He’s always had the name recognition, the personality, the speed, the great smile, the media savvy and the potential. All that was lacking were the results, and now they’re pouring in like some of us expected.

The emergence of Graham Rahal into winner, weekly factor and title contender is long overdue, one of the best stories of 2015 and exactly what the Verizon IndyCar series needs.

Ever since he was paired with Sebastien Bourdais as a teenager in Champ Car in 2007 and wasn’t the least bit intimidated, Graham has seemed beyond his years. And when he captured his IndyCar debut at St. Pete in 2008 at age 19 it appeared possible he might eclipse his famous father’s legacy before he turned 25. Of course we know that didn’t happen, and the past few years had a lot of people writing him off as a bust … a rich kid that cared more about his latest car or Rolex than he did his race craft.

After being a fixture in The Fast Six in 2009 for Newman/Haas and having that ability to pull out a fast lap as the clock was expiring in qualifying, Rahal lost that home and solid foundation. He spent 2010 with four different teams and pounded the pavement in search of a sponsor, which he found and took to Chip Ganassi in 2011. Despite closing out that season with four strong showings and coming within two laps of winning Texas in 2012, the dream team ride didn’t work out.

By 2013, the wunderkind was driving for his dad because, frankly, nobody else wanted him. Two podiums in two years were hardly encouraging and he talked of turning to sports cars because it wasn’t fun.

But Bobby Rahal knew it was more about his kid’s confidence and work environment than it was his attitude or ability so he blew things up. He stepped down, put Ricardo Nault on the pit box, hired veteran engineer Eddie Jones and re-hired Martin Pare along with Mike Talbot. It wasn’t that the three-time CART champion was a bad dad or poor strategist or meddler, he’d been just the opposite for much of Graham’s career.

“For sure the first two years with us we didn’t give Graham a very good support organization in a lot of respects, we had some good races but not on a consistent basis and the buck stops with me,” said the 1986 Indy 500 winner. “The chemistry and atmosphere wasn’t right, not with any one person, just with the team so I had to do something.

“Scott Roembke was always the filter between me and everybody, a guy that could call people to task and they would understand it. When he died, there was no more filter and I’m a competitive guy and impatient guy in a lot of ways. Sometimes the father-son dynamic can be too emotional.

“So I ask Eddie, do you want me on the stand? And he said, ‘No Bob, I really like you but I don’t want you on the stand.’ So I was happy to step aside and, to be honest, I’m having more fun just watching my son and this team.”

What he also did was instill the confidence in his son that had noticeably been missing.

“When you have two pretty mediocre years your confidence is going to take a beating and confidence is everything in racing,” continued Rahal. “Eddie is a people guy and knows what buttons to push to get the most out of the driver and there’s no question Graham has responded to him.

“Eddie, Martin and Mike are smart guys and they communicate so well and it’s a great atmosphere. Instead of hating to go the track, Graham can’t wait for the next race and racing has to be fun.”

Sure, his second win of the season Sunday at Mid-Ohio needed a perfectly-timed yellow flag but Graham drove flawlessly after inheriting the lead and it was the sixth time he’s been on the podium in 2015. The 26-year-old acknowledged ending that seven-year drought in victory lane really changed his mindset.

“I’m not stressing about when am I going to win,” he said. “I’m more focused on not putting a wheel wrong and if I do that I think we’re going to have a pretty good day if it means eighth or fifth or a whatever.

“I think I used to put so much pressure on myself to win and probably made some mistakes in 2011 and 2012 that I shouldn’t have but now I feel that’s behind me.”

Ahead lies the two biggest races of his career and a chance to pull off one of the biggest upsets in IndyCar history. The little, one-car Rahal/Letterman/Lanigan team with the Honda engine against the four-car Penske armada and General Motors’ house team.

“It’s my time to try and go win a championship for myself, my dad, Dave, Mike, Honda, Steak & Shake and this team. I feel very confident in this organization. I feel like the people that we have are second to none. And what we do with the resources that we have is pretty tremendous.

“We’re only nine points behind with two races to go and I still think the pressure is all on Montoya and Penske. We’ve got nothing to lose because nobody expected us here.”

Regardless of whether he finishes first, second or third in the championship, Rahal has already won over some old naysayers and new fans. His victory lap Sunday was reminiscent of Paul Tracy’s celebration in Toronto as a damn good crowd of mostly Ohioans stood and cheered loudly for the homegrown winner.

It’s what IndyCar needs most to get back on the map – Americans on the top step of the podium.