Michael Knight

Special for azcentral sports

Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix, 6:30 p.m.

Graham Rahal gets it.

Not just because he won what, many would agree, were the two most thrilling IndyCar races in recent years. Not just because he's the son of 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner and three-time CART series champion Bobby Rahal. Not just because he's married to NHRA Funny Car star Courtney Force, the daughter of 16-time titlist John Force.

Rahal gets it because he takes the time to get it. And that includes understanding how important it is that Saturday night's IndyCar event at Phoenix International Raceway be a competitive and business success.

The open-wheel series returned to the Avondale oval last year, for the first time since 2005, and drew a crowd just under 20,000 fans and good corporate support. But it wasn't profitable.

A larger turnout for the 250-lap Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix would help ensure a 2018 date, when a new car -- Rahal says it will be more visually appealing and racier -- will debut. And perhaps a return in 2019, when PIR's $178 million modernization will be completed.

"I agree, we probably have a small window to make this work," said Rahal, who drives the United Rentals Honda owned by his father, retired late-night TV host David Letterman and businessman Mike Lanigan. "The drivers want this race, in particular, to succeed."

So Rahal is out there, even at Chase Field before a recent Diamondbacks game, talking up IndyCar. He's emerged as one of the newer generation of drivers that understands more is required from them than racing. That is, if the series is to meaningfully increase its TV and at-track audiences and national media footprint, which would help team owners attract much-needed and significantly higher sponsorship fees.

"Let's just be honest," says Rahal, 28. "Not a lot of guys are getting rich racing IndyCars. We're doing it because IndyCar has been our passion."

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Rahal has become engaged in just about every aspect of his sport/industry. He's in meetings where competition rules are debated. He's working with doctors and experts who improve safety. He's on the road -- through mid-March, Rahal had already flown 85,000 miles this year just on American Airlines -- at pre-season tests, doing publicity tours, making appearances for sponsors and race promoters and watching his wife drag race. (They did take time for an Easter vacation in Maui; she's competing in NHRA's 4-Wide Nationals, near Charlotte, N.C., this weekend.)

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He's interactive with fans, even making a surprise visit with some in the infield during a recent test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He's active on social media, answering questions and offering insights, and putting a video camera on his helmet visor to share his eye-popping view. He's promoting charitable causes, like sponsor United Rental's "Turns for Troops" program, donating $50 to SoldierStrong for every lap Rahal completes.

Oh, yeah, Rahal also has four career victories. Two summers ago, he won a 500-mile breath-taker at California's Auto Club Speedway, which had a record 80 lead changes. Last year he passed leader James Hinchcliffe on the last lap at Texas Motor Speedway and won by .0080 second.

This is some of what Rahal wants Valley sports fans to know about the PIR race, and why he thinks it will have better entertainment value than last year, when Scott Dixon led the final 155 laps:

"The cars are quicker (than last year.) The margin for error is even smaller, meaning there's going to be more action. There's going to be more 'whoops,' more intensity. If you're running at 180-plus mph, within you, in your heart, and in your brain, it's hard to convince yourself to even try to get that close."

"Phoenix is a physical race. We're pulling 5.4 Gs through Turn 1. That's like a fighter jet -- with no G suit. Other than the Indy 500, this is the most intense race on the whole schedule."

"The drivers are saying, 'Look, the No. 1 priority is to put on a good show for the fans.' We have to make this race better. We have to do it now." (Which, he thinks, could be done if officials let teams close mandatory holes in the underwing, thought to help keep cars from flipping.)

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Rahal was fifth at PIR last April but the disadvantage of being a single-car operation -- no teammate with whom to share data or try different chassis setups -- has left him struggling, with only a 10th place result in three races this season.

If he were a PIR spectator, Rahal said, he'd focus on the passes made at the start and on restarts. Ryan Hunter-Reay's aggressiveness doing this made him a standout of last year's race despite finishing 10th.

"It's a huge point in the race and the drivers know it," Rahal said. "You're going to take a lot more risk, whether you like it or not, if you're comfortable or not. You have to."

Yes, Graham Rahal gets it.

IndyCar at PIR

What: Year 2 of the return of open-wheel racing to the Valley.

Where: Phoenix International Raceway.

Tickets, information: phoenixraceway.com

Schedule

Friday (gates open at noon):

USAC Silver Crown series practice, 12:30 p.m. and 1:45 p.m.

USAC Silver Crown series qualifying, 2:40 p.m.

Classic Racing Times sessions, 3:25 p.m. and 6:15 p.m.

Verizon IndyCar practice, 4 p.m.

Verizon IndyCar qualifying, 8 p.m.

Saturday (gates open at noon):

Classic Racing Times session, 2:20 p.m.

Phoenix Copper Cup USAC race, 3 p.m.

Classic Racing Times parade laps, 4:20 p.m.

Verizon IndyCar race: Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix, 6:30 p.m.