The classification for the Indianapolis 500 – the sixth round of the Indy Car championship of the United States, which will be held next Sunday with the historic participation of Agustín Canapino – closed this Sunday with the Last Chance, in which the four slowest on Saturday played the last three positions of the grid for the 107th edition of the traditional race. And in that repechage, there was a very particular situation: three of the four drivers belonged to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, including Graham Rahal, son of the team owner, who was left out on the last lap, because of one of his teammates.
None of the three Rahal team cars - completed by Christian Lundgaard and Jack Harvey - were able to secure their place in next week's test on Saturday and had to play their chances on Sunday, alongside American Sting Ray Robb of Dale Coyne Racing.
Lundgaard and Robb immediately made a difference at the beginning of that "last chance" to enter the legendary race of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Dane quickly emerged as the favorite, with an average speed of 229.649 miles per hour (about 369.6 kilometers per hour). And the local settled second with 229.549 mph (369.4 km / h).
Thus, that last and coveted place on the grid for next Sunday was disputed almost in a head-to-head by the British Rahal and Harvey. And for a moment, it seemed that the boss's son had secured his place.
It is that when the 75 minutes stipulated for the drivers to try to complete four laps with the best possible average speed (they can try as many times as they can, but each attempt cancels the previous mark), Rahal registered 229.159 mph.
There was less than a minute and a half left on the clock, when Harvey went out on the track to look for the miracle. He got 229.435 mph on his first turn; completed second at 229,082; But then he picked up the pace and added a lap of 229.176 and another of 228.971. He averaged 229.166 mph and knocked Rahal out of the Indianapolis 500.
"It was a huge effort. It has been a struggle in qualifying with all three of the team's cars. We were hoping to qualify all three and I hate that Graham couldn't. But I'm grateful to be in the race. I love this place and I'm happy to be here, beyond the enormous stress we experienced this weekend," Harvey said. "It's bittersweet, you never want to leave your teammate out, especially because competing in the Indianapolis 500 is incredible."
Rahal, meanwhile, with a broken voice, analyzed: "It's hard to be in your car waiting to see if your partner overtakes you. You can't do anything. But we must remain positive. I was surprised by what Jack got about the ending, but you have to be... Getting to this place is not easy, it is not something that just happens. And we weren't good enough. We were the slowest of all the cars this weekend. But we have to be patient and be knights in defeat. And aim for next year."
On the other hand, Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing) won the Fast 6, in which the six best make a final run to define who achieves the most prestigious pole in the world of motorsport.
The Spaniard achieved an average speed of 234.217 miles in the four timed laps (376.94 kilometers per hour), a new record in the classification of the Indiana racetrack.
Second was the Dutchman Rinus VeeKay (Ed Carpenter Racing) with 234.211 mph and third, the Swedish Felix Rosenqvist (Arrow McLaren), who had been the fastest on Saturday and this Sunday achieved an average of 234.114 mph.
On Saturday, Agustín Canapino, who is contesting his first season in the category with a Juncos Hollinger Racing car, had achieved the 27th best average of the day and had secured his place in next Sunday's race.
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