page_title: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
section_title: CART IndyCar World Series (1991–2003)
hierarchical_section_title: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing / CART IndyCar World Series (1991–2003)
caption_attribution_description: Bobby Rahal's "Last Ride" - His last year as a driver was spent in this #7 Reynard Ford.
context_page_description: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is an auto racing team that has participated in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the IndyCar Series. Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana and Hilliard, Ohio, it is co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, former television talk show host David Letterman, and businessman Mike Lanigan.
  The team was established in 1991 as Rahal/Hogan Racing, became Team Rahal in 1996, and was known as Rahal Letterman Racing from May 2004 until December 2010. Throughout the team's history in IMSA with factory partner BMW, the team has run under the name BMW Team RLL.
context_section_description: Following the 1991 CART season, Bobby Rahal left the Galles-Kraco Racing team. Despite consistent top finishes, Rahal won only two races from 1989–1991. Likewise, Danny Sullivan left the Patrick Racing team, following a dismal season with the Alfa Romeo engine. The two drivers essentially swapped rides. Sullivan joined Galles, and Rahal signed with Patrick in September 1991.
  By the winter of 1991, however, Patrick Racing started to collapse due to financial and legal issues regarding the Alfa Romeo engine. Ilmor had refused to supply the Chevy/A engine to Patrick due to rumors that one of the Chevrolet Indy car engines had been provided to Alfa-Romeo.
  To ensure that Rahal would not be racing an uncompetitive engine in 1992, Patrick sold his assets to Rahal and new partner Carl Hogan, who was able to secure a supply of Chevy engines. A new team was formed, known as Rahal/Hogan Racing, with key personnel from Patrick Racing, such as team manager Jim McGee, moving over to the new organization.
  In 1992, the team won the IndyCar World Series title on their first try, with owner-driver Bobby Rahal driving a Lola T92/00 to 4 victories during the season.
  In late 1992, Rahal/Hogan absorbed the Truesports racing team, which Rahal had started his CART career with. The team moved its headquarters from Indianapolis to Hilliard, into the old Truesports facility. Along with the acquisition, they took over the Truesports "All-American" chassis program. Rahal began the 1993 season with an updated version of the Truesports chassis, with the intention of introducing a brand-new Rahal/Hogan chassis later in the year.
  A second-place finish at Long Beach offered some promise. The success was short-lived however, as the chassis proved uncompetitive on ovals. After Rahal failed to qualify at Indianapolis, the team switched to a more conventional Lola, while team driver Mike Groff entered several more races in the R/H-001. Eventually the team abandoned the chassis project.
  In 1994, Rahal/Hogan introduced the Honda HRX Indy V-8 engine to the IndyCar World Series, having performed development testing for the engine throughout the 1993 season, but split with the manufacturer after Rahal finished a disappointing tenth place in the standings.
  At Indianapolis, the engine proved uncompetitive, and Rahal risked missing the race for the second year in a row. He borrowed two Penske-Ilmor machines, and finished third in the race. In 1996, Carl Hogan left the team, and started his own racing operation. As a result, the team changed its name to Team Rahal and Hogan started Hogan Racing.
  In early 1996, Rahal's longtime friend, and avid race fan, comedian David Letterman, purchased a small share of the team.
  Over the next few years, the team would employ Bryan Herta, Max Papis, Kenny Bräck, Jimmy Vasser and Michel Jourdain, Jr., getting closest to another title in 2001, when Bräck finished 2nd in points. Rahal himself retired from driving at the end of 1998.
caption: Rahal CART car
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