“FAST FRIDAY” PRACTICE
93rd Indianapolis 500
NOTES - Friday, May 8, 2009

McDONALD’S DRIVER RAHAL CONTINUED PREPARATION FOR TOMORROW’S POLE DAY FOR THE INDY 500; DOORNBOS UNINJURED IN PRACTICE CRASH AFTER SETTING FIFTH FASTEST TIME TO THAT POINT

1) Ryan Briscoe 23 laps 225.981 mph
11) Graham Rahal 45 laps 224.144 mph
13) Robert Doornbos 12 laps 223.955 mph

Graham Rahal, No 02 McDonald’s Dallara Honda/Firestone: “I think the McDonald’s team got quite a bit done today. The car felt pretty good there at the end. We kept working on it at the end and it got a little bit better but we still need to improve it. I think we still need to trim it out a little bit more to get up there with the big guys. Something is amiss to me compared to yesterday and I’m not exactly sure what it is but something in the car feels like there is more drag. We need to figure out what that is, improve on it and go forward for tomorrow. It’s a good thing we finished the day without any incidents on our side because we only had one spare car between Robert and I and they are putting an engine in it after he crashed. That was definitely going through my head. I need to qualify for the Indy 500 tomorrow and if something were to happen we might not have been able to.”

FAST FACTS: Will be his second race here. In 2008, he was the highest Indy 500 starter of the Champ Car transitioning teams with his 13th place start but made contact on L36 after driving high to avoid the slower car of Lloyd. Retired in 33rd place…Earned two of the three poles so far this season, the first of which earned him the distinction of being the youngest pole sitter in series history after winning pole in St. Pete on 4-4-09 at 20 years, 90 days old…Is ranked eighth in series points with 72.

Robert Doornbos, No. 06 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Going into Turn 1, I felt something really light on the front of the car and then I brushed the wall. Then I went into the Turn 2 wall. Hopefully, it was just driver error and nothing went wrong on the car and we are able to fix it and come back strong tomorrow. The guys worked hard to put an engine in the spare car and get back out for a few installation laps at the end. I’m looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow morning and experiencing my first Pole Day for the Indy 500.”

FAST FACTS: Will be his first Indy 500 and third time to drive on this track after running here in the 2005 (Jordan GP test/Friday driver) and 2006 (Red Bull Racing) Formula One events….The Indy 500 will be his second-ever start on an oval. Qualified second in his oval debut in Kansas…Has competed against fellow ICS drivers Marco Andretti (A1GP), Danica Patrick (Formula Ford), Ryan Briscoe (F3) and E.J. Viso (F3000)…Two-time Indy 500 winner and fellow Dutchman Arie Luyendyk is serving as an advisor to Doornbos. Luyendyk won the 500 in 1990 and 1997 and is the only driver from the Netherlands to win the Indy 500 to date…Leads the Rookie of the Year standings.

1 POLE (1987) & TWO SECONDS AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY (IMS) FOR NHR/NHLR: The 2009 entry will mark the 17th year for NHR/NHLR in the event and the fourth since 1995. Prior to 2009, the team prepared a total of 25 entries for drivers such as Mario and Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Paul Tracy, Bruno Junqueira, Sebastien Bourdais, Justin Wilson and Graham Rahal. Rahal and Robert Doornbos compete for the team in 2009 and will bring the total to 27. NHR’s highest finish in the Indy 500 is second place with Mario Andretti in 1985 and Michael Andretti in 1991 although team drivers have led many laps here. Mario Andretti also brought the team its highest start in the event when he won the pole position in 1987. NHR’s 2004 entry of Junqueira marked the first time for the team to compete here since 1995 and they returned in 2005 with Junqueira and IMS rookie Bourdais. In 2008 they ran Wilson and Rahal here during a transition season in the series but both made contact and retired in 27th and 33rd respectively. They have earned Rookie of the Year once, with Mansell in 1993 when he finished third.