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©1998 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc. Team Rahal owner and driver Bobby Rahal comes to the Texaco Grand Prix ofHouston this weekend for the first and last time as a driver. Rahal, whohas three races remaining in his 25-year driving career before turning hisfull attention to team ownership and his directorship in the CARTorganization, is glad the series has arrived in the Lone Star state. "Texasis a market we've coveted for a long time," he said. "We are fortunate tohave a lot of loyal fans in this area of the country, and it will be nice tobe able to race in front of them before I hang it up. This event is also ofkeen importance to our sponsors - many of whom have major operations andsizeable customer bases here. I think it's going to be great marriage forthe city, the state and the series." Trendy A pattern has emerged in CART recently which has seen drivers earn a secondseries win soon after their first. Jimmy Vasser (Miami and Australia,1996), Greg Moore (Milwaukee and Detroit, 1997), Mark Blundell (Portland andToronto, 1997) and Dario Franchitti (Road America and Vancouver, 1998) haveset the trend. "That's a trend we'd certainly like to see continue," saidTeam Rahal driver Bryan Herta, who took his inaugural series victory twoweeks ago at Laguna Seca Raceway. "There's probably a certain amount ofconfidence from winning that first race that carries over into the next few.It certainly doesn't make it any easier, though." First Impressions Bryan Herta had the opportunity to tour the Grand Prix track this summerduring a visit to Houston. He also got a first-hand look at what's going into preparing the downtown for its very first FedEx Championship Seriesevent. "I've been on the streets that will make up the track," Herta said,"but they were obviously still in use when I did. We had to drive in theopposite direction from the one we'll race, so it was hard to develop amental picture of what exactly it will be like. I must say I was veryencouraged by the effort I saw being put into the event. There is a realbuzz about the race around the city and an obvious commitment to itssuccess. As (primary sponsor) Shell's hometown, we have added incentive toperform well here. We want to give our very best effort." Qualified Success Qualifying always seems to be among the keys to success on street circuits.If that holds true in Houston, Bryan Herta would be a pretty good bet toperform well. The 28-year-old Herta has qualified in the top five in eightof the last nine CART FedEx Championship Series events, including front-rowstarts in each of the last three. He sat on the pole for the Long Beachstreet race earlier this year, one of three poles he's claimed already thisseason. "There's little arguing the importance of qualifying on tracks likethis one," Herta said. "It also happens to be something we've been doingquite well of late. A lot of that has to do with the fact that I thinkwe've got the very best equipment combination right now. It also has to dowith the fact that our team has really hit its stride." Probationary Win As a guest on last week's CART media teleconference, Bryan Herta wasinformed that Chief Steward Wally Dallenbach had lifted his probationfollowing his win in the Grand Prix of Monterey. "I guess I can really gowild, now," was Herta's tongue-in-cheek response. He is the fourth CARTdriver to win a race while on probation. One Man Speakers Bureau Bobby Rahal has been called an ambassador for racing before. That title wasnever more well-earned than last week, when Rahal addressed both the Chamberof Commerce in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the Advertising Federation ofColumbus, Ohio, on the business of racing. Source: Team Rahal | ||
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