Graham Rahal’s May ends with more disappointment

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (WISH) — It’s been a rollercoaster of a May for Graham Rahal — to put it mildly. First, not qualifying, then switching teams to get back in the race, only to start with car trouble.

“To start that way was a bummer,” Rahal said. “When I put it into gear, the whole car shut off on a faulty battery, then we got it to repower cycle, tried it again, and the whole car shut off again. We had to go back and replace the battery. I thought after that, we were actually hanging right with that lead group for most of the race. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the yellows that we needed to get our laps back. We got one back, but needed another. It never really fell appropriately.”

The first caution came in Lap 91, when rookie Sting Ray Robb hit the wall after racing with Rahal.

“Just got caught out racing with someone I thought didn’t stand up to the stereotype, but I guess, you know, it’s there,” Robb said after leaving the infield care center.

“I’ll talk to him. I think he needs to learn how to race around Indy,” Rahal said. “If he has choice words, I think he needs to learn how to race in Indy.”

Rahal just couldn’t escape the bad luck. With three laps to go, he got caught in another wreck, this one ending his race early. Despite everything, Rahal still managed to finish 22nd.

“I’m very proud of everybody here at Dreyer and Reinbold Racing with Cusick Motorsports. I thought they did a wonderful job, and the CareKeepers car,” Rahal said. “I thought we were getting into a better zone today, It’s just a shame, you know.”

When asked what he took away from this year’s Indy 500, Rahal responded, “I’ll go to Detroit, and I’ll be there in three days.”

A disappointing ending for an forgettable month.