Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, which introduced the Midwest grocery chain Hy-Vee into the NTT IndyCar Collection as a sponsor of its Honda-powered workforce, is bidding farewell to the corporate after it knowledgeable the squad owned by Bobby Rahal, Mike Lanigan, and David Letterman that it’ll now not again its No. 45 entry.
Hy-Vee will, nonetheless, proceed to sponsor its residence state Iowa Speedway doubleheader, however car sponsorships and sponsorships of different races – because it did with IndyCar’s return to Milwaukee – is not going to go ahead.
“Since first introducing Hy-Vee to the NTT IndyCar Collection in 2020, the partnership has exceeded our expectations,” Rahal stated in a press release. “What began at Iowa Speedway that yr and resulted in a third-place end, grew right into a full season major from 2021-2024 as nicely them setting the bar on occasion promotion at Iowa Speedway. We couldn’t have been prouder to symbolize them throughout that timeframe.”
In a press release offered to the Des Moines Register, spokesperson Tina Potthoff confirmed the change of methods.
“We admire the partnership we have now had over the past a number of years with the Rahal Letterman Lanigan workforce,” Potthoff stated. “We’ll now not be sponsoring a automotive within the IndyCar Collection. As a substitute, we’re shifting our focus to the Iowa races the place we’re the presenting sponsor.”
Regardless of the monetary setback, which was not completely unanticipated, RACER understands the workforce intends to proceed fielding three automobiles subsequent season. To this point, Graham Rahal and new Indy NXT champion Louis Foster have been confirmed.
