2009 IRL Team Reports: Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing

IRL Team reports for the 2009 IRL season

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Post by mlittle » Sat Jun 06, 2009 11:33 am

DOORNBOS TO START NINTH IN THE BOMBARDIER LEARJET 550k AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY; McDONALD'S DRIVER RAHAL TO START 12TH

Graham Rahal, No. 02 McDonald's Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "It's frustrating because the McDonald's team expected to be faster than this. To be quite honest, all weekend I thought that something was amiss. I didn't feel like the car was pulling properly. I noticed this morning that we couldn't tow up on people in the draft. It's unfortunate because you get so used to being so competitive. To come here and not be is frustrating. We hope that we can figure something out here so we can get a little more speed for passing in the race. We're going to work on having some good stops and move forward in the race."

Robert Doornbos, No. 06 Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "This is obviously a very special oval. It's an exciting place; I really love it. On the banking you feel like Spiderman. I have raced on three total until now and this is definitely up there. I think we had a good run. You always want more as a driver. I pushed the pedal so far that I think I almost bent it. I think we can be happy and I look forward to a fun race tomorrow with a good setup. In qualifying we just stayed on the white line. I hit the pedal hard. I was flat, flat, flat. There was no more in the car so we can be happy. I got the maximum out of it. Every time I am in the car, I learn. I like this four lap average format. I think you can really make a difference on your out lap if you are aggressive out of pit lane and flat straight away. It's good fun."
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Post by mlittle » Mon Jun 08, 2009 9:13 am

DOORNBOS FINISHED 11TH IN THE BOMBARDIER LEARJET 550k AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY; McDONALD'S DRIVER RAHAL MADE CONTACT AFTER THE FIRST LAP

Graham Rahal, No. 02 McDonald's Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "It's frustrating. We struggled a little bit all weekend but the McDonald's car felt very comfortable and very good. It was unfortunate because right away something did not feel right as I went into Turn 1 and I lost a couple of spots in the initial start. I was hanging on going into Turns 3 and 4 the car was so loose and I lost tons of spots maybe 6 or 7 spots. Something did not feel right going back into Turn 1 and I let up for the second lap and I was trying to be careful but as I went into Turn 1 something snapped. I couldn't hang on. I feel bad for the others involved. It was horrible."

Robert Doornbos, No. 06 Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "It's great to get a Texas race under my belt. It's hard for me because we're going to get a good season going here. It's a while different discipline. I'm learning as much as I can. I'm not used to finishing 11th, 10th or ninth but that's the way it is at the moment. We just have to work hard and close the gap to the strong guys. I'm very happy I finished the race for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing and the 06 guys because they know as well as I know that I need the experience as fast as I can. I enjoyed myself in the night race in Texas. Seeing the crowds is very exciting. It's unfortunate that the last sting destroyed my race a bit with backmarkers not going me any room. Other than that, I am happy I can focus on Iowa."
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Post by mlittle » Sat Jun 20, 2009 7:48 am

McDONALD'S DRIVER RAHAL AND DOORNBOS READY FOR NEXT STRETCH OF FOUR RACES IN A ROW ON THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRACKS BEGINNING WITH THE IOWA CORN INDY 250

DES MOINES, Iowa (June 18, 2009) --- Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR) and drivers Graham Rahal and Robert Doornbos made the most of the first weekend off after six consecutive weeks of work in the IndyCar Series. Now they will return to action refreshed and focused on the next task -- Sunday's Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway, the first of six races in the next seven weeks including four in a row that will begin on the banked, 0.875 track in Iowa.

"The time off was nice, very welcome for everybody after a very busy stint," said Doornbos, 27, who combined R&R with training in Aruba. "I left the country and went to the sun to work out and chill out so I really enjoyed that. I worked hard on the fitness because that is going to be important over the next races in the summer. I'm feeling very sharp and ready for action."

"I spent my week off doing PR days for the IndyCar Series in Elmira and Rochester, New York and at home in Columbus (Ohio) then I got to go boating one day, which was a lot of fun," added Rahal, who pilots the No. 02 McDonald's race car. "I had some friends over on Friday night which was also a lot of fun, so I got a little bit of relaxing in but still did a lot of work during the break. I got to meet Coach Jim Tressel of the Ohio State Buckeyes which was pretty darn cool."

