One of the stories of the 2015 season is the emergence of Graham Rahal. After years in the wilderness, he and his dad's team have come out of nowhere to sit just 9 points out of the championship lead with two races to go. Prior to this year, the only real highlight for Graham recently was his 2008 win at St. Petersburg. The next year, he finished a credible 7th in points for Newman/Haas at the age of 20 and looked like a future star.
Unfortunately for Graham, Newman/Haas did not have sponsorship for a full-time ride for 2010, and so began a whirlwind year where he drove for four different teams: Fisher, Rahal, Dreyer & Reinbold, and Newman/Haas. Given the circumstances, Graham did his best, but overall it was hard to call this anything but lost.
Despite the difficult 2010, things appeared to perk up when Graham was hired by Chip Ganassi as one of the two cars in Ganassi's new "G2" program. At the time, it was considered a separate entity to the Target cars, and as teammates with Charlie Kimball, Graham finished 9th in the points in 2011 and 10th in 2012. On paper, two OK but not great seasons. However, things never seemed to click at Ganassi, and for 2013 Graham came home to drive for his father.
To say those first two years with his dad were a disaster is a big understatement. The team was frequently out to lunch as a mix of engineers, while individually well regarded, did not mesh well. Two years ago, Graham finished 18th in points, beating just three drivers who completed every race. Going into the last season, the thought was the team would rebound, having won the National Guard sponsorship. The result? 19th in the points, behind every full-time competitor except Huertas and Saavedra. In those two years, Rahal tallied just two podiums and just two other top fives.
As team and driver struggled, public perception of Graham declined as well. Before I continue, let me make it clear that I have never met Graham, nor have I interacted with him on social media. I am solely talking about the perception of him, and I hope it's not stepping out of bounds with this piece. That said, Graham's perception with many fans had turned into an entitled brat who wasn't taking any responsibility for his failures. He was seen as a whiner, and there were plenty of interviews and tweets that fueled those opinions. As a result, going into this season, many were writing off both drivers and team, especially once it became clear that Honda was behind Chevy.
It's safe to say that those of us who wrote Graham off this year (self included) were very wrong. Starting with his brilliant drive to second at Barber, he's finished outside the top ten all of twice and picked up the 2nd and 3rd wins of his career. Yes, he needed luck in both of those races (cautions at Mid-Ohio and the benevolence of Race Control at Fontana), but the pace and the tenacity have been there, and his spot in the title hunt is very much deserved.
There are a couple of theories as to why Rahal/Letterman has turned the corner. They ended the too many cooks engineering situation and gave the keys to veteran Eddie Jones. Bobby is no longer calling Graham's races, and I'm guessing it's a bonus not to hear "Babe" in your radio all the time. These changes have clearly helped, but I have another theory, this involving Graham himself.
This year, Graham turned 26 years old. Research has indicated that 25 is about the age where the brain becomes fully developed. I'm a few years older than Graham, and I remember who I was before 25 and who I am now. It's quite a difference, and 25 is about the age where it changed for me. That's when I decided to get some help for some issues and when in generally I started to calm down and be more friendly and open. In Graham's case, by most accounts, he's been happier and more accessible to fans and sponsors alike. The on track success may help, but I suspect the attitude is more a part of the success than the other way around.
To make a long story short, I think a lot of what we've seen from Graham this year has to do with him maturing, and the past issues we have perceived with him might have just been part of growing up. He has grown up in 2015 and appears more at peace with himself (finding love assuredly helped as well). Him and his team have made changes, and as a result, IndyCar may finally have that breakout American star.
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