McDONALD’S® DRIVER RAHAL AND TEAMMATE DOORNBOS TAKE ON THE SHORTEST TRACK OF THE SEASON AT SATURDAY’S SUNTRUST INDY CHALLENGE IN RICHMOND

RICHMOND, Virginia (June 24, 2009) --- Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR) will compete in the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Speedway for the second time this Saturday night. The 0.75-mile oval poses challenges not only due to the amount of race craft necessary for 20 cars to navigate the short track simultaneously. The added factor of heat and humidity further challenge the drivers and teams and turn the race into an action-packed battle as evidenced by the 2008 event that saw only 12 of the 26 cars running at the finish.

“Richmond is an interesting little track,” said Rahal, driver of the No. 02 McDonald’s race car. “It’s an extremely long race, really a race of attrition from start to finish, which is what kind of happened last season. It’s quite challenging because of the size of the track and usually it’s fairly hot so it’s pretty physical. It’s a long race which really challenges the driver and the team a lot.”

Despite making his first appearance in the race last year and only sixth event on an oval in his career, he qualified third. Unfortunately he was one of the many victims of attrition and crashed after 132 of 300 laps while running seventh. Justin Wilson, who drove for the team in 2008, battled on to finish seventh on the short oval and matched his best oval finish to date. Rahal’s plan is to finish the event this year and better his current-best oval finish of fourth place in Milwaukee earlier this season.

“Was I surprised by qualifying third last year?” said Rahal who is ninth in the point standings with 145. “Absolutely, because we struggled big time in practice. We thought we would have a good race car but not necessarily qualify up front. It was quite a surprise to qualify well but then in the race, we really never had the pace. And I still to this day don’t know exactly what happened when I crashed. I entered Turn 3 and the car turned in. It had understeered like crazy all day and all of the sudden it snapped on me and I lost the back end obviously and crashed. We don’t want to repeat that this year and our plan it to finish this race and get some more points for the McDonald’s team.”

So far this season Rahal has started on the front row three times including poles in St. Petersburg (street) and Kansas Speedway (1.5-mile oval) as also started on the first two rows a total of four times in seven races. He has three top-10 finishes including his highest of fourth place in Milwaukee but feels a strong test at Richmond late last season will help the team run competitively here and build momentum for the rest of the season.

“I think that we should be better at Richmond this year,’ said Rahal. “We made a lot of gains at the test at the end of last year and I’m looking forward to going and seeing where we are because the car did feel very good in the test. Hopefully we can turn the corner here and run strong and finish every race.”

Rahal’s teammate Robert Doornbos will be only one of two drivers in the 20-car field who have yet to run on this track. Mike Conway is the other. Doornbos has come to know firsthand that all ovals are not created equal and will encounter a sixth different type this weekend when he races on the 0.75-mile Richmond International Raceway bullring.

“I have heard the drivers like Richmond,” said Doornbos, who is 15th in the point standings with 119 but only 23 points from the top-10. “It’s an extremely short oval – the shortest of the season -- so probably I’ll be surprised again on the first laps as I have been on most ovals this season. It’s very important to work hard in practice to find a good setup because is that’s off then it’s going to be a very long night.”

Of the five oval races to date, Doornbos earned two top-10 starting positions including second place in his debut in Kansas. He was a contender for a top-10 start at the Indy 500 but two crashes in practice limited his start to 23rd. He has led two laps on an oval and earned his highest finish of 11th place at the high-banked Texas Motor Speedway. The team continues to work hard to compensate for the five year head start other teams have had with this racing package and every race lap that can be logged will further their progress.

“We know, and showed, that when the car is good we can put it on the front row and fight with the big teams like Penske and Ganassi but we need to keep improving at the workshop and on the track to close the gap to these teams,” said Doornbos, who trails Raphael Matos by one point (120-119) in the Rookie of the Year standings. “Lately we have lost a bit of performance but we are working double-hard to get to the front.”

This weekend’s SunTrust Indy Challenge can be seen on live on Saturday, June 27 at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Versus. The event will get underway with practice and qualifying on Friday and the 300-lap race will begin at 8:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday. 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 Channel 145 and Sirius 211.



GRAHAM RAHAL, driver of the #02 McDonald’s Dallara / Honda / Firestone:
AT RICHMOND: Will be his second race here. In 2008, he started third but retired in 18th due to contact after 132/300 laps while running seventh. His highest oval finish to date is 4th in Milwaukee ‘09.

2 OF 7 POLES 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…Is ranked 9th in series points with 145.

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: “Richmond is an interesting little track. It’s an extremely long race, really a race of attrition from start to finish which is what kind of happened last season. It’s quite challenging because of the size of the track and usually it’s fairly hot so it’s pretty physical. It’s a long race which really challenges the driver and the team a lot.

“Was I surprised by qualifying third last year? Absolutely, because we struggled big time in practice. We thought we would have a good race car but not necessarily qualify up front. It was quite a surprise to qualify well but then in the race, we really never had the pace. And I still to this day don’t know exactly what happened when I crashed. I entered Turn 3 and the car turned in. It had understeered like crazy all day and all of the sudden it snapped on me and I lost the back end obviously and crashed. We don’t want to repeat that this year and our plan it to finish this race and get some more points for the McDonald’s team.

“I think that we should be better at Richmond this year. We made a lot of gains at the test at the end of last year and I’m looking forward to going and seeing where we are because the car did feel very good in the test. Hopefully we can turn the corner here and run strong and finish every race.”




ROBERT DOORNBOS, driver of the #06 Dallara / Honda / Firestone:
AT RICHMOND: Will be his first race here and only SIXTH oval race ever.

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…Is ranked 15th with 119 points and is second to R. Matos in the Rookie of the Year standings (120-119).

ROBERT DOORNBOS, No. 06 Dallara-Honda-Firestone: “I have heard the drivers like Richmond. Its an extremely short oval – the shortest of the season -- so probably I’ll be surprised again on the first laps as I have been on most ovals this season. It’s very important to work hard in practice to find a good setup because is that’s off then it’s going to be a very long night. We know, and showed, that when the car is good we can put it on the front row and fight with the big teams like Penske and Ganassi but we need to keep improving at the workshop and on the track to close the gap to these teams. Lately we have lost a bit of performance but we are working double-hard to get to the front.”