» IndyCars: RLLR partners Schmidt in Indy deal

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing – co-owned by no less than Bobby Rahal and David Letterman – will partner Sam Schmidt Motorsports to run Jay Howard’s entry at this year’s centenary Indianapolis 500.

Rahal’s outfit won the 2004 Indy 500 with Buddy Rice and it was a full-time force in the series until the end of 2008, although it has had turns running Oriol Servià and Graham Rahal in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Of late, the team has been focused on running a BMW-backed entry in the American Le Mans Series.

Schmidt Motorsports has featured regularly in recent IndyCar news, having already announced that it will give Howard a one-off outing in America’s greatest oval race, a three-race deal for New Zealand racer Wade Cunningham, on top of running a full-time campaign for Alex Tagliani after buying out the FAZZT team.

“Jay has always been right on the brink of breaking through in IndyCar racing and our plan is to provide him with everything he needs to take that next step,” Rahal said when making the announcement.

“Between Sam’s team and ours, we have the experience, knowledge and ability to provide an entry that will allow Jay to show his skills.”