Season Recap 1998

1998

Drivers: Bobby Rahal, Bryan Herta

Car #: 7, 8

Sponsors: Miller Lite, Shell

Championship Finish: 10^th, 8^th

Bobby Rahal ended his storied racing career after the 1998 season, but showed that he still had more than enough skill to compete on a weekly basis with the top drivers in Indy Car. Rahal finished 10^th in the series standings, but set a personal record by scoring points in 11 consecutive races (at this time, the series only paid points for the top 12 finishers), including a four-race streak of top-eight finishes. He earned the final podium finish of his career with an inspired drive from 16^th on the grid again to finish third at Mid-Ohio, and qualified fifth for his swan song race at Fontana. Bryan Herta had his best year in the series in 1998, scoring his first Indy Car win by leading 81 of 83 laps from pole at Laguna Seca. Herta scored poles at Laguna Seca, Portland and Long Beach, leading a Team Rahal sweep of the front row at Long Beach as Rahal qualified second. Herta qualified in the top six in six consecutive events at the end of the year, but finished 22^nd or worse in three of those starts. The team also ran its first Indy Lights program with Mike Borkowski carrying sponsorship from Textron. The car qualified a promising eighth at the season opener but managed only one top-five finish, that being a fourth-place run in Vancouver.