Indy Redemption Comes Quickly for Graham Rahal
Photo by Aaron Skillman/Penske Entertainment
Over the course of the last three months, Graham Rahal has experienced the full range of emotions at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
In May, there were tears when his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda was bumped from the starting field by teammate Jack Harvey.
Friday, there were smiles and fist bumps as Rahal qualified on the pole for Saturday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES Gallagher Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Road Course.
“Yeah, I mean, you move on from May as best you can.
“Those are things that build character. I haven't told many people this, but when I got back to my phone after May, after qualifying, the very first voice mail I had was from Al Unser Jr. Guys like that, you see somebody like him who's been here, who's won here, but he's also seen the lows of the low. The best have went through it.
“I don't know what it is about Indy, but we all talk about it as a living being, that it kind of writes its own story,” Rahal continued. “I say it every year: in this large book that's gone on a hundred-plus years now, a lot of people have had the chance to have their chapter. Some people like Helio (Castroneves) have several in the book. You just hope it's your time.”
Photo by Matt Fraver/Penske Entertainment
While Friday’s pole doesn’t make up for what happened in May, Rahal couldn’t hide how much it meant to him on several levels.
“Clearly this weekend is very different than the 500, but it doesn't mean that it doesn't carry a lot of significance and importance to our team and to me personally. I've seen plenty of the hate, plenty of the can't do it, can't compete with the kids, can't whatever.
“To be able to silence some of that, and I thought we did a bit at Mid-Ohio, but it's nice to see a good step forward finally in the car the way I want it to drive. It's starting to come together.
“The mystique of Indy and the things that happen and all of that are alive and well, but the reality is we still had to make it happen this weekend or today. Everything is kind of slammed in here. We've done a pretty good job so far.”
Christian Lundgaard, will start outside of the front row. After seeing his teammate in tears on Bump Day for the 500 to seeing him bounce back quickly and win his first pole in six years, Lundgaard says Rahal has stepped up his game.
“I think he should have had the pole in Mid-Ohio. He didn't get it. I think it was redemption from either that or the month of May he had here. He didn't have any luck in the GP in May. He got hit in turn one. Cycled to the back with a puncture, still raced back into the top 10.
“Now we're here fighting each other for the win. We definitely have to make sure that we have two cars on the podium tomorrow because everything else will not be satisfied, none of us will be satisfied. We put ourselves in this position. We got to execute.”
Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
Back in May, before qualifying for the 500, Rahal was candid that he and the team were evaluating each other about continuing together. Rahal says it’s still a work in progress.
“Nothing's signed, nothing's changed. My intentions are to stay. We've got an extremely, extremely good core group of sponsors, I think better than anybody else in the series. That's growing for next year. There's no intentions to swap. I have talked to others, but that doesn't mean that I'm one foot out the door.
“Everybody knows this: I wanted to not only evaluate where the team stands, but myself. I think it's important to take a step back, look in the mirror, figure out where do I want to go, what do I want to do? Qualifying on pole helps those decisions, for sure, knowing that you can still do it, knowing you can be up front. A win tomorrow would make it even sweeter.
“At the end of the day I think a lot of people just assume I'm going to retire at some stage soon. I mean, I'm only 34. I know I've been here for a hundred years, but I still feel like I've got a little while left.
“Also the reality is that these young guys are really, really good now. You've seen it in Cup, too, right? These kids that are coming in are ultra prepared, way more prepared than I was the first time I drove an INDYCAR, anything like that. So the competitive nature continues to rise.
“It's nice to have a reminder that you belong, for sure.”