INDY 500: Dismal qualifying again for Rahal

Honda poster boy Graham Rahal expected to be one of the Japanese brand's strongest qualifiers for the 100th Indy 500. The result fell well short of those ambitions as he's set to start 26th.

The son of 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal has a qualifying history that has been a disappointment on most occasions since 2011. He started 30th that year, improved to 12th in 2012, and has been on a run of futility in 2013 with a 26th, a 20th in 2014, and started 17th last year.

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With the huge amount of points made available by IndyCar to the field of 33, the specter of rolling off the grid in 26th place next Sunday is especially painful. The polesitter earns 42 points while Rahal will pocket eight.

"It's pretty bad," Rahal said after climbing from his No. 15 Honda. "Our worst qualifying was [30th in 2011] and we finished third that year, so I'm not worried about race day, I'm just worried about all the points we're losing. We could not get the balance in qualifying. I don't know how many saves I had in that run alone, but it's more than I've had my whole career up to this point."

Just as Rahal tends to swing and miss in qualifying, he also has a track record for moving to the front in the race. 30 years after his father's big win at Indy, Rahal dreams of adding the family name to the Borg Warner trophy for a second time.

"I'm going to focus on race day and try to get another Rahal in Victory Lane," he added. "We're in Indy, so it's hard not to smile, but days like today, driving is not fun, let me tell you that."