Graham Rahal all-in on Frye's arrival at RLL
Yesterday at 02:00 PM
Graham Rahal loves the move made by his team to hire former IndyCar president Jay Frye as its new leader.
There was a recent point when Rahal considered stepping out of the cockpit to help run the family-owned team, but with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's signing of Frye as its new team president, his focus is on driving the No. 15 Honda.
"I'm still bound to helping wherever I can, but what Jay does is bring something that is atypical," Rahal told RACER. "He’s an anomaly to your traditional team president in the sense that he has experience at every level – team ownership, the budget-setter, series president, operationally, working with Hendrick Motorsports, running the Red Bull NASCAR deal, and MB2 (in NASCAR). When he started it, there were like eight employees in a tiny little shop, and by the time they sold it, there was 200-plus employees. He's been through the wringer of all of these different levels of things. So to me, Jay's a pro in every single regard. He’s a guy that I believe strongly can run the team and take us to the next level."
Frye's multi-faceted background was a big draw for RLL. The co-sign from its lead driver also helps.
"He and I think the same way, but he and dad (Bobby Rahal) also think the same way, which is even more important," Rahal said. "And frankly, I think you can trust the man to run the team and to do what he needs to do, because he has that experience. Most other team presidents in this position, they’ve never owned a race team. Maybe they’ve been in charge of a budget, but they haven’t owned it. They haven’t felt that pressure; the sleepless nights that comes with being in that role.
"But also, Jay has a level of commercial connection that nobody else in the paddock has because he’s sold sponsorships, he’s worked for the series. He knows the manufacturers. He’s been doing the manufacturer negotiating for the series. He’s been there. He’s lived it. So for us as a team, it allows my dad to not have to be that guy all the time. He can come and put the finishing touches on the deal rather than doing the whole deal. And that’s a difference from the guys that we’ve had in the past. Frankly, I don’t think we’ve even asked people in the past to do that job, but now we’ve got a guy who can.”
With a number of successful and growing automotive and racing companies of his own, Rahal is far from a typical a driver. The 36-year-old has also been one of RLL's most consistent sources of sponsors for the team, and in Frye, RLL's senior driver sees a business ally to embrace in all areas that affect the program.
"I think that’s the difference here, and that’s what I’m so thrilled about," he said. "I’ve already been with Jay the last couple of days, talking about expansion opportunities and things that come to my brain about things that I’ve never talked to anybody else about. Why? Because I’ve never really been confident that if I did that, I had a guy that would understand the X’s and O’s of what I’m trying to say."
RLL has weathered some managerial and financial storms over the last few seasons. A sudden split with former RLL president Piers Phillips was the first shakeup to process after the 2022 championship was run, and Rahal credits Phillips' successor, now-former RLL COO Steve Eriksen who was released upon Frye's hiring, for his contributions from 2023-'25.
"Steve was phenomenal for us,” Rahal said. “Steve filled a critical role in a time that we needed that person. And I think that Jay now takes us to the next stratosphere. I’m excited about that, for sure."
Rahal is determined to get more out of himself in the years he has left as a season-long IndyCar driver. There will come a point when he trades his helmet in for an executive role within RLL, but that time isn't now.
"It’s interesting. I’ve lost a bunch of weight this year and I feel really good in the car. I feel healthier," he said. "My body still hurts and aches and all that stuff, but I feel reinvigorated by everything going on with the team. I feel excited by Jay. I feel excited by (new race engineer) Yves Touron. I’ve really enjoyed working with Yves and I've got a young group of dudes wrenching on the car. They’re all just badass guys. We are just a sniff away from two top 10s to start the year."
Rahal's No. 15 car took 12th in St. Petersburg and 11th at the last race in Thermal.
"If you look at Thermal, had we pitted when we should have on the first stop, we probably finish fifth or six because we were ahead of (sixth-place Will) Power when he pitted early," he continued. "We just stayed out too long, and it costs us dearly. But we’ve had a pretty good start to the year. Now, let’s see what comes of this. I’m excited about what I’ve seen for the Indy 500 stuff, the preparation. There’s some good stuff there.
"I feel like I’m not here for long. I think I have three more years – well, two more after this one on my contract. The reality is, that’ll probably be it for me, just from the standpoint that I’ve got two young girls and I feel strongly like I want to go win a ton of races and do this and do that, but at the same time, no race win is going to mean more to me, on a personal level, than seeing my daughters become women, too. That’s really important to not lose sight of.
"If there’s one thing I’ve heard from all the professionals, if you’re in racing or business or this or that, is their biggest regret is not seeing their kids grow. And so as my girls develop into women, I want to be present in their life. Unfortunately, racing doesn’t really accept that in many ways."
New RLL teammate Louis Foster, the reigning Indy NXT champion, has the potential to become a special IndyCar driver in the years ahead. The 21-year-old rookie and 25-year-old former Andretti Global driver Devlin DeFrancesco, who joined RLL during the offseason, have Rahal as a coach and mentor in their corners. RLL reserve driver Juri Vips, who contested a handful of races for the team in 2023 and 2024 and remains under contract, is also on the list.
For Rahal, who will become one of the few drivers to contest 20 IndyCar seasons when 2026 arrives, the chance to download his knowledge to newcomers in the same way his father did with Mike Groff, Bryan Herta, and others has been a rewarding development.
"There’s some energizing things in my life right now that are racing-centric where I feel like I can have a profound effect on guys like Juri’s career and Louis' and even Devlin," he said.
"Everybody’s hard on Devlin, but he’s been the fastest pretty much everywhere we’ve gone. Dev has got plenty of speed. We're helping him with his racecraft, but the kid’s fast. Okay, we’ve got some things to work through, but I feel like I can have a profound effect on our guys, like dad’s career. And it energizes me a little bit as I go forward in life."
As his expiration date on his driving career draws closer, Rahal has started to think of potential replacements to take his place. He's a big believer in Vips.
"I still think Juri needs his chance," he said. "Looking at Red Bull Formula 1 stuff right now, with this Liam Lawson thing and everything else, and Juri Vips kicked all these guys’ asses. I think the kid is exceptionally talented, and he’s humble, and he’s damn good. So I would love to see Yuri get a shot."
