Graham Rahal will remain at the family team has his IndyCar Series career enters its third decade.
The third-generation driver has agreed to a multi-year extension with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. He has driven for his father, Bobby, since 2013. The 34-year-old is preparing for his 18th season at the highest level of the discipline, having started with Newman/Haas Racing in the former Champ Car World Series in 2007.
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“I’m extremely excited to get a new multi-year agreement in place and hopefully continue to build and improve the team,” Rahal said. “At the end of the season, we saw some glimpses of what we can and should be. Obviously, there is a lot of work still to be done to ensure that we continue to grow and get ourselves in a place for continuous success but I’m excited about the signs that I saw.
“I’m also excited to continue working with the tremendous partners that we have. It was important to me to continue to represent them and hopefully do a great job for them as we go forward. I’m glad that we were able to come together with Mike [Lanigan], my dad, David [Letterman] and everyone at the organization to continue together.”
Rahal reportedly had options to explore but it has always felt inevitable that he would eventually settle into a senior leadership role at the family team. The contract will no doubt serve as a bridge between those two stages of his career.
Rahal followed up a disappointing 11th place championship finish in 2022 with a 15th — which included failing to qualify his No. 15 into the Indianapolis 500. There was a time where Rahal, even with the family team, felt like a championship threat but it has been tough going in this decade.
At the same time, Rahal built momentum at the end of this past season with two poles late in the campaign with teammate Christian Lungaard winning a race and finished eighth in the final standings. Both drivers will now return and be paired by new teammate Pietro Fiitipaldi.
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.