Race Weekend Central

Graham Rahal Paces Friday Practice at Road America

Preparing for a 50-lap grind in Sunday’s KOHLER Grand Prix at Road America, the Verizon IndyCar Series took to the Wisconsin track for 150 minutes of practice on Friday.

The top car at the end of the session? None other than Graham Rahal.

Rahal’s 1:42.0224 time around the 4.014-mile road course led the way in the opening day of practice for the long awaited IndyCar return to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Piloting the No. 15 Gehl/D-A Lubricant Honda, Rahal will look to better his previous result at the track – a third place finish in 2007.

“The car feels decent,” Rahal said. “I’ve got a little work to do, everybody does. As you can see, it’s pretty tough out there right now, pretty slippery, different types of rubber being laid down. It’s tricky.”

Will Power led the way for Chevrolet with a 1:43.1608, good enough for second on the day in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. The 2014 IndyCar champion took the time to characterize the racing surface after the session.

“The tire never feels in the road, never feels like it has a lot of bite,” Power said. “That is just the surface. It makes it interesting. I mean, it makes it good. You really have to get your balance right and drive it right to get the time.

“You see a lot of people making mistakes and pushing the limits. These cars are crazy fast in the corners now, the Carousel. Almost makes you wonder if you could be flat around there. I enjoy this track a lot.”

Championship leader Simon Pagenaud ended the session in third, with Carlos Munoz following in fourth.

The IndyCar Series will return on Saturday for a third practice session at noon ET, with Verizon P1 Award qualifying following at 4 p.m. ET. Coverage for the KOHLER Grand Prix – IndyCar’s first race at Road America in nine years – will begin Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network and IndyCar Radio.

Results, via INDYCAR

About the author

A graduate of Ball State, Aaron rejoins Frontstretch for his second season in 2016 following a successful year that included covering seven races and starting the popular "Two-Headed Monster" column in 2015. Now in his third year of covering motorsports, Aaron serves as an Assistant Editor for Frontstretch while also contributing to other popular sites including Speed51 and The Apex. He encourages you to come say hi when you see him at the track.

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