Watch the No. 15 Honda driver take a lap through his visor cam and read his thoughts on various INDYCAR topics.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Graham Rahal has never been shy to express his opinion, which makes the second-generation Indy car star popular with fans and media alike.
The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver of the No. 15 PennGrade Motor Oil Honda delved into a myriad of topics during a media availability Friday at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. As usual, the 27-year-old son of three-time Indy car season champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal was generous with his thoughts. Such as:
On engine/aero kit manufacturer Honda’s ongoing development efforts in 2016:
“I think the Honda guys have worked really hard,” Rahal said. “We continue to develop on the engine front and everything else, and I'm not going to complain. I just keep working hard and putting ourselves in the best place we can to win. This is a big weekend for us. Monday we all got to go to Honda (American headquarters in nearby Torrance), so we’ve got to make sure we got a good one so we don't get our wrists slapped.
“We have to make the most of what we have, do the best job with what we have. If we do that, run our race and everything else to the max of our potential, we'll be just fine.”
On social media observations by a few NASCAR drivers during the Verizon IndyCar Series race at Phoenix International Raceway on April 2 that downforce needs to be removed from Indy cars at the 1.022-mile oval:
“When we talk about downforce, it's not fair to compare NASCAR versus us because the cornering speed capabilities are two different animals. I can slide (an Indy car) at 100 miles an hour and feel comfortable,” he said, referring to the approximate cornering speeds for stock cars at the track. “Go slide this thing at 180 (mph), you're going to need a new pair of underwear every corner. Seriously.
“You cannot compare those. It's frustrating seeing some of those guys comment about what we're doing. It's not the same.”
What Rahal would like to see is additional horsepower for the Indy cars.
“The key is getting more horsepower, so when you lift and you go back to power, the thing accelerates a lot harder and it would have created passing. Then the other thing might be to introduce 'push to pass' if we could (on ovals), which was a discussion. … I think that would have helped passing.”
On INDYCAR affirming it will maintain its stance mandating domed skid plates and not allowing underwing strakes in the superspeedway aero configuration for the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil next month:
“I'm not a fan of the domed skids,” Rahal admitted, “I don't really believe in it. But we have to put our faith in the people at INDYCAR and go by the rules. And I told Bill Pappas (INDYCAR vice president of competition, race engineering) when he took this job, one thing he needed to do – which I know Bill, and I knew he wasn't going to have an issue with this – is put his foot down and, when they make a rule, stick by the rule. … Don't get pushed around when you make a rule. Stick with it.
“That's kind of what they've done. They've said they're doing the domed skid; we're doing the domed skid. Now we're going to have to go and make it work as best as we can and we'll do that. Trust me, the Indy 500 is going be to be a hell of a show. It's going to be and we will make sure of that.”
On whether he considers Long Beach a “home race” since he lives part-time in California with wife and NHRA drag racer Courtney Force:
“Yeah, a little bit,” Rahal said. “Obviously this race in particular because I spent so many days here as a kid with my dad and mom, family friends that own some restaurants here in town and stuff. When I came out here with Courtney, I came to Long Beach, I kind of knew everything. It was nice to get out here.
“It definitely feels like a bit of a home race, a lot of friends and family obviously coming out this weekend. Just like Mid-Ohio, 60-some people having hitting us up for tickets. To win at Fontana last year was awesome because it was like my home race here, then we went to Mid-Ohio, won my real home race. It was kind of fun.”
But Rahal was quick to add that he is not a California resident.
“To clarify, I'm an Indiana resident and I do not and will not and hope to not pay any taxes in the state of California. I will make sure I live in Indiana for many years to come.”