INDIANAPOLIS – The initial approval from Honda Performance Development for Graham Rahal to race a Chevy in the 107th Indy 500 took less than a minute. “I got asked and said it was OK,” HPD president and technical director David Salters told NBC Sports in a Thursday interview at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “So it was pretty easy.” After being bumped from the Indy 500 by teammate Jack Harvey in a tense Last Chance Qualifying session Sunday, Rahal surprisingly re-entered the field two days later when he replaced Stefan Wilson (who was ruled out with a fractured vertebrae after a practice crash Monday with Katherine Legge, Rahal’s teammate).
When first contacted by Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports about driving the No. 24 Chevrolet, Rahal was skeptical as a Honda driver for all 249 starts during his 15 seasons in the NTT IndyCar Series.
In a Tuesday news conference, he characterized crossing manufacturer lines as “massive” hurdles and initially told co-owner Dennis Reinbold, “I don’t want to waste your time.” But Rahal was stunned by how quickly his father, Bobby, worked out a deal with Reinbold and the blessing of Honda and Chevy.
Salters said Honda considered the big picture when approving the unusual arrangement. “This is still a sport, and you have athletes competing,” Salters said. “If we can help an athlete compete at the highest level and Graham has been part of the family.