IndyCar: Overnight engine change for championship contender Rahal

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's Graham Rahal will go into today's Verizon IndyCar Series season finale with a new engine in the back of his No. 15 Steak 'n Shake Honda. Rahal was one of a few Honda-powered drivers whose teams performed late engines changes Saturday evening in preparation for the GoPro Grand Prix at Sonoma Raceway.

"We had one engine issue at Pocono, [A.J. Foyt Racing's] Jack Hawksworth had a problem in qualifying, and we saw some things that caught our attention in Graham's engine that made us want to change the motor," said Honda Performance Development race team leader Allen Miller.

With Rahal sitting second in the championship standings, Miller said Honda wanted to make sure the No. 15 car had the freshest engine for today's race, but clarified the motivation behind the engine swap and the 20-point deduction they'll receive in the Manufacturers' Championship for the unapproved change.

"It was a fresh engine going into the weekend, so there was no reason to change it unless we felt it was necessary," Miller added.

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