Catchfence

Newman / Haas Racing

Graham Rahal, No. 02 Quick Trim Dallara / Honda / Firestone: “The Quick Trim car felt pretty good; I definitely felt we had a car that, overall, could compete for the top-three. But then when we got out to the front of our pack I just couldn’t keep the position; people were just driving around me and taking off. Clearly I wanted a better finish than we had. We should have been able to get a top-three, top-five. It just wasn’t in the cards.”

· FAST FACTS: Was his third race here. In 2009, he qualified fifth and ran third in the final laps with a shot at the win before he finished fifth. He started 14th and ran as high as fifth in 2008 but mid-race contact in the pits with Buddy Rice and contact with the wall on the final lap ­­– most likely due to a compromised part from the pit contact — led to a 19th place finish…Of his two PREVIOUS oval races in 2010, his highest oval start was seventh in Indy and his highest oval finish was ninth in Iowa.

Hideki Mutoh, No. 06 Formula Dream / Panasonic Dallara / Honda / Firestone: “We made a big change overnight so at the start of the race I was conservative to see how it would react. Then we had a problem in the pits but sometimes human error is a part of racing. We hung in there and finished the race. Our position was okay, not great, but we are very pleased with the progress we made. We made very good progress in this race that will help us in Kentucky and if we can continue progressing in Kentucky we can carry good momentum for Japan.”

· FAST FACTS: His 8th place start is his best here to date. Was his fourth IICS event here. He made his series debut at this track in 2007 with Super Aguri Panther Racing where he qualified 13th and finished eighth. In 2008 he moved to Andretti Green Racing where he qualified 11th and retired in 22nd due to an electrical failure. In 2009 he qualified 13th and retired in 22nd place after contact in Turn 3 due to suspension failure…His highest overall series start is THIRD at Nashville Speedway (oval) and best overall series finish is SECOND (Iowa 2008).

HOME EVENT FOR TEAM AT CHICAGOLAND: The team previously competed here twice. In 2008, Rahal started 14th and ran as high as fifth but mid-race contact in the pits with Buddy Rice and contact with the wall on the final lap ­­– most likely due to a compromised part from the pit contact — led to a 19th place finish. Justin Wilson started 21st and finished 11th. In 2009, Rahal qualified fifth and ran third in the final laps with a shot at the win before he finished fifth. Oriol Servia started 9th, ran as high as third and finished seventh after rebounding from a bad final pit stop where he slightly missed his stop marks and dropped to 14th.

- Newman / Haas Racing Press Release