Rahal Letterman Racing To Pull Out Of Indycar If Sponsor Not Found

Rahal Letterman Racing, the team that brought Danica Patrick to the Indycar Series, could be pulling out of Indycar if no sponsors are found soon.

"Everybody knows about what's going on in this economy, and things look pretty grim," team co-owner Bobby Rahal said Thursday. "But we do have some sponsorship on board and what we're still looking for is a primary sponsor."

Rahal said they could, if necessary, continue their sponsor search to the last minute. The season opener is Apr. 5, at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida.

"If we sign a veteran driver, like Ryan Hunter-Reay, who drove for us last year and who we think the world of, we could probably put something together as late as the week before the first race." said Rahal. "If we go with a young, untested driver, we would probably need to get him to one of the preseason tests, which would mean we'd need something put together sooner.

"In any case, we feel strongly we can have something in place for Indy. There's a lot of interest in that race because it's the crown jewel of our sport."

Rahal announced that the team remains committed to the Firestone Indy Lights Series as a partner with Andersen Racing, the American Le-Mans Series and a new partnership with Formula BMW America.

The team raced in the former CART Series from 1992 to 2003, winning a series title with 1986 Indy 500 winner and co-owner Bobby Rahal, before moving to the Indycar Series in 2004.

Rahal Letterman Racing won the Indianapolis 500 in 2004 with Buddy Rice.

Their most recent driver was Ryan Hunter-Reay, who is, by-the-way, still looking for a ride. Hunter-Reay won last year's Camping World Grand Prix in Watkins Glen, New York.

No doubt a tough loss to the Indycar Series if the team is not able to continue, they would be missed immensely.