Curt Cavin

USA TODAY Sports

Left arm lovingly draped around his girlfriend, IndyCar Series driver Graham Rahal described a recent trip the two made to an Indianapolis jewelry store. She was nervous about it.

Only five months into their relationship, Rahal deemed it a harmless enough excursion.

"It was just about getting her earrings cleaned," he said. "She was all worried people would see us in there."

As if being Rahal's girlfriend in this motor sports city isn't spotlight enough, she is Courtney Force, race-winning drag racer, youngest daughter of John Force, the most successful drag racer of all generations. And they — she and Rahal, the oldest son of 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal — are racing's latest, hottest, most recognizable couple, on and off the track.

Force and Rahal are everything one would expect in a new item ... and yet not. While she participates in a sport that's a 1,000-foot sprint, she prefers the relaxed approach when it comes to sharing her personal life. That's why she was reluctant to confirm the relationship with Rahal last fall even as he tweeted photographs of them.

There's no denying it now. Her NHRA schedule is in his phone, he's on her speed dial. They might be racing down different types of tracks, but they ride in a two-seater relationship, having already spent Thanksgiving and Christmas together.

So, did they look at rings that day at the jewelry story?

"Maybe a glance," Rahal said, smiling.

Different career plans

Courtney and Graham are two of a kind — 25-year-old children of racing greats — but so much about them is different.

She is a California girl born to a family where dad was painfully gone all the time. John Force's answer to that was to bring everyone along, not just as youngsters but as adults, too.

John's oldest daughter, Adria, is the chief financial officer of John Force Racing, a Brownsburg-based drag racing team. She is married to Robert Hight, her father's teammate.

John's other daughters — Ashley, Brittany and Courtney — all learned to be drag racers, mostly to keep up with him.

"Maybe that's why all of my sisters went into racing," Courtney said. "I knew I wanted to race when I was 7 years old, but I also knew that my dad missed all my cheer and dance events.

"I missed him."

It's worked out well that the Force family is together on one team. It's allowed John, nearly 65, to keep going, to keep winning.

Bobby Rahal approached his career and family differently. By age 45, he was through with being in the cockpit, and when Graham was old enough to become a driver himself, dad encouraged him to fly on his own despite the family owning an IndyCar Series team.

Bobby preferred being Graham's father first, advisor second, employer only when the time seemed right.

"My dad retired (in 1998) to be with us," said Graham, who only became a full-time member of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing last year.

The difference in upbringing explains why Courtney and Graham have different career horizons. She can't imagine not driving, and has already talked about signing another five-year contract when her current deal expires after the 2015 season.

"I don't even have another life plan," she said.

Graham can't imagine competing as long as her father has.

"I love racing," he said, "but there's no way in hell I'm going to race till I'm 50, let alone 64."

They hope to meet in the middle, wherever that is.

Busy schedules

Graham's IndyCar schedule is 16 weekends, including qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Courtney's Funny Car tour spans 24 events this season. They have direct conflicts 12 times.

The closest Courtney and Graham will be on a race day on the same day is July 6 when he's at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and she's at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, near Sandusky. Separation will be 413 miles.

He'll open the season in St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 30 while she's racing in Las Vegas. When he's in Long Beach, Calif., on April 13, she'll be in Charlotte. When she's racing in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend, he'll be in Fontana, Calif.

It's a travel agent's nightmare.

"There's so much bouncing around," Graham said. "I guess that's the lifestyle for now."

Most of their energy is spent trying to capitalize on mid-week time — "gaps in the schedule," they call it.

The irony of their travel is that they are employed by companies located on the same Brownsburg (Ind.) street. Not only are their shops only a few hundred yards apart, John Force owns both buildings.

Graham admits to frequently walking over to check on Courtney's dragsters.

"It's hard for me to stop my brain from thinking about all the safety elements they could use that we have (in IndyCar), like carbon fiber tubs," he said. "We spend a lot of time bouncing ideas off each other, like what's the safest foam to be used.

"I want those cars to be as safe as possible for her."

Courtney wishes Graham's Indy car carried a canopy to protect his head, and she said she could never race as he does.

"I don't like people running near me," she said. "I like to stay in my own lane."

Scarce private time

As with most celebrities, private time can be difficult to come by, and that's especially true for them when they're with Courtney's family.

Why? Because her father is one of the chattiest men alive, a constant stream of racing talk, and Graham is dished a healthy serving of it.

Graham described a recent trip with John to a Lake Tahoe casino "three hours of life lessons," complete with "some of the funniest stories you can't (repeat)."

Courtney gasped.

"At Christmas, I stopped (Graham) and said, 'Are you doing OK? Do you still want to be here?' " she said. "I thought, 'Oh, this is going to be a (relationship) deal-breaker.'"

Many of their quiet moments come at Graham's house in Carmel, Ind., which, coincidently, is the former home of another high-profile couple, A.J. Foyt IV and his wife, Casey Irsay, a daughter of Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay. Courtney bakes; Graham begs her to make Reese's cookies.

Still, the spotlight is inescapable, evidenced by a recent night out when bar patrons recognized her.

"If we were in California we wouldn't have to worry about it," she said.

As children of famous racers, they know each other's trials, and that is part of the attraction. Graham realized that during a recent IndyCar test at the Sebring, Fla., road course.

"You'd like to tell your girlfriend you just went 190 mph, but my girlfriend would probably say, 'Why so slow?' " he said.

*****

TALE OF THE RACING TAPE

Courtney Force

Born: June 20, 1988 in Yorba Linda, Calif.

Father (Titles): John Force (16 NHRA Funny Car championships)

Team: John Force Racing

Series: NHRA

Series wins: 3 in Funny Car

Car: Ford Mustang

Twitter followers: 54.2K

Tweets: 7,686

Graham Rahal

Born: Jan. 4, 1989 in Columbus, Ohiio

Father (Titles): Bobby Rahal (3 CART/CCWS championships)

Team: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Series wins: 1 in IndyCar

Car: Dallara/Honda

Twitter followers: 54.5K

Tweets: 14.6K

**Twitter figures as of 6 p.m. ET on March 18

Cavin writes for The Indianapolis Star