Rahal: "It's beyond shocking" 2 years in a row he's scrambling to make Indy 500

For the second straight year IndyCar veteran Graham Rahal is in jeopardy of not qualifying for 33-car field of the Indianapolis 500. "It's beyond shocking" he said late Saturday afternoon after his last of several 4-lap runs wasn't fast enough to make the top 30. Thus for the second straight year it cast him into the group of four drivers, including 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson, veteran Katherine Legge and rookie Nolan Siegel, who will fight for the three spots on the back row mid-afternoon Sunday. Even after an engine change Saturday, Rahal's car was not fast enough, perplexing, he said, because earlier in the week his had set the pace for the four-car Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team. Instead, one-race teammate Takuma Sato will be part of the 12-driver group that runs for the pole Sunday while his other teammates Christian Lundgaard and Pietro Fittipaldi were just fast enough. Last year, by the way, Rahal did not make the race on speed, but when Stefan Wilson crashed during the Monday practice the next week Rahal was named to replace him.