Different Paths Lead To Indy 500 Starting Spot For G. Rahal, Coyne

Dale Coyne (left) and Graham Rahal
By Dick Mittman
indy500.com
Sunday, May 18, 2008

Graham Rahal will start on the inside of Row 5 in the 92nd Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 25. Bruno Junqueira will take the green from the outside of the same row.

The story there is of youthful success and unyielding persistence.

The first pertains to Rahal, the son of 1986 Indy winner Bobby Rahal, who becomes the latest teen-ager to qualify for the race. The other refers to Dale Coyne, who owns Junqueira's car and is a never-say-quit man who had one shot at making the field himself as a driver and finally has an experienced and talented chauffeur capable of challenging for a top-10 finish, if not victory.

When qualifying Saturday, May 17 filled the 33-car field, both young Rahal and Coyne could breath easily on Sunday's Bump Day because Rahal and Junqueira's respective speeds of 222.531 mph and 222.330 were not in danger. Coyne's second driver, Mario Moraes, appeared safe, too, as his 219.716 mph run had him in the 28th spot.

After qualifying, Rahal, the handsome, dark-haired Ohioan, was surrounded by reporters who peppered him with questions just as they had the week before when he was edged out of the 11th qualifying position. On the other hand, Coyne was approached by a lone reporter who remembered his trying years as a driver.

Rahal, who said he wants to be a part of the renaissance of open-wheel racing, already has won one IndyCar Series race this season, in April at St. Petersburg.

Coyne never won a major race in his driving career. His best finish was a 12th at Miami in 1989, the year Rahal was born.

In 1988, Coyne came to Indy with his own car, hoping he could do the impossible. He was driving the last stock-block engine car to race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Today, nearing his 55th birthday, Coyne admits if he had to do over, he'd do it differently.

"I wish I had run Cosworth engines," he said. "Yes, I have a huge regret."

The first year CART switched to Cosworths, Coyne bought one from A.J. Watson and then out-qualified Watson's driver, Johnny Parsons, at Milwaukee.

"He was mad," Coyne said. "He said, 'I sold you that motor for 25 grand.' I said, 'No, you sold it to me for 10.' 'How did you beat me with that?'"

Coyne said the stock block was a definite handicap, but it was cheaper. And Coyne, who owned a landscaping business in his hometown of Plainfield, Ill., skimped on every penny to stay in the racing business.

In his one shot at Indy, he never even got to qualifying day.

"We could never get the motor to run long enough," he said. "It was blowing up every three or four laps."

Things are so different for Rahal in his first shot at Indy. His Dallara/Honda/Firestone machine is prepared by Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, one of the premier open-wheel teams of the past 25 years. He drove for them in Champ Car last year even though his father and partner Dave Letterman own a top-notch IndyCar Series team.

"It wasn't my decision, necessarily," Bobby Rahal said. "He got hired by Newman/Haas/Lanigan, and they're a great team. Why not? I think it's a great opportunity for him."

Graham Rahal said: "I really wanted to run here last year. Last year, I was here with Carl (Haas) and Mike (Lanigan) up in Mike's suite. I was trying to convince them to run a car with my dad this year. It would be a joint venture. We would use my guys and dad's cars."

Then rumors of the merger between IndyCar and Champ Car began to float about, and Graham Rahal said he was a happy person.

Rahal was born Jan. 4, 1989. That's the year Coyne hung up his helmet and turned his attention to being solely an owner. He learned about the business of racing and began putting aspiring rookies in the car as Rahal grew from babyhood to teen-ager. Paul Tracy, for instance, got his first CART start in a Coyne car. The late Chicago Bears running great Walter Payton became a partner.

At Indy, Coyne brought Guido Dacco, Dean Hall, Eric Bachelart (now an IndyCar Series team owner), Randy Lewis, Robbie Buhl (another IndyCar Series team owner), Johnny Unser and Alessandro Zampedri. They never won, but Coyne was making upward progress.

"You've just got to keep going at it," he said. "And you have to have a passion for it, and work hard at it. We did.

"Lots of things we have done have been good, so I got a little smarter. It takes a lot of money to run this, and I got better people (his engineer is veteran Mitch Davis). It's all worked out well."

Last year, he took on Brazilian Junqueira, which might have been a gamble. Junqueira, who won the pole at Indy in 2002 and finished fifth twice in four races, got tangled with A.J. Foyt IV on the 77th lap of the 2005 race, hit the wall and suffered a broken back. It took some long healing to get back into a car last year.

"It's been a bit of a hurdle for him," Coyne said. "But we've run a couple of ovals this year. That was good. He's run Milwaukee after that accident. But today all was good, and he's excited for the race."

Rahal and Coyne are racing at Indy this month because a merger between the IndyCar Series and Champ Car took place in late February, about five weeks before the season started. Rahal's car is sponsored by Hole In The Wall Camps, while Coyne's sponsors are Z-Line, a furniture company, and Sonny's Bar-B-Q, a chain of 150 restaurants in Florida and Georgia.

Rahal crashed at Homestead-Miami and did not race. He rebounded by winning at St. Pete.

"We knew it was going to be tough coming over to the IndyCar equipment versus what we had used in the past," Rahal said. "I didn't think we could expect to be in the top 10 in points. Suddenly after St. Pete, we were fourth in points. We were looking pretty good, and then Kansas was good for us again. There is a bit of momentum on our side here. We are going to keep learning. On any ovals, we are closer than we expected."

***

Indy 500 tickets on sale: Tickets are on sale for the 2008 Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 25, the 92nd running of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."

Fans can order tickets online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com, by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, or at the ticket office at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Parking and camping information also can be obtained through the ticket office.

Hours for phone orders and the ticket office are 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (ET) Monday-Sunday during May, with special hours of 6 a.m.-1 p.m. on Race Day, Sunday, May 25. Online orders can be made at any time. Race Day ticket prices start at just $20.


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