HONDA INDY 200

Rahal proves he's living the dream at Mid-Ohio

Rob McCurdy
Reporter
  • Graham Rahal won for the second time this season and third of his IndyCar career.
  • Rahal led a race-best 23 laps en route to the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio vicrory
  • The victory moved him to just nine points behind leader Juan Pablo Montoya

LEXINGTON – As Graham Rahal lay in the bunk of his motorhome Friday night, the central Ohio native dreamed he won the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.

"I guess sometimes dreams do come true," he said.

On Sunday afternoon, it did — nearly 30 years after his father and racing legend Bobby Rahal did the same at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Rahal took advantage of a caution as he was making his last pit stop to cycle to the front. From there, he hung on for his first pro victory at Mid-Ohio, his second on the Verizon IndyCar Series season and the third of his career.

"I don't know what else to say. Today was our day. It worked out," he said.

His father won twice at Mid-Ohio in 1985 and 1986, and he holds the CART/IndyCar record for podium finishes in Lexington with eight.

"I'm so happy for him," the elder Rahal said, owner of the team with David Letterman and Mike Lanigan, and Graham's spotter in the Esses. "To win at home is a big deal. I'm so happy for him."

The younger Rahal is a true Ohioan. He was born in Dublin and grew up in New Albany. A well-known Ohio State football fan, Rahal wore a racing helmet in the design of a Buckeye football helmet, complete with Buckeye leaves given for jobs well done.

"I think he gets another Buckeye (leaf) for that, doesn't he?" Bobby asked.

More importantly, the win put him just nine points behind leader Juan Pablo Montoya with two races left. Rahal entered the weekend in second place but trailing by 42 points.

"It's hard to say, but I do think we're in a pretty good spot now," he said. "Forty-two points, I am not going to lie to you, really sounded like a lot this morning. I really thought it was a lot, so this was a nice surprise here only (being down) nine."

Graham Rahal tastes the victory of a milkshake after winning Sunday’s IndyCar 200 at Mid-Ohio.

Montoya, who finished 11th after leading 21 laps, wasn't talking to reporters after the race, but he offered a statement.

"We did everything we were supposed to do today, and the race was playing out perfectly for us. Unfortunately, we got a caution with about 25 laps to go that we didn't need," the Indianapolis 500 winner said. "It worked out for some and didn't work out for others, but we had a great car and we still have the points lead."

With everyone needing to make one more stop to make it to the end on fuel, Rahal ducked into the pits as Sage Karam spun at the end of the backstraight to bring out the third caution of the day. That sent the field scrambling to the pits when they opened, but Rahal already had his service and was on his way behind the pace car.

In a twist of fate, Rahal felt Karam held him up on his fast qualifying lap Saturday, forcing him to start 13th.

"My buddy," Rahal joked of the help Karam inadvertently gave.

There would be one more bit of drama before the hometown hero could hoist the winner's trophy.

A fourth caution set up a restart with less than 10 laps to go. Rahal had no more push-to-pass buttons to employ that give a brief boost of speed, but second-place runner Justin Wilson did. The veteran from England made a run at the restart, even pulling ahead of Rahal, but he couldn't get the proper angle into Turn 4 to pull off a pass, with Rahal taking advantage.

"Graham made it pretty clear he was braking late," Wilson said.

Rahal called Wilson the cleanest racer in the game.

"Obviously, he got fully around me, pretty much, but still gave me room. I just slid down underneath him there and took off. I knew, if I got out front, I felt very confident that nobody could catch me. But the trick is getting out front. Luckily, it just worked out," Rahal said.

The win set off a celebration that included Rahal yelling out the familiar O-H to the crowd, with them following up with the requisite I-O.

"Like I said, when it's your day, sometimes it's your day. We put ourselves in the right places. We made the right strategy calls," he said. "You know, Lady Luck or my buddy Sage, whatever way you want to look at it, it worked perfect, honestly."

It worked out much like he dreamed it two nights earlier.

rmccurdy@gannett.com

419-521-7241

Twitter: @McMotorsport

Local favorite, Graham Rahal, speeds through the “Esses” turn at Mid-Ohio during the Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Results

1. Graham Rahal, Honda, 90 laps

2. Justin Wilson, Honda, +3.4049 seconds

3. Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, +4.5706 seconds

Notables: 4. Scott Dixon, 5. Tony Kanaan, 7. Ryan Hunter-Reay, 10. Marco Andretti, 11. Juan Pablo Montoya, 14. Will Power, 15. Helio Castroneves, 17. Sebastien Bourdais, 18. Ryan Briscoe, 23. Charlie Kimball

Race stats

•Lap leaders: Rahal 23, Dixon 22, Montoya 21, Tristan Vautier 10, Helio Castroneves 6, Wilson 6, Josef Newgarden 2.

•Cautions: 4 for 16 laps

•Average speed: 105.72 mph

•Time: 1:55:20.0864

— Verizon IndyCar Series