21 year-old Graham Rahal hosted the “Thrifty Fifty” race car simulation at NetHeads in Carmel Tuesday. It was a fun event for media, fans, and video game enthusiasts to try a racing simulation.
Graham welcomed competition in what he says is “the best racing simulation” he’s ever done. To my count, Rahal entered into 5 races and won each one of them. All were blowouts with the exception of one, where he relied on the other driver to crash before to smiled past the checked flag.
I had a chance to take part in the event, along with my colleagues, WISH-TV’s Chris Widlic and Ashley Adamson. Widlic had a very strong start despite none of us “practicing.” He even gave Graham a run for his money throughout the first race before Rahal finished strong for another win. Ashley had the better second run. Neither of them were sure what the right strategy was but they sure finished well. As for me, I struggled in my first run, and finished respectable in my second race. What got me was letting up around the turns. Who ever wants to slow down!
Another IndyCar driver giving back to the community and having good fun while doing it. It was evident in the face of Graham how special Indianapolis and the 500 was to him. Although he is focused on the race May 30th, he doesn’t mind a little practice…off the track.