Rahal set for IndyCar hometown encore
When he was growing up, Graham Rahal found more than enough to do to stay occupied at Road America while the racers in his family went to work.
Now Rahal is the doing the driving, and he feels like a kid again back at the rural Wisconsin road course.
It is Year 2 of IndyCar’s return to Road America. The track went nine years in between stops from a major open-wheel circuit before IndyCar roared back in 2016. The 221-mile Kohler Grand Prix is scheduled for Sunday.
“So it means a lot to us. I’ve spent many, many, many days running around, terrorizing this place,” said Rahal, who drives for a team coowned by his father, 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal. “It’s changed a little bit, but just an awesome, awesome racetrack. A lot of great memories.”
It’s all business behind the wheel, especially with a competitive points race just past the midpoint of the IndyCar season. Rahal is in sixth place, one of six drivers within 49 points of leader Scott Dixon. Rahal is surging at midseason, a couple of weeks after sweeping the doubleheader at the Detroit Grand Prix.
Practice started at Road America on Friday, while qualifying is Saturday on the 14-turn course.
Away from the garage, the trip to Elkhart Lake might seem more like a vacation. Wooded areas and campgrounds are interspersed around the 4.014-mile course. Last year, driver Will Power took a walk around the campgrounds during his down time. He would join the campers if he had the time.
“I love it. This is one my favourite race tracks,” said Power, last year’s Road America winner. “From the circuit itself, to the way the racetrack is laid out and how fast it is.”
Road America replaced the venerable Milwaukee Mile oval as the Wisconsin stop on the IndyCar circuit and it’s been a hit.
Road America officials have said that last season’s IndyCar date drew the largest crowd ever in the track’s 35-year history, though they did not have specific attendance numbers.
IndyCar had no major issues with the track, which is in the middle of three-year contract with the series. “It made perfect sense from a fan perspective ... considering how many people had been asking for us to return to Road America,” said IndyCar’s Stephen Starks.