#15: Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingFirestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg NTT INDYCAR SERIES RACE NOTES/QUOTES – Sunday, March 5, 2023
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 United Rentals Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a good day here in St. Pete. We went from P20 up to P6. I was able to pass some guys today, force some guys into mistakes. I thought our strategy was solid starting on those blacks and we were able to keep the reds underneath us. Obviously, there was a lot of yellows in that period as well but it still it worked for us with a strong black run to the finish. It was rewarding because when we had guys like Power behind me and others, we were able to fend them off and didn’t feel under too much pressure. The guys did a great job. Off we go to Texas.”
FAST FACTS: Made his 16th start at the track and finished sixth… His best start here is pole in 2009 and best finish is a win in 2008 in his IndyCar Series debut – both history-making moments at the time as he became the youngest race winner in series history (2008), and youngest pole winner in series history (2009). Both records were eclipsed in 2019 by Colton Herta but he held them for 10 and 11 years, respectively. Overall, he has earned one top-five and seven top-10 starts here and has two top-five and six top-10 finishes. Year-by-year details are available upon request… Has SIX INDYCAR SERIES wins (2008 – St. Pete street course; 2015 – Fontana Super Speedway, Mid-Ohio road course; 2016 – Texas Super Speedway; 2017 Detroit Race 1, Detroit Race 2) and three poles (2009 – St. Pete street course, Kansas oval; 2017 – Detroit Race 1 street) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015.
JACK HARVEY, No. 45 Kustom Entertainment Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a pretty disappointing way for our race to go there. I really couldn’t avoid Rinus and then just had a little bit of pain in both wrists when I was trying to get out of the car. Physically, I’d say it was a tough race but I felt great. The race was really playing out quite well for the No. 30 Kustom Entertainment car so it was a really disappointing end. I saw that Christian and Graham both ended up in the top 10 so that’s a great result for the team but I’ve been checked and released from the hospital.”
FAST FACTS: The 2023 race was his sixth here. He was in 15th place when Rinus Veekay collided with the left-handed wall in Turn 4 and Jack had nowhere to go but into the back on Veekay. Kyle Kirkwood hit Harvey’s car and launched over it. He was transported to Bayfront Medical Center for further evaluation, where he was checked and released… He retired from the race in 22nd place.
CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a long and tough one with a lot of yellows and quite frustrating. We seemed to struggle a bit with getting the tires to work so every restart was just misery and survival. But, I think we need to be happy to have two cars in the top 10. It was unfortunate for Jack but I was glad to hear that he is okay. We got some points, but it was a tough race. We struggled with a lot of different things. Just before the race, the drink system broke so I didn’t have that during the race either. We struggled with some brakes and some gear shifts so it’s good to get points and get the car over the line. We saw a couple of laps to the end one of the cars retire with a mechanical failure so that’s good for us. I think the pace was really good towards the end so we’ve got to look at the positives but overall I don’t think we’re quick enough yet. We’ve got some work to do.”
FAST FACTS: 2022 INDYCAR Rookie of the Year Christian Lundgaard, 21, will begin his second season in the series in 2023 and attempt to better his top start of third place in Nashville and Portland in 2022 and his highest finish of second place in the July ’22 Indy Grand Prix. In St. Pete last year, he started 15th, pit for his second and final stop after cycling up to fourth place and finished 11th… He earned his best finish today at St. Pete of ninth place.
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GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 United Rentals Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We ended up 10th in our session, which was way more compact than Group 1. Actually we made a lot of progress, the car was a lot more consistent. Yesterday I complained about the brakes, and we just changed them for qualifying and the car was night and day and that hampered our session too. It may not look like it, but the truth of the matter is, I think we made some great progress. My very first lap should have been two-to-two-and-one-half-tenths quicker which probably wouldn’t have advanced but I went into Turn 1 and the rears locked and I got a little bit wide and that hurt my best lap on those tires; they’re one lap tires. I’m not going to go to bed tonight angry because I actually feel like, finally this session, we made some progress. Up until this session I was totally lost. I think that we’re on the right path and that we can make a pretty good, pretty-consistent race car out of it. The tire degradation on these green tires is going to be tremendous and so if we can find a way to make those last, we can use strategy to our advantage a little bit here, and if so, I think that we will be okay.”
