FONTANA, California – When Graham Rahal won his first Verizon IndyCar Series race in a unified racing series on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida in 2008 he was not driving for his father, the legendary 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal. The younger Rahal became the youngest driver in Verizon IndyCar Series history to win a race that day for a former CART and Champ Car Series team that was owned by Carl Haas, Paul Newman and a big, burly Chicago Southsider named Michael Lanigan.
On Saturday at Auto Club Speedway, Graham Rahal finally won his second career Verizon IndyCar Series race on a team owned by his father, television funnyman David Letterman and a Chicago industrialist named Michael Lanigan.
There is one constant in Rahal’s two career victories and that is Lanigan, a man who has made a fortune in heavy equipment, owns the Panama Canal Railroad and is one of the executors of Walter Payton’s Estate. Yes, the same Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears who held the National Football League record for yards gained by a running back until Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys broke that record.
“It feels fantastic,” Lanigan said. “It’s been a long time coming. What a great race and what a great job the team did. Graham did a wonderful job. I’m very proud of everybody. With a little race luck we could have had a couple under our belt but we keep pushing forward. We are there now. Graham drove the wheels off the car. He was determined and the results are here. We want to continue on a high note. It’s been a great season for us so far.”
As Rahal was celebrating the win at Auto Club Speedway’s Victory Lane, Lanigan stood off to the side soaking in the moment.
“We won a bunch of races with Carl Haas and Paul Newman and we were there when Graham won his first race in 2008,” Lanigan recalled. “But this one has been a long time coming.”
Lanigan has invested a lot of money into the sport. So much that, “it’s more than I care to admit.”
Lanigan also owned Rahal’s Formula Atlantic team when he was climbing the ladder to get into big-time racing.
In Saturday’s race Rahal started 19th and laid claim that he would be a contender for victory. But when he pulled out of the pits with the fuel hose attached it seemed that his run to the front would be doomed. Curiously, INDYCAR Race Control chose not to black flag Rahal for a drive-through penalty but decided to make it a post-race review, instead.
“I thought that was it – they would bring him in for a black-flag and that would be it,” Lanigan said. “The young man earned it; the team earned it and I’m extremely proud of him. When I watched the race from up in the stands it was extremely risky but it shows you the talent these young men have – going 200 miles an hour, four-wide going into the turns. It’s phenomenal.
“At the end of the race, my first concern was the crash for Ryan Hunter-Reay and Ryan Briscoe. Then after that I realized we won.”
It’s been a great few weeks for Lanigan because two weeks ago his favorite NHL team, the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup for the third time in six years. And then on Saturday his Verizon IndyCar Series driver wins a race.
“Now, if the Chicago White Sox could start winning I’d really feel good,” Lanigan quipped.
But it was also an important day for Lanigan because his team won in a Honda in a straight-up race beating the competition for the first time this season. Honda’s other two wins came in rain-shortened races or fuel mileage races. This was a race where Honda outran the Chevrolet drivers.
“I think we’ve proven that Honda can win races and you need all the combinations,” Lanigan said. “Honda has been fine for us. We are in the top five for the championship and we look to improve that.”
One of the many companies that Lanigan owns is located about a half-mile behind the backstretch of Auto Club Speedway – an equipment distributorship called Western Pacific Crane and Equipment. Lanigan hosted 100 people at the race on Saturday.
“All of our guests had a great time and you can’t get more excited than that,” Lanigan said. “This is what it’s all about. It’s about competition and beating the big guys.
“I want to cherish this victory and go on to Milwaukee.”