Speaking during the announcement at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday that he will drive the #24 Cusick Motorsports entry, which is run by the D&R squad, Rahal paid tribute to team owner Dennis Reinbold, his father Bobby (who runs Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) and engine suppliers Honda and Chevrolet.
Rahal has raced with Honda power for years but will now switch over to the Chevy-powered D&R after agreements were reached with both engine suppliers and his sponsors. He had failed to qualify for the 500 after his own RLL team-mate Jack Harvey bumped him in the dying moments of last-chance qualifying on Sunday.
“When Dennis called me, I said ‘I don’t wanna waste your time, it’s probably best if you just speak to dad’,” said Rahal Jr. “While I was very appreciative, I knew the hurdles were going to be massive. This wasn’t as easy as me saying ‘yes’.
“We were sat together at 10:30 last night and said to ourselves ‘I can’t believ …