Rahal announces Foundation
GRAHAM RAHAL: "To kind of kick things off, we're going to try and put some events together. One of those will probably be a golf tournament of some sort. Hopefully we can get one here next year to try and cut down track time and get a little bit more time for golf." (On the building of building more camps): "The Hole in Wall Camp is in the process of building a camp, adding on to the 10 they already have. They're building one outside of Columbus, Ohio, which is close to home for me. Obviously, I'd really like to help in that process over the next year or so. That's one of my main goals here, try to continue to keep working hard here and raise as much money as we can." (On why he felt he needed to start the foundation): "Being that Paul was such a huge part of my career, I kind of felt that, when he passed away at the end of last year, the Hole in the Wall Camps wasn't represented properly in open-car racing, or racing as a whole. This is my personal way of turning that around." (On how he and his family have become close to Newman and the camps): "Initially, I think me coming to Newman/Haas really started with Paul. Obviously, I drove for Mike in Atlanta. One moment I remember in particular was when I won in Montreal. Before the car even stopped in victory lane, he was leaning over the car. That was only five races into that championship. That was when the wheels started turning for him at that point. That's how everything really kicked off. Not only a part of my life, my Dad drove for him in 1980. He was very close to Mom. My mom is heavily involved with the Hole in the Wall Camps, in particular 'Flying Horse Farms.'" It's right outside of Columbus. She's been doing a lot raising money for that camp already."