Graham Rahal sweeps Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader

DETROIT — Graham Rahal is relishing a remarkable run — this weekend in the Motor City and over the last two-plus seasons.

Rahal completed a doubleheader sweep at the Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday and became IndyCar’s first two-time winner this season.

Driving for father and former racing star Bobby Rahal’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team, Rahal has six career victories, five in two-plus seasons during a stretch of success that followed a six-year winless streak.

“Through the ups and downs of my career, when you get a chance to win a race, you never take it for granted,” he said. “So, it’s pretty special for me.”

It looked like a given Rahal’s Honda-power car was going to finish first easily, for the second straight race, until there was a single-file final restart with two laps to go in the 70-lap race. A red flag stopped the race for 18 minutes after 67 laps because Spencer Pigot’s car had a mechanical failure. The Ed Carpenter Racing driver got out of his smoke-filled car after a yellow flag came out because James Hinchcliffe’s car stalled.

That wasn’t enough to let the competition close in on Rahal, who pulled away for victory on the Belle Isle course. He finished 1.17 seconds ahead of Josef Newgarden’s Chevrolet, a day after getting to the checkered flag six-plus seconds ahead of the competition.

“I couldn’t pull anything too risky because I didn’t have any grip on the tires,” Newgarden said.

Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato earned the pole earlier in the day and finished fourth with his Honda-powered car for Andretti Autosport.