Rahal perseveres with fourth-place finish after ‘backs were up against the wall’

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief

Graham Rahal came from the back of the field to score an incredible fourth-place result in the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis on Saturday.

The 27-year-old qualified third, but his time was disallowed after failing post-qualifying technical inspection for not meeting the minimum car weight requirements.

Following a frantic start, Rahal began his march forward.

The Ohio native leaped into the top 10 by lap 21 after flying by rookie teammate Spencer Pigot  and during an exchange of pit stops Rahal managed to lead two laps on the afternoon.

After taking four tires and fuel on lap 61, Rahal began to close on the leaders, battling with Charlie Kimball and Conor Daly before ultimately settling in on his impressive top five finish.

Rahal acknowledged the spectacular performance on a day that began with nowhere else to go but forward.

“These are the days that build character. Our backs were up against the wall for sure. To come out and have a result like that is pretty awesome. Twenty-fourth to fourth is better than I expected today. With the cold I’ve got, I’m going to sleep well tonight. This one took it all out of me.

“The Steak ‘n Shake boys do a great job for me, great strategy again, topping off on that early yellow, going a little bit long on that stint, getting into that top eight, I think, after one stint was good. After that we just kind of chunked away. We were on the blacks at the wrong time when everyone else was on reds, but to still make up three spots on that (last) restart was pretty good.”

Image: Matthew Bishop/Tribute Racing