DETROIT (Nov.8, 1996) – Bryan Herta of Team Rahal was chosen by his peers as the STP Most Improved Driver for the 1996 PPG Indy Car World Series season during Friday’s Performance Awards presentations at the Westin Hotel.

Herta (Shell Reynard Mercedes), a 26-year-old American in his second full season and third overall, had an outstanding second half that allowed him to crack the top 10 in the PPG Cup points championship for the first time in his career. Herta, whose previous best points showing was 20th in 1995, improved to eighth on the strength of seven consecutive top-six finishes to close the season. The stretch included runnerup finishes at Michigan and Laguna Seca, which equaled his career-best effort at Cleveland in 1995.

Herta also was impressive in qualifying throughout the season with starts of fourth or better in seven events. He earned front-row berths at two events, starting third at the three-wide U.S. 500 and on the outside pole at Laguna Seca, and also landed the first two provisional poles of his career at Road America and Laguna Seca.

"This is a tremendous honor because the award is voted by your peers," said Herta, who received $5,000 from STP. "The first half of our season was a disaster. We had lots of problems, but the second half we really got our act together and our team jelled. It was a great finish for the Shell team and Team Rahal in general. The second half of the season gave us a lot of confidence to carry through the winter. I think we can put ourselves in a position to win races next season and make a run for the championship in 1997."

Jimmy Vasser, the PPG Cup champion from Target/Chip Ganassi Racing, earned year-end awards totaling $25,000 from AC Delco and STP. Vasser (Target Reynard Honda) received $15,000 from AC Delco for being the top driver in the PPG Cup points that used its batteries, and $10,000 for the STP Series Champion Award.

Rookie Mark Blundell (VISA/PacWest Reynard Ford) of the PacWest Racing Group earned a $25,000 award from Valvoline for being the most frequent top finisher who used Valvoline motor oil and displayed the company’s logo. Valvoline, the official fuel supplier and motor oil of the PPG Indy Car World Series, presented awards throughout the season to the top-three race finishers who used Valvoline motor oil and displayed the company’s logo.

Mauricio Gugelmin of the PacWest Racing Group was presented a check for $10,000 and a trophy from Anheuser-Busch for winning the inaugural Budweiser Accelerator Award. Budweiser, the official beer of the PPG Indy Car World Series, presented the award each race to the driver with the greatest speed improvement from practice to qualifying on road courses, and between the first and second laps of oval qualifying. Gugelmin (Hollywood/PacWest Reynard Ford) won the season-ending award by virtue of capturing the honor a series-best four times.

Michael Andretti of Newman/Haas Racing earned $8,000 from the Robert Bosch Corporation for his season-long performance. Andretti (Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Lola Ford) had the most top-three finishes among drivers who used Bosch Spark Plugs and displayed the company’s logo.

Jim Prescott of Team Rahal won the Sears Craftsman "Chief Mechanic of Year" and a check for $15,000. Sears Craftsman awarded $1,000 to the chief mechanic who used its tools and had the top-finishing team at each race. Prescott, the chief mechanic for Bobby Rahal, had six top finishes during the season to capture the year-end award.