Quick Trim Driver Rahal Finished Fifth In The Honda Indy Toronto

Graham Rahal, No. 02 Quick Trim Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "It feels really good to be back with Newman/Haas Racing and finish fifth with Quick Trim on board. A top-five finish is a great way to start off and move forward. The guys worked really hard this weekend. When we showed up the car wasn't close. In the race it was a lot better. It will be great going to my home race next at Mid-Ohio coming off of some momentum like this. The car was only put together Monday and left Tuesday afternoon without an engine. For us to throw this together and be as successful as we have been in the first outing hopefully means it will only get better from here. It's definitely comforting to come back. When I sat in the car for the first time it was really good. I was right at home just with different colors on the car. Literally, I came here and just jumped in the car. The seatbelts fit; the mirrors were right. It was almost too good. Even on a normal weekend you have to adjust something so that was great.

Graham Rahal Credit: Scott Smith/NoFenders.com

On contact with Ryan Briscoe: "I was a lot quicker than Ryan and I had a really good run down the back straight. I got on Push to Pass right out of the corner and he just blocked me. He blocked me all the way into the braking zone and he broke on the inside and I wasn't expecting him too so I just punted him. He was against the wall and I was waiting for him to move out. Then he hit the brakes before he ever moved. That's what happened and I hate hitting anybody; that's not my style. But seriously, if you've got a run on someone like that and they're blocking you, that's what's going to happen."

Hideki Mutoh, No. 06 Formula Dream/Panasonic Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "At one point in the race I was quite happy but when we changed to option tires on the first stop, it was very hard to get up to speed on restarts so I gave up a lot of positions there. We're going to look at our tire pressures and temperature to understand that. I was only able to pass one car. It was a very tough race but we came back in one piece which is important for the quick turnaround for Edmonton. Graham's fifth place finish is very good news for the team. I can also check his data for his restarts and any changes he made to his car during the race which will be good information to have for our next run."

Next Up: The Honda Indy Edmonton will take place next weekend. NHR won the inaugural race in Edmonton in 2005 when Sebastien Bourdais drove to victory from a 10th place start. Bourdais won again in 2007 from a second place start and set the fastest race lap. In total, the team has earned two wins (Bourdais 2007, 2005), one pole (Bourdais 2006) and six podium finishes (2nd - Bourdais 2006, Oriool Servia 2005; 3rd - Justin Wilson 2008, Graham Rahal 2007).

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