During his rookie IndyCar Series season last year, Rahal earned his best finish on an oval at the 0.875 mile Iowa Speedway oval. He started the event 16th based on point standings due to qualifying being rained out but he and the team worked hard the entire race to adjust the car to the changing conditions and he finished 10th after a very strong final stint. The team continued to improve their oval setups through 2008 and over the off season and Rahal qualified on pole twice and started on the front row in three out of six races. He topped his best oval finish of 10th in the 2008 Iowa race with a fourth place at the Milwaukee Mile earlier this season and is looking to better that position at this challenging race track.

"Last year Iowa was a great race for us, we were very competitive'" said Rahal. "The car felt extremely good in the race. It was good learning race and we finished 10th which was our best oval finish of the season. It's a long race and you've got to be very patient and that's what we did, and in the end it worked out for us. I think the challenge of Iowa is it's a very small oval, even smaller than Milwaukee, but it's very high banked so the most challenging part is it's a very physically demanding track. It separates the men from the boys which is pretty exciting. It will be the first of two short ovals in a row. I think that the McDonald's team should be very competitive in Iowa. We were competitive there last year and with (race engineer) Martin (Pare) coming on board, I think that we've got a good base to build on. Martin was with Andretti Green last year and they were very good there and his knowledge base of this circuit will really help us."

Although teammate Doornbos charged up the racing ladder and made it to Formula One within five years of switching vocations from tennis, oval racing is a completely different racing experience for him and he is taking on new challenges every weekend including racing on his shortest oval to date this weekend in Iowa. To the casual observer, it might be thought that all ovals are created equal and that if you are competitive on one you will be competitive on all. But the truth is that the nuances of each track call for different racing setups. In his first oval race ever at Kansas Speedway, Doornbos out-qualified series champions and Indy 500 winners with his second place start and briefly led before a pit penalty dropped him to the rear of the field. Each oval track after that has been a different variation and he has continued to gain valuable experience.

"The oval experience is more impressive than what I thought before actually competing on ovals," said Doornbos who is only 12 points away from a top-10 rank with 104 points in 15th place. "There is a lot to learn but I'm a fast learner, it's been like this my entire career. Hopefully now, together with the team, we come off quite a solid Texas performance with more to build from. It wasn't the fastest one we've done but at least it's something we can build on. I feel comfortable on ovals and, when the car is fast enough, I can put it on the front row. When it's not fast enough I can also bring it home like in Texas when we finished in 11th place. Now we just need to make sure we find a car which is really fast so it is really a team effort. I do the job on the track and team does the job in the factory but I'm sure we can do it."

Iowa Speedway hosted its first IndyCar Series event in 2007 and NHLR first competed here last year. Not only did Rahal finish 10th, then-teammate Justin Wilson ran as high as seventh place and finished 12th. In addition to focusing on being competitive in Iowa, the team has to plan ahead in order to be as prepared as possible to run well at each of the events. The upcoming four week stretch includes two oval races (Iowa, Richmond), one on a road course (Watkins Glen) and a street race (Toronto). That diversity appeals to both drivers.

"I think the next four races are going to be tough but our team is used to challenges like this and I think that everybody is well prepared," said Rahal, who is ranked ninth in points with 126. "We will be happy to be back on some road courses, whether that will be returning to the street course in Toronto or permanent road courses like Watkins Glen. And I think we should be very competitive on the short ovals so the next four (races) should play right into our strengths."

"Having this next stretch of four in a row is going to be very good because it will really show who the good drivers are and which ones prepared the best physically and mentally," added Doornbos. "You can really extract the maximum out of yourself by driving on these different types of tracks whether you are on a short oval, road course or street course. Its where, as a driver, you can really make a difference. Obviously for myself, I am really looking forward to getting on a road course. The only road course I have done so far is the Barber test and we ended up second quickest there on the first day. We were competitive so I really look forward to getting my first strong result in Watkins Glen even though I don't know the track and then heading to Toronto which is a nice street course. You can always have fun there if the car is good. Diversity is very important for a driver. You have to work really hard to show what you can do."

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 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 Channel 145 and Sirius 211.
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Post by mlittle » Mon Jun 22, 2009 1:45 pm

McDONALD'S DRIVER RAHAL TO START NINTH IN THE IOWA CORN INDY 250 AT IOWA SPEEDWAY WHILE DOORNBOS WILL START 15TH; WATER SEEPAGE CANCELLED QUALIFYING AND FIELD WILL START BASED ON POINT STANDINGS

Graham Rahal, No. 02 McDonald's Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "I don't think we would be on pole but I think the McDonald's car would be starting significantly higher than our point standing so we're going to have our work cut out for us tomorrow and, unfortunately and that's not what we wanted. We'll work hard for it and try to get better as the day goes on. I was really hoping that there was going to be a few less guys that I didn't have to worry about passing to get to the front. Now there is a lot of importance on pit stops, a lot of importance on making sure we have a good car and if we have to make changes during the race, we can do it in a hurry because we've got some work to do to get to the front. That's for sure. The race car is darned good though."

