Season Recap 2003

2003

Drivers: Kenny Brack, Michel Jourdain Jr., Danica Patrick, Jimmy Vasser, Jon Fogarty

Car #: 15, 9, 24, 19, 25

Sponsors: Pioneer, Gigante, Argent

Championship Finish: 9^th, 3^rd, 6^th

For the first time in team history, the open-wheel split between Champ Car and the Indy Racing League affected Team Rahal. The team decided to split its efforts between the two series, as well as fielding a new program for young open-wheel driver Danica Patrick in the Toyota Atlantic Series. Jourdain had the best year of his career, winning two races and finishing third in the Champ Car World Series. Jourdain led 48 laps at Long Beach and was on his way to victory when a gearbox broke during a pit stop. He set a series record by leading 234 laps on a chilly night in Milwaukee to take the win and came from fourth on the grid to win in Montreal. He led the series in laps completed for the second straight season. Brack returned to the IRL after three seasons in Champ Car and finished ninth in the championship on the strength of five top-five finishes. He finished second at Motegi where he led 15 laps, but that would be his only podium finish of the year. Jimmy Vasser again joined the team for the Indianapolis 500, where he finished 27^th. Patrick finished sixth in her first full season in Atlantic competition, bookending the season with podium finishes. She qualified fifth and finished third in Monterrey and started fifth and finished seconds in Miami. She finished in the top 10 in all but two of her 12 starts. Jon Fogarty joined her as a teammate for the last two races, starting and finishing fourth in both of his starts.