Graham Rahal

Graham Robert Rahal (/ˈreɪhɔːl/ RAY-hawl; born January 4, 1989) is an American racing driver and businessman. He currently races in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winner of the 1986 Indianapolis 500.

Racing career

Early racing

In 2005, Rahal won the Formula Atlantic class at the SCCA Runoffs and finished fourth in Star Mazda Series standings. After the season concluded, Rahal raced with A1 Team Lebanon for the final three rounds of 2005-06 A1 Grand Prix season.^[1] He moved to a full-time ride in the Champ Car Atlantic Series in 2006, where he won five races and finished second in the season standings. He also drove in the Indy Pro Series event on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in conjunction with the 2006 United States Grand Prix and finished second. Rahal would once again jump in A1GP's Team Lebanon car for one race in the second round of the 2006-07 A1 Grand Prix season. SpeedTV reported in August 2006 that Rahal would drive for Newman/Haas Racing in the Champ Car World Series in 2007.^[2]

2007

On January 27, 2007, Rahal drove in the 24 Hours of Daytona. One of four drivers of the Southard Motorsports Lexus Riley, the car ran into trouble early and finished 62nd out of seventy entries. On March 18, he drove in the 12 Hours of Sebring American Le Mans Series race for his father's Rahal Letterman Racing team. He drove a Porsche 911 GT3-RSR with two other drivers, finishing sixth in the GT2 class and fifteenth overall.

On March 27 news reports from the previous summer were confirmed when he was announced as the second driver for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing in the Champ Car World Series^[3] and drove the No. 2 Panoz DP01 sponsored by MEDI|ZONE alongside his teammate, three-time series champion Sébastien Bourdais. On April 8 in his debut in the Champ Car World Series at the Vegas Grand Prix, Rahal hit the wall on the front stretch on the first lap and retired from the race. On April 15 at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, he finished his first Champ Car race, ending up eighth. On April 22, in just his third Champ Car race, he became the youngest ever podium finisher in Champ Car history after finishing second in Houston. Rahal completed his rookie season in fifth place in series points with four podium finishes but without a race win.

2008

With the creation of a single American open-wheel racing series for 2008, Rahal and the Newman/Haas/Lanigan team became part of the IndyCar Series, including Rahal's first Indianapolis 500.

Rahal missed the Gainsco Auto Insurance Indy 300 due to a crash in testing, after which his team could not get his car repaired in time for the race. He made his series debut at the second race of the season, the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and despite an early spin in the race, Rahal won the race by 3.5192 seconds from the two-time defending winner of the race, Hélio Castroneves. He became the youngest^[4] person at the time to win a major American open-wheel race – aged 19 – and the fourth to win in his first appearance in the IndyCar Series. The best finish Rahal would manage the rest of the year was a pair of eighth place finishes at Watkins Glen and Sonoma; he finished seventeenth in points, fourth among series rookies.

2009

Rahal returned to Newman/Haas/Lanigan for the 2009 IndyCar Series, taking over the No. 02 car with McDonald's as his sponsor. He began the season by taking pole position at St. Petersburg, his first in his IndyCar career, thus becoming the youngest ever polesitter aged 20. This was the first time a Rahal had won an IndyCar pole since his father started first at Toronto in 1992, which was Bobby's third in a row that season.^[5] He finished seventh after damaging the car in a first-lap crash. His season was also undermined by bad relations with his team-mate Robert Doornbos – when Doornbos left midseason, Rahal commented "We could certainly have a second driver who is more of a team player."^[6] He finished the season 7th in points with two podium finishes.

Rahal was linked with the US F1 Team, the American-based Formula One team, that was set to debut in the 2010 World Championship. The team's sporting director, Peter Windsor, mentioned Rahal as a potential candidate for a seat with the Charlotte-based outfit.^[7] However, Windsor later decided against hiring either Rahal or Marco Andretti due to fears that they would not be able to get their FIA Super Licences in time for the 2010 season. Eventually, the team failed to compete in the 2010 Formula One season, with the team ultimately folding and banned from participating in any FIA-sanctioned championship.

2010

Rahal did not return to Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing for the 2010 IndyCar Series, due to McDonald's discontinuing their sponsorship to focus on the 2010 Winter Olympics.