FAST FACTS: Will make his 16th start at the track… His best start here is pole in 2009 and best finish is a win in 2008 in his IndyCar Series debut – both history-making moments at the time as he became the youngest race winner in series history (2008), and youngest pole winner in series history (2009). Both records were eclipsed in 2019 by Colton Herta but he held them for 10 and 11 years, respectively. Overall, he has earned one top-five and seven top-10 starts here and has two top-five and six top-10 finishes. Year-by-year details are available upon request… Has SIX INDYCAR SERIES wins (2008 – St. Pete street course; 2015 – Fontana Super Speedway, Mid-Ohio road course; 2016 – Texas Super Speedway; 2017 Detroit Race 1, Detroit Race 2) and three poles (2009 – St. Pete street course, Kansas oval; 2017 – Detroit Race 1 street) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015.
JACK HARVEY, No. 45 Kustom Entertainment Dallara/Honda/Firestone:“That was actually a disappointing session for us. It sucks that our worst session this weekend was qualifying. The No. 30 Kustom Entertainment car has been really good for our practices so I’m not really sure what happened there in the session. It was a big disappointment because of how good we felt we were. The good news is its going to be a black tire race and the car is good on those so hopefully we can move forward.”
FAST FACTS: The 2023 race will be his sixth here. To date, he has started in the top-five two of five races and has two, top-10 finishes with his best being fourth place in 2021. His career best start is second place three times – including at St. Pete in 2021 – and top finish of third at the Indy GP in 2019. Last year he started 23rd and was the first to stop to replace the less durable alternate Firestone tires on Lap 8 of 100 and was on a three-stop strategy. He made up ground and ultimately finished 13th.
CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I’m happy with how we executed qualifying even though I’m a little disappointed that we had to get through that strategy that we did. Good thing is that it’s a black (tire) race here so we don’t need the reds or greens — the guayule tires. I’m happy that we managed to get through it. It was either starting 18th or starting 11th or 12th and we would rather want to start 11th or 12th. It’s a good execution from the team even though we didn’t have the package that we were expecting to have.”
FAST FACTS: 2022 INDYCAR Rookie of the Year Christian Lundgaard, 21, will begin his second season in the series in 2023 and attempt to better his top start of third place in Nashville and Portland in 2022 and his highest finish of second place in the July ’22 Indy Grand Prix. In St. Pete last year, he started 15th, pit for his second and final stop after cycling up to fourth place and finished 11th.
NEXT UP: The race day warm-up will take place from 9:00 – 9:30 a.m. ET tomorrow. Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be televised live on NBC beginning at 12 PM ET on Sunday, March 5 and the Green Flag will fly at 12:30 PM ET.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingFirestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg NTT INDYCAR SERIES PRACTICE NOTES/QUOTES – Friday, March 3, 2023
THE 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES SEASON OPENED WITH FRIDAY’S PRACTICE SESSION HELD IN WINDY CONDITIONS; FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETE QUALIFYING ON SATURDAY
1) Scott Dixon 1:01.6145 / 105.170 mph 17) Jack Harvey 1:02.3236 / 103.973 mph 25) Christian Lundgaard 1:03.0412 / 102.720 mph 26) Graham Rahal 1:03.1389 / 102.631 mph
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 United Rentals Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We are really lacking rear support and grip, which is natural. Everybody is lacking grip but we’ve got to find a way to get some consistency. I can’t hit the brake pedal. I went straight on five or six times in the session which is not normal, and we ultimately ended our session with a wall brush due to the rear brakes locking, which shit the engine off and the whole deal. We’ve got to look into it, figure out what’s going on and get the United Rentals car turned around overnight. Its close, its competitive. Only 1.4 seconds separates us from first and we’re in the back. Frankly I feel that I can’t push at all. That’s a positive actually, which may sound weird, but it’s a positive because I think we can find a lot of that gap if we can find some stability.”
FAST FACTS: Will make his 16th start at the track… His best start here is pole in 2009 and best finish is a win in 2008 in his IndyCar Series debut – both history-making moments at the time as he became the youngest race winner in series history (2008), and youngest pole winner in series history (2009). Both records were eclipsed in 2019 by Colton Herta but he held them for 10 and 11 years, respectively. Overall, he has earned one top-five and seven top-10 starts here and has two top-five and six top-10 finishes. Year-by-year details are available upon request… Has SIX INDYCAR SERIES wins (2008 – St. Pete street course; 2015 – Fontana Super Speedway, Mid-Ohio road course; 2016 – Texas Super Speedway; 2017 Detroit Race 1, Detroit Race 2) and three poles (2009 – St. Pete street course, Kansas oval; 2017 – Detroit Race 1 street) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015.
