Ep.267 – Graham Rahal

·1 hr 34 min·5 clips

Graham Rahal reveals how he forged a check at age 10 to buy sunglasses at an IndyCar race.

The episode begins with hosts Ryan Eversley and Sean Heckman introducing Graham Rahal as an IndyCar veteran who drives for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and is married to drag racer Courtney Force. They explain they recorded this episode while wrapping up their season after spending time in Indianapolis. Rahal immediately addresses a running joke from the show's 2020 live stream where they asked people in Jamaica if they knew him or his father, with everyone recognizing Bobby Rahal but not Graham. The conversation shifts to Rahal's business ventures through Graham Rahal Performance (GRP), which he describes as encompassing exotic car sales, Porsche service, Ducati and Piaggio dealerships, paint protection, and a private members club called Wheelhouse. Rahal explains his business philosophy of creating an ecosystem where different ventures support each other, like Wheelhouse members receiving detailing and annual services that keep his shops busy during slow months. He reveals he's always been a salesman at heart and enjoys the challenge of business more than the ancillary aspects of racing. Rahal shares personal stories about his childhood, including forging a check at age 10 to buy sunglasses at an IndyCar race and hiding in the woods to avoid facing his father afterward. He discusses meeting his wife Courtney Force through Twitter DMs when she messaged him asking for bar recommendations, and their first date at John Force's house where John talked for six hours before they could leave. Rahal talks about not wanting his daughters to become race car drivers due to the pressure of coming from two legendary racing families. He reflects on the death of his former teammate Justin Wilson and how it affected his perspective on racing risks. The episode also touches on Rahal's relationship with his father Bobby, his thoughts on social media, his OCD tendencies, and his experience failing to qualify for the Indy 500 last year before replacing an injured teammate.

As heard by us

An IndyCar dinner chat that moves from Twitter to Fontana to the animated Grinch.

Dinner with Racers settles in with Graham Rahal, one of IndyCar's veterans since 2008, while Sean Heckman and Ryan Eversley keep the road-trip banter moving as they close out a season of recordings.

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Why you'd press play

If you want IndyCar banter that wanders from Graham Rahal to Bluey and the Grinch, start here.

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