FAST FACTS: Rahal comfortably held second place after the start and proceeded to build a two-second gap over third place Dixon while approaching his first pit stop. He reported an issue with his throttle position sensor that led to a stuck throttle and pit to address it on Lap 18. The team reset the car and changed the throttle position sensor and he returned to the track dropped back to 16th. He cycled into 12th by the time he made his second stop on Lap 34 and then returned on track in 19th. He was in 11th place on Lap 56 when he reported that the car turned off and he stopped on tack and brought out a caution. He made his best start of second place at BMP in his 10th race here … He played a major factor in the most exciting races of the 2015 and 2016 seasons as he challenged for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama win but finished second both times. His best start is sixth in 2016… Has six IndyCar Series wins (2008 – St. Pete street course; 2015 – Fontana Super Speedway, Mid-Ohio road course; 2016 – Texas Super Speedway; 2017 Detroit Race 1, Detroit Race 2) and three poles (2009 – St. Pete street course, Kansas oval; 2017 – Detroit Race 1 street) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… He is ranked 13th in series point standings with 58 points.
FAST FACTS: After leading 74 of 90 laps and controlling the race with the exception of pit stops, Sato took the checkered flag with a 2.3874-second lead over second place Scott Dixon. Earned his eighth series pole and first on a road course. Was his 10th race here. His highest start here is sixth in 2010 with KVRT and highest finish is eighth in 2018 with RLL… Has three IndyCar Series wins (2013 – Long Beach street course, 2017 – Indy 500 oval; 2018 Portland road course) and SEVEN poles (2011 Iowa oval, Edmonton street; 2013 Houston Race 1 street; 2014 St. Pete street, Detroit Race 2 street; 2017 Detroit Race 2, Pocono oval). He moved from his pre-race rank of 13th place to third with 99 points.
RLL AT BARBER: The team 1-2 qualifying result was the first for the team since September 11, 2005 at Chicagoland when Danica Patrick won pole and Buddy Rice started second. The 2019 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama marked the eighth IndyCar Series race for the team at Barber Motorsports Park (BMP) and first victory here. The previous best finishes for the team came in 2015 and 2016 where RLL and Graham Rahal played a major role in the most exciting races of those seasons and earned second place finishes each year. The team’s previous best start was sixth by Rahal in 2016.
NEXT UP: The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is next weekend, April 12-14.