Rahal re-ups Rahal: Graham agrees to a new deal with RLL Racing
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — WISH-TV’s longtime driving analyst is keeping his career “in the family” — Graham Rahal has agreed to a new contract with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, or RLL.
The 2024 season marks the start of the popular IndyCar driver’s second decade on the team his father, Bobby Rahal, owns with David Letterman and Mike Lanigan.
Graham Rahal has won five races since he joined RLL in 2013, most recently back-to-back wins in Detroit in 2017. Since then, his best results have come at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, with runner-up finishes in 2020 and the recently completed 2023 campaign.
The 2023 season went from deep lows to promising highs for Graham, who failed to qualify with RLL for the Indianapolis 500. After his friend Stefan Wilson was hurt in a race-week practice crash, he ran the 500 as a replacement for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Cusick Motorsports.
As the 2023 season drew to a close, Graham and his team found speed and consistency, earning two pole positions in the final four races and the podium finish at Indy.
In a comment provided by the team, Bobby Rahal said, “All of that should reaffirm to everyone what he is capable of. He’s as driven as ever to win races, and it’s exciting to watch. Clearly, team efforts over the off-season are to ensure we have competitive cars at every race next year, including the Indy 500.”
Graham added, “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.”
Graham and the team haven’t released details about the new deal, other than saying it is “multiyear.”
Christian Lundgaard is also set to return to the RLL lineup in 2024. Lundgaard piloted the team to its most recent victory, last season’s Honda Toronto Indy.
Pietro Fittipaldi joins the team as a new driver next season. He will drive the #30 car that Jack Harvey drove most of 2023 before Juri Vips replaced him late in the season. Fittipaldi has driven parts of two seasons for Dale Coyne Racing, but has not raced in IndyCar since 2021.