Championship standings || Get ABC Supply 500 tickets, info
Following the Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway in early June, Graham Rahal was fifth in the Verizon IndyCar Series standings. It was acceptable, though a competitor is never satisfied.
Rahal's charge in the second half of the season, which has the third-year Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver in position to challenge for the championship with two races left, has contributed to the erosion of title front-runner Juan Pablo Montoya's solid points foundation entering the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway (2 p.m. ET Aug. 23 on NBCSN). It's a high-water mark for the 26-year-old Ohio native this late in a season, but there's much more to be attained.
“We’re in a good place and we’ve got momentum on our side,” said Rahal, driver of the No. 15 Steak 'n Shake Honda for the final two races. “If we put ourselves in a good position and we’re smart throughout the race and weekend, then hopefully we’ll be in a place where, come the end of it, we can go for it and go for a win.”
In the past five races, Rahal has two victories and three other top-10 finishes to climb from fifth in the standings to second -- nine points behind Team Penske's Montoya. He has scored more points (195) in that span than any others in the top five. Montoya, who has stood atop the standings since his victory in the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., has totaled 117 points in the past five races.
Montoya, winner of the Indianapolis 500 in May on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, won on the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway tri-oval last July from the pole. Click it: Montoya masterful in 500-milers
“There are a lot of good guys out there right now, but the guys we are racing against in the standings really, like (third-place Scott) Dixon and Montoya, we have to stay close to those guys and they don’t have any weaknesses,” Rahal said. “Montoya won last year and I fully expect him to be pretty strong again.”
Rahal, who won on the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway oval in late June, has a best start of 14th and high finish of 18th in two starts at Pocono.
“This is a big race for us from many different perspectives and starting up front is going to be very important, particularly if Pocono goes at it did last year where it was pretty green the entire race,” he said. “I think we are starting to figure out the aero kit, we’re starting to get in a better place here and become a little more competitive. Hopefully this will be the next step and we will be able to show that this weekend.”
Streaks and such
Tony Kanaan, driving the No. 10 NTT Data Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, will seek to complete the career triple crown for 500-mile races this weekend. He won the 2013 Indianapolis 500 and won the 2014 season finale at Auto Club Speedway.
Kanaan, who also won the 500-mile Indy car race in 1999 at Michigan International Speedway, could become the first driver to win 500-mile races at four different superspeedways. Kanaan will seek to extend his record streak of consecutive starts to 248. He'll hit 310 Indy car starts -- eighth all time -- at the completion of the season.
Team Penske's Will Power is eight laps from becoming the 16th Indy car driver with more than 3,000 career laps led. ... Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing co-owner Bobby Rahal won the Indy car race at Pocono in 1988.
Foyt to miss final two races
Verizon IndyCar Series team owner A.J. Foyt underwent surgery Aug. 10 to clear out a staph infection in his right artificial knee.
The four-time Indianapolis 500 winner will not be able to attend the final two Verizon IndyCar Series races of the season as he recovers.
Once his doctors are satisfied that the infection has cleared, Foyt will undergo another surgery to have a new artificial knee implanted.
“Well, this is one of the worst things I’ve gone through in my life,” said Foyt, 80. “This staph infection, it’s the second time I’ve had it and it’s really beat me down. I don’t know if I’ll ever be like I used to be but I’m sure hoping, so I’m fighting awful hard.”
Of note
Bryan Clauson, who recently was confirmed as an entry in the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race in the No. 88 Jonathan Byrd’s Racing car, finished 12th in the A-Main of the 56th Knoxville Nationals last weekend in Iowa. The four-time USAC National champion won the non-qualifiers race in the 410 winged sprint car class to qualify for the feature. … Jeff Smith, managing partner of ABC Supply Co. in Reading, Pa., and Tom Wills, managing partner of ABC Supply Co. in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., will serve as the grand marshals for the ABC Supply 500. ... On Aug. 19, 1909, the first automobile race is held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. About 12,000 spectators watched Austrian engineer Louis Schwitzer win the 5-mile race with an average speed of 57.4 mph.