ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Every year it seems Graham Rahal starts a new season with the confidence he can finally get his career on a winning course if he can only eliminate the so-called “bad luck” that is as much part of auto racing as pit stops. And every year, it seems, if there is an issue on the race course somehow Rahal finds it.
During Sunday’s season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg the Verizon IndyCar Series driver had the fastest Honda on the track, racing his way from 15th to fifth place by the midway point of the race. He gained three positions on the very first lap of the race and appeared ready to challenge the Chevrolets that were fighting it out for the front.
But on Lap 54 of the 110-lap race Rahal’s Honda ran into the back of Charlie Kimball’s crippled Chevrolet as he was trying to pass the slower Ganassi car. INDYCAR Race Control reviewed the incident and penalized Rahal for “avoidable contact.” The Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver served his drive-through penalty on Lap 65 but his battle for the front effectively ended.
Rahal was able to race his way back to an 11th-place finish and once again had to answer the question of how bad luck or a mistake continues to be part of his career.
And, when does “avoidable contact” between “unavoidable?”
“I shouldn’t have been penalized,” Rahal said on pit road after the race. “He had a broken car and was blocking me. I went inside of him and he broke deep and he was cranking in before the apex and I was trying to bail out.
“I don’t know what to do. It’s how it goes for me.”
The first time Rahal ever climbed into an IndyCar for a race he won it – the 2008 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. He had just turned 19 and remains the youngest winner in IndyCar history. Seven years later, Rahal continues to search for that elusive second career victory.
“The car was really good, I was very pleased with it,” Rahal said of his race. “I thought we had a car that could have won today. When we got into fifth place after passing Sebastien Bourdais in Turn 1, Simon Pagenaud in Turn 4 and then Charlie Kimball, I had Helio Castroneves in my sights. I was strong on restarts so I thought I would be able to fight my way up there and catch up to Will Power. I knew we had reds (alternate tires) to come which in the end proved to be a strong suit.
“But then we got penalized.
“Kimball had a broken car and I didn’t know what he was doing. He was so slow off of Turn 9 that I thought he was pulling over and then he accelerates into the kink. He had a broken car and was slow. I went inside of him and then he broke deep. He was cranking in well before the apex so I was trying to bail out and I just tapped him. Sure enough, I dive inside him and he comes over. It’s a shame because the car was good today.”
With co-team owner David Letterman watching the race in Rahal’s pit area the Verizon IndyCar Series opener is always a time for renewed optimism for the team co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner and three-time CART champion Bobby Rahal – Graham’s father – and Chicago industrialist Michael Lanigan.
Unfortunately, hope often turns to dismay.
“I don’t know if luck has anything to do with it,” Bobby Rahal said. “Apparently, Simon Pagenaud is the one that damaged Kimball’s car and created a flat tire and Graham has the line and Charlie doesn’t give way but we get a drive through and nobody else does. In the end we had a pretty car today and Graham did a good job. He was the best Honda before that and had the fastest lap for a long time in the race. They did a good job making changes to the car and he was very happy with it this morning. We had a good car but it’s unfortunate that we got penalized.
“It’s frustrating to end up 11th but we have to be pretty happy with the setup on the car and the job Graham did. The Honda Aero Kit obviously wasn’t too bad.”