With 34 entries in the Indianapolis 500, someone will miss the race again this year. Drivers don’t like to talk about it, but it is definitely something they think about. Nobody wants to be in that position, but the reality is someone is going to be extremely disappointed on May 18. It’s a scenario that Graham Rahal knows all too well.

Tradition reigns supreme at Indianapolis, and the Field of 33 will turn one team and driver away from their pursuit of immortality. The threat of missing out on the Greatest Spectacle in Racing haunts every driver, but even more so this year. When multiple people are being bumped from the field, it certainly sucks. When you’re the ONLY one being bumped, the feeling has to be incredibly sickening.

Trying to predict the handful of drivers that could potentially find themselves in this situation is not an exact science. Often times we tend to look at Rookie drivers and smaller teams that might not have the best resources to extract the most speed from their car. The truth is, it could be a simple as someone crashing in Final Practice or during their first qualifying run. Either way, Rahal knows that his name will automatically surface in those conversations.

Rahal failed to qualify for the race in 2023, but ultimately started the race as an injury replacement for Stefan Wilson. Last year, he found himself on the verge of being bumped again, but watched as Nolan Siegel crashed on his final qualifying attempt. There was a similar instance in 2018 when all three Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing cars were slow but qualified 29th, 30th, and 31st, respectively.

While recency bias might have RLL on the ropes, the fact is Graham has been strong at Indianapolis. In that 2018 race, Rahal gained 20 positions to finish inside the top-ten. He has gained 29 spots (33rd to 22nd, 33rd to 15th) over the last two years.

Since rejoining RLL in 2013, Graham has a better finishing position than starting position in nine of those 12 years. His overall positions gained is +51 in those 12 starts.

Rahal began the month at IMS with an impressive performance. After all three RLL cars qualified inside the top-five, Graham took the lead on the opening lap after starting on the front row. He led 49 of the 85 laps that day, but came away with a 6th place finish. Strategy and a hiccup from the crew on pit lane ultimately ruined the day, but they showed they definitely have speed. Now, we’ll see if it translates to the oval.

Although he has yet to win the race like his father did, Graham has finished 3rd twice and has another top-five result on his resume. He started 29th the first time he finished 3rd in 2011. Qualifying has always been the issue for Graham and this team, but once the green flag waves, he finds his way to the front.

As a team, RLL looked good at the Open Test last month. Takuma Sato did have a hard crash on the second day, but the two-time Indy 500 winner was second on the overall speed chart at 232.565 mph. Graham had a brush with the wall at the end of the first day, but the team clearly came to Indianapolis with speed.