On March 10, 2010, Sarah Fisher Racing announced Rahal would pilot Fisher's No. 67 Dollar General car in the first two North American events of 2010, the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Fisher was originally planning on driving the races herself, in addition to seven oval races, before deciding that putting Rahal in the car could be a benefit to everyone, including Dollar General, who are based in Goodlettsville, Tennessee.^[8] On April 6, 2010, Sarah Fisher Racing announced the addition of the Grand Prix of Long Beach to Rahal's schedule. Rahal's placing in those three races was ninth, seventeenth, and 22nd (retired) respectively.

After the Grand Prix of Long Beach, Rahal was signed to drive for his father's team, Rahal Letterman Racing, in the 2010 Indianapolis 500. Rahal qualified in the seventh position for the race and finished twelfth. On June 10, 2010, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing announced the signing of Rahal for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway, filling in for the injured Mike Conway in the No. 24 entry on a one-off basis. Rahal returned to Newman/Haas Racing for six of the remaining 8 races of the 2010 season, starting with Toronto, and returned to Sarah Fisher Racing for the Kentucky Speedway race. Rahal's 2010 totals included twelve starts for four teams and a twentieth-place finish in points.

On October 10, 2010, Rahal finished runner-up at the RoboPong 200 all-star kart event at the New Castle Motorsports Park with teammate Conor Daly.^[9]

2011–2012

Rahal signed to drive the No. 38 car for Chip Ganassi Racing with Service Central sponsorship beginning in 2011 as the team expanded from two to four cars and continued with the team into 2012.^[10]

Rahal co-drove the No. 01 TELMEX/Target Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates car to victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona along with Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, and Joey Hand. It came thirty years after his father, Bobby won the race, partnering with Brian Redman and Bob Garretson.

2013–2023

From 2013 onwards, Rahal returned to his father's team Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. While a second-place finish at the 2013 Long Beach Grand Prix showed promise early in the season, 2013 would be a building year for the new partnership.

2015 brought great results for Rahal with three podiums in the first half of the season; second at Barber Motorsports Park, second at the 2015 Grand Prix of Indianapolis, and a third at the Sunday race in Detroit.

During the 2015 season, Rahal broke a 6+ year winless streak by winning the 2015 MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. Rahal again won later in the season at the 2015 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. The win was especially poignant for Rahal since he grew up in Ohio and also put Rahal in the championship hunt for the first time in his career. Rahal ended finishing fourth in the standings after a disappointing performance in the last two races.

2016 brought another win to Rahal's almost decade-long IndyCar career after winning the 2016 Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway. The margin of victory was only .008 of a second, the fifth-closest finish in IndyCar history.^[11]

In 2017, Rahal had six top-five finishes, down from eight top-five finishes in both 2015 and 2016, but he did pick up wins in both races at the Detroit Grand Prix (June 3 and 4).^[12]

In 2018, Rahal scored a best finish of second from the streets of St. Petersburg and finished the championship eighth overall.

2019 marked the fifth-straight year Rahal finished in the top-ten for the IndyCar Series championship, finishing eighth overall with a best finish of third at Texas Motor Speedway.

Rahal finished second at the 2020 Indianapolis Grand Prix before earning two third place finishes at the second Iowa race and the Indianapolis 500 to finish sixth in the points. In 2021, he would only score one podium at Texas Motor Speedway to finish tenth in the points, and in 2022, he would finish eleventh in points with a best finish of fourth at Toronto, marking the first year since 2014 that he had finished outside the top-ten in points.

In 2023, Rahal initially appeared to miss out the Indianapolis 500 after teammate Jack Harvey bumped him out of the field in the last chance qualifying session. However, after Stefan Wilson was ruled out due to an injury after a crash in practice, Rahal was chosen as the replacement driver for the #24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing / Cusick Motorsports Chevrolet.^[13] Rahal finished five laps down in 22nd in the race after being involved in an accident. After the Indy 500 however, Rahal experienced a rebound in performance, taking pole positions at the second race on the IMS Road Course and at Portland and picking up his first podium position on road course in years.

Business interests

Rahal opened Graham Rahal Performance (GRP), in May 2017 and has grown the business from an automotive tuning and parts shop to including exotic car sales. GRP is based in Zionsville Indiana.

Rahal is also a junior partner with Bobby Rahal Automotive Group, a network of car dealerships in western and central Pennsylvania.