Robert Doornbos, No. 06 Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "It was a disappointing day for the series. Everyone wants to qualify. It's always a nice feature of the IndyCar Series but it's good to put safety first and I fully respect the decision. Just looking at my own performance and the 06 crew, we lacked the pace. It wasn't a fun day."
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Post by mlittle » Mon Jun 22, 2009 1:46 pm

McDONALD'S DRIVER RAHAL FINISHED 11TH IN THE IOWA CORN INDY 250 AT IOWA SPEEDWAY; DOORNBOS HINDERED BY EARLY CONTACT AND FINISHED 15TH

Graham Rahal, No. 02 McDonald's Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "When we started the race, the McDonald's car didn't feel so hot right away. I was trying to work and do whatever I could to keep the car on the track and make sure we got off for Richmond in one piece. That was the main goal. When Danica and I came together that hurt us pretty big. She tried to pass on the inside and I was going to let her go and she just never wanted to turn. I haven't seen a reply but all I know is that I was pretty high already and I still got hit. I kept it off the fence but it was pretty hard. I'm glad I did, that's for sure. After that it was just disappointing because you're running around here in the heat just knowing that you aren't going to win the thing and you might as well just do circles. We were lucky people were dropping like flies at the start and I thought it was going to continue that way and we might be looking at a top-10 finish but it never happened. It was a difficult race, probably the most difficult I have ever driven. When you run 125 straight laps straight like that with no yellow and the g-loads like they are, it wears you out pretty good. It requires some strength for sure. I think we should be better at Richmond. We tested there at the end of last year and the car felt really good. Hopefully we will go there and be even better."

Robert Doornbos, No. 06 Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "I don't know what was wrong, the car balance was really bad. We had a lot of oversteer straight away. I tried to warm the tires as good as I could but it didn't feel good and going into Turn 3 the car got sideways and I got collected by the ABC car. The guys did a good job to fix the left front suspension as quick as possible and we got back out there to complete more laps than (Rafeal) Matos for Rookie of the Year. It hasn't been a very good weekend for the 06 team. We'll forget about it and work hard for next week."
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Post by mlittle » Sat Jun 27, 2009 1:48 am

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.
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Post by mlittle » Sun Jun 28, 2009 8:31 am

McDONALD'S DRIVER RAHAL QUALIFIED FIFTH FOR THE SUNTRUST INDY CHALLENGE AT RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY; DOORNBOS 12TH FASTEST

Graham Rahal, No. 02 McDonald's Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "The McDonald's boys were working extremely hard today because we certainly weren't on pace earlier today. We still have a little bit too much understeer we've got to work on but we made big gains from earlier today and we're closer to the pace of some of these guys so we've got to be pretty happy."

Robert Doornbos, No. 06 Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "I'm not that happy with the qualifying run. Obviously nobody is happy to be 12th but it is a steep learning curve developing the setup we were looking for and it looks like we went the wrong way. There isn't a lot of grip out there for the 06 crew. Tonight we will still work on the race car and come up with a good balance for the race."
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Post by mlittle » Tue Jun 30, 2009 12:59 am

McDONALD'S DRIVER RAHAL FINISHED THIRD AND DOORNBOS NINTH IN THE SUNTRUST INDY CHALLENGE AT RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY; BOTH EARNED THEIR TOP CAREER FINISH ON AN OVAL

Graham Rahal, No. 02 McDonald's Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "It shows how hard the McDonald's guys worked because honestly at the start of this weekend we weren't where we wanted to be and we were struggling. We just kept working through it. It's great to be on the podium. We've been good on the short ovals but we just need to find some more speed on the mile-and-a-half's. This was like a win for us. My engineers told me I needed to save as much fuel as possible. Its always hard to do as a driver because you want to push as hard as you can but you need to save fuel. I didn't understand it so much before but I did tonight. Martin, my engineer and I and all of the guys worked extremely hard this weekend and we made more changes this weekend that I can remember ever making. It feels great to get this result for the McDonald's team. It's a great way to go into some road races. We're looking forward to it."

