Team Rahal Makes Spectacular Year-End Charge: Team Rahal drivers Bobby Rahal and Bryan Herta finished the 1996 PPG Indy Car World Series in dramatic fashion by collecting more points than any IndyCar team in the last races. Despite the tremendous run by Ganassi drivers Jimmy Vasser and Alessandro Zanardi, Rahal, wheeling the Miller Racing Reynard/Mercedes-Benz, and Herta, piloting the Shell Oil Reynard/Mercedes-Benz, totaled 132 points while his teammate and team owner Rahal grabbed 62 in the last six races including four runner-up placings between them. "We had a good finish but we weren't able to reach our goal of winning a race," said Rahal, the most experienced IndyCar driver on the current tour with 230 starts. "I'm very proud of how our team cam back from some tough races early in the year and we were contenders at each race in the second half of the season. I'm excited about our future." Rahal finished seventh (102 points) in the final PPG standings with Herta (86) eighth.

Team Rahal switches to Ford-Cosworth for 1997: Rahal surprised the IndyCar community at Laguna Seca by announcing that his two-car effort will switch to Ford-Cosworth engines for the 1997 PPG Indy Car World Series. Team Rahal, which again will enjoy primary sponsorship from Miller Brewing Company and Shell Oil Company for he and teammate Herta, will continue to campaign Reynard chassis and Goodyear tires. For the past two seasons, Rahal's machines have sported Mercedes-Benz/Ilmor powerplants after a development year with Honda in 1994. "The prospects of working with Ford Motor Company and Cosworth Engineering is very exciting for our team.," said Rahal, whose 18 of his 24 IndyCar wins came with Cosworth power. "I have nothing but good things to say about Mercedes-Benz and Ilmor," said Rahal. "They have never treated us anything but fairly and we wish them continued success. However, in looking to the future of this team, we felt the technical and commercial opportunities presented by Ford were the best fit for our long-term plans."

Herta Post Seven straight Top 6 finishes in second half: To say that Herta enjoyed "Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde" season in 1996 would be an understatement. The popular 26-year-old Valencia, California driver suffered through a disappointing first half of the PPG tour by scoring just six points in the first nine events. But the Shell driver posted a sensational second half that include seven consecutive Top 6 finishes. Herta was the only driver to collect more than three straight Top 6 finishes, as six other drivers recorded three straight top 6s. "I didn't think we were as bad as our record showed in the first half of the season," said Bryan about his first nine races which marked a best of 10th place. "I knew that our Shell team was good and, if we worked together, we'd have good finishes. And that's what happened. We had a race car that could win and we were close. My primary goal in 1997 is to win."

Herta gives his Assessment of the Laguna Seca Finale: Herta was the victim of a spectacular last-lap pass by Zanardi that not only stunned the IndyCar community but also the Shell driver. "I don't think anyone would have expected Alex to try that pass," said Herta. "I was totally surprised by the move before the corkscrew. I've never seen anyone make that pass before and I'm not sure anyone else has either. He went for it all and made it. I give him credit. He left room for me earlier in the race when I passed him for the lead. He race fair and clean. But I don't think I've ever been more disappointed or hurt because I wanted to win so badly. However, the race has really given me more motivation for the 1997 season."

Team Owner Letterman enjoys two of the last 3 Races: LATE SHOW host and Team Rahal co-owner David Letterman's busy schedule hadn't allowed him to attend many IndyCar events in 1996. But the longtime IndyCar fan was able to cheer on his team in person at Road America and Laguna Seca and each time he visited the victory podium. At Elkhart Lake, Wis., Rahal drove his Miller car to second and, at Monterey, Calif., Herta took the Shell car to runner-up. Letterman's only other IndyCar race appearance this year was at the U.S. 500 at MIS.

Testing Begins already for Team Rahal: Despite not having new chassis and engines for the 1997 season, the Columbus, Ohio-based jumped back into its test mode immediately following the Laguna Seca finale. Herta drove a 1996 car for two days at Mid-Ohio in a special Goodyear tire test. "We tried a number of different compounds and we'll continued to develop more tires this winter if Goodyear needs us," said Herta. "The tire war this year was very intense and I expect it to continue in 1997. Tires proved to be critical this year."