Rahal had to “look internally” with latest contract decision with RLL

Earlier in the month, the 34-year-old Ohio native finally put pen to paper after agreeing to a multi-year deal to remain with the team that shares his family’s namesake co-owned by his father.

There was no guarantee after enduring a rollercoaster of emotions during a 2023 campaign.

Rahal started the year with two top 10s through the opening five races but failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 – albeit managing to compete in the race after subbing for the injured Stefan Wilson at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

At the midpoint of the year, Rahal made clear he was in no rush to decide his future as he looked both inward and at the innerworkings of progress for RLL.

However, the pace in Rahal’s #15 Honda began to improve as he closed out the year with three front row starts, including two poles, over the final four races and led 36 laps en route to a runner-up result at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course during the Brickyard weekend.

“You know, this was a big decision for me and where I was at with everything,” Rahal told Motorsport.com.

“I think it was clearly something we've all wanted to get done for an extended period of time. It took perhaps a little longer than we would've liked, but the reality is just on both sides - the team's side and mine - it was a big deal for us to make sure that it was the right thing and the right way to go.

“I'm excited. It's a multi-year commitment. For me, I wanted to also look internally to understand what I needed to do in my life to be better for the team and to be more prepared and make sure that I could give them all the effort needed to go out and succeed, and vice versa.

“Obviously, there's been a lot of change within our organization. I think there's still going to be some change and challenges ahead; that's natural at this stage. But I think things are looking good, otherwise clearly, I wouldn't have done this.”

Photo by: Gavin Baker / Motorsport Images

Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

Rahal, a six-time IndyCar race winner, then went on a deeper dive to explain the areas of self-examination.

“You need to make sure that no matter what you do in life, that you're willing to give it 100%,” Rahal said.

“For me, there's been quite a lot of challenges and frustrations over the years that have made things harder. You want to be able to make sure that you can kind of put those in the background and rearview mirror and be able to go forward.

"Clearly with family, with everything else, there's a lot happening in life. But, you know, racing has been my way of life. It's all I've known. It's all I do know, since I was a little kid. I don't think people realize that a lot of us that are in this sport and in this world, this is literally all we know.”

The wear and tear of tough results in recent years compounded things.

“I wanted to make sure that I can put the struggles of the last few years aside,” Rahal said.

“Obviously, the end of the year was promising. Really felt we should have won Indy GP, but just came up a hair short. That's life, that's the way things go, clearly you move on. But yeah, I just wanted to make sure that I was still engaged at every level, mentally, physically, and ready to go. I feel that I am. I feel that we've got some good things ahead of us. I also wanted to make sure that frankly, the team is headed it in the right direction.

“People think that's an obvious statement, but it's not that obvious, frankly. There's a lot of things that go into that. We're in a spirited battle of hiring and lots of things happening that have created concern, and I wanted to let the dust settle for a while to see where we're headed. I wanted to see the action and understand where the team's direction was, as well as anything else.

“I've made it clear over the years, I'm not here just to be here. I read all the social media hate, 'Graham's only here because of his dad. He's only here because of his name.' I'm sorry to tell people, but that's complete and utter bullshit. I think people who know me, know me a lot better than that. I think people who have raced with me on track know me a lot better than that.

“Capable of winning. Capable of being up front. Capable of qualifying on pole; showcased that this year. But the reality is there's a lot of pieces to that puzzle that make that happen. And I wanted to make sure that I felt confident those pieces were going to be there so that we could do it and do it well.”