JACK HARVEY, No. 45 Kustom Entertainment Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I thought that was a good start for us there. Every time we went on track, I thought we were a top-10 car. We went to new tires at the end to improve our time but found another car that wouldn’t move out of the way but I thought we had a potential top-10 car. The balance was pretty good so hopefully we just keep that going throughout the weekend.”
FAST FACTS: The 2023 race will be his sixth here. To date, he has started in the top-five two of five races and has two, top-10 finishes with his best being fourth place in 2021. His career best start is second place three times – including at St. Pete in 2021 – and top finish of third at the Indy GP in 2019. Last year he started 23rd and was the first to stop to replace the less durable alternate Firestone tires on Lap 8 of 100 and was on a three-stop strategy. He made up ground and ultimately finished 13th.
CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “That was not the way we wanted to finish the session, (brushed the wall; damaged car) but I think there are some positives to take from the session. We didn’t really have the competitive car that we hoped and expected to have. The wind is quite strong out there and if that’s what messed up the balance, I don’t know. Apparently, that’s across two of our cars so we’ll have to dig deep tomorrow and see how much we can improve for qualifying.”
FAST FACTS: 2022 INDYCAR Rookie of the Year Christian Lundgaard, 21, will begin his second season in the series in 2023 and attempt to better his top start of third place in Nashville and Portland in 2022 and his highest finish of second place in the July ’22 Indy Grand Prix. In St. Pete last year, he started 15th, pit for his second and final stop after cycling up to fourth place and finished 11th.
NEXT UP: Practice 2 will take place from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. ET tomorrow and qualifying will take place from 2:15 – 3:30 p.m. Both sessions will be televised live on Peacock. The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be televised live on NBC beginning at 12 PM ET on Sunday, March 5 and the Green Flag will fly at 12:30 PM ET.
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Neoti, An Indiana-based dvLED Company, Announces Sponsorship of Jack Harvey’s 2023 INDYCAR Entry
• Neoti teams with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing to sponsor Harvey’s No. 30 Car • Sponsorship agreement signals an ongoing relationship between the two companies • Neoti LED is the partner for lobby and control room displays at RLL
ZIONSVILLE, Ind. (March 1, 2023) – Neoti, an LED company headquartered in Bluffton, Indiana, was selected at the LED partner for the new Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) headquarters recently completed in Zionsville, Indiana. As a result of a successful working relationship on this project, Neoti is now an associate sponsor of RLL, and their logo will appear on Jack Harvey’s No. 30 car in NTT INDYCAR SERIES racing events this year.
Large Neoti LED walls are located in both the entry lobby and the control room, with an additional ribbon display in the lobby. AVI Systems brought the opportunity to Neoti and is the integrator on the project. RLL is an early adapter of using a remote control room as command central during a race, with essential data showing on the giant screen in real time allowing engineers to make adjustments on the fly.
“RLL is known for being an innovator on and off the racetrack,” said Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with David Letterman and Mike Lanigan. “Our partnership with Neoti means that we are fully leveraging the latest LED technology to help us innovate and win races. Leaning into new technology, both on the racetrack and behind the scenes, helps us gain a competitive edge.”
According to Derek Myers, CEO of Neoti, sometimes opportunity comes in unexpected places. “Though we have a long history of providing LED displays of all kinds for sporting facilities, the partnership with RLL is unique for us,” Myers comments. “The ownership team at RLL is to be commended for actively seeking local partners for their projects. We’ve done several projects with AVI Systems in Indianapolis, so they immediately thought of Neoti for this exciting opportunity.”
Neoti is looking forward to having a long and successful collaboration with RLL. The 2023 INDYCAR SERIES begins with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 3-5, with the race being broadcast live on NBC beginning at noon EDT. Neoti will be proudly zooming around the track on Jack Harvey’s No. 30 car, and cheering him on. For more information about the series, visit www.indycar.com and www.rahal.com. For more information about Neoti LED, visit www.neoti.com.
