DES MOINES, Iowa – Bobby Rahal said Christian Lundgaard told his current team owners of his plan to move on to Arrow McLaren without engaging in any recent negotiations with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing – a frustration Mike Lanigan hinted at in May.

“We hadn’t had any discussions. Previously last year we did, but they wanted to take a wait-and-see approach,” Rahal told IndyStar last weekend at Mid-Ohio. During a full-team press conference at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway two months ago, Lanigan was asked if RLL was in negotiations for a new deal with the team’s one-time race-winner and noted, “We talk to him all the time. Now, whether they talk to us, that’s another question. We know he’s committed. I just want him committed to this team.”

Rahal was surprised at what he called Lundgaard’s decision to make a “lateral move” in joining the IndyCar team that just won its first race on-track in nearly two years and detailed his process for crafting the team’s future lineup alongside his son, veteran driver Graham Rahal.

When asked if Alexander Rossi, the 2016 Indianapolis 500 champ and 32-year-old eight-time race-winner, could factor into RLL’s plans, as the most accomplished free agent on the market, Rahal emphasized RLL’s preferences to instead put two younger, up-and-coming drivers alongside his 35-year-old son, who’s in the first season of a new multi-year deal.

“I like the idea of building your team and looking long-term and building on our relationships, kinda like we’ve done with Christian. You’ve got the old, wise guy in Graham, who’s got a ton of experience and is still very competitive, and then you (could) have young guys,” the elder Rahal said. “I’d rather see the wise guy and then two young guys bringing him up, and when that guy decides he’s had enough, these guys (can continue the progress).

“And then you can be constantly looking for that next young guy. I think there’s reason, especially if they’re fast, you can mature them in the right environment.”

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For now, Rahal’s top choices are already on the team’s payroll. Should RLL manage to lock down new deals with two of its most high-profile sponsors in the coming weeks, Rahal thinks he can keep it that way and move forward with current reserve driver Juri Vips and Pietro Fittipaldi, who’s in the middle of an up-and-down first full-time IndyCar season of his career.

“We have to make sure we continue to improve ourselves and continue to attract good drivers, and we’ve got some good drivers already,” he told IndyStar. “As you imagine, my phone has been ringing off the hook. Some are interesting, and some aren’t, but we’ve got to make sure we have all our sponsor commitments in place, and I’m in no rush, really, at this point in time.

“These things used to not happen until September, and it’s barely July, so it’s well in advance of what the norm is. We’ll keep our heads down and get on with life.”

Atop that priority list involves meetings with Hy-Vee executives at the end of this month to discuss a renewal of their current deal. The fast-spreading Midwest grocer has held a full-season, primary sponsorship role on the No. 45 Honda since RLL expanded to a third full-time entry in 2022. Despite speculation that Hy-Vee could follow Lundgaard – Arrow McLaren has primary sponsorship set on all three cars, meaning Hy-Vee would have to revert to a much smaller role – Rahal said he believes both sides “have every intention to continue.”

“How that looks, I don’t know, but they seem keen,” said Rahal, who during Thursday’s kickoff weekend for the IndyCar race weekend at Iowa Speedway with heavy support from Hy-Vee was credited multiple times with a outsized role in bringing the series back to one of its best tracks on the schedule. “I think (Hy-Vee) is pretty happy with our relationship. It’s more than just the driver.”

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That said, despite Vips’ rocky past that includes using a racial slur during an online gaming stream, Rahal believes Hy-Vee and the team’s other current sponsors “like him” – a massively important factor in helping secure the funding necessary to place 23-year-old Estonian in a full-time role in 2025 since Vips doesn’t bring that funding to the table himself.

Rahal is in discussions with IndyCar officials over gaining clearance to run Vips in a fourth car at a single race during the back-half of the season – something he said IndyCar is pushing back so as not to put any strain on the number of hybrid units after debuting the technology last weekend. A year ago, Vips made his IndyCar debut in the final two races of the year, flashing strong speed despite less than stellar results at Portland (18^th) and Laguna Seca (24^th).

“I feel we owe (Juri). He’s done a great job in the simulator, and every time we ask him to do something, he does it without complaint and does it well and is keen to participate,” Rahal said. “I know Mike (Lanigan) feels the same way I do.

“We feel he deserves the shot, and clearly, that’s our intent with one of the seats.”

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In order to keep Fittipaldi in the No. 30 Honda in the midst of a season with five top-16 finishes, as well as four 24^th or worse (including two DNFs not of his own doing), Rahal said the team is in talks with 5-Hour Energy executives to expand their relationship. 5-Hour Energy currently serves as a full-season associate sponsor on Fittipaldi’s No. 30 and also landed primary branding for a three-race run that included the Indy 500, Detroit and Road America.

“(Fittipaldi) is a great kid and a great brand ambassador for 5-Hour Energy. They love him, and while we don’t have anything done for next year, I think that’s going to be a strong possibility for us,” Rahal said. “That’s certainly our approach. We’ve had discussions already, and while we haven’t agreed to it yet, everyone’s headed in the same direction, so I hope in the next couple weeks that should be finalized.”

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Rahal also holds out hope that IndyCar’s new exclusive media rights deal with Fox Sports that starts in 2025 and places all 17 races – along with portions of both days of 500 qualifying – on network TV will help deliver additional value for sponsors, making them comfortable to pay an increasing rate.

“(Chip Ganassi Racing) came in with a fifth car and a lot of money behind it, and (AJ Foyt Racing) is throwing around money like there’s no tomorrow – big money, probably paying 50% more (than normal). It’s crazy. And then you have McLaren spending a lot, too,” Rahal said. “So for the rest of us, we have to meet that.

“And this year, we spent $2.5 million for the hybrid car, and did we really need to do that? Chevy didn’t seem to be that interested. They went along with it, but Honda was the one pushing for it, and it’s put a lot of pressure on teams this year in particular.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Bobby Rahal working on Hy-Vee, 5-Hour Energy deals to keep Juri Vips, Pietro Fittipaldi