Rahal to sit out Indy 500 or drive for his Dad
Rahal will drive for Bobby's Rahal Letterman Racing at the Indianapolis 500, teaming one of IndyCar's up-and-coming drivers with his father who won at the Brickyard as a driver and an owner.
"It's always flattering when one of your children wants to follow in your footsteps,'' Bobby Rahal said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "It's even more so when they want to be a part of what you've built over the years. We at Rahal Lettermen are thrilled that Graham will represent us at Indy in two weeks.''
The 21-year-old Rahal will drive at the May 30 race in Rahal Letterman's No. 30 Dallara/Honda for a yet-to-be-determined sponsor.
Considered one of the IndyCar Series' best young drivers since becoming its youngest winner at 19 in 2008, Rahal went into this season without a full ride after two years with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing.
Rahal drove in three of the first four races for Sarah Fisher Racing, his best finish a ninth at St. Petersburg. Fisher moved behind the wheel at Kansas Speedway last weekend, leaving Rahal with an uncertain future, so teaming with his father for Indy was like birthday and Christmas presents all coming at once.
"I am extremely excited to be racing with my father and with this team,'' said Rahal, who failed to finish in two previous Indy 500s. "I have known a lot of the guys on this team since I was very young and to go after the dream of winning Indianapolis with them means a lot to me and my family. I know we can put together a quality effort and we expect to be competitive.'' SI.com
05/04/10 Speaking of young Rahal, a last-minute deal to get him back with Newman/Haas has apparently stalled so it would appear he'll likely be with his dad at Indianapolis. SPEEDTV.com
04/25/10 In a number of recent reports and rumors, it is being said that Graham Rahal would rather sit at home and watch the race than to piece together a last minute second-rate effort just to run in the race. He also said it is not his father’s place to bail him out and put him in a car.
Unfortunately, this seems to underscore a problem in IndyCar that has really been a problem in the lower ranks of the sport for many many years, but only mildly affected the top ranks until now. Most of the most deserving drivers just don’t get the opportunity, because it is too easy for a team owner to take a driver who comes with a check of his own or his "sponsor" despite driving ability or talent.
Right now we see Hunter-Reay struggling despite having a sponsor that also ended up as the series sponsor. Rahal, and even Paul Tracy and J.R. Hildebrand can be added to that list as well. So the current indication is that there will be no Graham Rahal at Indy. We will keep you posted as we hear more.