Robert Doornbos, No. 06 Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "That was very hard work for P9. It reminds me of my F1 days when you had to work really hard to get up there. I'm very happy with the experience. It was very good for us to come home like this. All my team did a great job in setting up the car, it was really good to drive. Unfortunately we got unlucky with the yellow twice. I think we had the pace, especially with new tires. I was pushing really hard and really enjoyed that. For me it was like driving like in qualifying for 300 laps. With a bit more luck with the yellows we would have been higher but I'm happy with a good solid race. This will make me stronger on ovals but I have to be honest, I look forward to the road courses."
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Post by mlittle » Sat Jul 04, 2009 9:44 am

McDONALD'S DRIVER RAHAL AND TEAMMATE DOORNBOS LOOKING FORWARD TO FIRST ROAD COURSE OF THE SEASON AT THIS WEEKEND'S CAMPING WORLD GRAND PRIX AT THE GLEN

WATKINS GLEN, New York (July 2, 2009) --- McDonald's driver Graham Rahal and teammate Robert Doornbos have been looking forward to this weekend's Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen since the start of the 2009 IndyCar Series season. The 11-turn, 3.4 mile permanent road course is the first of its kind on the 17-race schedule so far this season and both drivers are excited to get back on a road course for Round 9.

"I would say that everyone on the entire team is looking forward to some road races," said Rahal, who is looking to carry momentum from his highest finish of the season to date of third last Saturday in Richmond where he became the first transition team driver to earn a podium on an oval. "We have momentum on our side and I think that over the next few races the opportunity for a win for our team is very high. We ought to be amongst the best on the road and street courses."

"It has been a very hard and tough start to the season for myself and the team and we have shown strong signs of competitiveness in qualifying but the results we were hoping for on Sundays haven't come yet and with the second half of the season starting in Watkins Glen I'm feeling our luck will change," added Doornbos, who set the second fastest lap on the first day of testing at the Barber Motorsports Park road course in March. "It's nice for me to race on road courses and street courses for the next few events because that's were my experience comes from. But honestly I am feeling more comfortable on the ovals and am starting to understand the set up of the car better so I know that with the combination of both types of racing this is the championship were I want to be! The only road course experience I have with this car and the team is from our pre-season test at Barber and we were competitive there, on the top of the timesheets. But that's testing and now we are racing and there are some very strong teams and drivers out there so it's going to be hard work and play hard!"

The Watkins Glen round will be the first of three consecutive road/street course races and five of the next six events will take place on this type of track. Although Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR) has achieved success on each of the different type of tracks they have competed on in their 27 seasons, success on the road and street courses -- which many consider the ultimate test of man and machine due to the physical demands on each -- makes up the bulk of their success. In total the team has earned 80 of their 107 and 90 of their 109 poles on road and street courses.

"I'm looking forward to starting the road and street course stretch off at Watkins Glen," said Rahal who became the youngest pole sitter in series history with his starting position at the 2009 season-opening race on the streets of St. Petersburg. b^0x001cIt's a physical track with lots of elevation changes and very high commitment corners. This always makes it tough for any driver, but also a lot of fun! Road courses are challenging from a drivers standpoint because they combine all aspects of driving talent. It is harder to get the maximum out of a car on a road course versus being on an oval. I think that road racing ultimately highlights the best drivers in the series."

"On ovals you are very much dependant as a driver from what your car is capable of doing, so the difference between the top teams and smaller teams is bigger and the driver has little he or she can do to change this," said Doornbos, who hopes to top his best start of the season of second place in his oval debut in Kansas here this weekend. "But on a road or street course the driver can work hard with the engineers to tune the car around his preferred set up and try to stay close to the limit and actually get more out of what the car on paper is capable of doing. And physically there is no doubt that it's going to be tougher than racing on ovals but that's what we are paid to do, to stay fit and I take my fitness very serious!"

Although NHLR is no stranger to road course racing, last year was their first event at Watkins Glen International. Despite still being challenged by the initial stages of their transition to the IndyCar Series, the team narrowly missed starting on pole when then-driver Justin Wilson set a lap time only four-hundredths of a second behind Team Penske driver Ryan Briscoe and started second. Gear box oil was found to be leaking on his first stop on Lap 7 under caution and he later retired from the race on Lap 22 with gearbox failure in 25th. Rahal crashed in the Saturday morning practice which contributed to an 18th place qualifying position but he rebounded to finish eighth. Both Rahal and Doornbos are optimistic due to the Wilson's potential last year.

