GRAHAM RAHAL DOMINATES IN CLEVELAND TO SWEEP CHAMP CAR ATLANTIC
DOUBLEHEADER
CLEVELAND, Ohio (June 25, 2006) -- Move over LeBron James, there's a new
King of Cleveland.
He might not be able to dunk a basketball or shoot three-pointers but
Graham Rahal (#18 Gehl Company) sure proved this weekend that he knows
how to drive and win at the city located on the shores of Lake Erie. The
17-year-old Rahal completed a sweep of the Gehl Atlantic Championship of
Cleveland on Sunday, grabbing the lead in the first turn and cruising to
his third career victory in the Yokohama Presents the Champ Car Atlantic
Championship Powered by Mazda.
Rahal, the son of three-time Champ Car champion Bobby Rahal, had to work
hard to claim a win on Saturday. The native of New Albany, Ohio came
from a fifth-place starting position and roared into the lead late in
the race before taking the checkered flag on his "home" course at Burke
Lakefront Airport. On Sunday, Rahal had a much easier go of it.
In the second standing start for the Atlantic cars of the weekend -- the
series' first since 1998 -- Rahal got a great jump from second position,
moving past polesitter Simon Pagenaud (#15 Team Australia/Location
U/Cons. Gen. Vienne) and into the lead. From there, Rahal turned
consistently quick laps and was never seriously threatened, winning
by more than 15 seconds over the next-closest competitor. The weekend
couldn't have panned out any better for the young Rahal. With his famous
father working the pit board for his son at the same track where he
won his first Champ Car race 25 years ago, Graham Rahal won easily and
watched as the drivers in front of him in the Atlantic Championship
chase struggled. With Sunday's win, Rahal has now closed the gap in the
point standings, now just 12 points out of the lead.
For the second consecutive race, the 24-car Atlantic field enjoyed a
strong start and a clean trip through the challenging and hazardous Turn
1 at the 2.106-mile airport road circuit.
And while no driver could match the launch that Rahal produced, several
drivers showed their strength early. Third-place starter Richard
Philippe (#33 INDECK/Layer 7) had a nice start and seized second place
early, while Pagenaud suffered from a poor opening lap and dropped back
in the field. Philippe, the 16-year-old Forsythe Championship Racing
rookie who has suffered bad luck throughout the early part of the 2006
season, finally showed what he could do on the airport runways and
taxiways. The '05 Formula BMW USA champion tried valiantly to catch
Rahal, but he had his hands full with the competition behind him.
Sierra Sierra Enterprises driver Raphael Matos (#6 ProWorks) also looked
strong in the early portion of the race. Starting sixth, Matos improved
to third by the second lap. Fighting to score some valuable point this
weekend, Matos made contact with the Turn 8 wall halfway through the
32-lap race and then went off course and suffered further suspension
damage just a few turns later. The incidents spelled the end of the day
for the pre-season championship hopeful.
American rookie Steve Ott (#22 MSR Houston) battled for position with
Matos early and fought his way up to third place after starting fourth
in just his fourth series start. Ott fought with Philippe for the second
position throughout the latter stages of the event before he settled for
a third-place finish -- the first podium result for the former driving
instructor at the MSR Houston road circuit.
Series leader Andreas Wirth (#37 INDECK/Wirth Solar) suffered his worst
result of the season, but he had to work hard to earn his 18th-place
finish. The second-year series racer started fifth for Forsythe
Championship Racing but lost his front wing when he went off course
early. After a visit to pit lane to make repairs, Wirth returned to the
track but he had to drive like a demon to work his way back into the
points. In the end, the determined German made his way back into the top
20 as he managed to retain the lead in the title chase.
Rahal's Mi-Jack Conquest Racing teammate Ryan Lewis (#30 Insport) once
again proved to be one of the fastest drivers on track until a tour
through the grassy areas at Burke Lakefront Airport proved unforgiving.
After starting 15th, Lewis put his head down and weaved his way forward.
The British rookie, making just his second Atlantic start, made it as
far as fourth place while turning some of the fastest laps of the race.
He went off course with six laps remaining and dropped back in the field
as a result of the excursion.
Robbie Pecorari (#28 Western Union/USA Today/Gelles Racing) of
Gelles Racing posted his best finish of his rookie season. The
19-year-old American rallied from a 10th-place starting spot to secure
a fourth-place result in his first visit to Cleveland. Despite falling
behind early, battling some handling issues and coming on late to work
his way back into the top five, Pagenaud claimed fifth place for Team
Australia. He remains second in the series standings, now nine points
behind Wirth for the championship lead.
