Graham Rahal says he'll follow dad's lead in 2013

• Father and son finally united in IndyCar at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
• Graham Rahal, 23, says he and father Bobby are 'very much the same person'
• Graham has one win and five pole positions in five years on the circuit among five teams

Even to those who have known both men for years, the resemblance is uncanny. Graham Rahal and Bobby Rahal look alike, sound alike, act alike and race alike.

And now, to nobody's surprise, they're on the same team.

As expected, the Rahals announced Wednesday that Graham Rahal will drive for his father Bobby's IndyCar team next season, putting the father-son duo on the same page for the first time since they teamed for a one-off effort at the Indianapolis 500 in 2010.

Graham is signed to a three-year deal, with TBC Retail Group as primary sponsor and Valvoline as secondary sponsor.

In announcing their intention to join forces, they acknowledged their many similarities.

"I would say my dad and I are very much the same person," Graham Rahal told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. "If we're not exactly the same, we're darn close. It goes everywhere from the way we sound and talk to the way we approach situations, but it's also about the way we drive."

Bobby Rahal, 59, won three championships and the 1986 Indianapolis 500 during a two-decade career as a driver. His race team, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, produced 2004 Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice and helped the careers of 2012 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay and Danica Patrick, who burst on the scene by finishing fourth at Indy in 2005.

Graham finished 12th with his dad's team in the 2010 Indy 500 after running as high as third, but this will be their first full-season effort together. Rahal, 23, has won one race and two poles in his five years in the Izod IndyCar Series, a run that has included five teams.

Given Graham's ability and the fact Rahal Letterman Lanigan came close to another 500 victory in May with Takuma Sato, Bobby has high expectations for the father-son duo.

"By all rights we should be a contender," Bobby Rahal said. "We have a driver who has proven he can run up front. I have every expectation, given the quality of the people we have, that we should be very competitive. We will have failed miserably if we're not in contention for the championship. That's not braggadocio. That's just stating the facts given the circumstances."

The circumstances include the team's co-owners, talk-show host David Letterman and Mi-Jack executive Mike Lanigan. Ricardo Nault, who has been with Rahal since 1993, will be the team manager, and Donny Stewart, Graham Rahal's first go-kart mechanic and longtime crew chief, will resume that role.

Most of all, though, Graham has the benefit of his dad's 24 wins and 16 pole positions, along with a lifetime of stories.

"One of the things my dad told me when I first started racing has stayed with me through all the years," Graham said. "He said, 'I was never the most talented guy out there. Michael Andretti had far more talent than I ever did, but I outworked Michael Andretti.' That really stuck with me through all these years, and it's still with me. I was probably 12 years old when he said that to me, but I'll never forget it."

Neither will the speaker.

"My point to him was that I was around people who had a lot of natural talent, but they rarely succeeded," Bobby Rahal said. "The people who did succeed were the ones who had the work ethic. In the end, it comes down to your work ethic. Are you willing to do what it takes to be successful?"

Graham, who joined Champ Car with Newman/Haas Racing in 2007 at 18, said his career mirrors his father's in that way: He isn't a natural talent, he says, but he works hard to improve.

"I'm not the most talented guy out there," he said. "I try to think about it more and be more methodical about it, much the same way that Dad did. I have a lot to improve on, but being in this situation and having his advice and the people surrounding him are the best thing I could ask for."

After Champ Car and the Indy Racing League united under the IndyCar banner in 2008, Rahal won the season opener with Newman/Haas. After two poles in 2009, he drifted among four teams – including the strong finish at Indy with Rahal Letterman – before joining Ganassi in 2011.

When it became apparent this season that he wouldn't return to Ganassi's team in 2013, Rahal shopped around the IndyCar paddock before deciding to join his father's team, which raced only four times in 2009, 2010 and 2011 before this year's full-season effort with Sato.

"I still wanted to develop my own name and my own career," Graham said. "I talked to about five teams. I got a phone call from literally every team in the paddock asking me. After going through it all, I decided that I'm going with my dad because we both think it's best. This is the best thing for everybody."

Rahal's signing is one of the few expected in IndyCar this off-season. Hunter-Reay re-signed with Andretti Autosport before the season finale in September. Most other top IndyCar drivers also are locked down for the 2013 season, including Team Penske's Will Power and Helio Castoneves and Ganassi's Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon.

While Ryan Briscoe is no longer under contract to Penske, the team continues to attempt to secure sponsorship for its third car. Andretti has Marco Andretti and James Hinchcliffe under contract for 2013 while continuing to pursue sponsorship for Sebastian Saavedra in a fourth car.