"Justin was very competitive here and that certainly makes us feel good," said 20-year-old Rahal who is ranked ninth in series point standings with 180 points, only 39 out of fifth place. "He struggled early in the race before falling out, but I think that we should be competitive from the start. Other teams have tested here and this will challenge us but we should be looking fairly good by race time. The Barber test is a sign of our speed and ability on road courses, we simply need to make it happen. I think we will have the pace on the road course after running well on the street courses at the start of the season. In fact if the Barber road course test is any sign I feel that we should be extremely competitive. Our cars there were very strong and I think that the team has continued to develop a few items that can really help us on the rest of the road races. I feel confident that we should be very competitive."

"For sure the team has developed and understands the car better than they did last year and hopefully this shows this coming weekend," added Doornbos who is only three points behind Raphael Matos in the Rookie of the Year title fight with 141. "But all the other teams have been working hard too so we will see who has done their homework better. In motor racing you can never take anything for granted and you always have to stay sharp and work hard to make sure everything is perfect! This car needs some set up work before the driver is happy on a road or street course because the car has been designed to race fast on ovals with no downforce so we are going to ask a lot of the Firestone grip in coming races and work to fine tune the car around the available grip. This is a big challenge for the engineers and driver and hopefully with my road course experience we can work strong together and get a good result."

For the second straight year McDonald's and Coca-Cola produced 250,000 commemorative cups that feature the McDonald's Indy car driver and a redeemable coupon for reduced priced tickets to the race.

Rahal and his No. 02 McDonald's race car have flown out the doors of the 95 Central New York area restaurants in the Syracuse, Binghamton, Elmira and Utica markets a week ahead of schedule. After having spent much of his childhood roaming around race tracks, he applauds the program the local McDonald's owner/operators have put together at Watkins Glen for families.

"I'm honored to be on the 250,000 cups and represent such great companies in McDonald's and Coke!" said Rahal. "I think that the cup looks great. I'm looking forward to continuing to do fun activities like this. McDonald's also has the Family Zone at the track and I think it's a great opportunity for the families to groom their kids into IndyCar Series fans by presenting them with a fun filled weekend at the track. It's great that McDonald's supports such activities at the track as this and it makes it enjoyable for all parties involved -- including me because I'm going to spend some time there Saturday and Sunday!"

This weekend's Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen can be seen on live on Sunday, July 5 at 1 p.m. EDT on ABC. The weekend has been shortened to a 2-day event and will get underway with practice and qualifying on Saturday and the broadcast of the 60-lap race will begin at 1 p.m. EDT 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.
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Post by mlittle » Sat Jul 04, 2009 9:48 am

Flogs.com teams up with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing en Robert Doornbos

AMSTERDAM (July 3, 2009) --- Brand new internet start-up Flogs.com just signed a sponsoring agreement with IndyCar Series race team Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing and race driver Robert Doornbos. Flogs.com offers the largest range of digital calendars. The company was founded in 2008. In order to grow in the enormous American market Flogs.com has chosen the IndyCar Series and Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing as carrier for their first campaign.

"We are happy that we can join the successful Newman/ Haas/Lanigan Racing team at this moment," said Toon Timmermans, founder and chairman of Flogs.com. "The team is gaining momentum and is knocking on victory's door. Outside this we are proud to become a partner of Dutch superstar Robert Doornbos (Bobby D), the only Dutch race driver in the IndyCar Series in 2009. Flogs.com has ambitious plans and we are convinced that this partnership will help us achieving our goals." "We welcome Flogs to our sponsor family and look forward to having the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing Indy car program help in growing Flogs' business in the US and worldwide," said Carl Haas, founder and co-owner of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing with Michael Lanigan.

About Flogs.com:

Flogs.com was founded by Toon Timmermans and internet entrepeneur Michiel Mol (founder LBi, Guerilla Games and Force India F1 Team) in 2008. Flogs.com offers a unique digital calender service and is growing very fast worldwide. Flogs.com means that you are ALWAYS up-to-date. With the touch of a button, you can add your favourite sporting events (like IndyCar Series), concerts, CD releases and other events in the field of music, gaming, film, books, art and financial markets to your personal digital agenda.

About Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing:

Newman/Haas Racing (NHR) was formed by actor/race car driver Paul Newman and racing entrepreneur Carl A. Haas and began competing in 1983. The team is the second most successful open wheel team competing today. Prior to their 25th season of competition in 2007 the team name changed to Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing to reflect the addition of Michael Lanigan as partner. In 2009 the team is participating in their 27th season of open wheel competition and will attempt to add to the eight championships, 107 race wins and 109 pole positions they have earned to date. Graham Rahal and Robert Doornbos were preceded at the team by Mario and Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Paul Tracy, Christian Fittipaldi, Cristiano da Matta, Sebastien Bourdais, Bruno Junqueira, Oriol Servia and Justin Wilson. The deal was facilitated by GR8industries.com.


www.robertdoornbos.com
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Post by mlittle » Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:03 pm

McDONALD'S DRIVER RAHAL QUALIFIED FIFTH FOR THE CAMPING WORLD GRAND PRIX AT WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL BUT WAS PENALIZED 10 POSITIONS; DOORNBOS LIMITED TO 17TH PLACE START DUE TO PART FAILURE

Graham Rahal, No. 02 McDonald's Dallara/Honda/Firestone:
PRIOR TO THE PENALTY: "The McDonald's team just didn't have quite enough to make it through to the top of the final group. We progressed to all three rounds but we didn't have enough to make it to the top of the final group. I was hoping that when Dario crashed, that was going to be the end of the session and I thought third was just about as good as we were going to get but when we went green for one more timed lap a couple of cars got us. The McDonald's guys worked hard and we're close. Hopefully Lady Luck will be on our side tomorrow and we'll be looking pretty good. We just have to get a good start and stay clear of those around us and get to the end of this thing. (On why road/street course racing brings teams closer together in performance:) The better drivers show through here. From my perspective, on an oval you certainly can't make the car do any better than it's naturally going to on an oval whereas on a road course the driver definitely has more to do with the performance so I think the better drivers show through. There is far less development stuff you can do on a road course than on an oval and if you've got a good driver you've got a chance to do well on a road course."

At approx. 6:45 p.m. EDT Indy Racing League officials deemed Rahal's race car was in violation of Rule 13.4(C)(1)(b) and was under the minimum weight. He was penalized 10 positions therefore he will start 15th.

AFTER LEARNING OF THE PENALTY: "It's frustrating. There is some inconsistency because the car was overweight by five pounds when we went to tech before and now were underweight and we didn't change anything."

Robert Doornbos, No. 06 Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "We had a suspension problem in the morning practice and I only ran a few laps at speed but I was able to learn the course and I really like it. It's the type of course that suits my driving style and ability so it was a big disappointment that we had another problem in qualifying while we were in the top six that would advance to the next round but dropped out when we stayed in the pits due to the problem. Because this was only a two day weekend it made it even more devastating to not run much."

Brian Lisles, general manager for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing:
"We're very disappointed with our qualifying performance with Robert this afternoon. We had a failure of a component on the car which prevented him from having a second run in the first round of qualifying which is usually the quicker outing. We're very confident that had he had that second outing he would have made it through to the second round, and probably even further given his ability on road courses. We came here with high expectations and obviously we haven't managed to fulfill those thus far. However we do expect to be able to move up in the race and have a much better finishing position."
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Post by mlittle » Sat Jul 11, 2009 8:14 am

McDONALD'S DRIVER RAHAL AND TEAMMATE DOORNBOS ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO POSSIBLY ADDING TO TEAM'S SEVEN WINS, FIVE POLES AND 16 PODIUMS IN TORONTO AT THE HONDA INDY TORONTO STREET RACE

TORONTO, Canada (July 9, 2009) --- After one year away, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR) is looking forward to their return to this weekend's Honda Indy Toronto, their 23rd race on the streets of Toronto and first since the 2007 Champ Car World Series race here where the team started from pole. In their previous 22 events on the 1.755-mile street course around Toronto's Exhibition Place, the team has earned seven wins, five poles and 16 podium finishes. Graham Rahal and Robert Doornbos will rely on that experience for a strong finish here.

"Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing has competed in Toronto since before I was even born," said Graham Rahal, driver of the No. 02 McDonald's race car. "Any understanding of the circuit that we can have will help us. Toronto should really play very well into our strengths."

"I think it's great that Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing has so much experience on the racetrack," said Robert Doornbos, who raced here in 2007 and left the event as the Champ Car series points leader. "This will be their first time here with the Dallara but to be honest, at this level, all drivers and teams are so good that everyone will be quick. At the beginning of the year we showed that we have get setup on street courses, so let's hope we'll find a similar setup, and we can run with both cars at the front."

In his two previous races on this temporary street course, Rahal led both qualifying sessions in the 2006 Atlantic Series race and started from pole and in his rookie Champ Car series season in 2007 with NHLR and he started 15th but contact on the opening lap on the tight street course hindered his finish both times. He is looking forward to turning his luck around on the 11-turn course.

