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CART, INDYLIGHTS: Team Rahal Scoop

3 September 1998

News You Can Use From CART's Team Rahal

Volume 4, Number 15
Vancouver

A Qualified Success
Team Rahal owner and driver Bobby Rahal has done a pretty fair job of getting in position to win the Molson Indy, even if he hasn't nailed down a Vancouver victory. Only once in his eight visits to the Concord Pacific Place street circuit has Rahal failed to qualify in the top three. "On tracks like Vancouver where it's tough to pass, qualifying is even more essential to success in the race," Rahal said. Rahal's three runner-up runs and four top fives are certainly evidence of that.

Oh, Canada
For Bobby Rahal, whose racing career began in Canada at age 17 and included stints in the Atlantic and Can-Am ranks, the country always has provided a warm welcome and a fair measure of success. In 24 career Canadian CART appearances, Rahal has managed two wins (Sanair and Toronto, 1986), four pole positions, seven runner-up runs, and 12 total podium finishes. "Canada in general, and Canadian fans in particular, have always been very supportive of me," Rahal said. "I can't explain it. We've always just had this kind of kinship. With as much racing as I've done here during my career, maybe it's just familiarity. I don't know, but I really enjoy it."

Rahal Streaking
Coming in to Vancouver this week, Bobby Rahal has a career-best scoring streak going. Through CART's last race at Road America, Rahal has earned eleven (11) consecutive points-paying finishes, a feat he had yet to accomplish in 16 previous seasons in the series.

Street Smart
Team Rahal driver Bryan Herta has had his share of success on street circuits so far this season. After sitting on the pole in the season's first at Long Beach, he's had two other top-five starts (Detroit and Cleveland) and two top-five finishes (Long Beach and Toronto) in the four street races the series has run.

Herta's Excellent Adventure
Bryan Herta had a whirlwind west coast tour during his time off between races. The fourth-year series driver was a guest of star Mark-Paul Gasselaur at the Las Vegas premiere of the movie Dead Man On Campus before heading to Los Angeles to host a fund-raising event for the Harbor/UCLA Research and Education Institute. The event raised more than $50,000 for the medical institute's work in the U.S. and overseas. He also squeezed in a couple of days of testing at Laguna Seca Raceway before heading to Vancouver.

Foundation Tote Board
When three-time CART FedEx Championship Series champion Bobby Rahal ends his driving career at the conclusion of the 1998 season, he'll begin a season of giving something back to the racing community. Through The Bobby Rahal Foundation, a not-for-profit endowment he established to coincide with his retirement season, Rahal is donating proceeds from fund-raising activities throughout the year to deserving charitable organizations in each of the markets the series visits in 1998. Sponsors Miller Brewing Company, Shell Oil Products Company and Marlboro each have made leadership commitments to the foundation, donating a sum for each lap Rahal completes during his "Last Ride." Having completed a series-leading 1,974 laps in the season's first 14 races, Rahal's foundation is now $39,480 richer thanks to $5-per-lap donations from both Miller and Shell, and a $10-per-lap gift from Marlboro.

Back On Track
The Team Rahal Indy Lights team returns to action this weekend after a month off between races. The team and driver Mike Borkowski kept sharp by testing at the Laguna Seca and Thunderhill tracks in central California.