A masterful strategic charge from the back of the grid ended in a last-lap heartbreak just two corners from the finish for Graham Rahal at the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America.
The 37-year-old Ohio native was battling for a hard-earned podium finish on the final lap on the 4.014-mile, 14-turn road course when a collision with Andretti Global’s Will Power sent him crashing into the wall just two corners away from the checkered flag.
Driving the #15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, Rahal began the day in a deep hole after qualifying 20th. However, sharp pit work and well-executed strategy calls from his crew allowed Rahal to navigate a 55-lap race that saw five cautions. He systematically sliced his way toward the front, ultimately positioning himself in third place just before a dramatic, one-lap shootout to the finish.
“…he ran into the back of my car; he wasn’t even next to me.” – Graham Rahal
Unfortunately, Rahal’s bid for what would have been his fourth podium finish over the last seven races evaporated at Turn 12. As he defended his position, Power struck the rear of the #15 Honda, launching Rahal into the wall. While Rahal’s race ended in the barriers just two turns from the finish line, Power escaped the contact to claim the final spot on the podium.
Following the race, a frustrated Rahal praised his team’s effort but pulled no punches regarding the incident.
“Our position was all thanks to the pit crew and the team again,” Rahal said. “The guys did a wonderful job in the pits. My last in-lap was a really good in-lap and that helped us get some gap on a lot of guys like Power, (Alexander) Rossi and those guys. But I really just didn’t need the yellow at the end because our cars don’t fire off well on restarts and they definitely don’t when coming out of the pits.
“So, with Power, I fought the fight for about six or seven laps of him closing on me before the car kind of came to life a little bit more and we started to be able to pull away. So, that yellow with two laps to go, I really didn’t need to see for sure.
“Overall, it is what it is. It was just Power being Power. I had every right to move to the right at the end of the brake zone. People can say that I came back to the left, but he ran into the back of my car; he wasn’t even next to me.
“It’s frustrating to not be able to get the result that I felt like we deserved because Brian (Barnhart; strategist) did a great job and Yves (Touron; race engineer) did a wonderful job with the change that they made. Our race pace was significantly better than I think we expected it to be. And to not be able to see it through and have the result was quite frustrating.”
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