar Series and 11th overall.

SO FAR IN 2008: Qualified 17th but started 15th in the season-opener in Homestead due to two cars having their qualifying speeds disallowed. Dropped one lap down when he was hit by Will Power on a restart after approx. 22 laps and had to pit to replace a deflated tire but rallied to finish 15th…Started third in his street course ICS debut in St. Pete but alternate fuel and tire
strategies dictated by intermittent rain led to a ninth place finish after he led a total of 18 of 83 laps…Was the pole winner on Friday and Saturday in the Long Beach Champ Car finale and dropped to second on the start but engine failure on Lap 13 ended his race and he finished 19th …Gained valuable experience after he was first to qualify and started 22nd in Kansas, led five laps after staying on track while others pit and finished ninth…Qualified 16th for his first Indy 500 and ran as high as second place but made contact after completing 133 of 200 laps and retired in 27th place…Steadily moved to the front in Milwaukee after starting 22nd but as he was about to pit, a caution came out and he had to make an extra stop from ninth place for a splash of fuel in a closed pit and dropped to the back of the field. Charged back to a seventh place finish…Qualified 23rd in his first race on a high-banked oval at Texas and was in 14th place when he brushed the Turn 2 wall and retired in 27th place with suspension damage…Is ranked 20th in the point standings with 117 points.

2006 & 2007 RUNNER UP TO THE CHAMPION: 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 championship contender until the conclusion of the penultimate race of each season. He also finished third to NHR drivers Bourdais and Oriol Servia in 2005.

PERSONAL: Justin Boyd Wilson was born on July 31, 1978 (29) in Sheffield, England…He married the former Julia Coggins in England on 12-29-2006 and reside in a suburb of Denver with their newborn daughter Jane Louise (born 4-12-08; expected 6-1-08)…His father Keith was an amateur Formula Ford racer in England but retired before Justin was born due to a crash that broke his back and legs. Instead of taking interest in mother Lynne’s love of horses, Justin followed his father’s passion and began racing karts when he was eight…In order to help finance his 2003 season in Formula One, Justin created a company -- Justin Wilson PLC – and approx. 900 investors “bought shares of Justin” which raised $2 million. A portion of his earnings go toward repaying the debt…He has conquered the challenges of dyslexia and, if he wasn’t a race car driver, would be a designer of cars or etc. because he is curious about how things work or how to improve them…Hobbies include cycling, miniature golf, video games, karting and trying to fly one of his two RC Helicopters…He spends his free time plotting and completing home improvement projects as well as trying to find time to mow the yard between races…His typical day begins at 7 a.m. and he calls the U.K. and checks his email before spending an hour at his local gym with Julia. After lunch he rides his bike for 1.5 hours and devotes the remainder of the day to home projects, reading 50+ pages of NHLR engineering reports and hanging out with friends…At 6’ 3-1/2” he is the tallest IndyCar Series driver…Listens to Coldplay, Stereophonics, The White Stripes and dance music.

JUSTIN WILSON, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the McDonald’s car after a weekend off. I got to spend some time at home with (wife) Julia and (daughter) Jane, who is doing really well. She has doubled in weight since her birth. I have had a bit of practice changing diapers and I think my technique is pretty good but I had time to perfect it! We have also been able to spend some time with Julia’s parents who came over from the U.K. and have had some good, quality time together.

“The break has also been very, very worthwhile for the team. The guys have been busy working on every area. They have had time to strip the car completely, tidied a lot of things up and improved a lot of things. They were able to work on car build and take the car completely apart and put it back together the way they wanted. I think we are learning a lot of valuable lessons on the ovals right now. I also think we have not shown our true potential yet, but we will. It just takes time to work everything out. I personally like the diversity of racing on road and street courses, short ovals and speedways as you have to be a very complete driver to win on all these disciplines. I’m exciting to get on with the next phase of the season.

“We’re going to have a slight change this weekend as my engineer, Mike Talbott, is going to stay home with his wife, who still hasn’t had their baby. Craig Hampson is going to be my engineer for Iowa and he is very experienced so the transition should be fine. I’m looking forward to working with him.”



GRAHAM RAHAL, driver of the #06 Hole in the Wall Camps Dallara / Honda / Firestone:
AT IOWA SPEEDWAY: Will be his first race here and sixth major league oval race.

YOUNGEST WINNER IN SERIES HISTORY: Became the youngest winner in IndyCar Series history when he drove to victory in his IndyCar Series debut in St. Pete 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. Nelson Philippe holds the Champ Car record for his ’06 win in Australia at 20 years, two months and 29 days old. With his second place finish in Houston in 2007, he became the youngest Champ Car driver (1979-2007) to finish on the podium at 18 years, three months and 18 days.

