INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Graham Rahal was the first driver to drop out of this year’s Indianapolis 500 when he encountered what he called an “electrical gremlin” early in Sunday’s race.

Rahal’s team has been slow throughout the month of May, but he sounded optimistic that his team had found some speed late in the week. After climbing out of his car Sunday, he said there was something wrong right from the start and nothing seemed to fix it.

Rahal finished third in 2011 in the race won by his father Bobby Rahal in 1986. But he’s been plagued by recent misfortune, including engine problems two years ago and a crash with seven laps left a year ago that left him in 25th place.

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