About Neoti Founded in 2006, Neoti is an industry leader in video display technology offering a wide range of dvLED video products designed to provide solutions to many vertical markets and in all environments. We‘ve built on our strength in the mission-critical broadcast market to serve verticals like corporate, sports, education, command centers, healthcare, hospitality and more. Building strong relationships by living out Our Values – Total Commitment, World-Class Support, People First and Partner with Purpose – is foundational to how Neoti does business.
About Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, based in Hilliard, Ohio and Brownsburg, Ind., is co-owned by three-time IndyCar Champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, former CBS Late Show host David Letterman and Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan. In 2020, the team is in the midst of their 29th year of open wheel competition and has 29 wins – including the 2004 Indy 500 from pole with Buddy Rice and the 2020 Indy 500 with Takuma Sato – their 33 poles, 107 podium finishes and 1992 series championship. The team also competed in the American Le Mans Series from 2009-2013 as BMW Team RLL where they won both the Manufacturer and Team Championships in the GT category in 2010 and swept all three GT titles in 2011 – Manufacturer, Team and Driver. In 2012, the team finished second in the Team Championship and third in the Manufacturer Championship and in 2013, the team finished second in the Driver, Team and Manufacturer Championship. Since 2014, BMW Team RLL has competed in the GTLM class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a two-car program and has brought their total to 22 wins – including the 2019 and 2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance races, 28 poles and 82 podium finishes as well as a second-place finish in the Manufacturer, Team and Driver championships in 2015 and 2017.
Posted by Steve Wittich on Wednesday, March 1st 2023
Source: Team PR
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Pre-Race Notes Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida Round 1 of 17 in the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES
DATE: Friday – Sunday, March 3-5, 2023
PRACTICE BROADCAST: Live on Peacock Premium on Friday from 3:00–4:15 p.m. ET, Saturday from 10:00–11:00 a.m. ET and Sunday from 9:00–9:30 a.m. ET. Also live on the INDYCAR Radio Network (IRN) and www.indycar.com(timing & scoring + live analysis).
QUALIFYING BROADCAST: Live on Peacock Premium, the IRN and www.indycar.com (timing & scoring + live analysis) from 2:15 – 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday.
RACE BROADCAST: Live on NBC Sunday, March 5 from 12-3 p.m. ET. And also on Peacock Premium, IRN and Sirius XM 160.
TRACK LAYOUT: 1.8-mile, 14-turn street course RACE LENGTH: 100 laps / 181 miles 2022 WINNER: Scott McLaughlin 2022 POLESITTER: Scott McLaughlin (59.4821; 108.940 mph)
RLL’S TOP START / FINISH AT ST. PETE: 5th by Sato in 2018 / 2nd by Rahal in 2018; will be team’s 16th event here
RAHAL’S BEST START / FINISH IN ST. PETE: 1st in 2009 / 1st in 2008 – both with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing; will be his 16th race here RAHAL’S HIGHEST SERIES START / FINISH: 3 poles – Pole at St. Pete (street) 2009, Kansas (oval) 2009, Detroit Race 1 (street) 2017 / 6 wins – 1st in St. Pete in 2008, Fontana & Mid-Ohio 2015, Texas 2016, Detroit Race 1 & Race 2 2017
HARVEY’S BEST START / FINISH IN ST. PETE: 2nd in 2021 / 4th in 2021; will be his sixth race here HARVEY’S HIGHEST SERIES START / FINISH: 2nd – Indy GP & Road America (2020), St. Pete 2021 / 3rd at the Indy GP (2019)
LUNDGAARD’S BEST START / FINISH IN ST. PETE: 15th / 11th – both in 2022; will be his 2nd race here LUNDGAARD’S BEST SERIES START / FINISH: 3rd at Nashville & Portland 2022 / 2nd at the July Indy GP 2022
NEWS & NOTES:
RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING AT ST. PETE The 2023 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will mark the 16th INDYCAR SERIES race for Rahal Letterman Lanigan (RLL) Racing in St. Petersburg. The team has entered the No. 15 United Rentals Honda for Graham Rahal, the No. 30 Kustom Entertainment Honda for Jack Harvey and the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda for Christian Lundgaard. The team led 11 laps with Takuma Sato in 2012 and four laps with Hunter-Reay in 2008 (G. Rahal won w/NHLR that year) and has earned six top-10 finishes. The highest starting position by the team is fifth place by Takuma Sato and highest finish is second by Graham Rahal – both in 2018.
