Graham Rahal: “It’s Like Shooting Yourself In The Foot”
May 13, 2008
Ron McQueeney/IMS
The 19-year-old Graham Rahal son of 1986 Indy champion Bobby Rahal was not happy when Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing pulled his No. 06 Dallara/Honda from the line in the final minutes of session that determined the top 11 positions.
Rahal, bumped by fellow Indy newcomer and eventual eighth-place qualifier Hideki Mutoh earlier that hour, was preparing to at least knock No. 11 qualifier Tomas Scheckter from the field.
Rahal didn’t expect to hear his car lacked new tires needed for better grip and speed and he sounded off, saying, “It makes me mad because I really feel like we could have it. … It’s like shooting yourself in the foot.”
Instead, Rahal (and others) must wait until this weekend, when 22 spots are at stake. A new qualifying draw will likely be held Friday. Rahal seemed confident he would make the field with his next attempts.
“I think we really need to focus on having a good race car here,” said Rahal, who became American open-wheel racing’s youngest race winner at St. Petersburg, Fla., in March. “Of course, qualifying is important but the race is what it really comes down to. I feel pretty comfortable out there.”
The upside is Rahal’s four-lap average speed of 223.355 mph (12th-fastest) provides a good baseline when practice resumes Wednesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Teams still waiting to get in will focus on race-day setups and long runs before retooling the cars for a qualifying package.
“You know what happens. You know how the car works,” said Justin Wilson, Rahal’s teammate. “It’s good to get that experience, especially seeing as I wasn’t expecting to qualify (Saturday), so I didn’t put too much pressure on myself. … Hopefully we can repeat that come Saturday and be the best of the second qualifying group.”