"Toronto has always been okay to me finish-wise but I hope to change that this weekend," said Rahal who is ranked ninth in the series point standings with 197, only 41 out of fifth place. "In my Atlantic race there we were dominant. There was nobody even close to us, we had the field covered, or at least we thought. Raphael Matos hit me square in the rear to take me out and that was the end. We got back out running to get fastest lap but that was little consolation for us. Then in Champ Car we struggled in a major way. We never felt competitive or comfortable until the rain came on race day. We started quickly moving up through the field and I caught Sebastien. He was holding me up and I made a stupid rookie mistake by forcing the issue and it ended my day. I think if we had kept running we would have been very strong in the race due to the weather. But in the end I really enjoy racing in Toronto and hope to bring McDonald's a win there."

The Toronto race will mark the return to a street course for the first time in 2009 since Rounds 1 and 2 in St. Pete and Long Beach. Rahal became the youngest pole winner in St. Pete but was hit on the start, dropped to 21st and rebounded to finish seventh. In Long Beach he started seventh but a pit miscue led to two penalties and he finished 12th. After being unable to capitalize on a competitive car with a strong finish, Rahal feels the potential for success in both qualifying and the race is high this weekend.

"Absolutely a pole or win is very possible for the McDonald's team in Toronto and also in Edmonton," said Rahal, who spent the week at his mother's cabin in St. Andrew's New Brunswick, Canada. "We started on pole in St. Pete and it would be great to start up front in Toronto. We ought to be very strong and I cannot wait to get started. It's a very tight street course and that makes it tough to really feel comfortable getting everything out of the car. It's a difficult circuit to learn and therefore hopefully we should have a nice advantage over others."

CART and the Champ Car World Series held races here between 1986-2007 and the team's seven wins, five poles and 16 podium finishes in their 22 events here is an indication of their success. Although those statistics are impressive, the team has been fortunate to be a contender at even more but did not finish in the top-three for a variety of reasons. Michael Andretti's Andretti Green Promotions is now the promoter of the event and the former Newman/Haas Racing (NHR) driver won an event high seven races here, five of which were in NHR-prepared entries (1989, 1991, 1992, 1995, 2000). After those five wins, the team emerged victorious again with Cristiano da Matta in 2002 and Sebastien Bourdais in 2004. Of their five poles here, their most recent came in 2004, 2005, and in the last race run here in 2007 -- all by Bourdais who briefly surrendered the points lead to Robert Doornbos following the 2007 Toronto round.

"The Toronto race in 2007 was great, it was very exciting," said Doornbos, who held a two point lead over Will Power after the '07 event and three over eventual four-time champion Bourdais. "It was a bit messy because of the rain which made it very difficult to drive at this track. Taking the points lead in the rookie season was great.JObviously coming from F1 I had a point to prove to everybody and I really enjoyed the Champ Car season in general. We had a very successful year. To be leading the championship after Toronto in my first year was a great feeling. It's something I hope to achieve with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing in the future."

After starting his 2007 Champ Car season with five podiums in the first six races for Minardi Team USA, Doornbos came to Toronto fresh off his win in Round 6 in Mont Tremblant, Canada. He qualified 12th and finished sixth despite late-race contact with Bourdais, whom he slid into on the wet, slippery track. Doornbos has been sightseeing in Toronto all week but is ready to get to work and is looking forward to building on his experience at this track.

"For me every race has been a new experience," said Doornbos about the 1.75-mile course which will be only the second track of 10 to date that he has competed on before. "The first half of the season has not been what we were all looking for, and hoping for. I had a solid weekend in Richmond but we messed up a bit in Watkins Glen but we are putting this all behind us and focusing on a very strong second half of the season with some good momentum and hard work and hopefully some great results. The Toronto track is challenging. It's a very bumpy, technical street course. There is no room for error which makes it very exciting for the drivers and the fans.

"Eleven drivers in the IndyCar Series field have made CART/Champ Car starts at this track and although the Andretti and Rahal surnames are synonymous with this event, it will mark the first time that Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal will compete here together. The 11 drivers who have previously raced here can attest to the fact that this was one of the most popular stops on the racing calendar for its 22 previous years.

"The races have always been popular because the crowd support is incredible," said Rahal who will wear a special racing helmet to commemorate his father Bobby's win in the inaugural race here in 1986. "I think with a year removed from the Toronto race, the crowd should be absolutely thrilled we are back and I cannot wait to see how they support it. There are very few places we go in the world that people get as enthusiastic as in Canada."

