When Graham Rahal jumps into an open wheel car, he does not lack for confidence, driving skill or racing genes.
About the only thing the 20-year-old doesn’t have is a contract for next season, and even that apparent deficit adds something to his considerable arsenal.
“It’s no secret that I don’t have a contract for next year so I’ve got to be careful. It is a motivator,” the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing driver admitted this week. “I think my potential, personally, has gone up a lot. Last year I had very little confidence and there is still a long way for me to go to win consistently, but in the right position I will fulfil that potential.”
Though he is focused on next Sunday’s Edmonton Indy, the kid from Ohio is always conjuring up the big picture, inspired no doubt by the legendary exploits of his father Bobby, one of the greats from the CART era who co-owns an IndyCar Series team with television personality David Letterman.
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“It’s not that important to me whether Graham drives for me or not,” Bobby told in May. “What’s most important is that he has a successful career.”
“We have every intention of retaining Graham,” NHLR PR director Kathi Lauterbach wrote in an e-mail earlier this week.
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