“What’s wrong with being a proud American?” Graham Rahal defends his patriotism with a bold reply to IndyCar fan

One of Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver Graham Rahal's recent tweets drew the attention of IndyCar fans, as one of them asked him to keep politics out of the sport. Rahal defended his patriotism with a bold reply.

Rahal had reposted a video of US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's press briefing on X (formerly known as Twitter) with an American Flag emoji. In the video, Hegseth can be seen berating the media for questioning the supposed success of US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. He said people love to cheer against the US President Donald Trump because they don't want him to be successful.

This caught a lot of fans' eyes, as one of them pressed Graham Rahal to keep politics out of IndyCar, regardless of the side he was on.

Rahal gave a stern reply to the fan, highlighting that he was only being patriotic.

"Who said it’s politics. What’s wrong with being a proud American? When did being a proud American mean you’re one way or another? It doesn’t," wrote Graham Rahal.

Graham Rahal is 18th in the championship, with 133 points.

Graham Rahal's father, Bobby, appointed grand marshal for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio

IndyCar legend and Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal has been named the grand marshal for The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, set to take place on Sunday, July 6. The announcement was made on June 25 by officials from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in partnership with American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

Rahal, who claimed back-to-back victories at Mid-Ohio in 1985 and 1986, will return to the iconic track for ceremonial duties during the event. As grand marshal, he will participate in pre-race festivities, most notably delivering the iconic call: “Drivers, start your engines.”

This marks the second time this year that Rahal has been given the honorary role. He served as grand marshal at the Monterey SportsCar Championship IMSA event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in May. Now, Rahal brings his enduring presence and legacy to another celebrated motorsports weekend, this time much closer to home.

“It’s a great honor to be the grand marshal for The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio,” Rahal said (via IndyCar's official website). “Mid-Ohio played an important role in my personal and professional life. I went to the first-ever race there with my father in 1962 and made annual trips there after that, sometimes twice a year." "I got my first win at Mid-Ohio in my SCCA class in 1974, won both IROC races I competed in there, won the Lumberman’s race and, of course, the two INDYCAR races in 1985 and 1986," he added.

Hailing from Ohio, Bobby Rahal has built a distinguished legacy at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In his 16 appearances on the track, the three-time IndyCar champion delivered strong performances, finishing on the podium in half of those races.

Edited by Parag Jain