CGR's Rahal Motegi race report

Rahal Finishes 12th in Indy Japan The Final

Graham Rahal, Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing

Photo by: IndyCar Series

MOTEGI, Japan (September 18, 2011) – Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing (SCCGR) driver Graham Rahal finished 12th in Indy Japan The Final at Twin Ring Motegi.

The Service Central team arrived at the 2.983-mile Motegi road course confident after their performance in Baltimore, where Rahal captured his season-best qualifying run of second and went on to claim his sixth top-10 finish of 2011. After running near the top of the speed charts during the practice sessions, the No. 38 Service Central car advanced to the Firestone Fast Six for the fifth time this season, nabbing a third-place qualifying position for Rahal.

The green flag waved for the 63-lap main event at Twin Ring Motegi and Rahal kept his third-place starting position for the first stint. The Service Central team would quickly complete their first pit stop on lap 20, allowing the No. 38 Service Central car to maintain its top-five run with fresh tires and a full tank of fuel. The strong run by Rahal came to an abrupt stop when he was innocently collected in an incident on lap 26, but would avoid losing a lap and restart 24th. The Service Central car charged through the field and gained 12 positions before bringing home a 12th-place finish for Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing.

With the finish, Rahal advanced one position to ninth in the IZOD IndyCar Series points standings, 240 markers behind leader Will Power.

Up next for Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing is the Kentucky Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway on Sunday, October 2 , 2011 (2:00 p.m. ET, VERSUS).

SCCGR Quoteboard:

Graham Rahal: “It was a frustrating day for the Service Central team. We were collected in an incident early in the race, which put us at the back of the field. No. 38 Service Central car was fast all weekend and had the pace to finish up front. The Service Central guys did a great job. It’s just a disappointing finish, especially as we head into the final two races. We needed good points.”