Latest news with #Rahal
USA Today
13-07-2025
- Automotive
- USA Today
IndyCar Series 2025 drivers championship, Rookie of the Year, Leaders Circle standings after Iowa
The 2025 IndyCar Series season is busy and Alex Palou has won seven races, most notably the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kyle Kirkwood has won three, and Scott Dixon and Pato O'Ward one each. Here's where the drivers and teams stand in the season-long points, Rookie of the Year and Leaders Circle races. Complete results: IndyCar Farm to Finish 275 at Iowa Speedway IndyCar Series championship points 2025 (Through 12 of 17 races) IndyCar Series rookie points Foster rattled off a pair of 14th-place finishes this weekend at Iowa Speedway, while Shwartzman registered a career-best ninth place finish Sunday to go with 20th on Saturday. After crashing out in last place (27th) Saturday, Abel recovered for his best IndyCar finish to date Sunday in 11th. IndyCar Series Leaders Circle standings 2025 IndyCar's Leaders Circle program pays eligible teams just over $1 million the following season in guarantees. To qualify for one of the 22 spots, the entry must be associated with one of IndyCar's 25 charters — teams are allowed to have a maximum of three. Only Prema Racing's two cars remain unchartered. The 25 chartered cars are then ranked by entrant points and, at the end of this season, the top 22 eligible entries will be paid $1.2 million or more by Penske Entertainment throughout the 2026 season. Here are the cars around the bubble after IndyCar's Iowa doubleheader weekend: 19. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing No. 15, 169 points 20. Andretti Global No. 28, 164 points 21. Arrow McLaren No. 6, 156 points 22. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing No. 45, 150 points ------------------------------------------------------------- 23. Juncos Hollinger Racing No. 77, 120 points 24. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing No. 30, 115 points 25. Dale Coyne Racing No. 51, 88 points
Fox Sports
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Gearing Up: Victory Lane Variety Creates Suspense at Mid-Ohio
INDYCAR The next stop for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the unofficial home of Graham Rahal, who was born and raised not far from the facility where his father often won races. Rahal also happens to be a former race winner at this 13-turn, 2.258-mile road course. So, yeah, Rahal feels a special connection. But he's not the only one. Scott Dixon has dominated Mid-Ohio races in this series like no other driver. He has won six of the 19 races held in this iteration of the sport. He also has finished second and third once each and netted a pair of poles. When it comes to this series, Dixon is the undisputed king of Mid-Ohio. SEE: Mid-Ohio Event Details Reigning series champion Alex Palou has recently staked a fitting claim to this track, as well, winning the 2023 race and standing on the podium in each of the four races in which he has driven for Chip Ganassi Racing. It's fair to say he, too, feels right at home at Mid-Ohio. Want other series drivers who are particularly fond of this place? Try Pato O'Ward, who won last year's race and added a pole in 2022, along with Josef Newgarden (two wins and a pole) and one-time winners Alexander Rossi (one pole), Will Power (five poles), Colton Herta (two poles) and Scott McLaughlin. They all love racing on this track. Give all of this, it's not a surprise that Mid-Ohio lays claim to a surprising fact: Eight different drivers have won the past eight races, and each of them will compete in this weekend's Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport. Add in a few other drivers who have had podium finishes at this track – Marcus Ericsson and Felix Rosenqvist come to mind – and it's easy to see why nearly half of this weekend's field will be optimistic when the green flag drops Sunday shortly after 1 p.m. ET (FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). The competition has been just as strong among teams at this track north of Columbus, with Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske sharing the record for most wins (12 each). Arrow McLaren earned its first Mid-Ohio win last year. Andretti Global and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing also have won races in recent years. Palou brings a 93-point series lead over Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood into this event, and it could be another opportunity to tighten his grip before the schedule turns to a pair of oval races at Iowa Speedway (July 12-13). At Mid-Ohio, Palou's average finish with Chip Ganassi's team is 2.0; Kirkwood's average finish in two races with Andretti Global is 12.5. O'Ward could use a productive weekend to close his wide gap to Palou. He stands 111 points in arrears with eight races left this season. Again, O'Ward might consider this a good track for him, but so does Palou. So does Dixon, Newgarden, Rossi, Power, Herta, McLaughlin, Ericsson, Rosenqvist and of course Rahal. You get the idea. There will be many eager for this annual return to Mid-Ohio. The action begins Friday with the weekend's first practice at 4:30 p.m. (FS2, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
Fox Sports
25-06-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Bobby Rahal Named Grand Marshal of Mid-Ohio Event
INDYCAR Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and American Honda Motor Co., Inc. announced June 25 that Bobby Rahal, the 1985 and 1986 INDYCAR SERIES race winner at the Ohio road course, will serve as the honorary grand marshal of The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport on Sunday, July 6. As grand marshal, Rahal will announce the most famous words in racing, 'Drivers, start your engines!' and participate in pre-race ceremonies for the 90-lap NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at Mid-Ohio (1 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). Ohio native Rahal's connection to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course runs deep. In addition to his two INDYCAR SERIES wins at the track, three-time INDYCAR SERIES champion Rahal finished on the podium a remarkable eight of his 16 career starts on his home circuit, including in his last two races in 1997 and 1998. 'It's a great honor to be the grand marshal for The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio,' Rahal said. 