Rahal pans the IRL, eyes Champ Car

UPDATE #2 A reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com, I'm so glad you had that article on the Rumors page about what Graham Rahal said during the Star Mazda Series race at Sebring. I watched the replay today, it's not a rumor it's 'fact.' His father Bobby Rahal must be seething about what Graham said — not to mention David Letterman, Buddy Rice and others. I especially liked Graham's comment about the Indy 500 not being that important anymore. Graham sounds like a very intelligent young man with a mind of his own, i.e. not an IRL puppet just because his father sold his soul to the devil. Janice Marks, Austin, Texas Dear Janice, Like most other CART teams who left Champ Car for the IRL, they did so not because they liked the IRL better, but because they were so dependent of the engine manufacturer money for survival, they followed their money to the IRL rather than try to scrape by staying in Champ Car. If the rumors are true that Toyota and Honda will leave to go to NASCAR (we still fail to believe the rumors until we hear something more official) it will be interesting to watch these teams follow the money right to NASCAR. When in doubt, follow the money. Mark C. 04/25/05 Reminder – The Star Mazda Series race at Sebring will be replayed on SPEED Channel at 2:00 p.m. ET on Monday, April 25, and 4:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, April 26. 04/24/05 The tide is beginning to turn in Champ Car's favor it seems. Even the youngsters don't want to be bouncing off walls in front of empty grandstands of the IRL. If you caught the Star Mazda race at Sebring you would have seen the interview with Graham Rahal to find out where he wants to eventually race. He said he would love to race in F1, but he doesn't want to pay to race there. They asked him what his next step is after Star Mazda. He said "Champ Car, Grand Am or the American Le Mans Series." They asked if he plans to race in the IRL or at Indy. Graham said, "I would much rather race the 12 Hours of Sebring or Le Mans, because Indy is no longer the pinnacle of motorsports." Psst, someone tell Tony George that if he continues to maintain the split in Indy Car racing the Indy 500 will continue to plummet lower in status until it really is just another race.