"The atmosphere of the races in Canada is great," added Doornbos. "The people look forward to the race. Obviously having Paul Tracy and Alex Tagliani in the race is a big help so the fans have a couple of local guys to root for. Canadians are big race fans which always made racing in Montreal with Formula One so enjoyable as well. It was one of the best events of the year in that series."

This weekend's Honda Indy Toronto can be seen on live on Sunday, July 12 at 1 p.m. EDT on ABC. The weekend will get underway with practice on Friday and qualifying on Saturday and the broadcast of the 85-lap race will begin at 1 p.m. EDT 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.
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Post by mlittle » Sat Jul 11, 2009 8:17 am

Graham Rahal to Feature "Inaugural Helmet" at Toronto

July 9, 2009 - - This weekend the IndyCar Series will be making its inaugural stop on the historic streets of downtown Toronto in Eastern Canada. The last time Toronto was an inaugural event for open-wheel, Indy-style race cars was back in 1986, where the legendary Bobby Rahal took the checkered flag for the win.

To commemorate his father's tremendous victory as well as the inaugural IndyCar Series race, Graham Rahal, with the help of his Canadian-based helmet painting company Artrotondo.com, will be wearing a specially designed helmet for this weekend's race. The helmet will depict Bobby Rahal's classic helmet design on one side and Graham's current jaw-dropping design on the other side.

"I am super-pumped that we were able to get this event on the schedule," said Rahal, the 20-year old driver of the No.02 McDonald's car and the youngest race winner and pole position winner in IndyCar Series history. "Toronto has always been a fantastic event with great fans. The inaugural IndyCar Series race should be no different. Hopefully my inaugural IndyCar outing here will go just as well as Dad's did back in 1986. I am looking for this father/son helmet design to bring me some additional luck."

"As always, it is a real pleasure for our company to work with Graham on his helmets," said Artrotonodo.com President, Mauro Rotondo. "Together with Graham we are able to creatively showcase unique helmet designing and painting techniques. This particular helmet ushers in a new era in Toronto racing while honoring the event's and the Rahal's history."

Throughout the 2009 IndyCar Series season Graham will be featuring special-edition helmets by Artrotondo.com. Select helmets will later be auctioned-off in support of the newly-established Graham Rahal Foundation.

The Honda Indy Toronto is scheduled to air live on ABC television Sunday, July 12th at 1:00 pm ET.
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Post by mlittle » Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:20 am

DOORNBOS FOURTH FASTEST IN PRACTICE FOR THE HONDA INDY TORONTO; McDONALD'S DRIVER RAHAL NINTH

Graham Rahal, No. 02 McDonald's Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "We're not quite there which is disappointing and frustrating because we should be. Somehow we had the wrong third gear which hurt our performance, particularly under braking so we lost a couple tenths (of a second) just in that. The McDonald's team will be okay but we've got some work to do. The thing that worries me is that the car feels very numb to any of the changes we made."

Robert Doornbos, No. 06 Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "It was a good day, our best day so far. We ran a good free practice. It is good to be back here in Toronto. It's a great city and a great track. It's a bit bumpy so you have to get used to that in the first couple of laps but after a while you get into a rhythm. We made some good changes during the second practice. Even on old tires we were competitive so I look forward to a good day tomorrow."
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Post by mlittle » Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:20 am

Toronto: Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing qualifying report
Racing series INDYCAR
Date 2009-07-11

Graham Rahal, No. 02 McDonald's Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "We have to be pleased with starting third. The McDonald's boys have worked extremely hard since yesterday because the car just wasn't exactly what we wanted but there was no panic. The team's motto is 'Keep it simple' and that's the way we kept going through this weekend and fortunately it worked to our advantage. The car felt pretty good and we were just trying to maximize the tires and unfortunately I think we didn't quite get all of it on the last run but we'll take third any day. The race is going to be a tough one tomorrow. Braking is extremely hard in these cars on this track and I think that there are mistakes to be had for sure and I think people are going to do it. We've seen a lot of people lock up. I've done it twice, Dario's done it several times and I've seen a lot of the top guys do it. Keeping it on the track is going to be goal number one!"

Robert Doornbos, No. 06 Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "We worked hard yesterday and today, although there wasn't much running this morning. For qualifying we pushed very hard. For some reason on old tires, the used Firestone's our car seemed to perform very well and get up to speed quickly but the new ones never came in really. It's a very competitive field anyhow but it's a shame we didn't make it to Round 3 because I think we had the pace. Starting from the fourth row on a street circuit always put you a little bit in the danger zone but we're going to make the best of it tomorrow. We know we have a fast car and a good crew."
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