Rahal chasing answers to dismal start of 2017

Graham Rahal can't buy a break or back into a good luck spell this season. After becoming a pinball in Mikhail Aleshin's Lap 1 pile-up Saturday night at Phoenix International Raceway, Rahal was left with another forgettable finish – dead last – during a season that continues to spiral from bad to worse.

Four races in, tucked firmly between Charlie Kimball and Max Chilton toward the bottom of the championship standings, the Ohioan was left to wonder whether he needs to embrace the occult.

"Our luck right now...we need to go over to New Orleans right now and find some voodoo dolls because I'm not sure what the heck to do," the Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver said after the Phoenix crash. "This is what happens when you qualify in the back like we have. We keep putting ourselves in compromising positions. Our sponsors don't deserve this. Our mechanics don't deserve this, so there's a lot of work to be done."

Coming off consecutive seasons where the RLL driver and team finished fifth or better in the championship, Rahal entered 2017 with high expectations for more of the same. Mired down in 17th after four rounds, Rahal finds himself in that uncomfortable place where his season will be saved or lost this month at Indianapolis.

"The way I'm viewing this is we're a team that can compete in May," he told RACER of the upcoming Grand Prix of Indy and Indy 500. "We could have scrambled to make the Gateway test today, but no, we're here at the shop preparing for the Grand Prix, and most importantly, what's coming up in three weeks.

"We know what the Indy 500 means – and how badly it's bit us in the ass the last two years – and we are focusing very hard on winning the Indy 500. We can excel at the Grand Prix, and we are going to make sure this May is one we can be proud of. It is, without a doubt, making or breaking our season."

Rahal can look forward to having team veteran Oriol Servia back in the fold for the 500, which can only help to point the RLL in a better direction with two sets of chassis feedback.

"In today's IndyCar, the gaps are so small," Rahal said. "As a one-car team, it's even more important to fire on all cylinders at all times. Forget the Penskes; they're in a different world right now, but the rest of the pack, they're only one or two tenths ahead of us, and that's the difference between being up front or being last. We're not that far off, but we haven't figured out what the car is wanting.

"We're finding a lot of the setups we've carried forward aren't compatible. They worked great last year, but aren't transferring at the same tracks this year. Having Oriol with us will be great so we can try different things and get to the right answers sooner."

The same engineers and mechanics that took the No. 15 RLL Honda to fourth in the 2015 championship and fifth last year are working hard to rebound after the unexpected slow start. Voodoo spells aside, their driver hasn't lost faith in a group that is known for punching well above its weight.

"It takes time, and we don't want to be patient because it's approaching mid-season, but we've got four badass engineers and everyone else trying to figure out what's going on," Rahal said. "We're staying positive and doing all we can to turn this thing around. I brought Long's donuts in this morning for the guys so everyone could start their day off right, and that's just where we need to stick together and keep pushing."

Rahal sits 100 points behind championship leader Simon Pagenaud with the GP of Indy and Indy 500 drawing closer. Using last year's Indy 500 winner as a guide, Rahal knows what he needs to accomplish once the checkered flag waves over the month of May.

"Last year Alexander Rossi gained 89 points on me in May alone," he said. "If we can have a good solid May, we could be looking pretty good for the rest of the year, so that's our focus."