Graham Rahal has said a malfunctioning weight jacker cost him the 33rd and final qualifying spot for this year’s Indy 500.
The 34-year-old was dramatically knocked out of the last grid position for next week’s race by his own Rahal Letterman Lanigan team-mate, Jack Harvey, in a last gasp run after the clock had wound out that saw Harvey bump out Rahal by a mere 0.044s and 0.007mph.
“Ultimately, I don’t why but that run was just really slow,” Rahal said.
“We had a part failure during the run but you’ve got to finish it and unfortunately, rules are written that you can’t fix that part, which was a key component, a weight jacker, which is a key component of our cars.”
A weight jacker is a hydraulic ram, mounted on an IndyCar’s right-rear shock absorber, that allows the driver to adjust the car’s suspension, and subsequent ride height, while on the move.
In doing so, a driver can add more/less weight to the front left tyre to improve turn-in – or understeer, which is where the nose of the vehicle is difficult to point around the corner despite steering inputs.
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The qualifying format for the Indy 500 sees drivers timed over a four-lap session, with tyre optimisation via tools such as the weight jacker critical.
“You can’t fix that part without withdrawing your time so we had to sit there and wait,” Rahal explained. “There was nothing we could do. When you miss it by .01 I can guarantee you there’s at least that and being able to utilise the driver tools in the car.”
Rahal, son of team stakeholder and 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby, was set to make his 16th consecutive start in the race – well short of A.J. Foyt’s record of 35 – but was gracious in not making the cut.
“I think everybody has tried exceptionally hard the last couple of days. We came up short. This place, you have to earn it. It’s not handed out. It’s not given. It’s not a guarantee. We came up short.”
Read the full 2023 Indy 500 qualifying report and results here.
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