So you know, of course for us, it's important to get a good finish, and there are a lot of other people that are going to be out there and they are going for glory and that's about all.
For us, we need to go get a good finish, and I think it's certainly possible.
Q:
You alluded to it; it's a unique race because you have some of the people like you who are going for points for the IRL and others who are not. So how do you sort of approach the race knowing that a lot of the drivers have sort of different goals in mind?
GR:
Well, I mean, it's a good question, because as we know, I think they are saying there's going to be 20 cars or somewhere around there. I haven't seen exactly but you know, there are a lot of people that are coming here that are just going for points.
Now I don't know how many of that field is going to be IndyCar drivers, that are going for points, but you're going to have a lot of people that are there and they are going for glory. As we all know, they can end up in crashes and incidents quite often, but for us, we don't think there's any reason to take a risk.
You know, like I said, we are going for the points and we need to make sure we finish, because obviously especially for myself, not running at Homestead, already we are fighting a little bit of a challenge.
Now, of course, winning in St. Pete, we are already fourth in points, so it's quite a jump. But again, this week, we can't afford to have another DNF, and we need to keep going forward and keep getting as many points as we can. Because you know what, there is a chance we could win this championship, and as strange as it seemed initially, you know, I know it's early, but there are a lot of road course racing and a lot of ovals. And of course, Indy is a long race. There's a lot of opportunities for us to get some good points this season.
Q:
I was talking to your dad on Sunday before he left to Japan and he was talking about how cool and calm and collected you are with everything that happened at that race in St. Petersburg. He said, "For His Age," he says, "I can't believe he's my son. He's like from a different planet; he's so cool, calm and collected." What do you think about that statement from your dad?
GR:
Obviously, I think it's pretty cool to have someone like that say that about me. It's one of those things that in this sport, it is so easy to get, you know, worked up and you see so many drivers that have short tempers that get out.
![Graham Rahal - Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing [pic credit: IRL/McQueeney]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/426257.jpg)