MAKING HISTORY IN ST. PETE – GRAHAM RAHAL In 2023, Graham will make his 16th Indy car start at this track. His best start here is pole in 2009 and best finish is a win in 2008 in his INDYCAR SERIES debut – both history-making moments at the time as he became the youngest race winner in series history (2008), and youngest pole winner in series history (2009). Both records were eclipsed in 2019 by Colton Herta but he held them for 10 and 11 years, respectively. Overall, he has earned one top-five and seven top-10 starts here and has two top-five and six top-10 finishes. Year-by-year details are available upon request. Last year, he started 11th, pit for his second stop from third place and ultimately finished seventh in the race. In 2023, he has reunited with race engineer Eddie Jones, whom he worked with for five of his six victories. Another change includes a new voice on the radio with Team Manager Derek Davidson calling race strategy.
“I feel really good about where we’re at this year. I think Stefano (Sordo, technical director) has brought in a great mindset, but I think also organizationally from the team perspective we seem to be in a much better place also. Everybody is working towards achieving the same goals. I do urge a little bit of patience though as many of the areas will take some time to develop but overall I feel really good about where we stand.
“I’m excited to be back with (race engineer) Eddie (Jones). He and I won five times in three years. We know how to win together, and hopefully we can get this thing back on track. We’re pretty fired up about it. Eddie and I are kind of both pretty low-key guys. We’re on the same page. Super fiery and competitive, but off the track I think we both have a similar mindset. Adam Kolesar is my assistant engineer again and a lot of my core group is still together and Derek Davidson is on my car as well this year as strategist. I’m excited about that because I’ve never gotten to work with Double D in that regard, and he’s a guy I have tremendous respect for as a leader, an organizer and a manager and everything else. We had a solid run at St. Pete last year. We were fairly quick, particularly in Q1 (Round 1 of qualifying) and in Q2 but we lost our way a little but we’ve worked hard on some simulator stuff and we gained some things out of the Thermal test. Hopefully we can put all those pieces together that we learned in the off season and at Thermal and have a great year.”
JACK IS EAGER TO SHOW THE TEAM’S POTENTIAL THIS SEASON British driver, Jack Harvey, returns to INDYCAR competition with a new race engineer (Allan McDonald), chief mechanic (Thomas Semik II) and strategist (Neil Fife). His career best results include a top start of second place three times – including at St. Pete in 2021 – and top finish of third at the Indy GP in 2019. He will make his sixth appearance in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Pete in 2023 and is looking forward to getting his season off to a good start. To date, he has started in the top-five two of his five races here and has two, top-10 finishes with his best being fourth place in 2021. Last year he started 23rd and was the first to stop to replace the less durable alternate Firestone tires on Lap 8 of 100 and was on a three-stop strategy. He made up ground and ultimately finished 13th.
“I think it’s been a really good off-season for us honestly. When the season finished, I went back to the UK for a little bit, and I think that was productive for me. It was just like a two-week trip. I came back ready to get back to work with a little bit of mental capacity to really dive into what went wrong in ’22, and one of the best feelings that I kind of left all of that with was feeling like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and we were aware of what we want to work on and put solutions in place to try and do that, and obviously we’ll see how well we’ve done that come race time. But one of the best things about the atmosphere of the team was that level of reciprocation of accountability, whether it was with me and what I felt like I needed to improve, from the engineers, to the mechanics. These are the reasons why I love being a part of RLL, because I was excited that everybody’s attitude and outlook was one of really just positivity and I think a really healthy approach to trying to have a better season.
“I think the off-season was great, and then in terms of 2023, what we’re hoping to achieve, it’s probably going out and just getting the results that we know we have the talent to get, whether it’s hopefully my talent or the team’s talent. I feel like I had a good off-season, but I feel like as an organization, Rahal Letterman Lanigan has had a really great one, as well, moving into the new building full time, the new acquisition and hires that we’ve got. I think it all will really contribute into something great. I think it’s the case now that really I feel like we have turned the page on last year.
