What in the heck is wrong with Graham Rahal?

[booger]

Graham Rahal is slow as a stone this year. Is it him or his dad's team who he drives for? I notice he spends a lot of time on social media...and I mean a LOT of time. Could this be hurting his concentration? I used to love watching him as he came up through the ranks, but other than an occasional good drive, he's never anywhere near the front in the quals or races. He seems to have a decent sponsorship program, and engineering, and he's part of a two car team. Great personality. Doesn't he know how to set up a car? By now he should, or spend more time learning how. If he weren't part of dad's team, I fear he'd be tossed to the curb for another shoe. Forum's thoughts?

[FormerFF]

I suspect some of it is being with a new team, and some of it being he's just not that fast. In the junior formula, he was going great, but we've all seen drivers who were brilliant at the lower level that just don't make it at the top.

I'm hoping he'll have an A J Allemendinger kind of moment and suddenly find his pace, but as for now he doesn't seem to be any better than Marco. Maybe his career will go like RHR's, fast in the juniors, then not so competitive in the first few years of the bigs.

[Starter]

I suspect some of it is being with a new team, and some of it being he's just not that fast. In the junior formula, he was going great, but we've all seen drivers who were brilliant at the lower level that just don't make it at the top.

I'm hoping he'll have an A J Allemendinger kind of moment and suddenly find his pace, but as for now he doesn't seem to be any better than Marco. Maybe his career will go like RHR's, fast in the juniors, then not so competitive in the first few years of the bigs.

Marco, as much as I don't particularly like him, is doing much better than Rahal. I'm thinking Graham just doesn't have what it takes at this level.

[FIAT1]

Beside few old CART guys that whole field is bunch of jokers, and "at this level" itself is not that high now days.

[DBell]

Marco, as much as I don't particularly like him, is doing much better than Rahal. I'm thinking Graham just doesn't have what it takes at this level.

I agree, about Marco and about Graham. I think what's wrong with Rahal is that he just isn't that good. If someone had said, during Graham's 1st season at Ganassi with Kimball, that 2 years later one of them would be on the rise and the other would be on the way down, how many would've picked Kimball to be the one on the rise? Not me.

[bricarr2]

I find Rahal's struggles curious. He was a Fast 6 regular for a stretch there and looked ready for a breakout. but he seems to have stalled/regressed the last two years.

I wish I had more of a definitive answer but he fact he has been so regularly off the pace is something of a head scratcher.

[Nem14]

and "at this level" itself is not that high now days.

QFT.

All thanks to a giant of motor sports business 'vision'.

[Starter]

Beside few old CART guys that whole field is bunch of jokers, and "at this level" itself is not that high now days.

Still higher than the ChampCar days overall and maybe than the last year or two of CART. Not up to F1 levels by any stretch.

[Keyser Soze]

Still higher than the ChampCar days overall and maybe than the last year or two of CART. Not up to F1 levels by any stretch.

Sad really, that today new Indycar is less of a challenge and power when compared to the old spec but still amazing looking and sounding old Champcar . Even more sad and actually tragic is the fact that fans of Indycar are stuck with this until 2019.

[FormerFF]

Sad really, that today new Indycar is less of a challenge and power when compared to the old spec but still amazing looking and sounding old Champcar . Even more sad and actually tragic is the fact that fans of Indycar are stuck with this until 2019.

I'm enjoying this formula quite a lot. Overall, the racing has been quite good.