At the Detroit Grand Prix this weekend, IndyCar driver Graham Rahal decided to take a break from racing to talk about what matters most to him, which is college football. Specifically, the Michigan Wolverines’ new head coach, Kyle Whittingham. The lifelong Ohio State fan from Columbus shared something honest and a bit uncomfortable with reporters about the coach who now leads his team’s biggest rival.

“I told Coach Whittingham, when he was at Utah, I was a massive fan, and obviously, he’s an understudy [to] Coach Meyer, who I know very well, and you know, so that’s an interesting dynamic for sure,” Rahal told a bunch of reporters that he has always had a ton of respect for Whittingham’s 21-year run at Utah.

That connection runs deeper than most fans realize. Meyer started as a graduate assistant at Ohio State in the late 1980s, earning his master’s there before building his head coaching career at Bowling Green and Utah.

He wouldn’t return to Ohio State as head coach until 2012, over a decade after Whittingham took over at Utah. For Rahal, a lifelong Buckeye fan, watching Meyer’s protégé take over his rival school created that bittersweet moment he described to reporters.

Meanwhile, the race was taking place in Detroit, so it made perfect sense for organizers to bring in the new Michigan head coach for the event. Whittingham’s presence at the race was as significant as that of the city’s mayor or anyone else in attendance. After all, the University of Michigan is one of Detroit’s and the state’s biggest sources of pride. It’s only fair for them to hard-line like that.

Rahal also took a little jab at Michigan’s previous coach, Sherrone Moore. He felt that the old coach was too arrogant and ruined the mutual respect between the two rival schools. He believes Whittingham will fix that because of his calm attitude and what he can do with a team.

Adding a funny twist to the whole situation, Rahal pointed out that Whittingham is actually a direct understudy of legendary former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer. Whittingham originally took over the head coaching job at Utah a couple of decades ago, specifically because Meyer left to move up the ladder.

Despite all the high praise, the college football rivalry is still alive and well in Rahal’s heart. He laughed and joked with reporters that because Whittingham wears Michigan blue now, he’s the enemy now:

“I can’t like him anymore, but I, you know, was a fan of his work at Utah (Utes). I thought he did an amazing job with that university, and I have no doubt that he will here too, which hurts a little bit. But, you know, it’s always good to, you know, frankly, good to see the Big 10 doing as well as it has last few years as well.”

However, he was still very excited to meet the coach in person during the race weekend. When it came down to the actual racing, Rahal backed up his talk with a spectacular performance on the bumpy downtown streets of Detroit. Driving his No. 15 Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, he avoided chaotic track incidents to secure a fantastic third-place podium finish. He finished right behind Alex Palou and Kyle Kirkwood. Whittingham got to see it all firsthand.

Whittingham’s evening at the IndyCar event

The 66-year-old was at the racetrack to experience the “Fastest Seat in Sports,” which lets guests ride in a special two-seater IndyCar. The head honcho looked like a pro in his custom racing helmet as the car zoomed down the 1.645-mile street course in downtown Detroit. Even though he loves riding motorcycles, he admitted that this was actually the very first car race he had ever seen in person. He definitely made the most of his first time, getting a front-row seat to all the action.

During the live TV broadcast on FOX Sports, you could hear just how pumped up he was. With the wind rushing past, he shouted, “Let’s go! I can’t really hear you, but this is a hell of a deal. Whoo-hoo!” His pure excitement quickly went viral online and became one of the most fun moments of the entire race weekend.

By taking this crazy ride, Whittingham joins a club of huge celebrities who have done the same thing. In the past, icons like Lady Gaga, Stephen Curry, and even Michigan football legend Tom Brady have strapped into the passenger seat. It has become a massive tradition for stars to experience the intense speed right before the green flag drops.

This wild weekend was a fun break for the coach before he switches back to football mode. Whittingham took over the Michigan Wolverines program back in December 2025 after two decades of winning football at Utah. Now, fans are even more excited to see him bring that same winning energy to the football field for his first season this fall.