Rahal Named USAC.25 Grand Marshal at COTA
Speedway, IN (March 18, 2019) – Six-time NTT IndyCar Series winner, Graham Rahal has been named the Honorary Grand Marshal for the USAC.25 Series event at Circuit of the Americas, March 21-24, 2019.
In addition to his wins, Rahal has earned three poles and 48 top-five finishes in the IndyCar Series. He became the youngest winner in Indy car history with his first win in 2008 at the age of 19 in St. Petersburg, Fla. In addition to his success in IndyCar Series, Rahal has won the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona (’11) and was the youngest national champion in SCCA.
It came as no surprise when Rahal elected to follow in the footsteps of his legendary dad Bobby, the 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner and three-time CART champion. He began his racing career in 2000 driving go-karts at the age of 11. Rahal progressed through the ranks of Formula BMW, Star Mazda and Indy Lights with great success. In 2007, when he was 18, he became the second youngest driver to start an Indy car race at the Las Vegas street circuit.
“I’m looking forward to spending some time with the USAC.25 Series drivers,” said the 30-year old native of New Albany, Ohio. “Racing at COTA will be such an awesome and incredible experience for these kids. I’m excited to be able to watch some of these racers in action as I’m sure most have dreams of racing professionally. It wasn’t that long ago that I had those same goals so it’s great to be able to give back.”
Rahal is a perfect addition to the long and impressive list of USAC.25 Honorary Grand Marshals. Within the past year, iconic and legendary drivers like Jeff Gordon (Daytona), Mario Andretti (Phoenix), Josef Newgarden (Texas), Arie Luyendyk (Indianapolis), James Hinchcliffe (Pocono) and Chase Elliott (Daytona 2019) have all spent time with the young drivers.
With at least 45 USAC.25 clubs located all across the country, thousands of kids ages five and up, along with their families, participate in USAC-sanctioned quarter midget series events. Some notable graduates of quarter midget racing include Gordon, Joey Logano, Ed Carpenter, Sarah Fisher, Ryan Newman, and Alex Bowman.
Since 1956, United States Auto Club (USAC) has proven itself as being the most diversified motorsports sanctioning body in the world. It is the official sanctioning body of many of today’s largest racing series including its own suite of circle track series in Sprint, Midget and .25 Midget racing (quarter midgets), Pirelli World Challenge, Red Bull Global Rallycross, American Rally Association, International Snowmobile Racing, Robby Gordon Stadium Trucks, TORC Off Road Championship, Ultra 4 Racing, Formula Race Promotions and Karting. USAC has over 17,000 competitors racing at more than 1,000 sanctioned events globally.
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Sources: USAC PR
Graham Rahal (Mike DiNovo – USA TODAY Sports Photo)