After scoring his best series finish of seventh in the first race of the
weekend, Leonardo Maia (#7 Layer 7/INDECK) bettered that result by one
spot on Sunday to cross the stripe sixth overall. Joe D'Agostino (#34
Newman Wachs Racing) also checked in with his top series result when
he came home seventh for Newman Wachs Racing. Jonathan Bomarito (#23
Miracle Sealants/Dynacor) of PR1 Motorsports recorded his fourth top-10
result of the season in eighth place. The bonus point for the most
improved positions in the race was claimed by rookie Alan Sciuto (#12
Sealy/PKV Racing/The RoomStore of Phoenix) of the Chardon, Ohio-based
Polestar Racing Group team. Sciuto started the race 24th but worked
his way up to ninth at the checkered flag. For the second straight
day, Mexico's David Martinez (#4 Mexico/US RaceTronics) brought home a
10th-place finish.
ATLANTIC RACE NOTES
* Andreas Wirth established a new one-lap race record in Cleveland on
Sunday. He posted time of 1:04.255 (117.990 mph) on his 31st lap to earn
a bonus championship point for the fastest lap of the race.
* Pagenaud's #15 Team Australia entry won this weekend's
Sherwin-Williams Atlantic Design Award. Representatives of
Sherwin-Williams, the Official Automotive Finish of Atlantics, along
with select Cleveland race fans, judged Pagenaud's car to have the best
finish design this weekend. The team was awarded $4,000 for the honor.
At the conclusion of the season, Sherwin-Williams will present the 2006
Atlantic Design Award to the car deemed to have the top season-long
livery design. The winning entry will also be awarded a $10,000 bonus.
* Sunday's race represented the halfway point in this season's 12-race
series schedule. In six of the last seven years, the driver that is
leading the title chase at the halfway point has gone on to claim the
crown. Wirth leaves Cleveland with a nine-point lead in the standings.
Quotes from the top three finishers in today's race follow:
Graham Rahal (#18 Gehl Company) of Mi-Jack Conquest Racing: "Yesterday,
we had a really tall first gear. My initial launch was pretty good, but
after that the car just died on me. Today, we shortened up first gear
and that's about all. I don't know how or why it went so well. Maybe
it helped that today I didn't try to put so much heat in the tires. My
car is a lot quicker than anyone else's on cold tires anyway. I tried
to get a clean start with the cooler tires to get a little wheel spin.
(On whether there were any uncomfortable moments) Whenever you come
up on traffic, you try to be careful. But, with the lead I had, I ran
basically 1:04 the whole race, so I knew that even if I slowed a bit for
traffic, I would still be going the same speed as everyone else. But
instead of getting caught in traffic, I just pulled away. Yesterday,
Simon Pagenaud and Andreas Wirth tried to force their way through and it
just didn't work. The gap gave me an advantage. (On Wirth and Pagenaud's
trouble today) I'm glad to see them struggle, honestly, I was wondering
when it was going to happen. Certainly this weekend has gone our way
and we're back in the hunt now. A doubleheader race can put you in the
championship or take you out of it. I can't ask for much more."
Richard Philippe (#33 INDECK/Layer 7) of Forsythe Championship Racing:
"On Friday, we qualified 17th because we only got 10 laps in the dry and
I'd never been here before. On Saturday, we qualified third, so it was
a good effort. Today, in the start of the race, Simon Pagenaud made a
mistake and I got past him. From then on, I just had to keep my speed
up. In the beginning, I was trying to keep up with Graham Rahal, but he
just went away and I'm happy to be second. (On lapped traffic) To be
honest I was more worried about Steve Ott passing me. I couldn't even
see Graham Rahal on the straightaway, so I just focused on not letting
Steve Ott catch me. There's only one spot left to improve now, so it's a
good step forward. I want to thank the team for everything, without them
I would be nowhere."
Steve Ott (#22 MSR Houston) of MSR Houston Team Jensen: "I worked with
the team and we got the car dialed in to work well with my driving
style. Prior to this, I did some road racing. (On getting his ride) I
moved down to Houston in March and did some instructing. A couple of
weeks before the Houston Grand Prix, some track investors got together
and asked me if I wanted to do the Grand Prix. We got the money together
and got a good team and went from there. (On his off during yesterday's
qualifying that cost him the pole) I feel a lot better knowing that it
wasn't just a one-off, that I could do it again."
-atlantic