“The best thing about starting a new year is you get a new opportunity, and there’s while there is an opportunity for me to be a driver in this series, I’m going to go out and try and just be better than I was the previous year. I love what I get to do. I think I’m one of the luckiest people in the world to get to do this and call it a job. I think a lot of the off-season you haven’t heard any huge statements from anybody at RLL really. It’s been more of a case of the good old classic cliches, we want to go to the track and do our talking there. I feel like that’s been the attitude of work hard, say less, and let’s just crack on.”
CHRISTIAN’S SECOND FULL SEASON BEGINS IN ST. PETE 2022 INDYCAR Rookie of the Year Christian Lundgaard, 21, will begin his second season in the series in 2023 and attempt to better his top start of third place in Nashville and Portland in 2022 and his highest finish of second place in the July ’22 Indy Grand Prix. In St. Pete last year, he started 15th, pit for his second and final stop after cycling up to fourth place and finished 11th. He will make his first race start in the Hy-Vee Honda at St. Pete and is looking forward to getting back on track and representing the employee-owned supermarket chain.
“I think this has been the longest off-season I’ve ever had. The longest off-season prior has been two months so its double basically so I’m super excited for the first race weekend coming up. We’ve only had one test in Thermal, California which went pretty well. We were second fastest both days so the car was competitive which is what we want.
“St. Pete is a great event. I’m looking forward to just getting the season started and seeing where we are at, competition wise. It’s been a long winter and I’m quite confident that we found some progress. I think the way the team is moving forward, I think the journey that we’re on, we’ve got to stick to it and make sure that we keep improving the way we are. I think it’s taking baby steps. We have a better package already. Where we ended 2022, across the three cars, was already way better than we started. We were competitive.
“I’ve rewatched all the races, written down notes on X, Y and Z, trying to figure out what I can do personally to improve. I think that’s what my second season in INDYCAR will be all about, getting rid of all the silly rookie mistakes and get the basics right. Again, if you do qualify first, you’ve got everything to lose. If you qualify last, you’ve got everything to gain. We need to be in the front without losing anything. But I’m not expecting to win every race. I’m expecting to have three cars to fight for the win. That’s a journey the team is on. I’ll do everything in my power to help with that. But going into my second season now, I’ve been to every track. I came into my rookie season, I’d only driven at two of them out of the 17. Looking at how the second half of 2022 ended, I’m not at all in doubt that I’ve got what it takes, I’ve just got to do it. I’ve just got to deliver that.
“I have my experiences in the 45 car. That was my first car I drove in INDYCAR in 2021. So now to come back with Hy-Vee and represent them, I think it’s great. They’re great people and they are sending a great message to race nd general sports fans. I think we need more sponsors and promoters doing what they’re doing.
“The INDYCAR is just a beast to drive. I think the biggest difference (in driving an F2 car compared to an Indy car) is not necessarily the weight but the endurance. It’s a two-and-a-half-hour-long race where you’re just doing qualifying laps the whole race, with refueling. You would run the tank empty, then you’d come in, put new tires on and refuel the car. You go out there, it’s certainly not the same beast you drove two laps earlier. That’s what makes it tougher. But it’s super fun.”
Posted by Steve Wittich on Monday, February 27th 2023
Source: Team PR
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Feb. 27, 2023) – Kustom Entertainment and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) will combine their efforts this coming weekend to host multi-platinum entertainer and TV/film actor Trace Adkins. Adkins will participate in a key role on the pre-race grid of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding this weekend, March 3-5.
Adkins will perform the national anthem as two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Homestead Air Reserve Base fly over the track and the color guard from American Legion Post 273 Madeira Beach presents the flags.
Trace Adkins has sold over 11 million albums, charted 40 singles on Billboard’s Country Airplay Chart, earned numerous awards and multiple Grammy Award nominations, plus garnered over two billion streams since his debut in 1996. A Grand Ole Opry member for nearly two decades, he’s also known for notable roles as an actor in film and television, including voice-overs for Firestone commercials. Recently, Adkins set out for his headline Somewhere in America tour which spans coast-to-coast throughout this year.
“It is always a distinct honor to perform our national anthem at any event, but it’s an extra thrill to kick off the start of the Firestone Grand Prix,” said Trace Adkins. “As a longtime auto racing fan, I look forward to attending the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.”
