Graham Rahal led 49 of the 85 laps at the IndyCar Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway but eventually slumped to sixth place at the chequered flag as Alex Palou won yet again.
The American started second and swept around the outside of pole-sitter Alex Palou at Turn 1 in a vital move to control the race.
Rahal and the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team have consistently been very strong at the IMS Road Course, and all three RLL cars broke into the Firestone Fast 6.
The driver of the No. 15 car drove impeccably to keep the championship leader behind him and didn’t make any errors under microscopic pressure in the lead.
The Chip Ganassi Racing cars are in “a different stratosphere of grip”
Chip Ganassi Racing have been setting the standard in recent times as Palou continues to march towards a fourth IndyCar championship.
Rahal explained to Frontstretch after the race that RLL was almost flawless, but all the Chip Ganassi Racing cars were still a step ahead as the Spaniard eventually overtook him in the third stint.
He said: “Those Ganassi cars are just in a league of their own. The grip that they have, the ability to follow so close, compared to everybody else, I don’t know.
“It’s not just Alex. When Scott (Dixon) was behind me, it’s the same. I just told these guys, I genuinely am proud. I don’t think I locked up once. I don’t think I put one wheel wrong. I defended as best I could, but they’re just in a league of their own. It’s a different stratosphere of grip. We tried our best, obviously, Fifth Third Bank, the Honda was quick today.
“That’s the end of the engine life for us. So great job to them. That thing made it a long time for us this year.”
Palou is incredibly difficult to beat, having won four of the opening five races this year. His teammate, Scott Dixon, is also finding form after a podium at Barber and battling to P4 at Indianapolis.
“They just accelerate at a different pace”
IndyCar is a spec championship, with cars using chassis made by Dallara and the same V6 configuration engines from Chevrolet and Honda. This equalises the field and makes the racing more competitive.
Despite the equality across the grid, Rahal found the Ganassi cars difficult to keep behind him on the long straights at IMS.
He said: “They’re so fast. It’s not just a little; it’s everywhere. Even on the straightaways, they just accelerate at a different pace.
“When they’re behind you, overtake to overtake, like (Kyle) Kirkwood or any of those guys really couldn’t gain on me. Any Ganassi car behind me was like they had 10 extra pounds boost. It’s wild.”
The sixth-place finish at Indianapolis was a welcome boost for Rahal at a venue he’s finished in the top 10 at in each of the last three years.
This result represented the 36-year-olds first top-10 finish of the season after fighting on the fringes of 10th place in the opening rounds.
Heading into the Indy 500, Rahal will be looking to keep up the momentum, although The Brickyard hasn’t been a happy hunting ground over the past couple of years.
Rahal finished 15th last year but failed to qualify in 2023 before eventually racing after replacing Stefan Wilson, who was unable to compete.
A good result at the Indy 500 could provide the perfect lift for Rahal heading into Detroit, but it remains to be seen whether they can overcome the ghosts of Indianapolis.
