Graham Rahal will be remaining at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) after signing a new multi-year contract kicking off from the 2024 IndyCar Series season going forward.
Graham Rahal has inked a multi-year contract extension with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, an IndyCar team partially owned by his father Bobby.
Since joining RLL in 2013, the 16-year IndyCar Series veteran has been racing with the team up to date. But after shockingly failing to earn a spot in this year’s Indianapolis 500, where every driver from RLL had issues, Rahal made a special appearance for Dreyer & Reinbold in the race to fill in for the injured Stefan Wilson.
Rahal’s form took a turn for the better, as he finished the season with two of the final four pole positions, three front-row starts and a runner-up finish at the Brickyard weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Rahal also had five top-10 finishes and finished 15th in points driving RLL’s #15 Honda. After confirming a new contract extension, the 34-year-old will race with the team through 2024 and beyond.
“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.”
Rahal expressed his desire to strengthen and develop the team going forward.
“I’m also excited to continue working with the tremendous partners that we have,” he added. “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, my dad, David (Letterman) and everyone at the organization to continue together.”
Rahal made history by winning his first race in the revamped 2008 IndyCar Series at St. Petersburg. However, he has never finished in the top three drivers’ positions in the drivers’ standings and hasn’t topped the podium since 2017 despite winning five more races in the series.
“I have worked with Graham for the last 18 years, first as a 17-year-old in the Atlantic Series and many years as an IndyCar driver,” said Mike Lanigan, co-owner of RLL. “Watching him grow and excel not only in racing, but also off the track, has been very impressive.
“Signing him with RLL will certainly continue to enhance the team’s ability to succeed in the competitive world we race in.
“His experience and knowledge in all aspects of racing is one the team will take full advantage of.”
According to team co-owner Bobby Rahal, the team needs to focus on getting his son a car that fits his skills as a driver.
“Two pole positions, really within a fraction of a second for a third this year and led many laps – all of that should reaffirm to everyone what he is capable of,” said Bobby Rahal. “He’s as driven as ever to win races and it’s exciting to watch.
“Clearly the efforts of the team over the off season are to ensure we have competitive cars at every race next year, including the Indy 500.”
Rahal will be joining teammates Christian Lundgaard and Pietro Fittipaldi.
