Hang On, Sloopy: Graham Rahal To Sport Ohio State-Themed Helmet At Mid-Ohio

Verizon IndyCar Series driver Graham Rahal during Sunday's race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will don "what amounts to a replica of an Ohio State football helmet," according to Tim May of the COLUMBUS DISPATCH. The helmet was designed by Austin Polen, while OSU Football Dir of Player Personnel Mark Pantoni "provided facsimiles of the decals, such as the Buckeyes leaves and color schemes." The helmet "bears the No. 15, a reference to Rahal's car number and also the jersey number" of OSU RB Ezekiel Elliott. It includes 18 Buckeye leaves, "symbolic of Rahal's 18 career podium finishes" in IndyCar. Rahal, who enters Sunday's race second in the season-long points standings and describes himself as a life-long OSU fan, said, "I had to keep certain sponsors' logos on there because they just have to be there, but all in all, it's really cool" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 7/30).