Personal life

Rahal was born in Columbus, Ohio. He attended New Albany school systems in Ohio and graduated in June 2007 with plans to attend Denison University. Rahal is a die-hard Ohio State fan and enjoys NHL hockey and golf. He is a car enthusiast and owns a growing Ducati collection.

Rahal is married to former NHRA drag racer Courtney Force, daughter of 16-time NHRA drag racing champion and legend John Force.^[14] In May 2020, the pair announced they were expecting their first child; in November she gave birth to a daughter, Harlan Ann Rahal.^[15]

Rahal started the Graham Rahal Foundation in 2009 to support Alex's Lemonade Stand for Childhood Cancer and The Association of Hole in the Wall Camps (known as SeriousFun Children's Network as of April 2012).^[16] In 2019, Rahal and wife Courtney Force took on the foundation in a joint effort, changing the name to Graham & Courtney Rahal Foundation (GCRF). GCRF supports Turns for Troops, benefitting the national nonprofit SoldierStrong, and Colorado State University's One Cure.

Racing record

Career summary

† Team result

• Season still in progress

Complete Formula BMW USA results

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

American open-wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest race lap)

Star Mazda Series

Champ Car Atlantic

Indy Pro Series

Champ Car World Series

IndyCar Series

(key)

* Season still in progress.

• ¹ The Las Vegas Indy 300 was abandoned after Dan Wheldon died from injuries sustained in a 15-car crash on lap 11.

Indianapolis 500

IMSA SportsCar Championship

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

References

1. ^ Redmayne, Tim, Graham Rahal to join Team Lebanon, AutoSport.com, February 21, 2006
2. ^ Miller, Robin, Graham Rahal Set for Newman/Haas Ride in '07, SpeedTV.com, August 13, 2006
3. ^ GRAHAM RAHAL TO DRIVE THE NO. 2 MEDI | ZONE RACE CAR FOR NEWMAN/HAAS/ LANIGAN RACING IN THE 2007 CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP Archived April 8, 2007 at the Wayback Machine, CCWS press release, March 29, 2007,
4. ^ Cavin, Curt (April 6, 2008). "Rahal's victory sets open-wheel record". The Indianapolis Star. Gannett Company. Archived from the original on November 22, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
5. ^ "Bobby Rahal". www.champcarstats.com
6. ^ "Doornbos out, Philippe in at IRL heads for Mid-Ohio". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. August 5, 2009. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
7. ^ Noble, Jonathan (February 24, 2009). "USF1 open-minded on engine partner". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
8. ^ Ryan, Nate (March 10, 2010). "Graham Rahal to drive two IndyCar races for Sarah Fisher". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
9. ^ "Jay Howard, Bill McLaughlin Jr. win all-star kart race". Autoweek. Crain Communications. October 11, 2010. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
10. ^ Spencer, Lee (December 16, 2010). "Chip Ganassi Racing expanding". Fox Sports. Fox Broadcasting Company. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
11. ^ "Rahal wins Firestone 600 in closest finish in Texas Motor Speedway history". Retrieved 2016-08-31.
12. ^ Sipple, George (2017-06-04). "Graham Rahal pulls off weekend sweep at Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
13. ^ Pruett, Marshall (2023-05-23). "Rahal to replace Wilson at DRR for Indianapolis 500". Archived from the original on May 23, 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
14. ^ "Courtney Force, Graham Rahal announce engagement". Foxsports.com. Associated Press. November 27, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
15. ^ "Graham Rahal, Courtney Force welcome their first baby - NBC Sports". MotorSportsTalk | NBC Sports. 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
16. ^ "Foundation"
17. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2007 Champ Car World Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
18. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2008 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
19. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2009 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
20. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
21. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
22. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
23. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
24. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
25. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
26. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
27. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
28. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
29. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2019 NTT IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
30. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2020 NTT IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
31. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2021 NTT IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
32. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2022 NTT IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
33. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2023 NTT IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
34. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2024 NTT IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
35. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2025 NTT IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
36. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2026 NTT IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2026.
37. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2014 Tudor United SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
38. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2015 Tudor United SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
39. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2016 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
40. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2017 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
41. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2018 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
42. ^ "Graham Rahal – 2019 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 3 December 2024.

External links

• Official website
• IndyCar Driver Page July 24, 2011 at the Wayback Machine
• Graham Rahal Un-official Fan Zone
• Graham Rahal career overview August 31, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
• IndyCar 11 in '11 video
• IndyCar 36: Graham Rahal - IndyCar documentary