SO FAR IN 2008: Missed the series opener in Homestead due to a lack of time and parts to repair his lone race car after a testing crash the Tuesday prior to race day…Progressed to Group 2 in qualifying for his debut on the street course in St. Pete but was unable to get a clear lap and qualified ninth. The race began under caution while standing water was cleared and once the green flag flew he progressed up to third place before his first pit stop a race that saw multiple pit strategies. He was hit on Lap 37 by Will Power which caused a spin and he dropped to 23rd but the team elected to gamble and keep him on track while others pit on Lap 60 under caution and he moved into second before the restart on Lap 65 and took the lead and held it through two more restarts including one with three laps to go while holding off two-time St. Pete winner Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan. He won by a 3.5 second margin to become the youngest winner in series history at 19 years, 93 days old after he led a total of 19 of the 83 laps and moved to fourth in the standings…Started ninth in Champ Car series finale in Long Beach and was up to fourth when he was alongside Franck Montagny during an attempt to pass for third and was spun which dropped him back to 12th place. While setting the fastest laps of the race, he charged through the field and into seventh before he hit the tire barrier on the final lap to drop to 13th place and ninth in the ICS standings and second in the ROY by 17 points…Made his oval debut in Kansas, qualified 20th and finished a competitive 12th only one lap down to the leaders…Was the highest Indy 500 starter of the Champ Car transitioning teams with his 13th place qualifying position in his Indy debut but made contact on Lap 36 after driving high to avoid the slower car of Alex Lloyd. Retired in 33rd place…Missed his first pole at Milwaukee by 2/10th of a second over a four lap average and started a career best second to Andretti in what was the first Andretti/Rahal front row since 1992 in Loudon, NH. Ran between second and fourth until Lap 130 when he drove over “marbles” and lost control of his car after trying to go around the slower car of Manning. Retired in 25th place…Started 18th and finished 11th, one-lap down in his high-banked oval debut in Texas…Is ranked 17th with 127 points.

PERSONAL: Graham Robert Rahal, 19, was born in Columbus, Ohio on 1-4-1989 and resides in New Albany, Ohio…The 6’2” driver is one of four children of Bobby Rahal, three-time open wheel champion, Indy 500 winner and Hall of Fame race car driver…Has two sisters (Michaela and Samantha) and one brother (Jarrad)…Became the youngest IndyCar Series winner with his victory in his series debut in St. Pete on 4-6-08 and appeared on "Late Night with David Letterman" on 4-16-08 to discuss the feat…Graduated from New Albany High School with a 3.8 GPA on 6-3-07 despite missing over 80 days of school that year due to racing. ESPN The Magazine covered his graduation… When not racing he likes to work on cars, hang out with friends and family or play other sports for fun…Is a self-proclaimed “Car Guy” and still has the first car he received when he was 16 – a Subaru WRX sti – and is in the process of turning it into a race car with a Cosworth race engine. He purchased an ’07 Atomic Orange Corvette Z06 with his prize money but later sold it and now has an ’07 Ron Fellows limited edition Corvette Z06 as well as an ’08 Chevy Trailblazer SS. In addition he has a 1964 Mini Cooper that he restored for his high school senior project. He also temporarily owned a Porsche GT3 and an Audi he earned by graduating high school with a GPA of 3.5 or above…To prepare for the physicality of racing he spends many hours doing cardiovascular training and weightlifting, skiing, running or bicycling… His favorite type of clothing is anything made by Puma… His favorite food is sushi and his weaknesses are ice cream and white chocolate mocha drinks at Starbucks…His favorite books are those written by Lance Armstrong (and anything he read other than for school)…His favorite thing to watch on TV is any Ohio State Buckeye game, his favorite actor/actress are Owen Wilson and Eva Longoria and favorite movie is “Wedding Crashers.”

GRAHAM RAHAL, #06 Hole in the Wall Camps Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “To have an off-week was important for all us because it was good to get out of the rhythm we were in where it gets very repetitive after a while and that makes it tough to stay focused. It was good to take a step back and take a breather. I tried to play as much golf as possible and did a little bit of swimming and anything else that I could do to relax. It was great but I am ready to get back to work.

“I think its going to be a very tight race track with 27 cars. The traffic is going to be pretty tight; even more so than on the one-mile oval in Milwaukee. Obviously it will be a pretty tough race but I’m looking forward to it and to continuing to learn. It will be cool to do three types of oval racing – the high speed oval, the super speedway and these shorter types of circuits like in Iowa. I don’t know really what to expect but overall I feel pretty comfortable on ovals in general. We are going to try to get closer on our setups; I think we’re still quite a ways off and its time to catch up. I wish we would have been more competitive in Texas and the 1.5 mile tracks but we’re moving on to a circuit that will be a place that is more like Milwaukee where we were pretty competitive. We’re gaining experience every time we are on track but in racing there is always something more to learn and ways to keep improving no matter how competitive you are. We just need to be able to do it in double time because we are new to the series.”