Current street course woes make Long Beach “a critical weekend” for Graham Rahal

Motorsport photo

Graham Rahal is hoping to hold onto his welcomed momentum, but warns it’ll be a challenge coming into the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The 37-year-old Ohio native ended a 41-race podium drought with a third-place finish in the last round at Barber Motorsports Park. Although that result helped lift the spirits of both he and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL), there is an element of caution coming into the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit. And that’s because he finished 18th in each of the two previous street circuits this season: St. Petersburg and Arlington.

“Well, we've got work to do,” Rahal told Motorsport.com. “Yeah, last week was a great relief. For sure, that podium was great. “But we've still got work to do. I think this weekend's a critical weekend. We definitely struggled on street courses this year, which is a little strange, considering last year that was one of our strengths. You know, this is important.”

Rahal also pointed out what follows with the Indianapolis 500 Open Test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway April 28-29, with the month of May festivities looming.

“Obviously, two weeks from now, we've got the Indy Open test,” Rahal said. “That's going to be very, very important.

“I expect to have a good month in May. On the road course in particular, we know we're always quite good. We've got to see what happens for us when we get on to the oval, but I'm hoping for good things.”

The momentum is also generated by RLL also having an influx of new additions over the past couple of seasons, including team president Jay Frye, veteran engineer and former Arrow McLaren team principal Gavin Ward, and veteran strategist Brian Barnhardt, among others.

“There's a lot of people, there's a lot of time, a lot of effort that goes into this,” Rahal said. “You know, it's not just one of us. You can't just sit and say, oh, it's just X, Y, or Z person. “It's not. It's a team effort. I think Brian Barnhart's been massive, too, for me. You know, I've really enjoyed working with Brian and what he's brought to the 15 stand in particular.” Is it just the way he talks?

“Yeah, just very, very in control,” Rahal said. “You know, very calm, collected, in control. (He) will confess when he screws up, and a lot of guys don't do that. They just start pointing the finger around.

“I think Brian's at the stage in his career, ‘Hey, I feel like I didn't call that pit stop at the right time,’ or ‘I didn't do this or that.’ And most often, I think after the race, that's what's been great for he and I and the team dissect that a little bit.