Younger Rahal taking detour from his goal

Graham Rahal doesn't want to follow his father into open-wheel racing.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Graham Rahal doesn't want to follow his father into open-wheel racing in the United States. He wants to drive in Formula One in Europe.
First, he'll take what he hopes is a minor detour. At 17 he'll be the youngest driver in the Indy Pro Series at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Liberty Challenge on July 1.
The IRL developmental series event is the day before the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix, and Rahal knows the F1 teams will be watching. He hopes to impress them, then catch on with a European developmental program next year.
"I'm looking forward to my future," Graham said during a news conference Tuesday at the Speedway. "Obviously, the [Indianapolis] 500 is something I want to do. I always have since I was a kid. But my ultimate would be to compete here in Formula One."
In father's footsteps
His father, Bobby Rahal, won the 1986 Indianapolis 500, and Graham appears on his way to a successful racing career. He became the youngest to win a Champ Car Atlantic series event this year in Monterey, Mexico.
Graham knows Marco Andretti, the 19-year-old Indy 500 runner-up, but he wants to go another route.
"It's nice to see [Andretti] perform well, but at the same time, it doesn't swing my opinion toward going to Formula One," Graham said. "F1 is at the top of the sport. No matter what Marco's success is, Marco's got to make his own path and I've got to make mine. Certainly, he has gotten the recognition this year because of Indy. I hope to go to Europe and make a mark, and that's what's most important to me."
Graham will compete for the Kenn Hardley Racing with teammate Bobby Wilson, who won the Indy Pro Series' most recent event at Watkins Glen, N.Y.
"This is a great opportunity for Graham," Bobby said.
"He's on a good team, and his teammate is obviously one off the best guys in the series. I think the team as a whole has got a good chance to be successful."
Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Racing in the IRL, is glad to support his son's Formula One ambitions.
"Ever since he was a little boy, that has been what he has wanted to do," he said. "I've got the reins pulled back half the time, but he's doing such a great job, who knows where he's going to end up?"
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