If nothing else, Graham Rahal has made his own lemonade out of a sour season with no full-time ride.
Will Power, of Australia, wins the pole for Sunday's Honda Indy 200 with a top qualifying speed of 120.965 mph.• Honda Indy 200: 3 p.m., Sunday, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio. TV: Versus.
LEXINGTON, Ohio-- If nothing else, Graham Rahal has made his own lemonade out of a sour season with no full-time ride.
The product of New Albany, Ohio, was one of the hottest Indy Racing League drivers in his first two seasons for Newman-Haas. He finished 17th in the points race as a rookie, earning his first series win, then seventh in points last season, and seemed poised for an even better campaign in 2010
But a full-time Newman-Haas deal did not come together for this season. So Rahal was left to find work race-to-race. Sunday's Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio will mark his seventh race of the season -- with four different teams, including the Indianapolis 500 for his father, Bobby, the 1986 Indy winner.
When asked if he was working on a "six-pack" of different teams by the end of the season, Rahal, 21, could only laugh.
"I think I've already had a six-pack with all the different colors I've raced with," he said.
Now he's back with Newman-Haas, at least for five of the six remaining races, and better for the experience. It has already started to show in preparation for Sunday.
Will Power landed on the pole with a top qualifying speed of 120.965 mph. No. 2 speedster Dario Franchitti is at 120.812 mph. Rahal, perhaps indicative of being with so many teams this season, qualified 25th in the 27-car grid at 119.461 mph.
But he's not complaining. From Sarah Fisher Racing to Dreyer & Reinbold to racing for his father's Rahal-Letterman race team and back with Newman-Haas, it has certainly been a tour for Rahal through the IRL garage and all the inside observations that come with it.
"It's not the way I want it to be; obviously, I'd rather be with one team, and that's it," Rahal said. "But this experience has not been a waste. One thing I have gotten better at through all of this is my race craft. I've felt like the opportunities I've had to be in the car, I've had to make the most of. I feel like I've done a pretty good job of that. I hope to only get better."
Of the six races Rahal has been in this season, he has three top-10 finishes, including a fifth-place finish in Toronto. His three top 10s have all come with different teams.
"It's been pretty good," Rahal said. "I've learned a lot from the different teams, and different programs I've been with. I'm happy with all that. It's a shame to have to bounce around so much, but it's been good to be exposed to different things, learn from different teams. I think it's ultimately going to help me in the long run."
Rahal said being in so many garages, watching how teams operate both on the track and behind the scenes, has been an education in itself.
"A lot of little things like car set-ups, how different teams take different approaches," he said, are among the things he has learned. "The mentalities of the teams are different, the commitment some have versus others are different, the people running them, how everybody on the teams react to the leadership and higher-ups on the team. It's different everywhere you go, so that has all been interesting."
New engine: Honda announced plans to adopt a new turbocharged V-6 engine for the IRL beginning in the 2012 season when the series brings on its new chassis/engine package. It will be a 2.4-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 power plant. It will be built along the still to be defined IRL engine specifications, expected to be announced no later than Sept. 30.
"Through both robust and trying times, our commitment to open-wheel racing in America has never wavered," said Erik Berkman, president of Honda Performance Development.
Still to be determined is if a new engine manufacturer will enter the series to give Honda some on-track competition. Series CEO Randy Bernard said that remains a possibility as he has had discussions with manufacturers as recently as this week, and will have more in the days ahead.
"There is an American manufacturer very, very interested," he said.
It is understood that Honda's announcement, contingent upon mutual agreement to the IRL's new engine specs by early this fall, could extend being a part of the series through 2014. That said, Berkman believes Honda will ultimately be the IRL's sole engine supplier in 2012, but is open to seeing other engine plants on the grid after that.
"We're working on the assumption there will be competition," he said. "Without a doubt, competition is what we want."