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.”