Trace Adkins will perform at Country Roots Festival in Kansas City, Kansas on May 13th. This is the first festival Kustom 440, a division of Kustom Entertainment, will produce and promote Trace Adkins and other musicians as part of Country Roots Festival.
“We are honored and excited to host such an accomplished performer not only at our Country Roots Festival but here at St. Pete.” said Stan Ross, CEO of Kustom Entertainment. “We look forward to introducing Trace to the RLL family and our No. 30 NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver, Jack Harvey.”
“I can’t wait to take the green flag for the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in my No. 30 Kustom Entertainment Indy car,” added Jack Harvey. “The race was already a must-see event and having Trace Adkins with us on race day and performing the national anthem will make it even more so. Kustom Entertainment has absolutely been killing it recently!”
Posted by Steve Wittich on Thursday, February 9th 2023
HENDRICKSON TO BE THE PRIMARY SPONSOR OF THE NO. 44 HONDA POWERED ENTRY
Katherine Legge Returns to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for the Indianapolis 500
ZIONSVILLE, Ind. (February 9, 2023) – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) announced today that Hendrickson, a leading global manufacturer and supplier of suspension systems and components to the commercial transportation industry, will be the primary sponsor of the team’s No. 44 Honda-powered entry for the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500. Katherine Legge, who is one of 9 women to compete in the Indy 500, will return to the team to pilot the entry for her third appearance in the race.
British driver Legge, who currently races an Acura NSX GT3 full time in the GTD class in IMSA, scored a win and pole with RLL in the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY series in the 2018/2019 ABB FIA Formula E season and finished on the podium three times in 10 races. She competed in the Champ Car World Series fulltime in 2006-07 and made 10 Indy car starts in 2012 while sharing an entry with four-time Indy car champion Sebastien Bourdais at Dragon Racing. In total, she has made 39 Champ or Indy car starts with a best finish of sixth, two times. A long time Honda/Acura competitor, she brought NSX its first win worldwide in Detroit in 2017.
Hendrickson joined the team as an associate sponsor in 2019 and created a purpose-built engineering support trailer that made its debut at the 2019 Indianapolis 500. The trailer enables the team to maximize the information sharing between their three fulltime INDYCAR programs at each of the race events in the interest of performance. Hendrickson extended their partnership with the team in 2022 and expanded it to become the primary sponsor of Christian Lundgaard’s entry at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio last year. This will be their second appearance as a primary sponsor of a racing event.
The 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season begins with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg which will be broadcast live on NBC on Sunday, March 5 at 12 p.m. EDT. All on-track action can be seen on NBC or NBC’s Peacock Premium streaming service or USA Network. For more information about the series or team, visit www.indycar.com and www.rahal.com.
ZIONSVILLE, Ind. (January 31, 2023) – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) announced today that Fleet Cost & Care (FCC), an industry leader in fleet management software, has extended their partnership with the team in a new, multi-year agreement. In 2023, FCC will be the primary sponsor of Graham Rahal’s Honda-powered entry at the Texas Indy…
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Posted by Steve Wittich on Wednesday, January 25th 2023
ZIONSVILLE, Ind. (January 24, 2023) – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) announced today that Kustom Entertainment, Inc. (KEI), a newly formed subsidiary of Digital Ally Inc. (NASDAQ: DGLY) that will develop and produce events and concerts, will be the primary sponsor of Jack Harvey’s No. 30 Honda-powered entry at seven NTT INDYCAR SERIES events beginning in 2023 in a new multi-year agreement.
Kustom Entertainment, Inc. is the newest venture for Digital Ally, an RLL partner since 2019. Stan Ross, the CEO of Digital Ally has a long family history in the music industry and will serve as CEO of KEI. His father was a pioneer in the guitar amplifier business, founding Kustom Amplifiers in the 1960’s. The amplifiers, guitars and foot pedals created by Kustom and Ross Inc. were used by some of the all-time great musicians, including John Fogerty, Johnny Cash, The Jackson 5, and Sheryl Crow to name a few. Over the years, Ross has had his own record label and supported musicians as they climbed the charts.
“We are excited to continue our partnership with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and are looking forward to an exciting year of racing and concerts,” said Stan Ross, CEO of Kustom Entertainment, Inc. “Our plan is to use our relationships we have established with other RLL corporate partners and cross-promote music and racing throughout the United States.”
