Rahal Leads Honda Effort in Toronto Practice
• Graham Rahal continues run of strong road-course, street-circuit performances
• Rain dampens afternoon activities

Graham Rahal led the way for Honda in practice action Friday on Toronto’s Exhibition Place street circuit, in preparation for Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver, coming off a run of three podium finishes in the last four Verizon IndyCar Series road- and street-course races, was eighth fastest in today’s opening practice session.

Afternoon rain showers kept the field parked in pit lane throughout the scheduled 45-minute second practice, though weather forecasts call for sunny skies and mild temperatures throughout the rest of the race weekend. The morning session was notable for the number of teammates posting similar times throughout the field, including the A.J. Foyt Racing Hondas of Jack Hawksworth and Takuma Sato running 12th and 13th, respectively; with Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay 15th, followed by teammates Carlos Munoz, 16th and Marco Andretti, 18th.

Activities continue in Toronto with final practice and “knockout” elimination qualifying on Saturday. The 85-lap 10th round of the Verizon IndyCar Series season start at 3 p.m. EDT Sunday, with live television coverage on the NBC Sports Network.

Graham Rahal (#15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda): “We had a really good start. I don’t think we got the ultimate out of the car, but we were still right up there in the mix, so I’m pretty pleased. I obviously wish we would have gotten the second session in, but the weather didn’t cooperate. We have seen a lot of rain this year, unfortunately. but the weather looks good for the next couple of days so I’m excited to get back out there. The track was rough, but really similar to previous years. Hopefully we can get back out there and continue to improve, have a good qualifying session and good race.”