'Mid-Ohio played an important role in my personal and professional life. I went to the first-ever race there with my father in 1962 and made annual trips there after that, sometimes twice a year. I got my first win at Mid-Ohio in my SCCA class in 1974, won both IROC races I competed in there, won the Lumberman's race and, of course, the two INDYCAR races in 1985 and 1986.' Rahal also has won at Mid-Ohio as a team owner in 2015 with his son, Graham Rahal, taking the checkered flag at The Honda Indy 200 for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing shop was once located in nearby Hilliard, Ohio, in the same building which formerly housed Truesports Racing. Rahal drove for Truesports when entering the INDYCAR SERIES in 1982 and won the Indianapolis 500 with the Jim Trueman-owned team in 1986. Rahal is in a very select group of individuals who have won the Indianapolis 500 both as a driver and as an owner/entrant (2004 and 2020 as an owner). 'Being by (Jim) Trueman's side when he bought the track in 1980 and winning the IMSA race with him in 1983, as well as winning the INDYCAR races there and seeing Graham win there in 2015, are some of my greatest memories at one of my favorite tracks,' Bobby Rahal said. 'It was a privilege to drive on such a great circuit all those years.' Visit for ticket information for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport on July 4-6, the 42nd running of Ohio's biggest racing event. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES headlines the weekend of nine races across five different racing series, including INDY NXT by Firestone. Children 12 and under receive free general admission when accompanied by a ticketed adult. recommended
Indianapolis Star
21-06-2025
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
Why Jay Frye used Al Pacino's speech to set tone for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Though they ultimately weren't left kissing the bricks as they'd hoped, and as it appeared they very well might be part way through this year's Indianapolis 500, Jay Frye felt he and his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team had built some noted momentum coming out of the Month of May unlike RLL had experienced since it's victory in 2020. Weeks into his tenure as the team's new president, a role Frye took over mid-April at the Long Beach Grand Prix, Frye, the old Missouri tight end and offensive tackle sat the team down and played Al Pacino's locker room speech from "Any Given Sunday" in an attempt to instill the importance of 'inches' to the race team that has had flashes of brilliance over the last couple years but largely has fallen deep into the mid-pack after years of darkhorse title contention with Graham Rahal. 'The inches we need are everywhere around us," the speech goes. "They're in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch, because we know that when we add up all those inches, that's going to make the (expletive) difference between winning and losing.' With all three cars in the Fast Six at the IMS road course and a challenge for the win by Rahal, the team found some inches. They found a few more in leading the most laps in the 500, qualifying a car on the front row and landing a pair of top-12 finishes for the team's two youngest drivers. But in the two weeks since — races that have included four crashed cars, three did-not-finishes and no finishes better than 20th across all three of the team's full-time cars — RLL has left yards' worth of inches strewn across the track. Road America, Frye told IndyStar, marks an opportunity to spool back up some momentum. 'We've shot ourselves in the foot a lot and lost a lot of points, and we can't do that. There's things we have to do to adjust and make sure that type of stuff doesn't happen,' Frye told IndyStar, hours ahead of what proved to be a dismal night at World Wide Technology Raceway for RLL, with Rahal 22nd eight laps down on pace, Devlin DeFrancesco 43 laps down in 23rd after a Lap 4 crash the team managed to repair and rookie Louis Foster in 26th by virtue of a crash caused by drifting too high into the marbles and ending up in the wall before he'd be T-boned by Josef Newgarden. 'We had a team meeting (a couple weeks ago), and I showed the team that clip … and that's what this is," he continued. "There's little things all around you, and if you don't take advantage of them or capitalize on them, and you mess that inch up, you end up 20th, and we should've finished 12th. When our cars have been fast, we've finished 20th, and when our cars are not as fast, we've been finishing 20th. You've got to find a way to build that momentum and get it going.' 'You have to reprogram your whole mind': Fired by IndyCar, Jay Frye talks new role with RLL Entering this weekend, both Foster and DeFranesco, 24th and 25th in points respectively, sit outside the all-important Leaders Circle spots that pay the top 22 charter-holding IndyCar entrants more than $1.1 million the following year. At the moment, the Nos. 45 and 30 cars sit 23rd and 24th — with Rahal's No. 15 plummeting down to 18th after sitting 13th following his season-best sixth-place finish on the IMS road course. Over the last four years at Road America, RLL has taken a liking to the National Park of Speed, with eight finishes of 11th or better out of 11 starts. In 10 career starts at the track, Rahal has only finished outside the top 11 once and has a pair of podiums in 2007 and 2016. With its billiard table-smooth surface, Road America offers some similarities to the IMS road course, a track RLL has shined at across the board in recent years, giving Frye hope Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's race can act as a spring board for the team ahead of a jam-packed July without an off weekend. 'There's so much good here. There's a lot of really good things, but again, it's just about piecing it all together and getting some momentum on our side,' Frye said. 'We really need to finish where we're running. You've got to maximize what we've got, and we need to build momentum and finish the year strong and build into 2026. That's the key. 'Momentum is a funny thing.' Insider: Jay Frye was once IndyCar's change agent, until he no longer fit the Penske mold Reflecting back on his previous life as a NASCAR team executive, Frye pointed to his days atop MB2 Motorsports in 2007, where driver Mark Martin finished 0.02 seconds from a Daytona 500 win, and then went on a tear for the otherwise mid-pack team and led the points for several weeks at the start of that year. 'And then there's other times where you've having trouble, and you can work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and you can't get out of (a rut),' he said. 'We're not struggling. There's good things that have been happening, except it's been inconsistent. Momentum is real, and I felt like we were building some coming out of May and had three or four things happen, and we don't get a good result, and there went that momentum. 'We've got to stop that.'