In 2021 Digital Ally acquired TicketSmarter, a national ticketing platform that provides primary and secondary ticketing services to their clients and in 2022 both managements began identifying venues, music acts and ticketing opportunities that could be leveraged, creating greater growth for KEI. Kustom Entertainment includes three divisions – Kustom 440 concert productions; TicketSmarter; and BirdVu Jets a private aviation and charter broker business.
Kustom Entertainment’s first large scale event, Country Roots Festival, will be held in Kansas City on May 13. The event features country music sensations such as Chris Young, Trace Adkins, Gabby Barrett, Clay Walker, Jo Dee Messina, and Lonestar.
Parent company, Digital Ally, has been a partner of the RLL team since 2019 and has featured its Shield™ Health Protection Products line on the No. 30 entry from 2020-2022. For 2023, Kustom Entertainment, Inc. will be primary sponsor of Harvey’s entry at races in St. Petersburg, Long Beach, both road course races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Detroit, Nashville and Portland as well as a season-long associate sponsor. Artists performing at Kustom 440 events will be invited to attend the races and add their branding to the KEI livery.
“We are pleased to extend our relationship with Stan Ross and the Digital Ally companies,” said Mike Lanigan, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with Bobby Rahal and David Letterman. “Having known Stan for years, it is an honor to help increase the exposure for his newest venture with Kustom Entertainment, Inc., which will undoubtedly be a success.”
“It is always exciting to align with a new company, and especially one that has such a clear vision and path going forward like Kustom Entertainment, Inc. has,” added Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with David Letterman and Mike Lanigan. “Stan and his team have so much passion for their objectives, which is contagious. We are excited and flattered to represent them and are looking forward to watching the company grow.”
Since 2019, Digital Ally and RLL joined forces to give fans an unprecedented live look inside the team’s garage during preparations for the Indianapolis 500 via cameras mounted there. For 2023, the cameras will follow preparations for drivers Harvey and teammates Graham Rahal and Christian Lundgaard for the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 28.
The 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season begins with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 3-5, with the race being broadcast live on NBC. For more information about the series or team, visit www.indycar.com and www.rahal.com.
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Steve Eriksen (Photo Courtesy of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing)
ZIONSVILLE, Ind. (January 9, 2023) – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) announced today that Steve Eriksen has joined the team as chief operating officer. Eriksen will report directly to team ownership and oversee operations for the team’s involvement in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Eriksen spent the past two seasons at Chip Ganassi Racing, overseeing their race-winning IMSA DPi program after a 30-year career at Honda where he most recently held the title of vice president and chief operating officer at Honda Performance Development, Inc.
“Having known Steve since the beginning of the Honda Indy car program, I’ve had the opportunity to have many sporting and business discussions with him over the years and have always respected his approach,” said Bobby Rahal, team co-owner with David Letterman and Michael Lanigan. “Steve is highly respected amongst those within the sanctioning organizations as well as the competitors and I’m pleased that we are able to bring him into our organization as the COO. His extensive, high-level experience with both INDYCAR and IMSA will be a tremendous benefit to the company.”
“When Bobby and Mike approached me about a newly-created COO position within RLL, I felt it was an excellent match for my skill set and came at an exciting time in North American motorsports with the coming electrification of both INDYCAR and IMSA LMDh sports cars,” said Steve Eriksen. “I’m passionate about both of these forms of motorsport and excited to continue to be a part of these series as competition unfolds in the coming years. I feel like I have come full circle as I worked with the Rahal team in my first year in motorsport and joining the organization in its exciting new phase is personally very gratifying.”
RLL recently moved into a purpose-build racing headquarters in Zionsville which enabled them to bring both of their racing programs under one roof for the first time since 2011. In 2022, the team expanded to three full-season entries in the INDYCAR SERIES and also worked closely with BMW M Motorsport to develop the all-new BMW M Hybrid V8 for its much-anticipated competition debut in the GTP class of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship while simultaneously competing in the GTD PRO class.
The Rolex 24 at Daytona will kick off the 2023 racing season for BMW M Team RLL on January 28-29 at Daytona International Speedway and the INDYCAR SERIES will begin its season at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 5. For more information about the series or team, please visit www.imsa.com, www.indycar.com and www.rahal.com.
