Rahal Finishes 33rd in the Indy 500 After Electrical Issues

Rahal Finishes 33rd in the Indy 500 After Electrical Issues

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 National Guard Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "This is our luck; I don't know what to say. We had an engine electronic problem and the engine kept shutting off. I didn't think it was running quite right to start and all of a sudden the engine just kept shutting off. We pitted to try to find out what the problem was then went out for a couple of laps and it just kept shutting off so it was unsafe to continue. I'm sorry for all the National Guard folks that are here. Unfortunately in a case like this, there is not much you can do. It is some gremlin. It was our first race with the National Guard on Memorial Day weekend and we wanted to make them proud. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to succeed today. Today is just not our day."
· FAST FACTS: Was his seventh Indy 500… His best qualifying position in the Indy 500 is fourth in 2009 with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing and best finish is third with Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing in 2011 after he led six laps… He ran in the top-five in four of his six previous races here… In 2008, with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, he was the highest Indy 500 starter of the Champ Car transitioning teams with his 13th place qualifying effort but made contact on L36 after driving high to avoid the slower car of Lloyd and retired in 33rd place… He qualified fourth for NHLR in the 2009 Indy 500 but made contact on L56 while fifth and retired in 31st... In 2010, he competed for his father's team - RLL - for the first time in an Indy car. He qualified seventh and ran as high as second but a blocking penalty on L188/200 dropped him from third to a 12th place finish… He qualified 29th with Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing in 2011 and earned his best finish at Indy to date of third place after he led six laps... In 2012, he qualified 12th, ran as high as third and finished 13th for SCCGR… In 2013, he qualified 26th and pitted from ninth place for his second to last stop and his outside rear tire changer had a mechanical problem and Rahal returned to the track in 21st place. He was in 17th with eight laps to go and lost control of his car in Turn 2 and made contact with the wall… His Indy car highlights include a win (2008) and pole (2009) in St. Petersburg.