Meet 'Sports Fanatic' Graham Rahal-Get a Tour of His Garage [VIDEO]
(Graham Rahal - Grand Prix of Portland - By: Travis Hinkle)
Let's talk about 34-year-old Graham Rahal, who is from Ohio. "Aside from racing, Graham is a sports fanatic, especially when it comes to the Ohio State Buckeyes and Columbus Blue Jackets. He is also a small business owner, opening Graham Rahal Performance (GRP) in 2017. Along with GRP, Graham has partnered with his father on several dealerships in the Bobby Rahal Automotive Group portfolio," according to his driver's website.
SOMETHING INTERESTING ABOUT HIM FOR 2023 SEASON: The first race of 2023 for IndyCar will be Sun, Mar 5, 2023 Streets of St. Petersburg, and in 2008 Grahm had his first IndyCar win at the same race.
First of all, Happy Birthday to Grahm, he is the son of the legendary 1986 Indy 500 Bobby Rahal and in 2022 the Father and Son team had some great adventures that are fun to watch. Bobby is part-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Graham is the primary driver.
Here is something fun to know about him, Rahal owns a 1975 Lola T360, which he occasionally races at vintage racing events.
Bruce Kopp interviewed Dad Rahal in 2016 about the relationship between the father and son, team owner and driver duo- and asked if he wanted his son be a race car driver:
"I was not in favor of it really." Bobby said, " But he's a very determined young man, and he kept on bugging me. Finally, when he was about 9, I said, 'Let's go get a go cart and go racing.'
"He's probably a little more aggressive than I was, frankly, but in some respects, he's a lot like me, he might not be the best qualifier but he's one of the best racers out there. I mean he goes to the front." Bobby said the biggest challenge is taking the emotion out of his relationship with his son.
"It's gotta be a professional relationship," he said. "Can't be a father-son relationship because, at times, that gets emotional.
Here are his stats:
258 STARTS
6 WINS
3 POLES
32 PODIUMS
135 TOP 10s
This is Graham in his car in Sept 2022:
(Graham Rahal - Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey - By: James Black)
(Graham Rahal - Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey - By: James Black)
(Graham Rahal - Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey - By: Joe Skibinski)
ABOUT THE TEAM
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, based in Hilliard, Ohio and Brownsburg, Ind., is co-owned by three-time INDYCAR Champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, former CBS Late Show host David Letterman and Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan.
In 2021, the team begins its 30th year of competition and will attempt to add to its 29 Indy car wins – including the 2004 Indy 500 from pole with Buddy Rice and the 2020 Indy 500 with Takuma Sato -- their 33 poles, 107 podium finishes and 1992 series championship.
The team also competed in the American Le Mans Series from 2009-2013 as BMW Team RLL where they won both the Manufacturer and Team Championships in the GT category in 2010 and swept all three GT titles in 2011 - Manufacturer, Team and Driver. In 2012, the team finished second in the Team Championship and third in the Manufacturer Championship and in 2013, the team finished second in the Driver, Team and Manufacturer Championship. Since 2014, BMW Team RLL has competed in the GTLM class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a two-car program and has brought their total to 22 wins – including the 2019 and 2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance races, 28 poles and 91 podium finishes as well as a second-place finish in the Manufacturer, Team and Driver championships in 2015 and 2017.
The team was also the 2020 Michelin Endurance Champions. For 2021, the team will compete for back-to-back Michelin Endurance Championships.
Born a Buckeye, Graham grew up in New Albany, Ohio, just outside of the state's capital of Columbus. He graduated from New Albany High School in 2007 and was accepted into his father's alma mater, Dennison University.
In 2013, Graham met his wife and retired NHRA drag racing star Courtney Force. The pair married in 2015 in Santa Barbara, California. Graham and Courtney spend most of their time traveling the race circuit, but their two Alaskan Malamutes, Arrow and Beau keep the duo very busy while away from the track. Together, Graham and Courtney have two daughters Harlan (born in 2020) and Tinley (born in 2022).
Check out his garage:
Get ready for some racing, March 5 starts out the IndyCar season!