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CART: Team Rahal Cleveland Preview

8 July 1998


Cleveland

Hometown Hero
Bobby Rahal
Medina, Ohio, native Bobby Rahal made it big. A world famous racing driver and now team owner, he's won the CART FedEx Championship Series a record three times and twice been named Driver of the Year. And it all started when he won his hometown race - the Grand Prix of Cleveland. In his rookie season, in only his fifth Championship Car start, Rahal started from the front row and went on to win the North Coast's very first Champ Car event. Five times since then he has revisited the podium in Cleveland. "Cleveland has always been very kind to me," Rahal said. "I've always been warmly welcomed by the fans here and, fortunately, had a fair amount of success on the track, too. Having won my very first CART race here, getting to come back and race here in my final season holds some very special significance for me."

Perfect Attendance
Team Rahal's Bobby Rahal is the only CART driver to have competed in every Grand Prix of Cleveland.

Guest Of Honor
Miller Lite driver Bobby Rahal will be the honoree at the annual Grand Prix Ball Thursday evening in Cleveland.

Cleveland Kick-Start
What is it about the Grand Prix of Cleveland that gets Shell/Team Rahal's Bryan Herta in the groove? "I wish I knew," he said. Ever since he arrived at Team Rahal in 1996, Cleveland has been the event that has kick-started his season. In that first season with the team, Herta entered the Grand Prix with just six PPG Cup points and ranked 22nd in the championship before scoring a 5th-place finish. After that, he never finished lower than 6th the rest of the way and finished 8th in the final season standings. His 3rd-place finish last year started a season-closing streak that included two poles and five points-paying finishes. "It's strange how coming to Cleveland gets us going in the right direction. It seems to be the place where we always find our groove. I'm going to have to talk to CART and IMG about scheduling this race earlier in the season!"

Bryan Herta
We Have A Winner
Team Rahal's Bryan Herta won the Cleveland Indy Lights race from the pole in 1993 on his way to seven wins and the series title.

Testing 1-2
Team Rahal drivers Bryan Herta and Bobby Rahal did more than 1,000 miles of testing over four days at Road America and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course between June 23 and July 1.

The Rub
Team Rahal Indy Lights driver Mike Borkowski will get a bit of a different perspective of the Burke Lakefront Airport circuit this season. Last year, aboard a 4th-place-finishing Ford Mustang Trans-Am car, Borkowski saw the circuit from inside a tube-frame sedan. This year he will face the wide-open runways from the open cockpit of an open-wheel Indy Lights machine. "It will be a little bit different this time around," Borkowski said. "We did a little "rubbin'" in the Mustangs here last year. We won't be doing that in these cars, I assure you."

Editors Note: The images displayed in this article are available for larger viewing in The Racing Image Galleries and The Visions of Speed Art Gallery.