Rahal F1 bound but near certain to spend 2 years in Champ Car

[luke]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...ck=1&cset=true

Second-generation driver Graham Rahal may still have eyes on Formula One, but he almost certainly will spend the next two seasons in the Champ Car World Series.

The 17-year-old senior-to-be at New Albany High in Ohio has an opportunity to test next month with Newman-Haas Racing, whose lead driver, Sebastian Bourdais, is in position to win his third consecutive championship. If the test goes as expected, Rahal, who has been driving this season in the Mazda Atlantic development series, could find himself with one of the premier teams in American open-wheel racing.

PKV Racing, another Champ Car team, also is interested in young Rahal, the son of former Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, now a team owner in the Indy Racing League, Champ Car's rival series.

"If we didn't do anything with him, I'm pretty sure they would," Chicago businessman Carl Haas said of Graham Rahal. "I think the chances of him being in Champ Car next year are pretty high … "