INDYCAR: Rayhall aims for open-wheel opportunity

Georgia native Sean Rayhall has found a happy home in the world of sportscar racing on both sides of the Atlantic, and wouldn't mind sharpening his open-wheel skills between IMSA and ELMS engagements.

After a year away, the 2015 Indy Lights race winner made a surprise return with at the season finale earlier at Monterey and took fourth for Team Pelfrey. Moreover, with a number of young drivers on the fast track to IndyCar, Rayhall says he hasn't given up on getting a shot and hopes he hasn't been forgotten.

"Right now, IndyCar for any American young driver, and even in Europe, is almost like the Holy Grail," the 21-year-old told RACER. "Formula 1 is unachievable without funding yourself all the way there, and that isn't something most drivers can afford. IndyCar is a place where yeah, it can still cost money to get there, but it isn't impossible.

"I feel like it's a place where I belong, even if it's just the road courses, or the big one, the [Indy] 500. I don't think concentrating on sportscars has hurt me, but team owners haven't seen me as much as they did in the past because of it. I continue to talk with them to see what the options are, and if I could put something together in IndyCar that fits with what I'm doing in sportscars, I'd be the happiest guy in the world."

Rayhall has been busy driving in IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, in IMSA's Continental Tire Series, and in the European Le Mans Series thus year, and fit the Lights drive between a hectic month of engagements. Although his plans for 2017 in sportscars are still being solidified, he continues to harbor a dream of sprinkling IndyCar events between his full-time gigs.

"My number one goal is to find a home – a real home – in sportscars because you can have a long career there," he said. "And I've been very fortunate for all the opportunities that I've been given and that I'm working on. But it doesn't change the fact than I'm a 21-year-old American, the Indy 500 is obviously the greatest spectacle of racing, and it's something I want to be a part of.

"If I can do sportscars as my primary job, and do the Indy 500, or maybe a handful of other races, I know I can fulfill my potential in every series."

Rayhall is one of many open-wheelers who turned to sportscars at a young age after careers in IndyCar were slow to evolve or failed to materialize. Some of those aces – from John Edwards to Jon Fogarty – chose to ignore open-wheel opportunities after they made the transition, but Rayhall says he'll keep searching until all options have been exhausted.

"I want to be in IMSA next year, and the ELMS, and World Challenge, so on that part, I need to be clear," he added. "I see sportscars as my foundation, but I'll be honest, after I tested with Chip Ganassi Racing [in 2015, pictured, image by the author] and got to work with Scott Dixon and [engineer] Brad Goldberg at Sonoma, you realize what's possible once you're inside an organization like that. You leave wanting to do more, so that maybe isn't a surprise, but I really felt like IndyCar was a good fit for me.

"Brad Goldberg really extracted the best out of me at the test and we worked well together, so it's only natural to want more. I'm a kid who works really hard and is known for trying to make things come together however I can. All I can say is I'll keep talking to teams and keep trying to make it happen."