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IndyCar driver Graham Rahal's partnership with father-in-law John Force's NHRA team didn't get off to the best start at the Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas. Rahal's company, Graham Rahal Performance, was the primary sponsor for two John Force Racing drivers - Funny Car driver Jack Beckman and Top Fuel dragster Brittany Force.
GRP had announced its partnership with JFR three days before the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals on March 30, where Beckman's GRP-sponsored Chevrolet Camaro SS won the Funny Car race. However, their fortunes worsened at the Four-Wide Nationals this past weekend.
Beckman suffered his first opening-round loss with a time of 5.332 seconds at 136.19 mph. Two-time Top Fuel champion Brittany Force's performance was relatively better, but she too failed to advance past the first round.
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"Rough weekend for both Graham Rahal Performance cars," Jack Beckman said via John Force Racing. "The silver lining is we got to go up and cheer our teammate Austin Prock on in the final round and we found our problem. We’re on it and it’ll be fixed by the time we roll into Charlotte. I expect us to be right back into championship form then."
JFR's reigning Funny Car champ, Austin Prock, won the category by beating Paul Lee, Dave Richards, and Matt Hagan.
However, for the two John Force Racing drivers whose cars had Graham Rahal Performance as the primary sponsor, it was a weekend to forget. Moreover, Rahal had a tough time at IndyCar's Long Beach Grand Prix on Sunday, finishing towards the bottom of the 27-driver grid.
Fueling issue derails Graham Rahal's outing at IndyCar's Long Beach Grand Prix
Graham Rahal's performance at the Long Beach Grand Prix was a false indicator of his true pace. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver started 16th, but a false fuel reading during his second pit stop left him four gallons short of the required fuel.
Consequently, he had to conserve fuel by limiting his pace for the remainder of the race. This led him to lose six positions overall and finish in 22nd place. In a statement on RLL's website, Rahal explained the issue, saying:
"I thought the first two stops were great, but we had a little fueling issue and came out four gallons too short, which meant that I was on a major fuel save the rest of my day. The fuel number we were trying to get was a savings of 16 percent on every single lap, which is a huge number, and unfortunately, it put us on the back foot. We’re going to keep our heads down and keep working on every area. We’re disappointed, but we will be stronger in Barber and also look forward to going to the Indy Grand Prix, where we’ve been very strong."
IndyCar's next stop is the Grand Prix of Alabama from May 2 to 4, where Rahal has earned two podiums in the past. He'll look for his first Top 10 finish of the season at the Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama to build the momentum going into the 109th Indy 500 on May 25.