Fox Sports
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Graham Rahal Reflective, Still Hungry as Milestone Approaches This Weekend
INDYCAR Graham Rahal reaches his 300th NTT INDYCAR SERIES start in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline on Sunday, June 15 at World Wide Technology Raceway. The start in the 260-lap race airing at 8 p.m. ET on FOX, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network places Rahal in an exclusive group of drivers. Rahal joins Scott Dixon, who will make his record-extending 410th INDYCAR SERIES start, Mario Andretti (407), Helio Castroneves (395), Tony Kanaan (390), A.J. Foyt (369), Al Unser Jr. (329), Al Unser (320), Michael Andretti (317), Johnny Rutherford (315) and Will Power (310) as drivers reaching the triple-century mark. His dad, Bobby Rahal, made 264 career starts. Rahal's commitment is also reflected in a streak of consecutive starts. He hasn't missed a race since July 25, 2010, at Edmonton. Rahal will tie Marco Andretti for third-most consecutive starts with 249 in the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America on June 22. Only Dixon's 346 and counting, and Kanaan's 318 are more. Success is measured in many different ways, and when you look at wins, maybe it's not enough, but I've been fortunate to have a long career here,' Rahal said. 'But hopefully there's still a ways to go. 'Three hundred races, I think what I'm most fortunate about is to have been able to stay, knock on wood, pretty healthy through those times, and hopefully that will continue, as well.' Rahal is acutely aware he hasn't matched the resume of his father, Bobby, who won the 1986 Indy 500 among his 24 career victories and three championships. With six career wins and nearly 50 percent of his 299 starts ending in top-10 finishes (146), Rahal admits he wishes his trophy case was fuller. But he also understands and respects what he's achieved. 'There are a lot of people who come to this sport, have extended careers and never have that sort of success,' he said. 'But I'm not oblivious to the fact that I wish I had a lot, lot more. But I feel that in some ways, too, I've been through a lot in this sport. I've been to a lot of different teams. I've been through good years. I've been through years where we've really, really struggled. 'What I've been most proud of is being able to find our way out of those holes.' A recent example is 2014, when he finished 19th in points with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. He bounced back in 2015 with the same team, breaking a 123-race winless streak with wins at Auto Club Speedway and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and finishing fourth in the standings. Rahal is winless in his last 134 starts, dating back to the June 2017 doubleheader sweep at Belle Isle Park. He also entered this season after an 18th-place points finish last year. He has climbed to 15th in points after seven races – a modest position, but with indicators that things are heading the right way. A late-season surge is possible. Early on, Rahal's strength came in race pace more than qualifying. He climbed nine spots in the Firestone Grand Prix St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding to finish 12th in the season opener. He gained seven spots at The Thermal Club, finishing 11th. At Barber Motorsports Park, he started 21st and finished 14th. The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 13 was the lone race day setback. He started 16th but finished 22nd. Rahal's average starting position in the first four races was 19th. But in the next three, that's improved dramatically to 9.3. That's a tangible result of the team finding direction. He qualified an impressive second in the Sonsio Grand Prix on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. He led a race-high 49 laps May 10 in that race but finished sixth. Two races later in the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, Rahal qualified fifth, but a six-spot grid penalty dropped him to 11th in the starting lineup. With better qualifying form, consistent race pace and a tight-knit team, Rahal looks more poised than he has in years to end his win drought. 'I've said this since Sebring (preseason) test that I love working with (engineer) Yves (Touron),' Rahal said. 'I love working with (engineers) Tim (Trowbridge) and Grant (George), (race strategist) Tisch (Akulich) on the stand, all the mechanics who are pretty young, several new guys, I'm really enjoying this group of guys.' recommended
