Graham Rahal finally has a regular ride.
One of America's best young drivers, the 21-year-old son of a racing legend is reteaming with Newman/Haas Racing for six of the final eight IndyCar Series races, starting this weekend in Toronto.
Rahal will drive the No. 02 car in five of the six races for Quick Trim, his sponsor at this year's Indianapolis 500.
''We have been talking about this for a long time and I'm happy we were able to extend the deal,'' Rahal said. ''I'm looking forward to getting back in the car and back in the series. To know what I am going to be doing for the rest of the season feels so good. The plan is to go out there and pick up where we left off.''
Rahal, son of 1986 Indy 500 champ Bobby, was considered one of the best up-and-coming IndyCar drivers while driving for Newman/Haas from 2007-09.
He became the youngest winner in series history at St. Petersburg in his IndyCar debut in 2008 and became the youngest pole sitter at the same track a year later on his way to finishing seventh in the season standings.
But sponsorship issues left Rahal without a ride this season, forcing him to bounce around as a fill-in driver.
He drove for Sarah Fisher in three of the series' first four races, with a best finish of ninth at St. Pete, then joined up with his father's Rahal Letterman Racing team at Indy, where he started seventh and finished 12th.
Rahal's last race was June 20 at Iowa, where he finished ninth for injured Dreyer & Reinbold driver Mike Conway.
''We are delighted to have Graham back with the team,'' said Carl Haas, co-founder of Newman/Haas Racing with Paul Newman. ''He has been an important part of our team over the past few years and we are proud of the history-making results we have accomplished together.''
Rahal will join Hideki Mutoh, in his first season with Newman/Haas, at Toronto.
